When my daughters were high school cheerleaders, I sat in the bleachers biting my nails and covering my eyes, hoping they wouldn’t get hurt. After they both graduated I gave a big sigh of relief that my worrying about cheerleading injury days were over. Not so. Now they both have daughters of their own in cheerleading – whole new generation for me to worry about.
According to the United States Sports Academy, cheerleading injuries account for more than half of calamitous injuries in female sports. Most injuries are caused by direct hits on the body from falling on a gym floor. Studies have shown that other surfaces such as grass, rubberized track and artificial turf are not any safer. The safest surfaces for cheerleading are spring loaded floors or foam mats, which usually are not available at sporting events such as high school football games.
This is my granddaughter Natalie now at age 13 and at 9. She and her sisters have been cheerleading since they could walk. Her family owns Tilt Tumble and Cheer in South Lyon (Michigan), where Natalie practices safe tumbling and cheer stunts daily. Natalie and her sister Alli just completed their competitive cheer season with the South Lyon Paws UNDEFEATED! Here’s what Natalie has to say about Cheerleading Safety (the girl knows what she’s talking about!)
Cheerleading Safety by Natalie Tilt
There are many rules middle school cheer teams must follow in order to keep athletes safe. One important safety rule is that you can never let your flyer hit the mat. This means that the girl who is being held in the air can’t fall and hit the ground. This prevents injuries such as broken bones and concussions from an athlete falling to the ground from high in the air. It also prevents the flier from losing trust in her stunt group. Another rule to go along with that concept is that the backspot must be looking at the flyer the whole time or the team will receive a penalty. This rule was also established to protect the flyer because if she is falling the most important part is to catch is the head and neck, this is the responsibility of the backspot. Another rule strongly enforced in cheer is that all participants must remove all jewelry. This prevents any incidents in which the jewelry gets caught on something or hurts the cheerleader. The final, most important rule, is to always try your hardest. This rule is very important because without trying your hardest, you are putting yourself and others in danger. This may not sound like a dangerous situation but if you are slacking and only putting in half effort you could not land your tumbling pass and injure yourself. Also when you are in a stunt group everyone’s effort counts and effects the stunt group. If you aren’t giving it your all then the stunt could come down and many people could get injured. These are some of the many very important rules of cheerleading.
March is Reading Month and we’ve got tons of great reading at our school and local libraries. But what if you want to build your own library!!!!
Audio Books Now offers 50% off your first purchase, deep discounts, roll over discounts, exclusive discounts and offers and you can cancel at any time.
What a great gift idea to give to those with reading disabilities. Audio Books Now offers three gift giving selections. Click below to see the top authors and best selling books available.
What child doesn’t like getting mail? Book Roo has a Book Club for Kids! Make reading exciting!
See their faces light up when the story is about them!! Let your little princess dream big with her own personalized book!
Reading is great for everyone, even those who may experience some difficulties or in conveniences.
Did you know there is a library for the blind and physically disabled? What qualifies as “blind” or “physically disabled?”
*Legal
Blindness
*Visual
Disability
*Physical
Disability (not being able to hold a book or turn a page)
*Reading
Disability
My husband, Rog isn’t totally blind, but his
vision is extremely impaired. Every two months, he gets a catalogue from
the National Library Service, from which he can choose from a wide variety of Talking
Book topics. If he doesn’t make a
choice, the library will send something they think he might like. He is
getting audio books, large print books and magazines delivered right to our
door. The library even supplies the audio player and accessories. When
he is finished, he returns them to the package in which they came, puts them in
our mailbox and they send him a new
one. And this is all FREE!!!!!!!!!!!
There’s even
more at the library itself. There is a
closed circuit television (CCTV) which magnifies printed materials for easier
reading.
There is a
large print keyboard and JAWS (Job Access with Speech). JAWS is a screen
reader that provides speech and braille output for the most popular computer
applications.
There is a Braille printer that can
translate text into Braille and print!
In addition, there are
both hand and hand magnifiers that can be borrowed!
We live in Michigan, and the Clinton
Macomb Public Library located at 40900 Romeo Plank in Clinton Township, has a
Library for the Blind within the public library.
