Happy Birthday to Laura!

This week's highlight was celebrating Laura's birthday on Tuesday.  She's the only August birthday we have, so we definitely look forward to partying with her!  We operated at a lower key than last week, and besides Laura's birthday, "all" we did were things like Eaton work, making waffle sandwiches and mini-banana splits, more Eaton work, and Dog Bingo!  We aren't complaining, though.  We had a great time!  Here are a few of our memories...

Tuesday

Laura's birthday got off to an energetic start with our dance warm up this morning!  DJ Liz played a lot of her favorite tunes, including "Kokomo" by the Beach Boys, "Baby" by Justin Bieber, and a very upbeat "Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars (but our version today was from KidzBop)!

Next, we made pretty and thoughtful cards for Laura.  We bundled them up to take with us to the Art Museums.  Kate is holding them, along with some decorative butterflies her grandmother donated to our arts and crafts supply box.  A pretty pink butterfly adorns Laura's card bundle.  Thanks, Grandma Thompson!

Laura's birthday coincided with our visit to Christina and The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg, so Laura's parents offered to treat us to lunch at the Museum Cafe!  What a special treat it was, too.  We had been wanting to have lunch here, but were waiting for the summer crowds to ease up, so today's timing was perfect!

All of us were here today, except for Abraham, and we took up a few tables in the cafe!  At the front table in the picture is the Birthday Girl, seated beside her buddy Annmarie.  In the background on the left is Tracy, who met us here, and on the right, Christina, who helped coordinate this fabulous lunchtime celebration!

After lunch, we explored the museums with Christina who showed us several pieces that can represent celebrations, since we were celebrating Laura!  In the painting here, we see a bridge with a train crossing it, that spans the Genesee River at Letchworth State Park in western New York.  On the banks of the river are people enjoying nature and likely, at times, celebrating things like birthdays!

Christina knows that Laura loves to color, so today's project was one that involved coloring several elements from a beautiful village.  The village is based on the paintings of Karol Kozlowski, whose work we have looked at many times before.  This is Christina's lovely village, and we hope to finish ours in the days ahead.  We only made a dent in this project today!

Tracy is always a big help when she hangs with us.  We hadn't see her in over a month, and it was nice to catch up with her today!  Thanks for your help with lunch and the art project, Tracy!!

We were joined for Laura's artsy birthday party by her dad, Tom, niece, Olivia, and mom, Lisa.  There was plenty of coloring to go around!  

We can't thank Laura's parents enough for treating us to such a nice party.  Lunch was a big hit, and after working on our villages, we enjoyed cupcakes!  They weren't just any ordinary cupcakes, though.  Lisa P. made them from scratch and they were gluten free!  Yay!  Xavier, and ALL of us, loved them!  🧁🧁🧁 

We have a big shoutout to Christina for welcoming us to enjoy the cupcakes in her room!  AND, for all of her help in getting the lunch coordinated with the amazing crew at the cafe! 👏👏

Happy Birthday, Laura!  We had a blast celebrating with you!!

Wednesday

Today found us getting right to Eaton work after our dance warm up!  For the first time in a while, we had parts to sort, and Xavier, Devin T., Kevin, and Drew were on it!

It seems like the more screws we count, the more there are!  LOL!  Nan's group of Abraham, Laura, and Annmarie filled bags with 30 each of the longer screws.

Kate and Devin, along with Michelle, Sam, and Patrick filled bags with 50 each of the shorter screws.   Between these guys and Nan's group, about 80 bags were filled today!

James finally got some gaskets in, and we had plenty of plastic parts that needed one.  Liz and Erik handled the "sticky situation" with ease!

Adia and Alexis applied gaskets, too.  You can see the concentration on their faces!  We are grateful to have work to do at AFCC while the air-conditioning at Eaton continues to need repair.  Supply chain issues... Hopefully, the weather will cool off in a few weeks and we can get back to work onsite!

After sitting for Eaton, we got movement in the gym with a rowdy kickball game!  The ball was a blur after Erik's kick!  He took off to run the bases and scored a run for the boys' team!

