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 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!
Drew and Liz read to Gunther, a Cockapoo, and his handler, Ava.
Caroline and Pip enjoyed reading with Kevin and Erik when we rotated groups.
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! 🐕🐶
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.
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.
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! 😂)
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
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