Snow Days!

Snow Days!!!  It has been a long time since we had those, so we made up for it this week.  When we left Tuesday, we heard snow was coming overnight but it would be more to our south, and we might get a dusting.  Turns out it was a little more than a dusting, but the extremely cold temperatures kept the roads icy as it hovered in the 20s and below for a couple of days.  By Friday we were able to return to business as usual, and we had a great ending to the week with work at the pet store, a tasty lunch, and an outstanding workout with our friends at APEX-PT and Rock Steady Boxing!  Check out our abbreviated week...

Tuesday, January 21

We began our first full week of 2025 with a history lesson.  Yesterday was Inauguration Day, and as most of us knew, President Trump is back in office as the 47th president of the United States.  An interesting fact we learned from our video is that Inauguration Day is set as January 20 by law, but if it falls on a Sunday, the public celebrations are moved to Monday.

We also had a lesson about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  On our scavenger hunt for facts, we learned a lot!

Laura and Xavier learned that Dr. King had 4 children.

Liz, Thomas, and Annmarie answered a question about Dr. King's name being changed from Michael to Martin Luther when he was 5 years old.  Erik and Devin learned that as a leader of the civil rights movement, Dr. King had a goal to end segregation.

Kate, Abraham, and Bryan learned that a civil rights leader from India named Mahatma Ghandi was an inspiration to Dr. King.

It's been a few years since we've seen a gold finch at our bird feeders!

After lunch we visited The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg where Christina was enthusiastic about sharing her lesson for National Squirrel Appreciation Day!

She shared many cool facts with us about the little rodents as we spotted objects such as a green ceramic bottle shaped like a squirrel; a white porcelain one that was made in England; a portrait of a young hunter and his dog...and squirrel; and a wooden one which was part of a weather vane.

Here are 3 of the most interesting facts we learned, as decided upon by the group:

1) A group of squirrels is called a "scurry," but squirrels typically prefer to be solitary animals.  They will become social to share a food source (like our bird seed!) or during mating season.

2) Squirrels "talk" to each other by chattering.  They use different sounds like barking, chirping, or squeaking to communicate alarm, excitement, or discomfort.

3) Before it was made with chicken, Brunswick stew was made with squirrel (or other small game)!  

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There were meetings taking place in the Education Studio where we usually do our projects with Christina, so we took a route through the museums that led us to a service elevator and we ended up in a meeting room in the Public Hospital building!

Squirrels may get a bad rap from us since they eat our bird seed, but today, we came to appreciate them somewhat after Christina's lesson.  We wrapped it up with a step by step drawing of a squirrel, and decided we would give squirrels a little slack in the future!  Thanks so much for a fun and informative lesson on Squirrel Appreciation Day, Christina!  We really enjoyed it!

We got a very encouraging update on Tessa today!  Her mom, Michelle, reports that Tessa's legs are getting stronger.  She's able to slide from the wheelchair to the couch or workout bench without needing the slide board.  Her fine motor skills are improving, too.  She's enjoy time on the laptop.  Michelle says, "Things are trending upwards very nicely."  This is wonderful news!  Tessa, we miss you so much!  Keep working hard with Mom, Chris (stepdad), and your therapists.  You're an inspiration!

Wednesday, January 22

Snow Day!

Thursday, January 23

Another Snow Day!

Friday, January 24

Luckily, we were able to end our week back together for a fun Friday!  First, Carol took a group to Pet Supplies Plus for a work morning, and they were met by JaVante and Katrina from Parks & Rec who had a free morning due to school opening late and their Rec Connect before school program being closed.  Thanks for your help at the pet store, JaVante and Katrina!  We always enjoy working with you!!  Due to the winter weather, the PSP delivery had not arrived yet, so instead of stocking, the team spent time straightening product on the shelves (making sure everything was "front facing") and then got to learn about animal care from Ryan and Brittany.  

Abraham enjoyed petting the ferret Ryan was holding.

Have you ever met a tomato frog?  We hear they make great pets!

Perhaps a Russian turtle like the one Bryan is admiring would be more your style?!

We got to see Scott today.  He's holding Dev's dog, Bruno, who had come in for grooming!

Thanks, Brittany and Ryan, for helping us learn what you do to care for some of the critters.  Thanks again to JaVante and Katrina for joining us today, too!

Meanwhile, back at the center, we were busy preparing today's lunch:  cheeseburger pie and garden salads.  Annmarie sauteed onions and Patrick browned the beef.  Laura mixed up the batter and Lexi poured it evenly over the pies.  Kevin and Michelle assembled our fresh salads.  Teamwork at its finest this morning!

We enjoyed our cheeseburger pie!

