Here Comes February:

The end of January came this week.  Wasn't that a quick start to the year?  We welcomed February on Friday, and even though it's the shortest month of the year, we hope it won't fly by as quickly as it seemed January did!  

Our last week of January began on Tuesday when we traveled to Newport News for a visit with Wisteria and Lauren, Outreach Coordinators at The Mariners' Museum.  They approached the AoA back in October and invited us to come to the museum for a series of lessons that would give them experience in working with the special needs population.  We're happy to oblige!

Lauren told us we would be having a hands-on lesson with artifacts from the USS Monitor, the first ironclad ship commissioned by the Union Navy during the Civil War.  We learned that ironclads made wooden ships obsolete very quickly.  Here, she showed us part of a sailor's uniform, made from wool, but worn year round!

Wisteria showed us a sample of the iron used to build the ship.  She explained that the Monitor was made of many layers of iron.

Dev and Kacie were surprised at how heavy a canonball was, because it looked kind of small.

Annmarie got a kick out of the "sea biscuit" the sailors would have been given to eat.  Everyone agreed that we might break our teeth if we tried to bite it.  Civil War sailors had to soak it in bean soup for a while in order to soften it enough to eat!

After showing us a number of artifacts, we went up to the Monitor Center area of the museum.  Here, we saw a model of how the turret looked when it was recovered from the ocean after over 100 years.  Lauren explained that when the Monitor sank, two sailors were trapped inside the turret and drowned.  We have seen this display before, but hearing her tell the story made it seem more fascinating.  

This is us on the deck of a full-size replica of the Monitor.  Lauren was explaining how conditions would have been for the sailors about an ironclad ship.

The captain of the ship would have stood inside of this box-type area and looked out through these slits.  It was designed this way to keep him from being harmed by flying shrapnel.

Our guys like getting into tight places, as in the bottom of this wooden ship which is an exploration area.  While down there, we told them to consider where they would sleep, or go to the bathroom, or what they might do if they were seasick on a long voyage!  "Oh, gross," they said!

Captain Laura wisely stayed up top!

We enjoyed lunch with each other.  Thank you to our families for always remembering when we request lunch money on certain outings.  It makes things easier, and the gang absolutely loves it... 😋

After lunch, we had time to look around a bit more.  Kacie, Dev, and Sam found this machine that allowed them to see if they had the ability to compete on an America's Cup racing team.  They came up a little short, but had fun trying!

We also found this gallery we hadn't see before that showcased miniture ships that had been carved by August Crabtree.  The detail on these carvings is amazing.

It was a mild enough day that we got to take a short walk on the Noland Trail.  There were lots of ducks out today!

On Wednesday morning we worked in our computer lab.  It was National Puzzle Day, so we visited a website with a lot of online puzzle choices.  There was something for everyone, from crosswords and word searches, to matching and jigsaw puzzles.

Carol worked with Annmarie and Drew to learn several puzzle games that they would later be able to navigate on their own.  Both of them like the touchscreen feature on our computers.

Kate and Sam worked together on some scrambled picture puzzles.  Sam was showing Kate where he thought a puzzle piece should be moved.  She wasn't so sure and said, "Oooo-kkk..."  They stuck with it and solved it pretty quickly.

Liz and Kacie were challenged with a mosaic puzzle.  They decided it was not a type of puzzle they liked, but we were proud of them for trying it!  

We found out on Tuesday that Ms. Vallone's daughter, Ashley, could visit with us on Wednesday.  She's a manicurist at Serenity Day Spa, and has spent time with us before treating our girls to relaxing manicures.  We set up a "spa" in the foyer, complete with background music and blueberry-infused water, and the girls enjoyed chatting and chilling while getting their nails done.  Here, Ms. Vallone and Mr. Stutt stopped by to see the action.

What a pretty color combination!  Thank you, Ashley, for offering this sevice to our girls.  They enjoyed it immensely and we truly appreciate you for not only doing their nails, but socializing with them as well!

