This week we were excited to return to a pre-pandemic tradition of celebrating Cinco de Mayo and Coach Teri's birthday on the same day! When the AoA began six years ago, Sam's mom, known to us as Coach Teri, taught us how to play bocce ball, which was a game most of us had never played. She came diligently for several weeks and coached us until we became pretty good at it. By the time her birthday on May 5th rolled around, she had even created a tournament for us, AND she brought tacos from Taco Bell for lunch so we could celebrate her Cinco de Mayo birthday! THEN, she did it again for a couple of years until...Covid. So, we are thrilled to reintroduce our dual celebration, which you can read about in the Thursday section below. But why not read about our entire wonderful first week of May, since you're here?! 👓
Tuesday
Bowling is usually on our calendar for the first Tuesday of the month, and we were ready for it today. But first, we had a bit of brain work to do. We ran out of time last week to do our Superhero-themed worksheets, so we divided into groups and completed them this morning!
We love to see our guys thinking and problem solving!
At bowling, we were greeted by both the manager, Logan, and the assistant manager, Wendy. We didn't think to get pictures with them (next time), but they were so welcoming and helpful today! We're excited to have finally met Logan, and we're looking forward to a great relationship with him and Wendy. As for this photo, Abraham was just wondering why those pins didn't all fall down on his last turn?!
There are always high fives and hand claps when friends do well! Patrick got a strike on this turn!
Erik and Devin celebrated Erik's strike! Erik bowled a 129 in his first game, and Devin bowled a 137. Great scores, guys! (Little did Devin know that game 2 was going to shock him!)
We were happily surprised to find out that Kate's mom, Elizabeth, wanted to treat us to lunch today, and we could choose pizza, hot dogs, or chicken nuggets...with fries! Thank you so much, Elizabeth! Your generosity made our day. Doesn't it look like an amazing buffet? We enjoyed it!!
Things started to pick up in game 2, when our guys were warmed up with full tummies! Sam, Kate, and Drew got things going!
Devin had a great first game today, but in his second game, he bowled 3 strikes in a row! That really boosted his score...and made him very happy!
He ended the game with a 166, which was one of the highest scores our guys have ever gotten. Congratulations, Devin!! Kate was proud, as she should be, of her 109, and gave us permission to include her score in the picture. While not everyone scored in the 100s today, they ALL had a good time...and that is priceless!
.JPG)
Did you know that May 3rd is National Garden Meditation Day? We couldn't pass up an opportunity to celebrate at the WBG, so we headed there after bowling. First, we ran into Krafty Karen and her husband Steve, who were working on the finishing touches of an AMAZING decoration around the fairy bed. It was supposed to be a surprise for us when we go on Tuesday, but we snuck up on her and kind of spoiled the surprise. We are going to try and "forget" we saw it (that's why we didn't take any pictures), and next week when we see her and the MGs...we will be SURPRISED!!!
😵😵😵
We moved on along and checked on the okra, radish, asparagus beans, and nasturtium flowers we planted last week. We also noticed the sugar snap peas are doing better, and the potato plants are growing like crazy!
We ended up in this perfect spot where we talked about the benefits of garden meditation, such as the intake of fresh air, "audio therapy" from the sounds in nature, a natural dose of vitamin D, and the possibility of improved sleep! We listened to a couple of guided mediations on Lisa's phone, and learned Rainbow Breathing and Feather Floating! Ask your favorite AoA member to teach you!
Wednesday
It was a fun "theme" day today as we celebrated Star Wars Day! We had a few things on our agenda including an exploration of using puns...
But before getting to our Star Wars activities, we had to update the calendar for May. As usual, everyone had a specific part of the task to complete, and they got right to work. This is one of our most productive hours of the month!