After lunch, it was time for a workout!  Our friends at APEX-PT and Movement Center / Rock Steady Boxing were ready for us with fun and energetic exercise stations that not only worked our bodies, but our minds, too!

Stretching is important and Scott made sure we stretched everything from head to toe!

We rotated to different activity stations after stretching.  At the Rock Steady Gym, their focus is on providing support for patients living with Parkinson's disease.  We went through a typical Rock Steady workout and Scott reminded us that it's important to work our big muscles, small muscles, fine motor muscles, and brain muscles!

Laura, Patrick, Emma, and Katrina found out after a couple of minutes that punching or slapping the speed bags is great cardio!

Tracy came to the gym, too.  She, Abraham, Alexis, Nan, and Liz had to work quickly, and as a team, to match the tops and bottoms of the playing cards.  Thanks for joining us, Tracy!

Michelle and Erik did wall push ups and then tapped the number signs 1-4 in order as quickly as they could.

This was the sit and stand station.  Xavier and Bryan alternated between sitting in the chair and standing up to step on the numbers or tap the cones in sequential order.  

JaVante, Annmarie, Thomas, and Kevin had to keep the Blaze Pods from lighting up.  Whenever one of them turned green, they had to "stomp" it out.

Before we did another station rotation, we took turns rolling a die and completing an exercise that corresponded to the number rolled.  Scott kept us moving with his high-energy and lots of positive reinforcement!  

JaVante, Katrina, and Tracy were great role models, too!

Thanks again, Scott and Kelly, for welcoming us to the Rock Steady Boxing gym at APEX-PT and Movement Center.  Y'all put the "move" in movement, for sure!  We had a wonderful experience.  You make it fun to exercise, and the time flew by!  Everyone was focused and active, and we all felt great when it was over!

It may have only been a two day week, but we made the most of it!  We're looking forward to a full four days next week, and the weather forecast sounds promising for it.  Here are our plans for the last week of January:

Tuesday:  We are staying at the center today since our community outing this week will be on Thursday.  We're going to make up Polka Dot Day so feel free to wear your dots or bring spirit items that fit the theme!  We'll also have a movie morning to watch Wish.  For lunch, we are making up our Peanut Butter Day meal with peanut butter sandwiches with a twist, chips, and fruit.

Wednesday:  This morning we will volunteer at GCOC, so please wear Arc shirts.  It's National Puzzle Day, so our brain work will center around fun and/or tricky puzzles.  The Chinese New Year begins today so we'll (finally) get to celebrate Allison's birthday by ordering Chinese takeout for lunch.  Please bring $10 if you wish to order, or lunch from home if you would rather.  We'll also have a history lesson to help prepare for tomorrow's trip!

Thursday:  We're visiting a new (to us) museum today, the Virginia War Museum in Newport News to check out American military history.  Please bring a bagged lunch.  It will likely be too chilly to eat at a park, but just in case...  In the afternoon today we will update our calendar for February, which, unbelievably, is almost here!

Friday:  It's been a while, but we are headed to Eaton for a work day, so please wear your Eaton shirt and bring a bagged lunch.  Time permitting, we'll plan for yoga with Jaime in the afternoon, so dress to stretch, too.

Have a great weekend and enjoy some warmer weather!

Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang

We Can Adapt!

The Mighty 9 on Thursday!

Well, this week didn't go quite as we had planned.  A couple of our friends weren't feeling well on Tuesday, and Sam is visiting family in Arizona, so we took our smaller group of 13 to visit Mike at the Watermen's.  On Wednesday, Lisa came down with a stomach virus, so she and Alexis stayed home.  By Thursday, a few more friends were staying home out of an abundance of caution (we didn't blame them one bit), so by then, Carol and Nan were left with an even smaller group of 9.  We were closed on Friday for Beka's memorial service, which several of us were able to attend, but not including Carol, who was having symptoms by then.  We hope everyone will be well and things will be back to our routine by next week.  

Tuesday, January 14

We enjoyed our morning with Mike as he helped us focus on setting goals/resolutions for 2025.  He kept it very realistic, telling us to start with small personal goals, and not to stress about accomplishing them just in January.

He recommended sharing our goals with friends so we could support one another!

After considering what our personal goals or resolutions were, Mike explained that listing a few steps to help reach them would be a good idea.  We begin with a length of paper divided into sections for each month, added our goals using blue paper, and listed steps on the yellow paper.  We discussed working on our goals, with the support of our friends, for the entire year, not just in January.

Mike wrapped it all up with a few songs that inspired us to stand strong together, including the timeless "Lean On Me."  Thank you Mike, for helping us remember that we're here for each other and together, we'll always achieve more!

Back at the center, we had lunch and Choice Time and then made bird feeders using supplies we had gotten from MG Krafty Karen.  We covered cardboard cutouts of birds with peanut butter and bird seed, then hung them outside.  Before we could get packed up to leave, birds were already nibbling on them!