Drew stepped up to pitch today, and did a great job once we convinced him to put the ball on the floor and roll it to the kickers, instead of throwing it at them!  We played boys vs. girls again, and the score ended in a 4-4 tie.  But for some reason, we didn't get ONE picture of the girls today?!  ❓❓❓

Back in our room, we worked on thank you notes for Laura's family.  We enjoyed yesterday's lunch at The Art Museums Cafe very much!  Here, Kevin and Erik had partnered to create a thoughtful card, and it was Kevin's turn to sign it.

August 24 is National Waffle Day in the US, and it recognizes the date in 1869 that the first waffle iron was patented.  We learned during our "Waffle Trivia" lesson that waffles existed long before the patented iron, but that invention made it much easier to cook them.  Another fun fact we learned was that the Eggo company was known for mayonnaise before they started making frozen waffles in 1953, which they called froffles!  (Adia likes mayo but Devin finds it...umm...not too tasty!)

Something that was tasty today was our lunch!  We had a few raised eyebrows at the thought of waffle PB&J sandwiches, but they were good!  Some of the guys added banana slices and really raved about that!  We also had chips and fresh fruit, and the little dessert things that (hopefully) look like acorns are mini-waffles that we decorated ourselves!  😋

We had an extended Choice Time while several of our guys worked on the coloring project we got from Christina yesterday.  We ended the day by making birthday cards for our favorite Best Buddy president, and former Arc intern, Ashlynn, and then caught an episode of Mystery Doug in which we explored why scientists know so much.  (They are curious and attentive, ask questions, and observe!)

Thursday

We got a call from James yesterday saying Eaton needed some assembled PowerSlide Doors...ASAP!  He delivered the parts early this morning.  Earlybirds Dev, Erik, and Sam helped unload, and after a quick dance warm up, we got to work!

Don't tell Heike the photographer climbed on a chair to get this aerial shot of the door assembly team!  They had our playlist on, and were seriously cranking out the doors...they did 108 this morning!

The sorting and counting team set up in the kitchen today, and must have sorted and counted thousands of parts and screws.  All while singing and dancing, too, at least for the camera!  Don't worry...they were committed to being accurate in their work!

After a short gym break after Eaton work, we welcomed Moose Patti for a surprise visit!  It was perfect timing, too.  We were just starting our lesson on Pennsylvania, her home state, and she was a great resource.  She answered questions and gave us extra details about things, and even helped us with map skills!  Devin T. was thrilled to work with Patti!

Today was National Banana Split Day, and guess where banana splits were "invented?"  That's right, in Pennsylvania...Latrobe, to be exact!  In fact, just last weekend there was a Banana Split Festival held in Latrobe, PA!  

Enjoying banana splits with Patti, and winning "best dressed" today, were Laura in her shirt from Hershey's Chocolate World, Devin, who is also from PA and was sporting both Eagles and Phillies gear, and Alexis, who is a Penn State football fan!  Looking great, all of you!!

When Patti heard that we have been playing kickball, she called a game!  We played boys vs. girls again and this time, we got girl pics!  Here's Adia on her lead up to a big kick!  

On Patti's turn, she had a big kick, too.  Here, she's running toward second base while Abraham contemplates throwing the ball to Erik who is at second.  The girls won today!  It was another great game, and we will miss having the gym for fun times like this.

Today was also National Park Service Founders Day, so we ended our day with a look at this beautiful video that shows all 63 National Parks in America and its territories.  If you click on the picture, you can watch it too, and enjoy the beautiful musical score that accompanies it.  This is a screen shot from the video.  We imagined the night sky in Joshua Tree National Park must be stunning after seeing it in the video!

Friday

We did a lot today, even though we kept it laid back!  First, we had our dance warm up, and then we traveled to the garden at Freedom Park to harvest tomatoes and basil.  Alexis asked Devin B. to reach the tomatoes that were too high for her!

