Wacky Schedule

It was a wacky week since our schedule was rearranged due to weather conditions.  Because it was forecast to rain, we decided not to travel to the Pumpkin Patch on Tuesday.  Instead, we spent a quiet day at the center.  After our dance warm up, we set up in the kitchen and celebrated Angel Food Cake Day!  The recipe we used was very simple, and our associates could easily do this at home.   Just add a 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple to a box of Angel Food cake mix and bake for about 20 minutes.  Angel food cake is fat free, so it's a reasonable alternative for a dessert if you're trying to satisfy your sweet tooth on a calorie budget! 

Xavier wasn't sure we were serious when we asked him to wash the dishes...but he gave it his best shot!

We were excited when Ellie and Mary Ann from Parks & Rec came by for some fun and games.  Ellie is Tracy's coworker and Mary Ann is Tracy's intern.  Here, Ellie explains how to play the over-sized Kerplunk game.

We had fun playing with a giant Connect Four game that was set up in the hallway.

Ellie and Mary Ann also set up Corn Hole.  

We appreciate them stopping by and bringing some rainy day fun!

Later in the day we took a look at over 30 science resource books that a retired teacher friend of Sam's recently donated to us. 

Any activity or experiment that looked interesting was bookmarked and we may try it!

What we thought would take about 10 minutes went on for over a half an hour as our associates looked over the books carefully and found ideas that they thought everyone would enjoy.

This should be the start of a lot of fun and interesting lessons!  Thanks, Sam (and Teri), for hooking us up with your friend who had all these great resources to donate!

 We began the day on Wednesday by gathering for a group picture with our stuffed animals.  Celebrating Bring Your Teddy Bear to Work/School Day put lots of smiles on our faces.

We loved the hug Kevin gave his big Teddy Bear when he was telling us about it!

We also traveled to Freedom Park on Wednesday to enjoy another mini-session with our Master Gardener friends.  Linda and company always have a lot for us to learn about.  This week, because it was raining, we met in the Interpretive Center where we learned about bulbs.  

They gave us two big planter boxes and helped us plant onion, garlic, tulip, daffodil, and crocus bulbs.  We will leave them outside all winter and hopefully, in springtime, we will have layers of beautiful plants.  That seems so far away!

Before our lesson ended, everyone made a small vase of fresh cut zinnias and marigolds that were picked from the garden before we arrived.

How pretty!

We headed back to the center for lunch and Choice Time.  Our custodian friend Heike stopped by and we presented her with a poster we made to thank her for the noodle/sausage dish she prepared for last Friday's lunch.  She said it puts a smile on her face each day to come to work knowing she will see us!

It was another rainy day on Thursday, but having Tai Chi class with Michael helped brighten things up!  Look at our balance this week...almost everyone in sync!

This is another balance move.  First we lunge forward.  Then we extend our arms out in front of us.  Getting there!

We also continue to work on raising our legs higher when we march.  Still a ways to go on this one!

Rainy day gym time!

The peanut gallery...at least Laura is bouncing a ball!  (To be fair, they had been shooting hoops for a while before this picture was taken!)

We began using the new software on our computers this week.  Here, Drew checks out one of the literacy programs.  He was working on identifying opposites.  He alternates between using the touch screen and the wireless mouse when making his selections.

Laura also worked on literacy skills and practiced using descriptive words.  Lisa shows her how to access the touch screen feature, but Laura prefers the wireless mouse. 🖱

Josie, Alexis, and Kacie were on the Arc mailing crew Thursday afternoon, stuffing and addressing envelopes.

Meanwhile, Chloe and Kevin finished up the job by sealing and stamping!

Our wacky schedule wrapped up with a bowling day on Friday.  That's not our usual day for an outing, but it sure was fun.  We were surprised with a visit from our friend from the Williamsburg Moose, Patti!  It's always wacky when she's on the scene!  😜

Choosing a ball is serious business for Devin.  He wanted one today that was on the bottom of the rack and all the way in the back.

Chris and Patti had a friendly competition going today.  She won by just a couple of points.  Chris is ready for a rematch!

While waiting for their friends to finish, Liz and Sam enjoyed conversation with our volunteer Pam, and Patti's friend, Amber.  Amber is a member of the local Fraternal Order of the Eagles who came just to meet and cheer for our guys!

We were happy to present Patti with a thank you note to share at the Moose Lodge for their recent donation to our program.  We said they are "like sunshine" to us!  She loved it. 💜❤💛

It was drizzling after bowling so we didn't get to take a walk.  Instead, we headed back to AFCC for a bit of Choice Time and then we ended the week with one of our favorite games, Bingo!  Speaking of, we are now accepting donations of Bingo prizes.  One man's trash...😉

Here's what's up for next week:

Tuesday:  Please wear Arc shirts and bring a bag lunch as we think we are finally going to have weather suitable for a trip to Surry and the pumpkin patch at College Run Farms.  Please send $5 to cover the purchase of a small pumpkin and pumpkin (or vanilla) ice cream.  Yum!

Wednesday:  We will enjoy Tai Chi with Michael and have some fun with a science activity selected from our new resource books.  Lunch on your own, but it's also Chocolate Cupcake Day, so dessert is on us!

Thursday:  Eww!  We are marking Reptile Awareness Day (one day early) with a study of these amazing creatures.  Lunch on your own.

Friday:  We are celebrating I Love Lucy Day (one day late) with a tribute to this funny lady.  For some of our associates, she is a familiar icon, for others, it will be an introduction!  We will also prepare pasta and meat sauce for lunch and use fresh garlic from the garden at Freedom Park to make herb-garlic bread.

SAVE THE DATES:  For your planning purposes, we have set a holiday schedule for the program as follows:

November:  We will open the program on Monday and Tuesday (Nov. 20-21) of Thanksgiving week and be closed Wednesday-Friday for the holiday.

December:  We will be in session Tuesday and Wednesday, December 19-20.  We will be closed Thursday, December 21-Monday, January 1 and reopen on Tuesday, January 2.

Enjoy the weekend,

Lisa, Carol, and Nan