We also spent time hearing about Kevin's recent trip to Bermuda! He became very animated as he told us about his adventure, including hanging out with cousins, soaking in a beautiful hot tub (every day!), seeing exotic animals, enjoying a ferry ride and climbing to the top of a lighthouse, and getting to play the keyboards at the resort...to a big round of applause to which Kevin said he "took a big bow!" Thanks for the update, Kevin! We loved hearing about your trip!
Soon, it was time to celebrate Star Wars Day, or as we like to say, "May the Forth Be With You!" Alexis and Yoda caught up with a stormtrooper. (Who also doubles as Kate!)
We watched a video that helped explain how puns are used as wordplay, and often to be humorous. We practiced figuring some out, and our guys caught on pretty quickly. For example, we asked a riddle: What does pizza say when it meets someone for the first time? We talked about what we might say in that situation, such as, "Nice to meet you." Then, we told everyone to "play" with that phrase, and that led us to the answer: A pizza might say, "Slice to meet you!" 🍕
We had some worksheets, too. The group that worked on this one did a great job with food puns! (We really liked this worksheet except for number 6...which required a discussion. Lisa was really surprised that was on a worksheet for students!)
Of course, there are Star Wars themed fitness videos in cyberspace to get us moving!
Here's a video of us joining the stormtroopers and going after the bad guys!
Lunch was simple, but one of our guys' favorites, today. We had leftover Chick fil-A nuggets from Devin B's birthday last week, so we added a few store bought ones just to make sure we had enough. Along with mac n cheese and a colorful salad, the nuggets were a hit!
Cameron was hanging with us again today. During Choice Time, he, Patrick, Drew, Sam, Michelle, and Erik decided to take a walk outside. It was a beautiful and warm afternoon!
We extended our pun lesson with "Yoda Best" by sharing positive affirmations with our friends. Cameron picked Drew's name, colored the front of the page, and wrote on the back that Drew is a great dancer! True, that!
Annmarie had Xavier's name, and here, she is reading that "Xavier is special." 💙
Mystery Doug has an episode where the question is "Could you make a real light saber?" It was interesting and we learned that scientists/engineers are working on this, but so far, all light sabers are still basically toys. Xavier was pointing out that the kid was holding "a blue sword."
We ended the day with a Star Wars Bingo game, which was fun, but we forgot to get pictures! May the force be with our memory next year! 😁
Thursday
We had a busy morning, leading up to a fun afternoon! Since we have an Eaton work day tomorrow, we needed to prepare Mother's Day gifts and cards this morning. Here's a peek at what we used to make a homemade gift for our fabulous moms: glass jars, green stuff, and silk flowers...hmmm! Check tomorrow's post to see how it turned out!
We also squeezed in a morning fitness routine, and spotted a new bird at our feeder! The picture with our camera didn't turn out very well, so here's a better one. It's a brown thrasher, and when we did a little research, we discovered that it is the state bird of Georgia, AND a very talented songbird! It's songs are often thought to be coming from mockingbirds, because the brown thrasher tends to sing from a secluded area and isn't always seen. But ornithologists think the brown thrasher's number of songs sung might exceed 3,000! Wow! (That is not a typo!)
Once things were decorated and we had listened to a few pages from our read-aloud book, Coach Teri arrived for our fiesta! We're very happy to be kind of back to pre-Covid "normal," and our tradition of celebrating Cinco de Mayo and Coach Teri's birthday at the same time. She brought the tacos, from Taco Bell, of course, and we added the chips, salsa, guacamole, and refried beans. It was a great fiesta!
Here's Coach Teri's official birthday photo, minus Liz and Patrick, who were home with sniffles, and Laura, who was traveling. We missed them, and hope they will be back for next year's event!
Coach Teri also brought the colorful cupcakes, which were so yummy! Thank you soooo much for the tacos and cupcakes, Coach Teri. We hope we made your birthday special, and we hope all your wishes come true!
A celebration with Coach Teri wouldn't be complete without a game of bocce ball, the game she taught us six years ago! We wanted to show her how we've kept up with our skills, even though it's been a while since she's seen us play.
