Carol Johnston: The One Armed Gymnast

 ^{Carol Johnston, was born in 1956, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She started out as an ice skater then,  she began doing gymnastics to strengthen her legs for figure skating, and fell in love with it.  Starting at the age of 12 she put her heart and soul into gymnastics.  1n 1979 Carol competed in the Canada winter games, then in 1976 she competed in the Junior Olympics in Montreal, and also at the Hawaii Invitations.   Shortly thereafter, she enrolled at Cal-State Fullerton for college. "I thought I could improve as a gymnast at Fullerton," Carol said. "I also thought it would be good for me to be out on my own." In her freshman season she became the conference beam champion.  In her sophomore year she won beam and placed third in floor exercise at her school's conference championships. She and her teammates traveled to Seattle, Washington for the NCAA Championships. Placing second on beam and floor, she earned All-American honors.  Determined to win gold at the 1979 NCAAs, Carol trained her hardest that season. Fate took a sad turn however, and she tore her right ACL while warming up for a UCLA vs California State meet. The injury was  devastating, but provided Carol with insight, "Now I really know what handicapped is" With her leg in a cast, she plowed ahead with conditioning.  she was determined to be back as soon as possible.}   "I have a chance at a title, and I just have to do it," she explained. "That's my goal." Carol did come back, but soon after she landed low on a tumbling pass, reinjuring her knee.  Doctors repaired it, cautioning her that if she landed on it wrong again she may never walk again. Carol headed the advice and quit competitive gymnastics. "Having one arm was never a limitation, but my knee was,"  Carol explaned. The move was hard for Carol, but by continuing to coach gymnastics to young children she was able to remain in the sport. 

Olympic History

Olympic History

Gymnastics is one of the only sports to have appeared at every modern Olympic games since the first competition in 1896. Men's artistic gymnastics was the first to appear, followed by the women's artistic events in 1928. According to the British Olympic Association, the first games involved athletes from five countries competing on six apparatus, including the horizontal bar, parallel bars, pommel horse, rings, vault, and rope climbing. Despite the fact that it was not until the late 1950s that the competition structure in place today was evident. Rhythmic gymnastics, an elegant discipline using hand-held apparatus, was first included in the 1984 LA Games, and the most recent Olympic gymnastics discipline is trampolining, which appeared at the Sydney Games in 2000.

                                                   -Katie

You Might be a Gymnast if...

*You might be a gymnast if...
*You sit in the splits no matter where you are.
*You own more leotards than regular clothes.
*You always do handstands in the pool.
*You are on your hands more than your feet.
*The first thing you do in the morning is stretch.
*You hear a good song and instantly start choreographing a routine.
*Aerial is not a mermaid.
*Practice makes perfect isn't just a saying, but a way of life.
*You can stick it without using glue.
*You do pirouettes while waiting in line.
*You promise to never stop gymnastics.... like an energizer bunny that just keeps going.
                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                     ~Katie



   
  

My Great Pyrenees.

My Great Pyrenees, Mia, is what you would call a badger, because she has a mask of color across  her forehead. Most Great Pyrenees are all white, but sometimes they are born with badger markings.  Great Pyrenees are often stubborn, but with loving consistency, they can be trained out of it.  Great Pyrenees are very intelligent, and they have their unique personalities. They do funny things, such as carrying their food bowl around when its empty.  Mia lives to snuggle, and play. When Mia wants attention she has a funny habit of going into our rooms and getting stuff she knows shes not supposed to have, like clothes off our floor, or bath toys out of our bathroom. She once tipped over a water jug that I had left on the floor, after watering plants inside. When she saw that the jug was spilling out water, she picked it up by the spout so that it was up-rite again.  Over all, they are a wonderful breed, and I don't think I will ever get a different type of dog.

Thanks for reading!

-Katie

The History of Medicine

   

The History of Medicine

  If you were sick in 1900, your doctor couldn't do much more than help you be comfortable until your body conquered the illness, or until the illness conquered you. The doctor had very little in his little black bag, although he did carry, morphine and aspirin to ease pain, quinine to fight off malaria, smallpox vaccine, and digitalis for heart failure.

   Oh how that little black bag has grown. Nowadays, we have medicine for almost every malady known to man! If you had a cold back in 1800 they didn’t have medicine to make you feel better.  As for now, there are approximately 13,000 prescription drugs on the market today, and several drugs can often be used to treat the same condition.

The Ultimate Guide to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The book The Ultimate Guide to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is is very fun!  I'm really happy my mom did this with us. I'm twelve and my sister is fifteen, and even though some of the activities are for younger kids, we really liked the projects and games.  I enjoyed the crafts and the baking most of all!  It is quite informative too!  I learned a lot about cocoa beans, and other stuff. 