When Devin T. heard us say, "Look at the zinnias," he thought his dog, Zinnia, was here!  Not today, Devin.  It's just these pretty, colorful zinnia flowers!

There was a lot of color in the garden today and lots of butterflies, too!  It was gorgeous!

We gathered in the shade under the arbor for a group picture.  You can see our harvest of basil and tomatoes, even though the sun's glare is making it hard to see some of us!

We trekked through the garden, listening, smelling, and looking.  At times, even Annmarie had to duck because of the lush and colorful growth!

It was such a nice day, we took the Colonial Parkway back to the center and made a stop at one of the pull-outs.  Some of us stayed up on the grass, enjoying the breeze off the river.

These four wanted to walk down for a closer look!

Back at the center, we turned the fresh basil we harvested at the garden into very tasty pesto!  We had it with gluten-free rice crackers, which everyone agreed were tasty, too!  Check out Michelle's Scooby shirt for National Dog Day and Laura's "Namaste Cats" shirt for yoga!

Lexi's shirt was a shout out for Dog Day, too.  Here, she was sharing her "stash" which included photos of her late dog, KC, a painted bisque dog figurine she made, and a dog puppet that used to belong to Lisa back in her school counselor days!

Michelle shared pics of her pup, Max, but she and Sam also brought the wolf connection for Dog Day!  Thousands of years ago, dogs evolved from gray wolves, but we didn't really get into that!

Devin B. was very excited to share pictures of his new dog, Bruno, with Drew and Patrick.  But we don't talk about Bruno!  LOL!  Wait, what?!  We can talk about this Bruno!  Devin's dad said it was ok!  Bruno is energetic and likes to jump, according to Devin!

Xavier, along with Kevin and Kate behind him, is ready to play our latest Bingo game, which is Dog Bingo!  We enjoyed finding the dog breeds that Lisa showed on the tv screen, and even learned of a breed no one had ever heard of:  Barbet!

Next thing we knew, it was time to put away tables and chairs so we could end the day with yoga.  We didn't get any yoga pictures, but we did enjoy a workout with Jaime that featured dog pose!  

This was a lower-key week than we've had recently, but it was still a great one!  We're gearing up for another warm one next week, but we'll try to stay cool as we enjoy the following activities:

Tuesday:  It's time for a visit with Wisteria at The Mariners' Museum!  She's going to pick up where Mike at Watermen's left off in July, and give us another lesson on pirates.  She has some far-out stories for us!  We're going to have lunch at the Mariners' Cafe, so please bring $10.  Wear Arc shirts, too.  If the weather permits, we'll take a walk on the Noland Trail after lunch.  We need to leave from AFCC at 9:20.

Wednesday:  We're going to play card games today and talk about something on the National Day Calendar called According to Hoyle Day.  It has to do with rules for card games!  We will also study the 3rd state, New Jersey.  It is the home to a couple of candies that we know and love, so we'll have a treat with our work!  Lunch on your own, and the JRES cafeteria is back as an option with Chicken Sandwich or Hot Dog on Bun as today's offerings.  The cost for lunch is $3.10 this year.  To add funds to your account, make a check payable to JRES Cafeteria.  To open an account, contact Carol. 

Thursday:  Today we will get ready for September by updating our calendar of events.  We'll welcome Laura's parents, Lisa and Tom, to substitute part of the day for Lisa and Nan, who will be attending the funeral for Nan's sister.  They will help us with Eaton work, and also a lesson with Mystery Doug on what scientists do.  Thank you, Lisa and Tom, for your help today!  Lunch on your own.  JRES cafeteria is available with Domino's Pizza, Deli Sub, or Beef Taco Salad as options.

Friday:  It's Pet Supplies Plus...PLUS lunch today!  We'll send a work crew to the store, but later the rest of us will join them as we all meet up at Freedom Park for lunch subs from Jersey Mike's, courtesy of Scott and Roxanne (Dev B's folks) at Pet Supplies Plus!  Thank you, Scott and Roxanne, for all you've done to help us improve our vocational skills, and of course, for this wonderful lunch treat!  We love our work time at PSP with you and your amazing team!  In other activities today, we will have a lesson on Labor Day and end the week with yoga.  Wear your PSP shirts and comfy shorts/pants for yoga, too!

