Wrapping Up August

It will probably feel like summer well into September and probably October, too, but with Labor Day Weekend upon us, it's the unofficial end of summer. As the students return to school next week, our routine will feel different, too.  Most notably, the JRES SCHOOL CAFETERIA REOPENS ON TUESDAY!  That makes many of our families happy, as we are able to order lunch from the cafeteria and that's quite a convenience.  However, that convenience is going to cost a little more this year as the price of lunch has risen to $2.75.  It's still a good deal, but families, take note!  Here's part of September's menu, and it's posted in our room so everyone will know what's being offered each day.  Most of our associates have an account with the school, but if you don't, just let Carol know and she'll set you up!

Our Tuesday outing was to the Mariners Museum where we enjoyed a double feature in the Explorers Theater.  The films were about humans' impact on the oceans, and how we need to do more of the good impact versus the bad.  We discussed ways we can help, and decided that trying to reduce our use of plastics is one of the best things we could do!  We would like to thank Meemaw for treating us to the double feature.  It was a lot of fun, and we learned things, too!  We appreciate your generosity, Meemaw!

Hi Meemaw!  We love that the movies at the Mariners Museum are in 3D!  Do you recognize us in our cool glasses?!

We also spent some time exploring in the museum.  We revisited a few of the ship models and found one that we hadn't talked about before.  It was a model of a Spanish Galleon from the 1500s and it had a lot of cannons on it!  We forgot to take a picture, but it was very interesting.  

We also enjoyed lunch in the cafe.  Our guys really like that!  We made our selections ahead of time and gave the order to the guys on duty when we arrived.  When we went back at 12:00, they not only had our orders ready, they had reserved tables for us, too!  We didn't get pictures at lunch either (Carol was out today and Lisa and Nan were soooo busy passing our lunch orders and making sure everyone had what they needed! 😉)  As always, lunch was great and the gang enjoyed hanging out with each other in the cafe!

Next, we took advantage of the lower humidity and took a walk on the Noland Trail.  What a great day for that, and we took lots of pictures!  First up, we were walking quietly along (for once!), and we spotted a deer having lunch just feet away!  

The turtles were out in big numbers today.  That's always nice to see.  They came swimming right over to us, and we think they were hoping we had something to feed them.  We need to check at the museum to see if it's ok to feed them, and find out what is best for them to eat.  Maybe next time!

Cameron spotted a fish!  

It's always nice to see our friends helping one another.  The trail is tricky in spots, so a hand is welcome!

We walked a little over a mile in all.  It was such a nice day!

This group walked a little farther than the others and we snapped this cute picture before "making" them turn around!

We had everyone in attendance today except for one!  What a great group of friends!

When we returned to the center, we had time to check out a BrainPOP lesson about the coral reef.  It was pointed out in the movie at the museum that some of them are endangered.  With our BrainPOP lesson to supplement what we saw at the museum, we learned more interesting facts about coral!  Thanks again to Becky, for providing this subscription for us!

On Wednesday, we used our computer lab to create thank you cards and letters for recent gifts of the pool party and movie.  There were tasks for everyone and we were able to create several nice cards in about an hour.

What a productive morning!  We've worked hard on developing word processing skills with several of our associates, and they are fairly independent now in using them!

Once the cards were finished, we had to get everyone to sign them.  Chloe stopped by where Bo was working and got his signature.

During gym time, we caught Abraham shooting hoops...his favorite sport!  He was traveling the past two weeks and we are happy to have him back!

Our guys have fond memories of watching "Power Rangers" when they were young, and Wednesday was Power Rangers Day.  We celebrated by watching a few video clips, and then working like Power Rangers (aka, using teamwork) to try and duplicate this mural.  Everyone had either a different page of the mural, or a connect the dots picture, and we got to work.  This is what we were going for:

Here's our finished product!  We thought it looked great!!

Patti came for yoga and told us were were going to smile a lot during our practice today!  She went on to explain that smiling helps release endorphins, which makes us feel good!  

Here's a clip of us practicing yoga.  You'll smile if you watch this!  And the cool thing was that ALL 16 of our guys were in attendance today!

Talk about a productive day...we also have them at Eaton.  On Thursday, we took the ENTIRE group and tackled lots of tasks.