We set up four games, with 3 friends at each game. In this picture, one of the small white balls, called jacks, can be seen. The object of the game is for each player to roll his or her colored balls closest to the jack.
Both jacks can be seen here, and lots of colored balls are close to them. Our players have become much better at controlling the force with which they throw their balls over the years! Coach Teri was pleased with our game play!
Friday
As soon as we arrived at the center we checked on our homemade Mother's Day gifts. We left yesterday with our fingers crossed, because we had made gel air fresheners from scratch, and they weren't "setting" up as firmly as we expected. This morning, they were all set and ready to be wrapped for our wonderful AoA moms! Aren't they pretty?!
We only took a few pics at Eaton today. Everyone worked diligently and we got a lot of sorting, unpacking, and counting done.
We quickly got organized and started working. We heard Jorie comment on "everyone" already being at work when she realized we hadn't been there very long!
We were all together in the main room today, and there was plenty of singing along to our playlist that was blasting from our new speaker!
We did catch Michelle and Kate chit-chatting with Jorie when they went on a run to the recycle bin! But Jorie's the boss...so the girls had to stop and talk!! 😜
Back at the center, we enjoyed hearing about Laura's trip to Pennsylvania, which took place earlier this week. She visited the chocolate factory in Hershey and America's first pretzel factory in Lititz, as well as Amish Country, and more! She was happy to tell us about her adventures and we were happy to sample the candy she brought us. Thanks for the treat, Laura, and welcome back!
That's a wrap for this week, except for one more thing:
We hope all of the amazing mothers we know and love - those directly tied to the AoA and those in our "extended" family - have a wonderful Mother's Day! We are thankful to have all of you in our lives!
Here's next week's schedule. Yes, spring birthday celebrations continue!! We can't wait!
Tuesday: We will join our master gardener friends at the WBG this morning where we will check the progress of the beans, radishes, okra, and other things we've planted this season. We'll also learn about companion gardening, and be surprised by a beautiful project Krafty Karen has been working on! Weather permitting, we'll enjoy lunch outside and a walk at the park. Back at the center, we will celebrate National Clean Up Your Room Day! All hands on deck for this one! Please wear your Arc shirts and bring and bagged lunch.
Wednesday: We had a vote last week to decide what to cook today, since it's Eat What You Want Day, so we'll be making blueberry grilled cheese (or plain) sandwiches with chips and fruit sides for lunch! Other things we will do today include science fiction lessons since it's Twilight Zone Day, and we'll begin a project to decorate our entrance wall, too.
Thursday: Happy Birthday to Michelle, today! In her honor, we'll do animal (shark, dinosaur) activities. It's Limerick Day, so we'll explore that form of poetry, too. Michelle's mom is joining us for lunch and is treating us to sub sandwiches! Yum! Thank you, Susan. We're looking forward to hanging out with you!
Friday: We're on a birthday roll, and today we're celebrating Xavier! Our fun treat today will be a visit from his mom and stepdad, Leah, and Steve, who are going to cook breakfast for lunch! We can look forward to pancakes, bacon, and sausage for lunch! Thanks, Leah and Steve, we're looking forward to hanging out with you, too! Today is also a Pet Supplies Plus work day, so please wear PSP shirts. In other activities today, we're going to have a make up lesson for Astronaut Day and Space Day, both of which were last week, and we'll do a new yoga episode with Jaime that features an astronaut who is currently on the ISS! Dress to stretch with your PSP shirt!
Remember to SAVE these UPCOMING DATES!
May 14-21 and May 22 - Community Pickleball Challenge
August 6 - Royal New Kent Golf Club - WOTM's 7th Annual Charity Golf Tournament - Contact Lisa for more info about sponsorships or registering to play!
October 1, 2022 - 13th Annual Williamsburg Landing 5k Run/Walk for The Arc - Registration coming soon!
Have a great weekend,
Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.