Don't forget to register for our 5k (the price increases September 1), which will be Bette Faye's last "official" event with The Arc of Greater Wiliamsburg!  She's heading off on a well-deserved retirement, but not before we CELEBRATE her amazing contributions to The Arc!  We hope for a big turnout, so please, click the link below and register to join us!  Congratulations, Bette Faye!!!  WE LOVE YOU!

Enjoy the weekend,

Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang

 

Science Week!

 

Science is one of our favorite subjects to explore at the AoA, and this week, we had science lessons with two great presenters, high school senior, Kendall, and Mike, at the Watermen's Museum.  We learned so much from them!  We also had some delightful "down" time when a fun and furry group of therapy dogs (and their handlers) came to hang out with us!  🐶🐕  Plus, we welcomed our friend Devin B. back this week!  It was just a great week all around!  Check it out!

Tuesday

Our week got off to a great start with one of our favorite activities, bowling!  We missed our August 2nd "date" with the lanes, so we made up for it today, and it was so much fun!  Erik and Sam both bowled games over 125 today, with a number of strikes to boost their scores!

Adia, Alexis, and Laura had good games, too!  Laura had just scored a strike.   She had several of them today!

There was a group of 50 kids from the YMCA about to come into the bowling center, so we snagged a picture with manager Logan, and assistant manager, Wendy before things got too busy.  They are both so helpful and treat us like bowling stars!

We decided to take silly team pics today.  Sam, Kendall, and Kevin got goofy for the camera!

Erik played straight man to silly Adia and Abraham!  

We got some goofy grins from Kate, Drew, and Alexis...while Patrick flashed his "best" handsome smile!

Two silly girls, Liz and Laura, along with two more handsome guys, Xavier and Devin T.!

We cruised through CW on our way back to the center.  The windmill has been moved from Great Hopes Plantation near the Visitor Center to the corner of Francis Street and Bucktrout Lane!  In our photo, it's almost camouflaged by the trees, but the 28,000 pound structure made it, and we can't wait to see it at its new location on one of our walks soon!

We came back to AFCC after bowling so Kendall could do one of the lessons for her Honors Project.  Today, she talked about pollution.  She taught us a big, new word:  anthropogenic pollution!  It means pollution caused by human activities, like factory emissions or oil spills in the oceans.

Today's lesson focused on water pollution, specifically oil spills.  We learned that oil spills have a very harmful effect on the environment, from endangering and even killing marine life, to affecting us through the food chain.  Kendall had each group simulate an oil spill and she gave us "tools" to try and remove the oil with, like cotton balls, spoons, and cotton swabs.

We found out it is hard to remove the oil from a small container, much less from a large ocean.

Kendall also talked about the effects of oil spills on animals, such as seals and ducks.  She showed us a video clip that explained how scientists and environmentalists use Dawn dish detergent to help clean the oil from animals.  Then, she added some Dawn to our oily water, and we saw how it helped to break down the oil.  Very cool, Kendall!

August 16 is National Tell a Joke Day, so we ended our day by making a joke book.  Everyone had a different joke and picture to match it, which they colored.  We shared the jokes with each other.  Kevin got a lot of laughs when he told us that witches who live at the beach are called "Sand-Witches!"  😁

Sam also got a lot of laughs for his joke, which was a "Pear of Underwear."  He had a colorful picture of a pear wearing underwear, and Devin and Drew (behind Sam's arm) thought it was absolutely hilarious!

You can zoom in on this pic to see our silly jokes!  We stapled them together to make a little booklet that we added to our class library!

Wednesday

We could hardly wait for our dance warm up to end today (not like us), because we were excited to meet the therapy dogs!  There were 4 dogs coming, along with their trainers, and we were looking forward to reading with them.  First, Lena introduced her dog, Marlo, and told us how therapy dogs are trained.  The handlers decide if their dogs have the right "personality," such as being calm, friendly, and able to resist distractions.  If the dogs seem a good fit, the handlers work with a local trainer, the dogs take a "test," and then they are certified to begin working!

