Sticky, Rainy Week

 

It's not even officially summer yet, but this week felt like it!  It was warm, humid, and a bit rainy all week, which kept us from getting movement outside.  It's weeks like this that we are thankful for the internet, because it's got tons of fun workout and dance videos to keep us moving since the JRES gym is still in use.  School doesn't end for the year until 3 days before SUMMER!  😂😂😂  Here's a look at our week!

Tuesday

We had fun celebrating National Best Friends Day today!  At the AoA, we are ALL best friends, and it's one of the things that makes us such a cool program.  Everyone looks out for one another.  We used the letters in "BEST FRIENDS" and thought of words that fit the topic so our board would be decorated for the week!

Good old-fashioned dictionaries helped us find some of the words to describe best friends!  Can you tell that Liz's shirt says "BEST BUDDIES?!"

We had the decorating crew work on adding colorful pictures to our colorful words!

This is Paul Eugene, and he is one of our go-to online resources for inside fitness activities.  We enjoy dancing with him, and he's a great motivator who keeps us moving!

 

This is us burning off meatballs that we would be eating for lunch soon!

National Corn on the Cob Day is June 11th, but we celebrated today.  We used a "hack" to cook the corn...microwaving it in the husk.  This is a simple way to have silk-free corn on the cob, but you have to be careful because it's very hot when it's done!

After 4 minutes in the microwave (for two ears), simply cut about 1 inch off the stalk end and, using a pot holder to protect your hand, squeeze and shake the cob out of the husk, as Alexis demonstrates here.

"Ta-da!" Silk free corn every time!   This method can be time-consuming, but it stays hot for a long time, so if you're only cooking a few ears, this is the way to go.  We learned you can microwave more than two ears at a time, just add 1 additional minute for each additional ear. 😋

We highly recommend celebrating Corn on the Cob Day along with meatball subs and fresh watermelon!

After lunch we learned about coral reefs, a lesson we had planned for last week but ran out of time trying to complete.  We watched an informative video and learned that coral is a living organism and a crucial part of the ocean's ecosystem.  Sam and Xavier were labeling animals who call reefs home on their worksheets.  Lisa dictated the correct spelling for them.

When we checked our answers, we took time to look up more info on the reef animals we were most curious about, like brain coral, parrot fish, and sea slugs!  We learned some very cool stuff!  (And ran out of time to take our virtual hike that was planned for the end of the day.  Maybe before the end of the week!)

Wednesday

Today we traveled to Eaton for another work experience!  Here's Jorie checking in with Kate, Nan, and Kevin who were unpacking parts.  Thanks Jorie (and James, too) for keeping us busy!

Sam, Devin, Cameron, Liz, and Alexis got organized quickly to open lots of boxes of parts.

Today's sorting team was Xavier and Drew, who made quick work of several tubs!

Meanwhile, in our other room, Michelle, Annmarie, and Nancy were busy counting various items that we placed in small plastic bags.

Patrick, Abraham, and Laura counted screws.  We appreciate how accurate all of our counters are!

Who are these dudes?  Trash compactors or recycle models?! 

We had to switch Lexi and Liz over to gasketing for a while before we wrapped up for the day.  James sent word that the folks in production were completely out of gasketed lids!  Wow, they go through those pretty quickly, but we try to keep 'em stocked!

We returned to AFCC with a plan to celebrate Chocolate Ice Cream Day and then join Bette Faye for Zoom at 2:00.  Heike and Sevarina met us in the front of the building and said a fire drill was about to happen.  So, we hung around waiting for the fire drill...but after 10 minutes and no drill we decided to schlep our things inside.  Not long after, the fire drill happened, but by then, it was too late to have ice cream, so our amazing gang agreed to postpone it to tomorrow.  We 💙 them!

We got to know Arc supporter Charlie Hart during Zoom!  He's going to be 80 this year, and he shared with us how he's always kept moving even though he's had to adapt over the years due to injuries and aging.  He used to run and bike...really long distances.  Now he walks for leisure and takes exercise classes in which he modifies his movements as needed.  That's just what we tell our guys to do during our movement activities!  We were inspired by Charlie to stay active and enjoyed his presentation very much.

Thursday

  We're on a tour around the world, and today our stop was India.  There were lots of facts in our lesson, including that over 1 billion people live in India, which is only about 1/3 the size of the United States!  That's a LOT of people!  We were most interested in learning that yoga was "invented" in India!  We also learned about the life of Gandhi, who encouraged nonviolent protests, and inspired civil rights movements and leaders around the world, including Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Today happened to also be National Herbs and Spices Day, and we learned that Indian cooking incorporates many spices!  We found a recipe for masala kheema, which means "spicy minced meat."  The team of Abraham, Devin, Liz, Patrick, and Cameron used ground pork, and seasoned it with cumin, garlic, coriander, and ginger.  We added onions and tomatoes, and it smelled delicious while cooking!

Nan worked with the "Sweet Peas!"  Also known as Nancy, Laura, and Annmarie, this team cooked sweet peas which they seasoned with chicken bouillon.  It didn't take them too long to get their part of lunch ready, so they worked together and learned that the lotus is India's national flower and the peacock is its national bird.

Down in the kitchen area, Sam was tasked to work with Kate and Michelle to prepare one of our favorite recipes, Quinoa in the Oven!  They gathered all ingredients and must have followed the recipe exactly, because the cooked quinoa was delicious!

We put Alexis in charge of Team Place Settings, and she and her "guys," Drew, Kevin, and Xavier, rolled silverware in napkins and made sure we had enough plates, too!  Then, Alexis made sure they learned about the lotus and peacock!