Drew and Abraham sorted a few bins of parts, and then were assigned to counting screws which we then put into plastic bags.  They use the red sheets as a guide, putting 5 screws on each one for a total of 10.  Both guys were very accurate!

Kacie worked on assembly of photo cell plates.  It is a three-part task that requires a lot of focus to orient the smaller parts correctly onto the plates.  She aced it!  Emmy and Becky also counted and bagged screws...they put 20-40 in each bag. It will be our last time having Junior Volunteer Emmy with us, as she returns to school next week.  We hope you have a great 4th grade year, Emmy, and thanks for all your help this summer!  Can't wait to work with you again!

Can you sense the concentration it took Patrick and Devin to inventory this bin of parts?  They had to stack 5 of each plate on a sheet until they had a total of 25.  Then, they kept track of how many sets of 25 they made, before transferring them to a new bin and counting the next set.  They inventoried 3 bins today!

Over in this corner, Liz and Bo quietly, but efficiently, applied sticky gaskets to hundreds of parts.  They kept their narrow work area neat, too.  We had to give them one of the smaller tables today, so it required them to figure out how to manage the space effectively.

Hello, Pink Ladies!  That's what Annmarie, Kate, and Laura call themselves when they work on removing the pink plastic covering from aluminum plates!  

Here comes James with a load of PowerSlide doors!  

These guys got right to work on the doors.  This is a good job for Cameron, Kevin, and Xavier as attaching the screws and bolts is kind of like working puzzles, which they enjoy a lot.  Sam is also good at this task, but he prefers unpacking and moving the doors from station to station.  We appreciate that he is flexible, though!

It takes a steady hand to place the labels straight and without wrinkles.  Chloe, Alexis, and Nan enjoy working together and do well with this part of the door assembly.

And then there's Meemaw with her power tool!  She tightens the bolts on these doors in snappy fashion!

Friday found us gearing up to celebrate state number eight, South Carolina, and also welcoming junior volunteer Kendall back for a visit!  We had planned to make a "cola cake" (popular in South Carolina) and then we found out that Kendall's 14th birthday was last week!  Hmm...could there be a birthday party later in the day?!

We also celebrated College Colors Day on Friday.  Our guys love to wear their favorite school colors and this year we had fashions representing Delaware, Princeton, Penn State (in Lexi's hair and beads), Clemson (Devin's cap and socks), and Notre Dame from outside of Virginia.  From here in the Commonwealth we repped James Madison, Bridgewater, UVA, and, of course...William and Mary!

We listened to the Fight Song from each school.  The W&M Pep Band was very energetic. 

So were Bo, Devin, and Sam!  They played along with the pep bands using pencils and the table as a drum set!  We're all ready for football season!

Knowing it was our last day to have the gym at our disposal, we took advantage and played a few games.  We run a lot when we play Four Corners.  In our version of the game, you don't sit out if your corner is called.  Instead, you get a point and keep running!  (A staff member keeps score.)

It was Kevin's lucky day!  His friends gave him a lot of high fives when he won at Four Corners!

We learned all about South Carolina today.  Like many coastal states, seafood is a big part of their local cuisine.  Following a recipe from a Charleston restaurant, we made shrimp and grits for lunch!  Here, we added scallions and parsley to our shrimp, which we sauteed with bacon, lemon juice, and garlic.

Here's the final product!  The greens on the side are collards, the state vegetable of South Carolina!  We're excited to say that 3/4 of our gang tried, and loved, this dish!  Our guest Kendall said it "tasted like a restaurant." 😋 Wow!  (But she also added that her dad, Arc Board member Adam K., makes collard greens that are a little bit better than ours! 💖)

Here's what Abraham thought of our Low Country Shrimp and Grits!

We caught this group using Choice Time to return to the gym and burn off a few more calories...they knew a birthday cake about to be served!  They had so much fun with a throwback version of "Duck, Duck, Goose!"

Happy Birthday, Kendall!  We are thrilled that we could dedicate our Cola Cake to your special day!  Thanks for volunteering with us this summer.  We wish you a great first year of high school and look forward to the next time we see you!  

