#18

#17 Final Day

These photographs should be reversed, but I am in a hotel working on Joseph's little laptop and don't know how to do that without losing a photo.

Our last morning started at 5:30 when Reba picked me up in Jim's truck. She opted to drive which was fine with me. In fact, the only driving I did was hauling the trailer. Reba and Kelly were my helpers all weekend, and they were the biggest help. They fed, watered, groomed, cleaned stalls, encouraged me, and even offered a nip of VO when necessary..... Reba drove us all over when we went out to eat or wander. Anyhow, we got back there in time for me to get a little one on one help. I worked again on yielding the front end and the back end since I knew we would be lunging, and sending again this morning. We started with all of that and then we kind of combined the two. We were to send the horse and then step in front of the horse while changing hands on the stick and rope, and then immediately send them the other direction. In the second photo I am getting some help from Clinton, in the first photo I am getting the hang of it.

Another exercise we did was walking in a circle with our horse walking with us... we would rest our stick on their shoulder. We would walk in about 10 feet circles for awhile and then we would change directions. We also did an exercise that teaches the horse to stay by our shoulder while leading them. As the horse got the hang of that, we worked on changing directions to the inside, and also to the outside. The object being that the horse would learn when to hustle and catch up.

We ate our last lunch at the Subway again. It was close, and menu predictable.

#16 Merry Christmas.... and the rest of day two.

After the break, Clinton told us that we would be loping on a loose rein. You could hold on to the saddle horn... but you were not to steer or otherwise touch the reins. He had 3 people go at a time. I was in the second batch that went. I was really nervous because my horse is an old roping horse and likes to go fast. Clinton asked if anyone wanted one of his assistants to ride their horse for them first. I nearly went for it, but I didn't chicken out... However, once we got going our horses had to negotiate around 17 other horses. It was pretty scary and I think I said that out loud, because he asked me again if I wanted someone to ride my horse. I really started thinking about it then, but hung on. Just when he was going to ask us to stop the Gray really started moving. I knew from experience if I just yanked him into a one rein stop that he would stop on a dime. I was afraid I might get launched. You know that about "an object in motion stays in motion...." So since I was on the other side of the arena, I cheated a little, slowed him down first and then stopped him. I did it!! Faced another fear. It was interesting to watch all the other folks lope on theirs. Some did opt out, but most didn't.

We took a short ten minute break when all had had a chance to ride. When we got back, they had made a line about 15 feet away from the fence all the way around the arena. We were to trot or lope, but this time we were aloud to use one hand on the rein. What they wanted us to do was to teach the horse to ride the fence. We were to keep them between the line and the fence. If they strayed over the line we were to over correct and steer them straight to the fence and then let them go on. We were to wait until they committed to the mistake and then correct them. That is a good part of his philosophy. He doesn't want us to nag the horse, or not allow them to err... He feels they learn better and faster. This was a more comfortable exercise for me because we could choose to trot or lope... and we could slow them down if they would go too fast...

Quite a day... horses and humans were exhausted.. We were supposed to know feed or water for awhile, but we were trying to get home so I could attend the Mayfield Christmas. The gal in the stall next to us, overheard our dilemma and offered to feed and water later for us. That was great, so we hopped into the truck and took off. The Mayfield gathering was wonderful... great attendance. I had another whole generation to teach "Who's got a beard that's long and white.... " to. Definitely worth driving two hours to get to. I kind of slipped out early because Reba was picking me up at 5:30 in the morning!

#15 Day Two

Well, I did make it to the arena by 8 am. In fact, I was the first one there. I got one of the gals to help me with yielding his hindquarters and we did much better.

The morning was once again devoted to ground work. We learned how to "send" a horse. You stand facing the fence and send your horse from left to right and have them spin and face you. I felt really uncoordinated, because you have to point the direction you want the horse to go, swing the stick and then pull the rope to your middle, step towards the horse and swing to the stick again to have the horse turn and face you. I knew the steps, but I just couldn't get them straight. Reba and Kelly assured I was far from the worst one there.

We went to Subway's for lunch and then dashed back to the arena. We were to show up with our horses saddled!! We spent a long time learning how to do a one rein stop. Then we walked and trotted on a loose rein... If you needed to slow or stop, you would do that with the one rein. All was well until Clinton wanted us to lope...... more later.

#14 Day One.... but more to come!