Everything came together beautifully, and we even included iced tea because today was also National Iced Tea Day!  We enjoyed our India-inspired lunch and as usual, our gang said we should cook it again sometime!  😉😋

Of course, movement was part of our day.  It was all indoors, due to the warm and muggy weather, so we got creative.  In addition to our dance warm up from the morning, we tried a new workout app called Sworkit, which allows us to pick the intensity and length of time of our workouts.  We started with a 12 minute "stand up and move" workout, that got our heart rates up.  We will work up to at least 20 minutes on this one...it's a challenge!

This picture is a little grainy, but we wanted to include Laura (gray t-shirt), who was obscured in the previous picture.  She did so well modifying some of the movements so she could keep moving, and we were very proud of her!

Here's a blurry photo, but that's because during our after-lunch virtual hike, Drew led us around the room and he moved fast!

Longtime readers of our blog will recognize what is happening in this picture.  We were assembling The Arc's monthly newsletter!  It's been over a year since The Arc has been able to hold in-person events, but that's about to change!  We're starting small, with a Movie Night, but it's a beginning!  Be sure to follow directions in your newsletter packet, and return the sign up sheet ASAP if you'd like to join the fun.  You can choose one of two nights to attend, and it's limited to the first 30 sign-ups for each night!

After our busy, educational, and active day, we celebrated June 7th being Chocolate Ice Cream Day!  We couldn't resist celebrating a frozen treat during a very warm week, even if we were three days late!

Friday

We missed Cameron and Patrick today, but made it a Fun Friday with everyone else!  Always a good time is Donald Duck Day.  Did you know he made his debut before Mickey Mouse, and was even more popular than Mickey in the early days?  Did you know that he had a twin sister named Della Duck?!  We learned that and a few other fun and funny facts when we played Donald Duck trivia!

Alexis shared some Donald Duck items with us.  She had a photo of her meeting him on a trip to Disney World, and one of her prized possessions for this summer, a Disney "Beach Buddies" pool towel with her name embroidered on it that a friend gave her last Christmas. 

During Donald Duck trivia we also learned that his middle name is Fauntleroy and his parents were Quackmore and Hortense Duck.  Who knew?!  We watched a Donald short called "Double Trouble."  It was made in 1946 but still had us "quacking" up in 2021!

Yesterday we learned that the lotus is India's national flower, and today, for Red Rose Day (June 12th), we learned that the red rose is America's!  Nan brought some red roses from her garden which Sam said smelled "like roses!"

Getting good yoga pics is hard, but our guys enjoy this end of week traditional activity so much, we try!  

We are enjoying our Cosmic Kids app subscription and trying app-only episodes with our online instructor, Jaime.  The app gives us so many more options!

Jaime makes it inclusive by including references for our friends Nancy and Michelle, who feel more comfortable with chair yoga.

Jaime's yoga is typically geared for young children, so there is more up and down movement involved than with traditional yoga, but our guys keep up very well, and really enjoy the lessons.

Jaime works on balance moves a lot, too.  So good for all of us!

Thanks, Michelle and Drew, for putting away the mats today!  All ready to pull out again next week!

Speaking of next week, it will be here before we know it!  Here's a look at our plans:

Tuesday:  We'll kick off the week with some fun activities in celebration of one of our gang's favorite "silly" days: Pop Goes the Weasel Day (14th).  We'll celebrate the first ever National Megalodon Day (15th), and have a three team bake-off for National Peanut Butter Cookie Day (12th).  Today is also Smile Power Day, so we'll work on an art project!  Lunch on your own (JRES cafeteria available).

Wednesday:  We've tentatively planned a trip to Freedom Park so we can harvest veggies from the Botanical Garden for tomorrow's celebration of Eat Your Vegetables Day.  The weather forecast looks promising!  Wear Arc shirts!  We'll also use International Bath Day (14th) as a springboard to discuss summer hygiene and learn about a Greek Geek, Archimedes, who (supposedly) made a big discovery while in the tub!  Bring a bag lunch and we'll try to picnic at the park!

Thursday:  It's National Eat Your Vegetables Day, so we're on it!  We'll create veggie critters for a morning snack, and for lunch, we'll create the largest salad bar ever, with lots of fresh veggies and grilled chicken for protein!  It's also Apple Strudel Day, so we'll have that too because, well, salad for lunch!  (We have a "light version" recipe.) 😉  We'll make Father's Day cards and take NOTE:  Dress to stretch for yoga!  We are moving yoga to today because tomorrow is an Eaton work day.

Friday:  Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it's off to work we go!  We'll have a work day at Eaton so wear your Eaton shirt (still waiting on 3, so they can wear Arc shirts) and bring a BAG LUNCH!  We'll play "fun" Bingo (as opposed to "educational") when we return to AFCC!

Happy Weekend,

Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang

Upcoming Events:

The 3 Day Bike About, benefitting The Arc of Greater Williamsburg, is next weekend, June 18-21!  Click the photo for more information.

Coming in August!!  Please let Patti (or Lisa) know if you're interested in playing or sponsoring...or know others who are!  Thank you in advance for supporting the golf tournament that our friend "Moose Patti" puts her whole 💗 into for us!

Don't forget our biggest fundraiser of the year in October!  Contact Pam if you and/or a business you know are interested in sponsoring our amazing 5k!  Info on registration coming soon!

Thank you for your enduring support of The Arc of Greater Williamsburg!