I think that kids of all ages would enjoy this book.  I would definitely recommend this for anyone looking to do a fun, easy unit study with their kids.  It makes reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory even better! 

Thanks for reading! Have a fun day! 

Katie 

Great Pyrenees Temperment

The Great Pyrenees is docile, and caring, but they are also territorial and vigilant of there flock or family when needed, its common demeanor in one of composure and patience.  The Great Pyrenees is strong willed, self ruling, and reserved breed. They are also alert, quite fearless and dependable due to its duties. The Great Pyrenees' size makes it an imposing guardian. A Great Pyrenees will patrol its perimeter and may run off if they are left of there leash in an unenclosed space. The Great Pyrenees also tends to growl and bark a lot unless taught otherwise. The Great Pyrenees can be slow to learn commands and a little bit stubborn at times.    

Great Pyrenees Description

On average males grow to be 110-120 lbs, and 27-32 inches tall.  As for females there weight can range anywhere from 90 to 100 pounds and there height is usually 24-29 inches. There typical life span is 10- 11 years.  

Great Pyrenees

The Great Pyrenees, originally known as the Pyrenean mountain dog, was bread to guard sheep on steep mountain tops with agility in the early 1400s.   They are naturally nocturnal and will be belligerent with any threats that may harm its flock. However they can usually be trusted with small or young animals due to there natural guardian instinct.   

John Muir

      John Muir was a Scottish born American naturalist, who instrumented saving Yosemite Valley, and sequoia National park.  John Muir had many places named in his honor such as, Muir Beach, John Muir Trail, Mount Muir, Camp Muir, Muir College, and Muir Glacier.  John Muir was the founder of the sierra club, Which is now one of the most important conservation organizations in the United States.

Ferret Facts

ferret facts

________________________________________

ferret life span: 6-8 years (up to 11 years).

Names:

Female: Jill, spayed female: Sprite

Male: Hob, neutered male: Gib

Baby Ferret: Kit

Size:

Male: 15"- 16" (without tail) 

Female: 13"- 14" (without tail)

Weight:

Male: 2-3.5 lbs

Female: 0.75-2.5 lbs

Sleep: 18 hours/day

Pregnancy period: 42 days

Litter Size: 8 on average

Kits are weaned: 6-8 weeks

Mating Season: Spring- Summer

Female ferrets must be either bread or spayed. if not, they could go in to prolonged heat and eventually die.

All About Goats Milk.

Will your family drink it?

most people cant tell the difference between goats milk and cows milk,

however some people may decide that they like goats milk, but when they figure out that its goats milk they decide they don't like it, there isn't much hope for those people, unless you give them goats milk in a cows milk carton and not telling them the truth! In taste tests most people actually prefer goats milk more than cows milk. 

Starting Seeds Indoors!

Starting Seeds Indoors!

      What you will need:

Potting soil
Seeds
A large spoon

An egg carton (top and bottom separated)

Popsicle sticks
Permanent marker
Plastic wrap

 

Step one: 

Put about an inch of soil in each space. Spread it out so that it's even.  Don't mash it down.

Step two:

Place plastic wrap in the top of the egg carton.

Step three:

Place the bottom part of the egg carton inside the top.  The top of the egg carton will help the bottom keep it's shape, even after it gets wet.

Step four:

Place two to three seeds in each space. When the plants sprout up, you will have to pull some out of the soil, if there is more than one in each space.

Step five:

Write the name of the plant on a Popsicle stick with permanent marker. Then, place the Popsicle stick in the space where you have paced the seeds of that plant.   

Step six:

Mist your soil until it is nice and wet, even under the surface. Do this every day.

Step seven:

Place the plants somewhere sunny and warm, until they are big enough to transfer into your garden!

Thank you for reading my tutorial.  I love comments! 

The Cerebrum

     The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain. The cerebrum is the thinking part of the brain.  It controls memory.  You use your cerebrum to make decisions and imagine.  The cerebrum controls voluntary muscles; the muscles you use when you kick a soccer ball or dance.  The cerebrum also  makes it possible for you to see, hear, taste, touch, and smell.

      The cerebrum has two halves, known as hemispheres.  It is covered with a large layer of nerve cells, called the cortex.  The cortex is involved in many complex brain functions including memory perceptual awareness, thinking, and language.  The right side of the cortex controls muscle activities in the left side of the body, and the left side of the brain controls the activities on the left side of the body.