Wednesday, January 15

Everyone stepped up to adjust the day's plans when Lisa got sick with a stomach virus and had to miss a couple of days.  She was glad to see this photo of a fun dance warm up!

We canceled the therapy dogs visit for today just in case we were incubating a virus outbreak.  We broke out our board games as a back up plan!

Emma and Annmarie seemed happy playing the Pretty Pretty Princess game!

A game of Uno brought smiles and laughter to Erik, Devin, Liz, and Thomas!

Laura and her buddies Abraham and Xavier got a kick out of Head Bands!

Kevin chose a puzzle while Nan and Patrick played Connect Four.

Bryan and Kate enjoyed a strategic game of Sorry!

The gang got plenty of movement, too.  It was a very chilly day outside, so they cranked up the music and walked (and boogied?!) up and down the hallway!

Liz told Nan it was "Rod Stewart" time...Rod is Nan's favorite!

Great job, guys!  Get your hearts pumping for the new year!

Later, it was time to celebrate National Strawberry Ice Cream Day, which, for some reason, falls on January 15.  Hey, we don't mind!  Any ice cream "holiday" is a good day to us! 🍨

It seems Bryan and Devin were not into being photographed (as they usually are) if it meant they couldn't dig into their ice cream yet!  😂  Carol said everyone enjoyed the treat today!

Thursday, January 16

By today, Lisa was still out, but feeling much better, and Alexis was home, too.  (Luckily, Alexis was fine.)  A few more friends decided to stay home just in case a virus was spreading, so the gang was down to 9.  Here's a look at their final day for this week.

Wendy, our friend at Bowlero, has a birthday on National Popcorn Day, which is Sunday.  We made this birthday poster for her!  Thanks guys, for including everyone's names!

Kevin brought in Ring Pops for Bingo prizes so we played a round of one of our favorite games.  Thanks, Kevin!

Exercise time!

There was an unexpected lockdown drill, and the police said we did a good job!

Preparing popcorn chicken to warm up in The Nina.

Our delicious lunch of popcorn chicken, mac n cheese, and fruit salad, one of Beka's favorite meals.  Thanks MacMasters family for sponsoring lunch today!

One of Xavier's masterpieces!  A nice ending to the week...as there is still snow on the ground.  Is it lying around waiting for more to come next week?!  We shall see!

Speaking of next week, here's what to expect:

Tuesday:  Today we will have history lessons as we discuss yesterday's presidential inauguration and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  We'll also have a movement activity followed by an early lunch.  After lunch we'll head to The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg for a lesson on Squirrel Appreciation Day with Christina...which sounds like fun!  Arc shirts optional.  Lunch on your own.  JRES is serving Beef Soft Taco, Taco Salad, or Pizza.

Wednesday:  We'll begin the day volunteering at GCOC, and then we'll celebrate our volunteer Allison's birthday!  We'll prepare a birthday lunch of cheeseburger pie, salad, and cake.  It's Library Shelfie Day, so we'll make fun cards for our JRES Library friends, too.  Please wear Arc shirts. 

Thursday:  This morning we are lucky to have a make up session with our therapy dog friends since we canceled them during the virus scare last week.  We're also celebrating Polka Dot Day for the first time ever, so break out your spotty clothes, books, or other "spirit" things and we'll see how this goes!   Lunch on your own.  JRES Cafeteria is offering Domino's Pizza, Chef Salad, or Sub of the Day.

Friday:  It's a Pet Supplies Plus work day, so please wear PSP shirts.  We'll celebrate National Peanut Butter Day by offering "upgrades" to PB&J sandwiches for lunch, along with chips and fruit.  After lunch, we're going to APEX-PT for a winter workout in the Rock Steady Boxing Gym.  We had to reschedule our December visit and we have been looking foward to seeing Kelly, Scott, Bret, and the rest of the team!

Enjoy the weekend,

Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang

In Loving Memory of Beka

 

Our hearts were heavy this week as we dealt with the news that our friend Rebekah Mason passed away over winter break.  Beka had a lifelong heart defect, but we couldn't have imagined we would lose her.  We spent this week sharing our memories and lots of sweet stories about her time with us, and we found immense comfort in that.  We are dedicating this week's blog post to our beloved friend, Beka.

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Beka's First Days with Us

 Beka joined The Arc of Greater Williamsburg early last year, and joined our Arc of Abilities day program in February.  We met her on January 16 when she came for a "trial visit" to determine if our program might be a good fit.  Turns out, it was...for Beka and all of us!

Elizabeth, Laura, Kate, Alexis, and Tessa were happy to welcome another girl to the program!