We worked in pairs, and took lots of pictures of everyone!  We're putting all the photos in, so you can see what a great time we had!  Ms. Vallone, JRES assistant principal, stopped by to see how we were doing.  Here, Michelle and Xavier were reading with Caroline and Pip, the Black Lab!

Alexis and Devin T. read with Lena and Marlo, who is an Australian Sheppard mix.

Drew and Liz read to Gunther, a Cockapoo, and his handler, Ava.

Laura and Patrick read with Carol and her Golden Doodle, Casey. 

 
Caroline and Pip enjoyed reading with Kevin and Erik when we rotated groups.

Next up with Carol and Casey were Liz and Sam.  

Kate and Kendall enjoyed a round of reading with Lena and Marlo.

Abraham was taking a turn showing Adia, Gunther, and Ava a book about dogs, and Ava spotted one that looked like Gunther!

We didn't get a group picture of the dogs and handlers, but they plan to come back and we'll be sure to do that next time.  Our experience with them today couldn't have gone better, or been more engaging and fun!  Thank you, Caroline, Lena, Ava, and Carol for sharing your beautiful therapy dogs with us.  We loved spending time with ALL of you! 🐕🐶

After our canine friends left, we went outside to enjoy the gorgeous weather we were having this week!  With lower temperatures AND lower humidity, we couldn't resist!

There were volunteers in the Grove Community Garden so some of us ventured over to meet them.   One was a student from W&M and the other was a young man who moved here from Cape Verde, an island country off the west coast of Africa.  They both enjoy gardening and get a sense of accomplishment from helping to bring organization to this garden!

We were invited to pick cherry tomatoes, which Kendall, Abraham, and Adia did.  We'll enjoy them with our lunch on Friday!

Back inside, we checked out a memory lane blog post from July, 2019!  That's when a very "young" Kendall first hung out with us.  She was a rising freshman then, and now she's a rising senior at Jamestown High School!  We really enjoy having her spend time with us!

Kendall taught another of her Honors Project lessons today.  The topic was groundwater, and the effects pollution has on it.  We learned that groundwater is water that seeps into the ground from above (rain, snowmelt, nearby rivers, etc.) and that for about 50% of the world's population, groundwater is the primary source of drinking water.

Humans need to be careful that we don't pollute or contaminate groundwater by doing things like using a lot of pesticides or creating unsafe industrial discharges.  It is costly to clean contaminated groundwater so it can be safely consumed, so the best thing is to prevent it from becoming polluted in the first place.

Kendall had each group set up an experiment that involved placing celery stalks in red water.  The celery represents trees, and the red in the water represents pollution.  We made predictions of what we thought would happen to the celery, and we'll check it tomorrow.  Most of us predicted the celery would turn red...so if that happens, we will have Kendall explain what that means for real trees and plants that are affected by polluted groundwater!

Our days of being able to use the gym freely are running out with school about to start, so we enjoyed a game of kickball with Kendall this afternoon!  Look how shiny the floor is after having been rewaxed last week.

We made up some new rules today, and we had more fun and got more exercise.  Basically, the kicker got to run all the bases without stopping and the outfielders had to try and get them out by throwing the ball to tag them.  The girls won today, 2-1.

Can you find Heike in this picture?!  She stopped by to watch our game, and then offered to take us on a tour to see all the new flooring in the school!

The classrooms used to be part carpet and part tile, but now they are all tile.  Heike said the schools ordered rugs for the classrooms.  This is a kindergarten room, and we think the new tile flooring looks great with the blue accented part!  

Thursday

Welcome back to the AoA, Devin B.!  He participated in a summer internship program at W&M but he's back with us now.  The earlybirds couldn't wait to show him the "Welcome Back" board we made for him!