After eating cake and then learning that Chubby Checker was born in South Carolina, we had to do "The Twist!"  It was a great way to burn a few more calories and end a really fun day...and the month of August.  Hard to believe it will be September when we return next week!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT about our AoA Family:  

Please keep everyone in the path of Hurricane Dorian in your thoughts.  In particular, we are hoping for the best for Drew's sister, Alex, in St. Augustine, and Abraham's sister, Aija, in West Palm Beach.  We're also keeping our former AoA associate, Chris and family, in the Tampa area, in our thoughts!  

We plan to welcome September with a fun and engaging week.  Here's what we'll be up to:

Tuesday:  It's the first day of school for WJCC students, but for us, it's bowling and pizza and apples for lunch!  AND, it's U.S. Bowling League Day!  WOW!  How cool is that?!  We're a bowling league at AMF so we will definitely be celebrating today!  We're also hoping for good weather so we can visit the garden and take a walk at Freedom Park, too.  Wear Arc shirts!

Wednesday:  Today we will celebrate National Wildlife Day with educational and fun activities.  We will also use the computer lab to create our September calendar, which we didn't get time for last Friday.  Dress to stretch for yoga w/ Patti.  Lunch on your own, but it's the first day of the 2019-2020 school year that you can buy lunch from the JRES cafeteria.  Remember, lunch costs $2.75 this year.

Thursday:  It's another Eaton Work Day on our schedule today!  We are proud that they welcome our work skills, and we can't wait to see what we'll get done today.  Our friend Liz and her family have offered to treat us to ice cream at McDonald's after work!  Thank you so much Liz and family.  What a fun and tasty treat!  Wear your Arc shirt and bring a bag lunch.

Friday:  We can't let the week end without moving on to state number nine, New Hampshire!  While Vermont gets lots of attention for their maple syrup, New Hampshire is also known for it and we were able to get a sample so we will enjoy it with French Toast for lunch.  We'll add eggs and fruit, too.  It's also Read A Book Day, so bring your favorites to share with friends!  We're going to begin a new read-aloud today, too!


COMING SOON:

Coddiwomple Musicians - Check out this link to find ticket info as well as info on the ALL LOCAL musicians who will be performing at Coddiwomple.  Not that we're biased, but we really like In Layman Terms, the nationally-acclaimed quartet that includes Cole and Logan,  who are the amazingly-talented kids of The Arc's very own Sandy!

JUST A FEW WEEKS AWAY - 10th Annual Williamsburg Landing 5K for The Arc!  We're so excited that seven AoA families have already signed up!  If you're able, please join us...and if you can't make it, we would be so very grateful for a donation!  This is our largest fundraiser of the year.  THANK YOU in advance for your amazing support of the AoA's mothership, The Arc of Greater Williamsburg!

Register Here!

Thank you to everyone who follows us via this blog.  We are very grateful for your continuing support.  We hope you enjoy a fabulous Labor Day Weekend!

Lisa, Carol, Nan, and The AoA Gang

Happy Birthday, Laura!

We began the week on a super warm and muggy Tuesday!  Once again, we're thankful for our location at the Abram Frink Community Center where it is nice and cool!  We enjoyed our dance "warm up" (but the room is cool so we didn't get too warm!) and then got to work making thank you notes for Devin's Grandma Sarah and Grandpa Mike.  We were still talking about how much we enjoyed meeting them last Friday and how much fun it was to make Toll House cookies and play board games with them.  Our thank you notes looked like chocolate chip cookies!  Thanks again, Grandma Sarah and Grandpa Mike!  We truly enjoyed our time with you!

We were also grateful to be bowling on Tuesday as it is ALWAYS cool...make that chilly...at AMF Lanes Williamsburg!  We are considered a league, so once again, we had to switch from one lane to another during play, in order to facilitate the timing.  Here, some of our guys are trying to figure out which side they bowl on for their next turn!  Haha!  Just kidding; they actually do very well with the changes!

Xavier and Drew hoped for spares and they both got them!  In fact, Xavier got several spares during his game!

Patrick looks anguished in this picture, but he was actually very ecstatic because he just got a strike!  This is his game face!

Annmarie's game face can't be seen, but every time she rolls, she leans forward intently, and wills her ball to hit the pins!

