Learning Lab is Launched!

It was more exciting than usual to come to the center on Tuesday morning because we knew we were bringing in our new laptop computers and would be launching our Learning Lab this week!  As we've mentioned previously, The Rotary Clubs of Greater Williamsburg generously provided us with a grant to purchase laptops, printers, a digital camera, accessories, and software.  But more on all that later...

It's always exciting to see Nancy, Drew's Meemaw, stop in to work on some of the Eaton parts that are hard for our guys to handle.  She came in with a big smile on Tuesday morning and got right to work!  Her volunteer efforts have resulted in us earning a significant amount of income from Eaton and we are grateful for her dedication to this cause!

We want to thank Laura who volunteered to wash the apples that we would take with us to supplement our pizza lunch at the bowling center.  She did a great job and did it cheerfully!

It was a bowling Tuesday so we headed to the lanes, arriving at our usual 10:30 only to find out there was quite a crowd this morning and we would have to wait patiently for about 15 minutes before we could get started.  Our team handled that very well...they chatted and enjoyed "hanging out."  Here, Liz fills Pam in on her recent trip to Smith Mountain Lake...or is she telling her about the new puppy she's about to get?! 🐕

Not sure what Bo was talking about, but Alexis and Drew were very interested!

We have to share Laura's joy at bowling.  She raises her arms after every bowl...no matter how many pins do or do not fall.  That's the right attitude, don't you agree?!

These three asked to have their picture taken!

This is our friend, Dicey.  She is one of the wonderful employees at the bowling center who takes great care of us.  On Tuesday, she was holding things down on her own, with every lane full, and never lost her cool.  When we found out her birthday was the day before, we had to sing!  Definitely the highlight of our bowling day!

It wasn't too warm and there was a nice breeze, so we went to Freedom Park after bowling to take a walk.  Some of our friends are registered for the 5K so we need to get in lots of practice.  In this picture, the group we call the "pace cars" takes off with great enthusiasm!

Drew and Sam spotted a grasshopper resting on the railing of a footbridge.  Can you spot it?

This bridge is a just over a half mile from the start of our walk.  Not everyone made it that far, but this merry group did!  From here, we turn around and head back, making our loop a little over one mile.

Colorful signs of Fall!

Wednesday brings Michael and a relaxing hour of Tai Chi. 

One of our goals is to coordinate movements so that one arm extends forward and one behind us, and then to turn our bodies and do it in the opposite direction.  This one is proving to be very challenging.

The gang enjoyed working with a large map of Virginia during our education lesson.

They got excited when they spotted a place they had visited!  In the background here you can see Carol and Nan working to set up our Learning Lab.

Not sure what these two were looking so intently for...

We celebrated National Punch Day by mixing up our own versions of the perfect punch!  Nan serves as mixologist for Kacie, while Drew and Alexis wait with their order slips in hand!

Cheers!

We were proud to visit our friends at the Williamsburg Moose Lodge on Wednesday evening to accept a big donation!  Both The Arc of GW and The Arc of Abilities day support program were benefactors of their recent golf tournament.

That's Patti in the green t-shirt between Devin and Sam.  Other Moose friends joined us for the picture, but Patti is our cheerleader.  Thanks to our friends Devin, Sam, Drew, Patrick and Alexis who were able to stop by for the photo op, and to our Executive Director Pam for coming, too!

Part of Thursday morning was spent talking about emergency preparedness and how to handle ourselves if we ever have to call 9-1-1.  Most of our friends understand what a true emergency is, but many of them are unfamiliar with how to use a telephone, either landline or cell, or what their address is.  We will continue to work on this as an awareness lesson, but we encourage families to brush up on this concept at home, as well.

Some of our friends have landline phones at home so Carol wanted to make sure they understood the importance of getting a dial tone before dialing the numbers.  We realize that some of them would be at a loss in case of emergency, but at the same time, we never know what they may remember during a time of crisis!  We are also giving those (who don't already have it) a card with their emergency contact information and talking about keeping it in a purse, wallet, or whatever kind of bag they carry in case they ever need to show it to someone for help.

