Who knew playing games with flip flops could be so much fun? It was one of the highlights of another great week at the Arc of Abilities...
We began the week on Tuesday at Freedom Park's Botanical Garden for our last session with the Master Gardeners. We have learned so much from them, and this week we wrapped up our lessons about pollination by learning about the crucial role bees play in it. We also harvested more lettuce and the snap peas we had planted by seed when we first began working with them back in April!
We cleaned out the lettuce beds and planted peppers in their place, and also added some portulaca and zinnia flowers in the beds around the tomatoes. They will attract more bees so there will be more tomatoes!
We sampled the snap peas along with some dip made with several herbs, and then got to bring some back for a fresh and crunchy addition to lunch!
See that cute accessory in Kacie's hair? It's a clothespin craft we made at the garden! Most of us thought we would use them as paper clips (of sort), but Kacie thought it would look nice in her hair, and doesn't it?! We enjoyed a number of crafts with the MGs over the weeks we visited. They did such a great job with us; we hope to work with them again in the future!
Another highlight on Tuesday was welcoming Sam back from the Special Olympic State Games where he won GOLD medals in not one, but three, swimming events: 25, 50, and 100 meter freestyle! We were so proud and very excited for Sam!
During Tai Chi on Wednesday, Mr. Stutt stopped by and decided to join us for a few minutes. He was all dressed up and a little stressed up, too...it was the last week of school and he had lots of award ceremonies to attend! On this day, it was the 5th grade graduation ceremony, which is sort of a big deal. We were happy to offer him a moment of focus and relaxation!
We always work on balance...and we encourage our friends to try some of these exercises at home!
We were happy to help the school with the 5th grade graduation ceremony. First, Chris and Patrick helped move some furniture and set up tables for the reception.
Next, Kate, Kacie, Laura, Alexis, Meghan, Devin, and Sam helped prepare cake and water bottles. Due to a glitch in securing volunteers, our PTA friend Julie didn't have much help and she was thrilled with our ability to step in and provide such focused and efficient work! This crew set up cake and water for 200 people in about thirty minutes! We are very proud of them, too! (And we must give a shout out to Carol...who cut most of those 200 slices of cake!)
We also observed Flag Day on Wednesday by working in our small groups to learn about the meaning behind this patriotic observance.
We weren't too busy to also celebrate Strawberry Shortcake Day on Wednesday!
Wow...what a Wednesday!
We were so intrigued with what the Master Gardeners told us about bees and pollination that we spent time on Thursday and Friday learning more about it. While we didn't get pictures, we did get a LOT of knowledge about how vital pollination is in providing about 1/3 of the food we eat (fruit, veggies, nuts). We learned that honey bees communicate by dancing so as to tell their colleagues where to go to find the best nectar and they use the sun as a directional guide; it takes over 10,000 honeybees visiting over 8 million flowers to make 1 pound of honey; and they make honey by vomiting the nectar from one's mouth to another's mouth (totally gross but true!). Bees are amazing! Check out this video we watched...
Thursday was Smile Power Day and we found out that smiling does, indeed, have great "power." It boosts the immune system, helps reduce stress, can make you look younger, conveys trustworthiness, and is the best kind of contagious! Smiling, even when you don't feel like it, is proven to improve your mood! So, we made "smile props" just for fun...we have a naturally smiling group and they would never need a prop! Except for when they are being silly at home...like Devin was!
Now that school is out, we can use the gym more often...at least until they close it for 3 weeks to redo the floor! Our guys love to shoot hoops, but it's been a little too hot to go outside lately.
On Friday we put our sous chefs to work again. It's great to have so many helpers! Here, Kevin and Kate work on using a "gadget" to put slices in the hot dogs so they would cook more evenly.
Laura and Liz made a simple fudge recipe...we had to observe National Fudge Day (with just a small sample for each of us)!
Kacie, Meghan, and Josie made our deviled eggs! Peeling the eggs was definitely the hardest part. They tasted delicious, nonetheless!
We put Sam to work grilling the chicken dogs! We discussed the choice to buy chicken dogs, versus beef or pork, as being a "healthier" option in that they have 40% less fat. We couldn't tell the difference once Sam had grilled them!
Of course, we had some great opportunities for movement before eating those hot dogs. There was our regular early morning dance party, and then...Flip Flop Games! Yes, we celebrated Flip Flop Day by playing games with our shoes! Not everyone was comfortable wearing flip flops, but that didn't matter. We just threw all the shoes in the mix and had a great time! First, we had a relay. One player at a time had to run to the pile of shoes and pick out a matching pair...the competition was fierce and we played several rounds of this fun game! The cheers were loud! Sam was trying a slide technique to get to the shoes first!
Next, we set up a grid made with hoops and did the "Flip Flop Flip" where the shoes had to be flipped into the hoops to score points. Devin demonstrates...
So. Much. Fun!
Here's what you need to know for next week:
Tuesday: Bowling and pizza (pizza courtesy of Nancy Dayton...thank you, Meemaw!). Wear your Arc shirts! Sorry to our new friends that the t-shirt order wasn't ready before this week ended...hopefully you'll have your shirts for our next trip on June 27.
Wednesday: Lunch of roast beef sandwiches from Arby's, courtesy of Kate and the Thompson Family! Thank you! We will add baked fries and fresh peaches with a small dollop of cream, since it's Peaches and Cream Day!
Thursday: We will prepare turkey sandwiches on whole wheat bread and since it's Onion Ring Day so we will also try our hands at oven-baked onion rings! We are LOVING the large toaster oven recently donated by the Thompsons!
Friday: It's PINK DAY and we had so much fun celebrating this last year, that we are doing it again! Feel free to wear as much (or as little) of pink as you wish! Lunch on your own but we will provide pink grapefruit and homemade pink lemonade!
SAVE THE DATE: We have a special outing coming up on June 27th! Elizabeth and the Kline family are sponsoring an experience for us at Paint on Pottery! More details in next week's blog...
PLEASE CONSIDER: The Arc's main fundraiser of the year, the 5K, is coming up on October 7. We are seeking sponsors for this event. If you or someone you know has a business that would be interested in supporting The Arc with a 5K sponsorship, PLEASE let us know! (We also welcome individual sponsorships.) We will be happy to send an information packet. Several levels of sponsorship are available. THANK YOU!
You can also sign up to join us at the 5K (or 1 mile fun run) by visiting The Arc's website at thearcgw.org !
We hope you have a great weekend! Happy Father's Day to all the AoA dads! Hope you like the cards we made!
Lisa, Carol, and Nan
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