Pizza makes a yummy game "face" and our guys are all smiles when these show up!  We would like to thank Melinda, a friend of the AoA whom we met through Drew, for treating us to lunch today.  Wish you could have been with us, Melinda...they were delicious!  Thanks for the sponsorship!!

When all was said and done, today's highest score was 124 which went to Cameron, but Devin pointed out to Drew that Drew's 119 was today's second highest score!

It was too steamy outside to go for a walk.  Instead, we came back to the center and read last week's blog post, something we enjoy doing each week.  After that, we watched a Mystery Doug episode that asked the question:  Why do we yawn?

According to Doug, scientists say it's not because we need more air or oxygen, and it's not because we're bored or tired, although that is when we often see yawning take place. It is true that yawning is "contagious," but they really don't know why our bodies need to yawn.  However, since animals also yawn, it's clearly something important for living bodies to do!

After our Mystery Doug episode, we still had time before dismissal, so we enjoyed Choice Time.  It was one of the quietest Choice Time sessions we've ever had.  Maybe the yawning lesson wore us out...or maybe it was the heat?  It was probably a combination of both!

Last Saturday was World Honeybee Day and we think it's important to understand the role honeybees play in providing a whopping 1/3 of our food supply!  So we spent part of our continuing education time on Wednesday working out just how much 1/3 represents.

We simplified things and decided that if we count on honeybee pollination for 1/3 of the fruits and veggies we eat, then we would run out of those healthy foods each year around August were it not for the bees.  So we want to encourage everyone to plant honeybee friendly flowers and reduce the use of pesticides so we can do our part to save the honeybees!

We also put our heads together with our group mates and answered these challenging questions about bees!  We're pretty smart!!

With our free use gym days winding down, we made time to play a rousing game of Red Light, Green Light...one of our guys' favorites!

We should have videotaped this so we could see who was still moving after Kacie yelled, "Red Light!"

As usual, we had a busy morning.  We made birthday cards for Laura (for Friday), and we also had time to make a big group thank you card for our friend, Melinda, who sponsored our pizza at bowling yesterday!

Stretching during yoga!

We lengthen our spine by reaching overhead.  It's challenging at times!

Cameron is great at downward dog position, and he can walk his feet up to his hands, too!

After yoga, we finished our Honeybee Day activities with a honey tasting!  We had 3 samples:  "regular" (store bought), alfalfa, and mesquite, which came from our local Silver Hand Meadery.

Everyone got a small biscuit and a dab of each sample.  

A couple of us said the alfalfa was the sweetest, and several of us liked the mesquite.  But in the end, most of us couldn't tell much difference between the flavors.  We just liked them all! 🍯🍯🍯

We enjoy starting our day with music and dancing.  The guys have a lot of requests and we try to play a variety of songs each day so that everyone feels included.  The selections range from today's pop and country hits, to classic rock, to R&B, to EVERY Disney song ever recorded...and even music from The Wiggles.  What's funny is we get the most energetic dance moves out of our guys when we play The Wiggles!  Here's a clip from Thursday morning.

After our dance warm up, we began our study of state number 7, Maryland.  We learned that it is well-known for crabs, which are caught in America's largest bay, the Chesapeake Bay.  For our recipe this week, we made hot crab dip. Our "dip teams" had the recipe, and they got right on it!

One of the key ingredients is Old Bay Seasoning.  Old Bay was introduced to Maryland in 1939 by a German refugee.  It's now made in Baltimore and the recipe has not changed in 80 years.

We used canned crab meat, and it was good.  We were surprised at how meaty it was, and that it wasn't "fishy" smelling.

We also had a "bread team" and here are Kevin and Drew working with Nan to cut slices of French bread into smaller pieces before toasting.  These boys are making progress with tasks like this!

Here's our hot crab dip (we made a small serving for each table), along with "Crab Chips" which taste a lot like the Old Bay Seasoning.  The dip was great!  Almost everyone tried it.  We're so proud of them!

In what is probably our last game of kickball until next summer, we burned off a few calories in a boys vs. girls game.

We have never played boys vs. girls before, but it was a friendly competition!  We discussed our goals of having fun, everyone being involved, and having more fun!

Cameron tried to get Laura out as she headed for third.  

With the girls up 4-0, the boys sent Kevin to the line.  He almost made it to first base but was tagged out by Alexis.  Eventually, the boys made 1 run, but the girls won, 4-1.