While the girls hung out in the spa, we put the guys to work preparing lunch.  They didn't mind.  According to Dev, they like to show off their cooking skills!  Sam, Dev, Cameron, and Chris put together our Ham and Cheese Croissant Casserole.  It was National Croissant Day, and we decided to celebrate it this way.

Kevin, Bo, Drew, and Patrick put together a yummy fruit salad (Wiggles, anyone?!) that was a big hit with the casserole!

No complaints, here.  GREAT job, fellas!!

Look who stopped by while we were waiting for our lunch to cook.  Lexi's Gdad brought us a brand new electric skillet!  Thanks, Gdad.  We have been thinking about replacing our current one, as it was a yard sale find and has seen its better days.  Your timing is perfect!

Guess who we found revisiting the online puzzle site during Choice Time?  We're so glad our guys enjoy learning!  This time Patrick and Alexis were playing a memory game.

During yoga we stretched and it felt good.  

Patti had us trying to be mindful of our movements and breathing...staying in the moment and not letting our thoughts wander too far from what we were doing.

We work on balance, too.  Patti explained that walking heel to toe around the perimeter of our mat is good for balance practice.  Here are Lexi's feet showing how it's done.

  Nice form, Kate!  You know she felt good after yoga was over!

We had fun with Backward Day on Thursday.  We discovered it isn't easy to write backward.  Dev, who was rocking his "backwardness" with both shirt and cap turned around, found out that going from right to left made it a little easier to write his name in reverse.

Good thing he has a shorter name, because Sam attempted to write it backward, while standing backward.  And with his shirt on backward, too!

Our backward theme carried over to baking when Liz and Kacie put together an upside down cake, which we enjoyed BEFORE lunch.  That was both fun and weird to do!

For fitness, we played several relay games.  In this one, we were passing the balloons over our heads and behind us, trying to be backward...

Maybe for this one we all should have turned around the way Cameron was!  

Happy Groundhog Day on Saturday!  When we made these cute fellas, they ALL stayed out of their "burrows", so we expect an early Spring!  (Sounds like we may get a taste of Spring next week, too!)

Here are our groundhogs poking up and not being afraid of their shadows!  Can you tell most of us had our shirts on backward?  It was a fun day!

During educational group time, we continued our work on using number sense strategies to play the game we made with Christina at the Art Museums. Cameron had missed the lesson last week, but he picked up on the strategy very quickly.  

Yes, Sam and Alexis, it's ok to use your fingers to help "count on" when figuring out a sum.  We are working on rolling dice and quickly adding the total by starting with the higher number and counting on with the lower one, instead of having to count all of the dots on both dice.

This group was busy creating a mini-book about the Super Bowl, and then they had time to squeeze in a game of sight word Bingo!

Since we would be at Eaton on Friday, we had a small Super Bowl "party" that consisted of finishing off some leftover chips and salsa, watching a Mystery Doug video about who invented football, and making our predictions for which team would win.  We listened to a couple of expert sports commentators for advice, and here are the results.  Our bar graph indicates that a small majority of us seems to think the Rams will emerge victorious!  Whoever comes closest with their score prediction is going to win a prize!

Friday was spent at Eaton completing all kinds of tasks. Kevin made sure he had part #50 since those were the ones he and Cameron were unpacking. 

Alexis is one of our light bulb experts.  She unpacked a LOT of them today.

Drew was called upon to do counting for part of his work.  He enjoys sitting on the floor, so we found him a quiet spot where he could concentrate.  At first, he counted groups of 10, then we had him count groups of 12.  He did a great job!

Xavier also likes having his own space for working, and doesn't mind the floor.  Here, he sorts and packs, in his meticulous way.

Liz and Bo have always enjoyed one of the first jobs Eaton ever gave us...applying gaskets.  It's a sticky situation, and they manage it well!

