This week we welcomed Lilly, the Arc's intern from CNU, to the Arc of Abilities. She will be with us on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and we plan to keep her busy! She's a senior and is majoring in social work and education. We hope her time with us will give her practical experience, and be fun! (It was fun on Thursday when we posed Lilly and the gang like models showing off these school buses!)
TUESDAY
Our Zoom lesson on Tuesday was about how balloons are made. The AFCC group said, "Hi," to the at home group by waving big golden balloons when we signed on! We watched an informative video and learned that making balloons is quite a process. They start out in liquid form, are made on a mold, and of course, come in all shapes and colors. Click on this picture for a link to a shorter version of the video we watched, and see for yourself the "visually stunning way" balloons are made! 👇🎈
Don't we look happy in our group photo?! It was nice to "see" Devin's mom, Roxanne, and Annmarie's mom, Teresa, too!
Lilly told us she loves to bake, so we put her on pineapple sage bread duty! She was happy to do it. There were a lot of steps in that recipe!
It turned out quite well! We miss our master gardener friends, but having this "throwback" treat brought us joy.
We also checked out a "memory lane" blog from one year ago, and learned that we had celebrated our friendship with the MGs with a luncheon on October 17 last year! Here's a "throwback" picture from that fun day!
Meanwhile, Cameron was enjoying his slice of pineapple sage bread, and gave it a big thumbs up!
While Lilly baked, the rest of us worked on a monster craft! We decided to take the apples off the wall and replace them with fun Halloween decorations. Kevin and Liz chose green and purple for their creations.
These guys are so cute all over the walls!
Monday was the Columbus Day federal holiday. We discussed that many states or localities are moving away from recognizing it as Columbus Day and instead are shifting the focus to indigenous peoples. We learned that Columbus was a brave and excellent explorer, and he did much to bring together both the "old" and "new" worlds, but he was also cruel to the native people he encountered in the Caribbean. Our state, Virginia, observed Monday as Indigenous Peoples' Day for the first time. Governor Northam made the proclamation last week.
We ended the day with a round of balloon noodle volleyball. It's been a long time since we played, and we found that even a smaller group of players is still competitive!
Those were some strong balloons, too. We had two of them and neither popped during intense play! We hope Lilly enjoyed this fun "workout!" She said she had never played it before!
WEDNESDAY
Take Your Teddy Bear to Work or School Day is for real, according to the National Day Calendar! For us, it's a fun day to revisit the story of how teddy bears got their start, starring President Theodore Roosevelt! It's such a sweet story...🧸🧸🧸 Want to watch? Click the photo! 👇
Even adults enjoy a comforting teddy bear hug every now and then!
Carol reminded us that we still had four boxes of PowerSlide doors to assemble for Eaton, so we got that done while our lunch was simmering!
For our study of South Dakota, we decided to make Norwegian meatballs. We learned that a significant number of Scandinavian immigrants began settling in South Dakota in the 1870s, and this meal worked then, and still now, in cold winters! We picked fresh rosemary to use for seasoning. Tasty!
We chose Kevin to be our food model for today, and he nearly lost his lunch when we told him to tilt it for the camera! Luckily, it stayed on the plate!
Liz was very focused as we worked on South Dakota map skills. We color code as we find things and when we're done, it looks like a study guide!
We watched a video clip as a review of opposites. Next, we played a fast-paced Bingo game that required thinking on our feet!
During today's installment of Yoga with Jaime, we listened to a story about a little owlet who was learning about wisdom. In addition to feel-good stretches, we also got good advice from Jaime!
A relaxing pose is the self-hug, which Liz and Alexis demonstrate here. It seems their teddy bears joined them for yoga today!
Thursday
The highlight of our week was Zooming with Christina from the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg this morning! We were so happy to see our friends from home, and Christina, on the screen, and we were really happy when Lilly helped Lisa make Christina a "host" so she could share her amazing slides with us! Thanks, Lilly, for your technological genius!
Christina's topic was owls, and it was very interesting!
Christina is always great with us when we visit her at the museums, and we have missed our monthly sessions with her so much. We decided to try a Zoom with her, and she didn't disappoint! She taught us lots of facts, such as there are over 200 species of owls, they are silent when they fly, they can't turn their heads all the way around but they can turn them 270 degrees (wow!), and, a group of owls is called a parliment! We love getting smarter with Christina!
Christina showed us photos of several artifacts from the museums that featured owls. We saw a silver pitcher and a ceramic jug, a "nicknack" (which actually can be seen in the lower left corner of the picture above), and even one that was carved out of bone! After that, she walked us step by step through the process of drawing our own owls! Everyone was very attentive and focused, and our pictures turned out great!
These are the ones our guys in the Thursday / Friday group, who were at AFCC, drew. They were excited to see that they really looked like owls!
Our friends at home did a great job, too! Here are Laura's, Liz's, and Kevin's. Christina gave the best directions!
We love Laura's use of color.
What pretty eyes on Liz' owl!
.Kevin and his mom enjoyed drawing together!
Not long after Zooming with us, Sam found these cute fellas at Target! Hey, they look just like the ones we drew!! Christina, we can't thank you enough for this delightful lesson! We will remember it for a long time!
After our Zoom session, we had some assembly work to do for Eaton. Lilly coached Xavier as he put two small plates and two screws into small plastic bags. Everyone worked on this task at their individual tables, and when we finished, we did more bags that needed four small plates and two screws. Attention to detail was important today!
The finished products!