During calmer periods of the day, we worked on our Maryland bags.  They were filled with interesting facts and our map skills work!  We also learned about therapy dogs and completed some worksheets related to that topic.  

Every group is involved in the learning tasks.  Our guys are getting smarter all the time!

Oh, beautiful Friday morning!  The sun was out and there was a slight breeze and we got to swim!!  It was Laura's Birthday Pool Party and it was nice!  Look at us with the pool to ourselves!  (We are getting spoiled!)

Kate, Kacie, Cameron, Sam, and Devin spent the most time in the water.  We were able to gather them up for this quick shot.

Bo enjoys swimming by himself in the far lane.  He did several laps and said the water felt great!

Kevin, Chloe, Alexis, and Xavier chilled for a few minutes after lunch.  

Kevin is another one who enjoys swimming in a lane by himself, but he likes knowing his friends are nearby.

Here's the birthday girl, Laura, and her friend Annmarie, "peacing out" in the pool, but do they know that Laura's cute little niece Olivia is coming after them?

Later, Olivia had a conversation with Alexis.  Maybe she was telling her it's Laura's birthday!  

Recognize these legs and arms?  We're pretty sure they belong to Devin and Kate!

Here are Devin and Sam having a backstroke race!  They had so much fun together!  

Laura's dad, Tom, snagged the camera and got Carol, Kacie, Alexis, and Lisa kicking back and chatting with Laura about our fun time at her pool party!

Drew wasn't in the mood for the pool today, so his friends Chloe and Alexis spent some time chatting with him on the sidelines!

Yum!  Birthday lunch subs from Jimmy John's hit the spot after all that pool time!  We got Grandma and Grandpa in this picture, but didn't get one of Laura's mom and dad.  We wish to thank all of them for throwing Laura a fun party!  We appreciate the lunch, cupcakes, beautiful pool, and GREAT company!

We got Laura to smile when we gathered around the cupcakes and cards and sang "Happy Birthday!"

Happy Birthday, Laura!  We loved celebrating with you and hope you had as much fun as we did!  Thanks for inviting us to your pool!!

We always love ending our weeks on high notes, and getting our final pool party of the season in without rain, was definitely a high note!

Here's some news to know:

SAVE THE DATES!!

There is a music (and beer) festival coming up on September 7 called Coddiwomple!  Weird name, but sounds like a lot of fun if you love LOCAL music!  It takes place on the grounds of the Art Museums of CW, so a great venue!  Check it out here...tickets on sale now!  The proceeds benefit The Arc of Greater Williamsburg!

Coddiwomple Music Festival

Of course, our Williamsburg Landing 5K for the Arc is coming up, too!  Remember to register by September 1 for the lower fee!!  You know you want one of our cool t-shirts!

5K Registration

5K Sponsorship Info

AND, this Friday night, August 30th, is JAMESTOWN JAMS!  Good Shot Judy is the band and they are great!  Check it out!  The Arc of GW benefits from beer and water sales!

Jamestown Jams - Good Shot Judy - August 30

Here's what our AoA families need to know for the week of August 27:

Tuesday:  We'll visit the Mariners Museum today and take in their summer double feature at the Explorers Theater.  Movie admission is a gift from Meemaw!  We are thankful for this special treat!  After the movie, we'll purchase lunch in the museum cafe, so please bring $10 for lunch.  If the weather cooperates, we'll also enjoy a walk on the Noland Trail.

Wednesday:  Today we'll have fun with Power Rangers Day, and we will work in the computer lab on some thank you notes.  Dress to stretch for Yoga w/ Patti, too.  Lunch on your own.

Thursday:  We're headed to Eaton for a work day.  Jorie and company are gearing up for inventory season, so our services and great work ethic are in demand!  Please bring a bag lunch.

Friday:  Our state of the week is #8, South Carolina!  We've scored a shrimp sale at Harris-Teeter, so we're going to try Shrimp and Grits for lunch!  We'll also learn fun facts, history, and geography as related to South Carolina.  Plus, it's College Colors Day - so feel free to wear your favorite college fashions!

It's going to be a fun and busy week!  Our favorite kind!

Enjoy the weekend, 

Lisa, Carol, and Nan