Meemaw was trained on a new job today.  It involved applying two screws to the inside of this part, which will eventually house a light bulb.  It was tedious, having to get the screws in place down inside the part, and then tighten them with the electric screwdriver.  She persevered and probably got over 100 of them completed!

Kacie also learned a new skill today.  She had to snip the plastic covering on the wires...but not all the way!  It required patience, precision, and good eyesight.  She also persevered and we were proud of her success!

Chris, Sam, and Dev were working on unpacking part #30, not to be confused with #50 that Cameron and Kevin were working on.  There were numerous boxes of parts, so attention to detail was important. 

We call Annmarie, Kate, and Laura the "pink ladies" because they were peeling the pink backing off of these aluminum parts.  It's kind of a pretty task!

Becky and some of the gang enjoyed chatting about this and that while we wrapped up the day.

Somehow we missed getting a picture with Patrick today.  😕  That's hard to believe because he was invovled in a number of different tasks and was all over the place working.  He is definitely our go-to guy who is versatile enough and very willing to go from job to job.  We're sorry we don't have him represented in our working pictures today.  Here's one of our go-to guy that we took earlier this year!

After a productive day's work, we love to swing by Wendy's for Frosties, which Sam's grandmother Nina knows!  Thank you for paying attention all the way from Arizona, Nina!  (She reads the blog!)  We used one of the gift cards you gave us today!  Yummy!

Before calling it a week, we had to refill the bird feeders for the weekend.  We have seen upwards of 15 birds hanging around our feeders.  They always take turns and we really enjoy watching them.  Kate, Alexis, and Carol made sure they will be well-fed over the next few days!

We have been missing this handsome fella all week (and most of last week) as he's been under the weather and resting at home.  Devin, we can't wait to see you next week!  Glad to hear you are on the mend!

Speaking of next week, it's going to be here in a few days.  Here's how we will be spending it:

Tuesday:  Every now and then we run into AoA Alumni and we're always happy to see them.  Today, Josie is going to join us for bowling and we're also going to celebrate her birthday with pizza and cake for lunch!  Josie moved last year in January, but came back to visit for her birthday and we're super excited that she's coming again this year!  Thank you to her family for bringing her to visit with her friends, and for providing our pizza lunch!  We love to celebrate our friends' birthdays!  After bowling, we will stop by Studio South for a yoga session with Kiley.  Please wear Arc shirts and comfy pants for yoga!

Wednesday:  We'll have computer lab time with our Rotary volunteer today, working on our February calendar design and also internet safety, since yesterday was Safer Internet Day.  It's also Frozen Yogurt Day so we're going to try and make some using our ice cream maker.  Patti won't be with us today so we will have Yoga with online Jaime (dress to stretch!), too.  Lunch on your own.

Thursday:  Monday was Homemade Soup Day and that sounds like something we should celebrate!  We'll make Vegetable Beef Soup for lunch, with a side of saltine crackers and fruit.  Last week was National Bubble Gum Day, and coincidentally, our friend and volunter, Pam. W., just gave us a kit for making gum...so we're going to give that a try, too!  Plus, it's one of our favorties, Send a Card to a Friend Day, so we will be busy making friendship cards.

Friday:  We've been reading a book called The Sign of the Beaver about a young boy in the 1760s who is left to tend to the family's new homestead in the wilderness of Maine while his father returns to Massachusetts to fetch the rest of the family.  He learns a lot about survival when he is befriended by a young Native American Boy.  Today, we are going to watch the movie version of the story, and compare and contrast it with the book.  We'll watch the movie in segments, alternating with movement activities and preparation of Valentine decorations (party time next week!).  Lunch on your own.

Finally, we had listed Feb. 23 as a "Save the Date" recently for an indoor golf tournament at Revolution Golf.  That even has been canceled, but we will let you know if it's rescheduled.

Enjoy your weekend!

Lisa, Carol, and Nan