After welcoming Dev and dancing a bit, we traveled to Yorktown to spend time at the Watermen's Museum with Mike!   His lesson was all about jellyfish, and it was cool!

Mike told us that the York River is currently experiencing a red tide, also known as an algae bloom.  This happens when water conditions (like temperature and pH) are just so (i.e., getting warmer) for algae to multiply much more than usual, causing discoloration in the water.  This isn't good for many species of marine life and plants, but jellyfish don't seem to mind.  We walked onto the pier to see the red tide, and look for jellyfish.

We saw plenty of jellyfish, and jellyfish tentacles, in the algae filled water that looked more brown than red, but it's still not a good condition for fishing or swimming!

Mike had some jellyfish in a container so we could get a closer look, and we saw some with tentacles and some without.  The ones with tentacles he called "nettles" and said they will sting.  The oval shaped ones with no tentacles he called "combs" and said they would not sting.  Next, he showed us his idea for a jellyfish craft.  We repurposed plastic bags!  (After he gave us a quick review of why plastic bags are bad for the environment, especially marine animals like turtles.) 

Mike had already stuffed a few plastic bags into another one, and tied it so it looked like a pulsating blob of jellyfish.  We had to add colorful tentacles using pieces of yarn.  It was fun to see what color combinations everyone chose, and to see the different lengths of the tentacles. 

As we finished our jellyfish, they were hung across the outdoor classroom area and we took this picture of us hanging out with them and not getting stung!  Thanks, Mike, for another great science lesson that kept our interest and taught us things we didn't know!  You always make it fun!

The next stop on our beautiful day in Yorktown was at these picnic tables by the river.  There was quite a glare, and the river is hard to see, but it was sending over a nice breeze.  Did we mention we're in the midst of a low humidity week and it's sooooo nice outside?! 🌞

Sam is modeling our bug spray because we don't picnic anymore without it!  

We couldn't pass up a ride on the Yorktown Trolley!  Our first driver was Bruno, but we don't talk about him... 😂🎵🕺

If you're not sure why we don't talk about Bruno, click here and get ready to dance!

We split into two groups for our walk.  These guys got off the trolley at the American Revolution Museum and walked on a path back to the Riverwalk, where they caught the trolley again to meet back up with their friends in the other group.

This group rode the trolley back to the Victory Monument, where they enjoyed a walk on more even terrain.  Everyone got extra steps today!

We still had time back at the center for another environmental science lesson with Kendall!  Her topic today was plastic pollution, and it went right along with what Mike was telling us about how harmful plastics are in the environment.  Kendall was excited about how her lesson picked up where his left off, and it made for a great themed day!

 

After the lesson about how long it takes plastic to decompose, and a little bit about what "microplastics" are (small plastic bits that are left when larger plastic pieces break down), Kendall taught us about something called "upcycling," which is taking something no longer in use and giving it a new function.  She taught us how to make bracelets out of plastic bag strips!

As Devin is showing here, the first step was to tie a couple of strips of plastic bag together.  Next, we had to twist the two strips around each other. 

After the strips were twisted together, Kendal very carefully melted the ends to seal them together, and make it easier for us to slide beads over the twisted pieces.  Erik was ready to add beads now.

Kendall had little rubber bands that she added to make it easier to loosen or tighten the braclets.  Once she added that, we were ready to show them off!  Drew, Alexis, Patrick, and Kate love their upcycled bracelets!  What a great science day we had!

Friday

It was time to return to work at Pet Supplies Plus today!  Everyone showed up in their PSP shirts, which we love, but not everyone went.  Michelle and Alexis took the initiative to fill the bird feeders.  The birds are going through the bird seed very quickly these days!

 

This was the scene not long after the girls filled the feeders!  We're sure the birds appreciate our contribution to their daily meals, and we appreciate being able to watch them come and go.

Carol took a group of 6 to PSP, and we had 7 left at AFCC.  Here, Nan, Abraham, Drew, Devin T., and Xavier did Eaton work, even though they were sporting their PSP shirts!  