During Choice Time on Thursday these friends filled up "Big Red" to listen to music or read. 

It took longer than we expected to get the laptops up and running on Wednesday, so we didn't get to officially launch the Learning Lab until Thursday.  We started with the basics of signing on, connecting to the internet, and shutting down when finished.  This group spent some time surfing the web, but we will also be using the lab to work on literacy, math, and other skills.  😊

We could hardly wait for Friday to get here. Some of our best laid plans for the week (studying the Constitution and Elephant Appreciation Day) had gotten tabled because we spent too much time on things like setting up our Learning Lab, working with maps, having great discussions on things like emergency preparedness, and finishing our read aloud, The Mouse and The Motorcycle.  By Friday morning we were behind schedule and had some "fun" things we just had to fit in.  

First up, cards for the birthday girl, Kacie!  Our gang truly enjoys making birthday cards for each other, and they always look so nice on our "Birthday Board!"

While we were in card mode, we had to make congratulations cards for our Arc Board Member Devin A., who recently welcomed a baby son.  Devin has come to visit us a couple of times and also gave us a mailing job to do for Walsingham Academy, where he works.  Here's Devin when he joined us for a Drum Circle back in May.

We are happy to help him celebrate his first born!

We celebrated Kacie's birthday with lunch which was graciously provided by her parents.  Delicious chicken or egg salad sandwiches, fruit salad, and chips really hit the spot!  Thanks to Kacie's parents!  Kacie requested butterscotch brownies for dessert so we made those at the center.  But of course we had to sing before the grand finale!

After lunch, Choice Time was going well and some of our friends were enjoying the new laptops.  

So we weren't thrilled when an announcement came on that we were having another lock down practice.  Still, we scooted off to the locker room and remained quiet for what seemed like forever.  But it was only 20 minutes and again, we were thankful it was just a practice.

We ended the week watching a movie!  That is something we never do, but we had enjoyed hearing the story The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary so much that Lisa decided the movie version would be fun.  As we had listened to the story, we tried to visualize a young boy staying at a motel back in the 60s, playing with his toy motorcycle and making friends with a mouse who came to love riding the motorcycle all over the motel...such a classic!  And the movie version was only 41 minutes long. 😉

Several of our friends mentioned that they were glad it was Friday because they were tired!  So here's to a restful weekend...because we have a lot to look forward to next week!

Tuesday:  It's looking better, but weather permitting, we have a daylong and outdoor outing planned.  We will be visiting Fox Wire Alpaca Farm in Toano.  Lisa and Carol made a site visit there recently to plan our trip and were quite surprised at how much there is to see, experience, and learn.  Please bring a bag lunch; ice water will be provided.  We will email you on Monday evening if the trip is postponed.  If that is the case, school lunch can be ordered.

Wednesday:  We will be on the road again, this time to Freedom Park for a fall session with the master gardeners.  This will take place rain or shine, and please bring a bag lunch as we plan to picnic at the park.  We are also planning to swing by the Fox Wire Alpaca Store as a follow up to our visit to the farm.  (We won't have time to do that on Tuesday since seeing everything on the farm will take all day.)  Part of the experience is seeing the "end product" and there are many items made from alpaca fur in the store.  There are also a number of other items, all made from natural products.  If your associate would like to buy something, we recommend sending at least $5-$10.  Most of the clothing items like gloves and scarves are more, but there are a few nice items for less.

Thursday:  Tai Chi with Michael, who was able to reschedule our class with him so we could go to Freedom Park on Wednesday.  We really appreciate his flexibility!  We will also make up our missed lesson on the Constitution and recognize Elephant Appreciation Day.  Lunch on your own!

Friday:  It's National Coffee Day so we will offer samples and learn where it comes from and how it's made.  We're also going to prepare a lunch of spaghetti with meat sauce and a side salad!

Time is running out to register for the 5K coming up on October 7th!  We would really love to see you there!!  Click here to sign up!

Hope you enjoy the first weekend of fall,

Lisa, Carol, and Nan