While the associates worked on the Eaton job, Lisa whipped up our pineapple sage bread. When it came out of the oven, we asked Devin to hold it for a picture. He said he couldn't look away from the delicious smelling bread! It was good! Many thanks to our master gardener friends for sending us the recipe and for reminding us to harvest the pineapple sage from the Botanical Garden before it was too late! Just like with the Tuesday / Wednesday group, today's group members got to take a piece home. We wonder if it made it home?! 😋
We decided we needed bats and ghosts to add to our wall decorations, so we found a little time in the afternoon to do some easy-peasy crafts. Abraham loves Halloween, so making the bats was fun for him!
We can't seem to share enough pictures of our wall decorations! Whenever we add something, the camera comes out!
Thursday was a busy day at the AoA. As we were finishing our crafts, James arrived to pick up completed Eaton work and bring us more! Here, Lilly helps Abraham with handling a box of PowerSlide doors, while Kate keeps our big green door from shutting on them. Teamwork!
It took all hands on deck to load the 20 boxes of PowerSlide doors we assembled! Xavier and Alexis did a great job! Note about masks: We see in this photo that Xavier's mask had slid down below his nose. All of us, staff and associates, are vigilant about the proper wearing of face coverings, and we "check" each other constantly. As soon as they got to the van, Alexis reminded Xavier to adjust his mask.
We gave James a sample of our pineapple sage bread before sending him back to Eaton. It was around 2 in the afternoon and he said he was wishing he had a snack on the drive over! He also said hooking up with us to pick up and deliver work is always a "joy" in his day! He told Lilly that "Eaton and the Arc have a special, and excellent relationship!" 😍😍😍
At the end of our busy day, we decided to hang out in the gym with Lilly. She took the camera and snapped some pics of the gang. Here's Abraham with his favorite gym "accessory," a basketball!
Kate enjoys shooting the basketball, too. Lately, she's been working on her shot from a further distance back from the net. She's got to get it a little higher, and she is determined to master it!
Xavier's height certainly helps him make the basket! We couldn't find another basketball, so he happily picked a volleyball for his game!
Alexis and Lilly grabbed a quick selfie. We think this is the first selfie ever taken with our camera!
Friday
We celebrated Bring Your Teddy Bear to Work Day with Friday's group. Carol showed us a sentimental bear she has that one of her boys made long ago in elementary school!
After we watched the video about Theodore Roosevelt, we played a Teddy Bear trivia game and learned that President Howard Taft tried to compete with the popularity of President Roosevelt's "Teddy Bear" by having a "Billy Possum" stuffed animal created. It didn't last long!
When we study the states, we watch a video from a You Tube channel called Homeschool POP. One of the things we learn about each state is which other states border it. This week's state, South Dakota, has 6 border states.
We also learn what the state bird is. South Dakota chose the ring-necked pheasant and we learned that it is not native to South Dakota. It was introduced here by Asians! In our United Tastes of America book, we also learned that pheasant hunting is popular in South Dakota! 😲
There is a beautiful section of South Dakota, near Mt. Rushmore, called the Black Hills. Gold was found there long ago, and if you visit the area you can purchase a popular item made from it, jewelry. Nan showed us a ring she has that Grandad brought her from the Black Hills many years ago! Pretty!
We had just wrapped up our delicious lunch of Norwegian meatballs when Ms. Vallone, JRES assistant principal, stopped by. She said something down here smelled really good! We offered her some leftovers, but she politely declined. She missed a tasty one!
Lisa, Nan, and Alexis had to leave after lunch on Friday to travel for a family event in North Carolina. We secured some extra help for the afternoon, including Liz, from the Tuesday / Wednesday group, who came to run the technology for us! Carol is good at technology, but Liz is great, and we appreciate her volunteering to assist us this afternoon! Thank you, Liz! It was thoughtful of you to offer your service!
We like to have two staff members present at all times, so our executive director, Pam, also helped us on Friday afternoon. She's visited us many times, but this was the first time she's come to work with us!! We appreciate your help, too, Pam. And we hope you enjoyed your afternoon with us!
Once Lisa, Nan, and Alexis left, we worked on a history lesson about Mt. Rushmore, and an English lesson about opposites. We also played Opposites Bingo, which was lots of fun! Carol and Pam were kind of busy and forgot to take pictures, though. 😜
We finished our week with a yoga session with Jaime. We enjoyed an episode about an owlet named Tallulah, who learns about wisdom! It was extra fun because we had just had a lesson on owls with Christina yesterday!
Can you spot Pam getting a good stretch?! We hope she went home relaxed after spending time with us!
As usual, it was a speedy week at the AoA. We're looking forward to more fun next week. Here's what we have planned:
Tuesday / Thursday: Time to Zoom with
our at home friends! Tuesday's topic will be a Mystery Doug segment on
owls as a follow-up to our session with Christina. On Thursday, we will
focus on Reptile Awareness Day (Oct. 21). After Zoom, our AFCC group will
head to Newport News Park for a picnic lunch and nature walk (or possibly an outside campus walk at CNU with Lilly). Bring a bagged
lunch!
Wednesday / Friday: Time to learn about state #41, Montana! Figuring out a dish to prepare is kind of hard, as we can't really afford bison burgers, cooking fresh trout would be a challenge, and it would be hard to get our hands on huckleberries! We're going to learn that Chinese immigrants came to the mining towns in Montana in the 1800s, and that Chinese restaurants are surprisingly popular in Montana. So, for lunch, we will order Chinese takeout from Heike's recommended spot up the street! Please bring $5 for lunch. We'll also celebrate National Color Day with a fun art project, and have Yoga with Jaime, so dress to stretch!
Enjoy your weekend,
Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.