Devin enjoyed introducing her to our concept of "brain work" as they worked on an assignment about Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Beka joined us on our visit to The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg where Christina taught us how to make paper hats on National Hat Day.

On Beka's second trial visit day, we put her to work on a cooking task (cutting onions with Kate) and then introduced her to our version of corn hole.  She came to enjoy both cooking and corn hole very much!

On Beka's first bowling trip with us, we found out she was nervous, so her new friends rallied around her with lots of encouragement.

When we realized she loved books and reading, we added her to our crew that volunteers to shelve books at the JRES Library.  Laura showed her the ropes!

Early on, Beka became a regular at Arc's evening and weekend events, such as a paint night in February where she and Alexis created these masterpieces.

By early spring she had joined Buddy Baseball.  Beka's mom, Susan, shared with us that Arc events, Buddy Baseball, and joining the Arc of Abilities all meant so much to Beka.

Pizza after a Buddy Baseball game with Patrick, Devin, and Drew

She's A Regular Now!

Beka proved to be a valuable member of our team in short order.  At our vocational jobs, she demonstrated an excellent work ethic and never shied away from a task.

Working at Pet Supplies Plus was very enjoyable to Beka because she liked animals.  Whether stocking shelves, folding towels in the grooming area, or cleaning floors, we could count on Beka to get the job done.

One of the stories shared by her friends this week was that Beka made the comment when working at Eaton that she liked the feel of nuts and bolts in her hand.  One of her favorite tasks was attaching them when we assembled PowerSlide Doors.  However, she happily worked on any task she was assigned.  She also enjoyed days when we finished early at Eaton, and had time stop at nearby New Quarter Park for a walk in the fresh air.

Our group also volunteers at Grove Christian Outreach Center where we sort food items and then bag them for distribution to families in need in the Grove community.  Beka and all of her friends always worked diligently at GCOC, and felt good for making a difference.

We work with many volunteers at GCOC, but our mainstays are Thom, Tom, Ursula, Peggy, and Joel.  Beka is standing in front of Ursula, with whom she enjoyed chatting about baking.  Ursula often brought us homemade treats.

Beka appreciated opportunites for continuing education.  In our many relationships with community partners, there was always something cool to learn!

Beka always asked insightful questions, and contributed to discussions.  We had a lot of great visits with Wisteria and her team at The Mariners' Museum, Mike at the Watermen's Museum, and Christina at The Art Museums of CW.

Beka liked working with our master gardener friends and learning about flowers and herbs.  She loved watering the herbs in our raised bed that the master gardeners donated to us, and even more, she loved cooking with the herbs we grew!

Something Beka looked forward to each month was our visit with friends from Therapy Dogs International.  

Speaking of dogs, another fun memory was the time we were at Deer Park in Newport News, which is close to where Beka lived.  Her mom brought their dog Alfred over to meet us and go for a walk!

Another learning activity that Beka relished was what we call "brain work."  Scavenger hunts for facts about things like animals or American history, using the computers to solve puzzles or create documents, and literacy activities were among her favorites.

Being outside was another experience Beka enjoyed, especially the many walks we took when she could talk with her friends.

A fist bump with Emma as they crossed paths on a walk outside our building.

If the sign said "Trail," we had to check it out!

Hanging with friends at the Botanical Garden at Freedom Park on a sunny day.

An outdoor scavenger hunt at New Quarter Park when we were joined by Beka's mom!

A beautiful afternoon spent by the river at Yorktown after a lesson with Mike that morning.

Birthdays!

It wasn't long after Beka joined the team that she learned birthday celebrations are a special thing for us!  From the spring blitz, through the summer when things slow down, and then through the fall blitz, she always delighted in celebrating with her friends!

We celebrated Beka's birthday in November.  Her mom treated us to a lunch of chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and cupcakes, and we played the kind of games Beka loved - card games and board games.

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This was one lively game of Uno!

So Many Fun Times

We had so many fun times with Beka.  We'll cherish our memories forever.  She made us laugh and smile a lot with her "understated goofiness."  She made us feel important as she helped and supported all who needed a little extra attention.  She impressed us with her quick answers during Disney trivia games, and boy could she ace a game of scrambled words or Hangman!  Thanks for the friendship, love, and memories, Beka.  We'll never forget you.

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Free Slurpee Day; Hanging with Moose Patti; Showing off new eyewear; Silliness on National Get Silly Day!

Winning a big ball at the arcade; Pizza after bowling; Yoga on Friday afternoons; Checking out the Free Little Library behind the school

Games with friends; Cheers with sodas; Homemade turtle candies; Crafting 

There will be a service for Beka on Friday, January 17 at 11:00 at Menchville Baptist Church in Newport News.  The Arc of Abilities will be closed so that those wishing to attend the service with their families will be able to do so.