Sam, Michelle, and Alexis (in the middle) were busy preparing lunch but took a break to join the Eaton guys for some basketball and walking around in the gym.

Our PSP Crew was busy, too.  Kendall came to help us today!  Here, she, Devin B., and Adia seem to be happy about stocking pet toys and treats!

Kendall worked with Laura and Liz, too.  There was so much product to get on the shelves today!  Thanks for the extra set of hands, Kendall!

Carol reported that a huge shipment had arrived yesterday and the employees were grateful for our help today.  Kate, Erik, Adia, and a "photo bombing" Dev were up and down every aisle in the store!

Our team has a message for our pet-owners:  You can still get a fun pool for your fur babies at Pet Supplies Plus!  There are still a lot of warm days ahead!

We were short 3 of our friends today, and had the Eaton work to do, so Michelle, Alexis, and Sam were all we could spare for the Cooking Crew!  They worked hard all morning to make sure we could all enjoy loaded baked potatoes, broccoli, fresh veggies with dip, and juicy grapes for our lunch!  Yes, they've "got the good stuff" and it was lunch! 😋

After lunch we talked about Aviation Day.  In the past, we've learned about famous aviators like the Wright Brothers and Amelia Earhart.  Today, we watched a video about a "rebel" named Daniel Corrigan who wanted to fly a plane he had built from New York to Ireland in 1938, but was denied permission repeatedly.  He was told to fly back home to California, but he ended up in Ireland after all, blaming his navigational equipment for sending him in the wrong direction.  He was cheered by the public and became nicknamed "Wrong Way Corrigan," and never admitted before he died in 1995 that he had purposely flown to Ireland.  In the video we watched, his son, Harry, said he's pretty sure his dad flew to Ireland on purpose!  (Devin B. isn't sure which way to go, either! 😂)

 

We finished our active week with a relaxing yoga session.  Namaste!

It was a busy, but fun and educational week!  We are slowly things down just a bit next week.  Here's what we'll be up to:

Tuesday:  Happy Birthday to Laura, today! 🥳  We're going to the Art Museums of CW today for our lesson with Christina, "but first..." (as Laura likes to say), her family is treating us to lunch at the Museum Cafe, followed by Christina's lesson, and then cupcakes in the Education Room!  Thank you, Palmer Family, for this generous party and celebration for our friend, Laura!  We will enjoy it very much!  Before leaving for the museums, we'll make pretty cards for Laura and get some movement activity!

Wednesday:  We're going to create thank you notes for Laura's family today and begin working on decorations for transitioning our room to September and the fall season.  James sent us some work to do at the center, so wear your Eaton shirts today!  It's National Waffle Day, too.  We're going to put a twist on waffles and have peanut butter and jelly waffle sandwiches for lunch!  

Thursday:  We've been waiting for Devin B. to return and he's back now, so we will study his home state, Pennsylvania!  It was number 2 to be admitted to new Union.  It's National Banana Split Day and according to our sources, banana splits were invented in Latrobe, PA...so, we'll celebrate by making mini splits!  We'll also do more Eaton work, but you don't have to wear your Eaton shirt again.  😊  Lunch on your own (microwave available).

Friday:  We'll end the week with a lesson for Women's Equality Day and a celebration of National Dog Day, one of our favorites!  Feel free to bring photos and stories about your own dogs, and we'll play Dog Bingo, too!  If the weather is nice, we'll have lunch at New Quarter park, so bring a bagged lunch today.  It's also Friday, so dress to stretch for yoga with Jaime!  

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!

Don't forget to register for this year's 5k to be held on October 1 at Williamsburg Landing!  We have live and virtual options, and if you'd like, you can register to be on the AoA Team!  The Arc's very beloved Bette Faye will retire after the 5k, so we are hoping for a HUGE turnout in her honor!  

Please join us!  Click this image and you'll be taken right to the registration site, where it's $35 through the end of August.  Arc Clients can use code ArcClients2022 and register for just $20.  Thanks for your support, and for helping us show Bette Faye how much we love her!

Enjoy your weekend,

Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang