In another beautiful spring week, the Arc of Abilities was busy with a variety of experiences. We hung out with Christina at the Art Museums on Tuesday, our therapy dogs on Wednesday, and our friends at Pet Supplies Plus on Thursday. By Friday, we were geared up to celebrate Kate's birthday, and what a party that was! We even got a surprise visit from a special friend! Here's a look at all of those fun times, and more.
Tuesday
We were running out of storage space for the Aktion Club's Food Drive donations, so we gathered what we have so far and made a delivery to Grove Christian Outreach Center. We had what our AoA families have donated, plus a few extra bags that were dropped off at the Arc office.
It was 194 pounds of nonperishable foods in total, and GCOC was grateful for it. We'll continue to accept donations through the month of April, in support of the Arc's Aktion Club! Thanks, everyone, for your generous support!
Back at the AFCC, we were looking over last week's blog and when we saw the pictures from our session with the master gardeners, we were reminded to send Patrick, Michelle, Drew, Alexis, and Devin T out to check the spinach and radish pots their group planted with them. They were happy to report that the spinach has grown taller and the radish seeds have sprouted through the soil!
We celebrated National Animal Cracker Day by watching a clip from Shirley Temple's 1935 film Curly Top, in which she sings the catchy tune "Animal Crackers in My Soup." We watch that clip and snack on animal crackers every year on Animal Cracker Day, and never tire of it. This year we also added a new activity: Animal Cracker Bingo! It was a fun and tasty activity!
After lunch we visited The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg for a lesson with Christina. Today, Christina was celebrating last week's National Pet Day with us by sharing some of the museum pieces that remind her of pets. Laura is pointing to a ceramic cat that not only resembles the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, but serves as a candelabra as well!
This is a ballpoint ink and pastel drawing by an artist from West Virginia named Shields Landon Jones. We thought he was good at drawing, but wondered why the pets were nearly as tall as the people?! We also learned from Christina that pigs are very neat animals, who have specific spots away from where they sleep for going to the bathroom, and cows are nosy animals! Thanks for those interesting facts, Christina!
The piece we were observing here was an iron weather vane that depicts an indigenous person and his dog, which is partially blocked by Dev B (unintentionally). We could tell just by looking at this piece that the dog was devoted to the man, even though the piece lacked a lot of details such as color and facial features on the man and dog.
Another piece we observed today was an owl made of pottery, and Christina told us about a man who had an owl for a pet. She told us we could look that up on You Tube! The last piece we observed was in this toy gallery, and was a horse and carriage. Christina told us that sometimes people will have toys (or knickknacks) which represent pets they would like to have, especially wild animals like tigers or bears! We could all relate to that, as we thought about the many stuffed animals we've had over the years!
In the Education Studio, we made pins by coloring a picture of a dog playing a violin while a cat danced. After coloring, we mounted our pictures on colorful background paper, and then Christina laminated them and attached a pin so we could wear them.
It was kind of like making jewelry, right Sam and Erik?!
Christina also gave us the quilted square projects we made in February when we learned about the quilting community known as Gee's Bend in Alabama. We had left them with her to dry. What a fun and busy afternoon. Thanks for spending time with us today, Christina! We always leave with joy in our hearts and smiles on our faces!
After our lesson with Christina, we had time for a walk at Bicentennial Park, which is behind the art museums. Here's the group that was ahead of the photographer this week!
These friends were just behind the photographer! It was an absolutely gorgeous afternoon to be on a walk. We would love for the weather to stay this way for a while!
Wednesday
There was excitement in the air this morning as we prepared for our monthly visit from the therapy dogs! We made preparations to celebrate National Banana Day with them. They were enthusiastically welcomed by our gang!
We got right to work with our plans for Banana Day. We were making homemade treats for our dog friends! While Sam, Annmarie, Michelle, and Laura were getting gloves on, Casey sat at attention. Carol said he could smell the peanut butter, and that's one of his favorite treats!
Gunther could smell peanut butter, too! Sweet T, Patrick, Drew, and Alexis were combining it with mashed banana and oats and it did smell good!
Can you spot Marlo sitting nicely near the end of the table? Lena said he's not a big fan of bananas, but as Abraham, Dev B, Erik, and Liz learned later, he liked the cookie treats!
It seemed Leo wasn't much into "helping" Kate, Kevin, Adia, and Xavier, but he was happy to pose while Kent held him up on his hind legs!
The recipe was simple with the three ingredients, and pressing small amounts of the dough between their palms to make flat cookeis was easy, too, for Patrick, Sweet T, and Drew!
"Best Dressed" today goes to Laura, Alexis, and Kevin who wore their cute dog shirts for the occasion! (Kevin tried to look over his shoulder, but we couldn't get a great pic of the dog when he did!)
While the pup treats were baking, we enjoyed reading group time with the dogs and handlers. We aren't including reading pics since we have so many others today, but this video snippet of Ava reading knock-knock jokes to her group is too good leave out!
It was a surprise when the handlers and dogs showed us some of their tricks! Leo sat calmly until Kent said "Paws up" and then Leo earned a treat!
Casey followed Carol's command to sit up so fast that Lisa couldn't get around in time for a picture of Casey's face. He loved our treats and wasn't concerned with the photographer!
There were lots of "oohs and ahhs" when Lena said "twirl" and Marlo spun around!
We were proud of Gunther's patience when Ava told him to "stay" and then a few seconds later to "come." He knew there was a tasty treat waiting for him!
For fun we played a game of musical bananas to the Minons' "Banana Song." When the music stopped, everyone had to grab a banana picture off the floor! Today's session with the therapy dogs and our handler friends was "A-Peeling" to everyone! 🍌🍌🍌 We missed Carol / Darby and Caroline / Pip and Indy, and can't wait to see them next month. Thank you to ALL of our pups and handler friends for a PAW-RIFFIC morning! We had a blast!
P.S. Lena sent us a video of Marlo asking (barking) for a treat later when he was at home. Lena said she was telling her family about it, and when Marlo saw her show them the treat bag, he got excited! We're so happy you liked them, Marlo!! Thanks for the share, Lena!
We combined yesterday's Animal Cracker Day with today's Banana Day and made mini-banana pudding desserts with our left over animal crackers and bananas. Sam is shown using his water (milk) bottle to crush a few animal crackers to make a crust.
Michelle cut banana slices into her bowl. After this, we added a spoonful of vanilla pudding and topped it with a few more animal crackers. It was fun and tasty!
We had to postpone yesterday's soil testing to today, but it was worth the wait. After watching a SciShow Kids video called "Soil is Alive," we gathered our testing materials. First, we discussed the types of soil and reviewed testing procedures using the worksheets from the master gardeners. Patrick, Drew, and Alexis were preparing to test the soil sample from Grove Christian Outreach Center (GCOC).
Sweet T, Michelle, and Annmarie had a soil sample collected from the grassy/sandy area near the river at Yorktown. We wanted to test a sample that was somewhat sandy. Sweet T carefully placed the testing strip in the sample after they had mixed it with a little bit of water.
The sample we collected at Eaton was tested by Dev B, Liz, and Kevin. They compared the results of the test strip to the "answer key" on our worksheet. They determined that the test strip was a good shade of blue, which meant the pH was in balance.
Erik, Kate, Adia, and Xavier tested a sample that we collected near a woodsy area at the Yorktown Battlefield Visitor Center. There was a lot of decomposing material on the ground where this sample came from, and we think that is why this group had the "best blue" on their test strip. We determined this sample was the most balanced! Thanks for the extension to your lesson, Master Gardeners! We had fun following up and doing more soil testing!
Thursday
We got a lot done today. Earlier this week, we got behind for whatever reason, so yesterday and today we were catching up and moving forward at the same time!
First, we sent a great crew to work at Pet Supplies Plus. In addition to dusting, sweeping, and arranging products on the shelves, they were busy with other jobs, too.
Erik fed the hungry betta fish.
Scott showed Sam and Liz how to clean the larger fish tanks with some kind of vacuum gizmo!
Alexis and Laura folded and then neatly placed towels on the shelf for the next round of pet baths!
We'd like to thank PSP for giving us a great discount on bird seed, and Erik for holding the bag for this photo! PSP is a great place to get your bird seed, or birthday outfits for your pets...which can be seen hanging behind our crew!
Sounds like a fun event coming up at PSP on Saturday!
Meanwhile, the Cooking Crew was busy getting lunch ready for everyone back at the center.
Kevin and Adia were drooling after we made this fresh dill dip using dill we brought home from our garden visit last week. We used MG Barb's recipe and it turned out fresh, creamy, and very tasty!
We thought perhaps we had cut up too many veggies, but later the veggies and all of the dip vanished! Our hungry workers saw to that! Thanks for the recipe, Barb. We really enjoyed it!
We also harvested garlic at the garden last week. It wasn't fully ripe, and looked more like an onion, but Xavier minced it for us, and when we sauteed it for our pasta aglio e olio, it tasted as good as it smelled!
Each member of this group helped us get lunch ready, and they were proud to show it off before everyone dug in! We're very good cooks!
We couldn't overlook that today was National Lima Bean Respect Day! Lima beans don't usually find themselves as a pasta side dish, but we included them today out of genuine respect. 💚😋 Lima bean lovers unite!
After lunch, we had baking and manufacting chores to do. Kate, Dev B, and Annmarie helped make zucchini bread mini-muffins. We didn't have time yesterday, but we got it done today! These will be served as snacks at next week's session with the master gardeners on Tuesday, when it's National Zucchini Bread Day!
Everyone else worked on Eaton tasks. This group was in charge of inventory. Abraham, Drew, Dev T, and Laura counted lids into groups of 5. Patrick collected them and kept track of the running total. When they were done, 240 lids had been inventoried! Now they will be on the way to our gasketing team!
The rest of our team, Sam, Nan, Liz, Carol, Erik, Adia, Alexis, Kevin, Xavier, and Michelle (who missed the photo) assembled a rush order of 48 PowerSlide Doors. James brought them yesterday because the Eaton assembly line folks were almost out and needed us to prep enough for them to have for next week. Carol will take them to Eaton tomorrow. Good work from our baking and manufacturing teams this afternoon!
Friday
Today we got to end the week with a super fun birthday party for Kate! Her friend, Sandra, who is our friend now thanks to Kate, brought the Birthday Girl (and balloons!) and got lots of hugs from Kate's friends when they arrived!
Our guys always enjoy visiting with Sandra, who is originally from Colombia, recently got married in Portugal, had a honeymoon in the Maldives, and then visited her daugther who lives in Dubai! She enjoyed showing Alexis, Adia, and Liz these places on the world map.
Besides cooking a spectacular lunch for Kate's party, Sandra also brought us a beautiful craft to put finishing touches on, and have as a keepsake. She handpainted the insides of oyster shells with colorful party balloons and our names. To finish them, she helped us paint the other sides with bright colors. They are so pretty, but were still drying at the end of the day so we will bring them home on Tuesday.
Karryna was able to join us for Kate's party. There was an oyster shell for her, too! Kate painted hers pink and red, but Karryna just went with pink! Later, we found out Karryna has landed a new job with Sheltering Arms, a rehabilitation center in Richmond. She will be leaving JCC Parks & Rec, and we will miss her a lot! We are very proud of her, though, and happy she has an opportunity to use her amazing talents with the participants at a day program at Sheltering Arms. 👏👏
Tracy was at the party, too! She's definitely part of our AoA family, and we always love to spend time with her. Dev B, Liz, and Kevin were all smiles to have Tracy at their table!
Thank you, Sandra, for the wonderful lunch and the beautiful oyster shell keepsake. We love visiting with you, and today was extra special since we were celebrating Kate's special day!
Speaking of Kate's special day, we hope all of her birthday wishes come true!
Thanks also to Elizabeth and Mark, for adding soda and yummy cupcakes to the party, and for hanging out with us, too! We enjoyed your company this afternoon!
Just as we were wrapping up Kate's party, we got a surprise visit from Becky! Could the day have been any better?! She stopped by to say "hi" and we got to meet her brother, Kevin, too! It was sooooo nice to see you Becky, and to meet Kevin! We hope you and Kevin enjoyed your visit to Colonial Williamsburg after your visit with us. It was a beautiful day for a stroll outside!
After party clean up, Choice Time, and read-aloud, we capped off the week with a relaxing yoga session with Jaime. We were getting set up in this picture.
Whew, it was a great day! We had the best time celebrating Kate's birthday, hanging out with the always high-energy and fun Sandra, chatting with Kate's parents, and getting a surprise visit from Becky and meeting her brother, Kevin! 🥳💖🥳💖
Next week we will wind up April with a master gardeners session, GCOC volunteer work, a visit with Mike at the Watermen's Museum, Eaton work, and a celebration for Devin B's birthday! Here's a rundown:
Tuesday: Our week begins with the master gardeners for Spring Session #2, and we'll learn about trees. It's National Zucchini Bread Day, so we'll treat the MGs to the variety of zucchini bread mini-muffins we baked last week! The weather forecast looks promising so we'll also plan to have lunch, take a walk, play bocce, and enjoy a day outside at Freedom Park. Bring a bagged lunch. Arc shirts optional as we want to wear them tomorrow for volunteering at GCOC.
Wednesday: Today we will volunteer at GCOC, so please wear Arc shirts. In the afternoon, we will have a lesson about earthquakes since it's National Richter Scale Day (it's a thing!). It's also National Audubon Day, which is a good time for us to learn more about the birds that visit our feeders. Lunch on your own. The JRES Cafeteria is available and is offering Chicken Sandwich or Hot Dog.
Thursday: Mike rescheduled our visit to the Watermen's Museum to today, so we'll travel to Yorktown and see what he has planned for us! The weather forecast looks iffy, but we'll try for an outside day so bring a bagged lunch. It's also Babe Ruth Day and Poem in Your Pocket Day, so if we return to the center, we have lessons ready on both of those topics. Arc shirts optional.
Friday: Happy Birthday to Devin B today! We'll celebrate his special day with a pizza party for lunch, courtesy of his family who will be joining us for the festivities! The party will take place at Eaton since it's a work day for us, so please wear Eaton shirts. After the work day...and party...we'll return to AFCC and wind things down with yoga, so dress to stretch, too.
Enjoy the weekend,
Lisa, Carol, Nan, and the AoA Gang
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