If you don’t live in
Michigan, the National Library Service For The Blind and Physically Handicapped
(https://www.loc.gov/nls
) can help you find a library near you.
There are
qualifications to participate, so click on this link or call Barb or Anne at
(586) 226-5053 for more information. They are so kind and helpful and you
don’t even have to leave home. Be
sure to check out this website for the Clinton Macomb Public Library. It has tons of information and links for
those with disabilities. https://cmpl.org/mlbph
Thank you to Barb and
Anne from the Clinton Macomb Public Library for all your help and kindness.
It’s never too early to start reading to the grandkids. It’s just hard to tell who enjoys it more them or us!
100
Books to Read Before Kindergarten
Miss
Nelson Is Missing by Harry Allard
Old
Black Fly BY Jim Aylesworth
Big
Fat Hen by Keith Baker
Ten,
Nine, Eight by Molly Bang
When
Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang
I
Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! By Karen Beaumont
Madeline
by
Ludwig Bemelimans
The
Mitten by Jan Brett
Stone
Soup by Marcia Brown
Big
Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
Good
Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
The
Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
Mr.
Gumpy’s Outing by John Burmingham
Mike
Milligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
Stellaluna
by Janell Cannon
The
Grouchy Lady Bug by Eric Carle
The
Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Five
Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow
Freight
Train by Donald Crews
Click
Clack Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
Strega
Nona
by Tomie DePaola
Jamberry
by Bruce Degen
The
Empty Pot by Demi
Llama
Llama Red Pajamas by Ann Dewdney
The
Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
Gossie
by
Olivier Dunrea
Are
You My Mother? By P. D. Eastman
Planting
a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
Chicken
Little by Ed Emberley
Olivia
by
Ian Flaconer
Bark,
George by Jules Feiffer
Time
For Bed by Mem Fox
Corduroy
by
Don Freeman
The
Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone
The
Three Bears by Paul Galdone
The
Three Billy Goats Gruff by Paul Galdone
The
Three Little Pigs by Paul Galdone
Kitten’s
First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
Lilly’s
Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
Owen
by
Kevin Henkes
Duck
& Goose by Tad Hills
Amazing
Grace by Mary Hoffman
Rosie’s
Walk by Pat Hutchins
Harold
and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
Jump,
Frog, Jump by Robert Kalan
Wolf’s
Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza
The
Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Miss
Spider’s Tea Party by David Kirk
The
Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
Alexander
and the Wind-Up Mouse by Leo Lionni
Swimmy
by
Leo Lionni
Frog
and Toad (series) by Arnold Lobel
Froggy
Gets Dressed by Jonathan London
George
and Martha by James Marshall
Chicka
Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr.
Brown
Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr.
Guess
How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
Make
Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Elmer
by David McKee
Little
Bear
by Else Minarik
Love
You Forever by Robert Munsch
If
You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
Amelia
Bedelia by Peggy Parish
The
Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
The
Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
The
Ugly Duckling by Jerry Pinkney
The
Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
The
Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
Good
Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
Curious
George by Hans Rey
My
Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann
We’re
Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
The
Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
Skippyjon
Jones by Judy Schachner
The
True Story of the Three Pigs by Jon Scieszka
Where
the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
The
Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
Green
Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
How
the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
One
Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
A
Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
Duck
On a Bike by David Shannon
No
David! By David Shannon
It
Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles Shaw
Sheep
in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw
Caps
for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
There
Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly by Simms Taback
The
Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani
The
Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Alexander
the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day by Judity Viorst
Mouse
Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh
The
Legend of Sleeping Bear by Kathy Jo Wargin
Scaredy
Squirrel by Melanie Watt
Flotsam
by
David Wiesner
Don’t
Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems
Knuffle
Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems
Bear
Snores On by Karma Wilson
The
Napping House by Audrey Wood
How
Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? By Jane Yolen
Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
For personalized stories, click the picture below to be directed to “Put Me In The Story.”
For reading that comes with adventure, check out Little Passports!
Coming soon, we’ll be revealing our favorite stories and yours too, so please send us a message below and let us know what your favorite stories and books are.
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