Well, I survived my first day. We only did groundwork, so I wasn't nervous. It was a long day and I learned a ton. I had tried all the techniques before attending the clinic, but there is nothing like having someone able to point out what you are doing right, or not so right. The first thing we did was to back him out of our "personal" space. Well, I had backed him up a lot, but I had always moved with him. I was now supposed to move him out to the end of the lead rope and not move my feet. If the horse doesn't back up, you are to whack the rope with your stick. Apparently I wasn't whacking hard enough, because next thing I know Clinton is right behind me. I know Reba was having fits because of the personal attention that I was getting..... (Alas, he is young enough for me to be his mother!) Throughout the day I got help from his 3 assistants also. Grady is really good in the desensitizing area so we had no problems with that. Then we moved on to yielding the hindquarters, and with some pointers we finally got that going. I was getting some help on the yielding and giving "two eyes" but we ran out of time. The gal said that she would help me in the morning. They are having a session at 8 in the morning for those who want some extra help. It also made a difference later when we had to lunge the horses. Grady lunges all right, but he does not stop and yield his hindquarters well at all. I know that tomorrow we will be "sending" them. You send them between you and a fence and then have them yield and turn and go back the other way. So.... I will be there bright and early. Later in the day when we were to start the yielding the "forequarters" I told the nearest assistant to not go far because I could not get that at all at home. She stuck with me, which was good, because we did have a bit of trouble. Grady keeps going backwards when I try to move his forequarters. We finally got it to where he would cross one of his front legs just one step. She told me that was good enough until he got consistent when I asked. The last thing was flexing their neck. They would not let us leave until we had it good on both sides. I thought I was doing it pretty well, but then Clinton decided I wasn't doing it quite right and helped me.... and then so did two of the assistants. I finally got it. It took a bit of coordination, which is hard when someone is watching you. The final thing they have you do that day is to back your horse all the way out of the arena... The theory is that the more you back a horse, the softer and more compliant they get. I guess partly because they are really dependent on you not to run them into anybody.

We then headed back to the hotel where we asked for a good steak place. After we got there, we all ordered Mexican. Doesn't that figure..... Here in a little bit I will write about day two.

#13 We are here!

Reba met me at 2:45 and we made it to the vet by 3:15, just barely. Got health papers, Kelly met us and we were on the road. We had no problems, enjoyed the ride and got to the Young County Arena around 5:30. Got Gray settled into his stall, asked a guy to help us with getting the goose neck off the truck, and we were on our way to our hotel.

When we got to the hotel, our room with the 2 queen beds had been given away. It was either two queen beds and smoking, or a king with a roll away. We decided to try our luck at a Holiday Inn Express that was just down the road from the arena. Kelly and I waited in the truck while Reba checked in. Who should go in right behind her but no other than Clinton Anderson himself. He was obviously headed to a men's room, cause he walked right by Reba... and kept going. We honked, but she ignored us. He came back out and got on line behind her. Kelly called her on the phone and told her that he was behind her. She finally turned around and spoke to him. As she headed toward the truck, she looked as if she would swoon. It was hilarious. So.... quite accidentally we are staying at the same hotel as he and his crew.

After we had a good laugh in the hotel room, we headed to Subway for a quick lunch.

Tomorrow is the day!!

#13 Our Great Adventure starts tomorrow....

Well, I went to Jim's tonight and picked up his truck and Nicholas' rodeo trailer. It is a two horse goose neck, which will be easier to pull than my bumper pull trailer. It also has a changing room, place for saddles, hay and feed. We are all set.

Tomorrow Reba will meet me at the house, and Kelly will meet us at the vet to get the final health papers. Then we will be on the road. I decided not to stress about not doing anything since Sunday. Trying to finish up school, decorate a little, then Joseph got in last night. I am meeting myself coming and going. My plan now is to just relax and learn. Wish I had a laptop so I could write nightly, but I am taking a notebook, so I will transcribe all Sunday night.

I am packed and ready to go!!

#12 Kelly came by....

Kelly cut the bridle path on "Grady" (trying out different names...). She also trimmed his ears, face and fetlocks. He looks very nice... I showed her how much better he backs up and flexes. We still struggle a little with the yielding the hindquarters, but she was impressed with how much better he is doing. I got him to lunge a bit for her.. We visited a bit too long, and I gave up the idea of taking him to Jim's arena. I will try to do that Tuesday, and tomorrow I will ride around here. Today I just picked out his feet and turned him back out.

#11 Made a bit of progress yesterday..

Yesterday morning was drippy and cool, but I got outside anyway. I was all prepared to get my horse to yield his hindquarters. I had studied up and reread part of the book. The other thing I did was watch Clinton's first episode. I had downloaded it to my computer. It was on round penning. He does suggest to do that with all horses, not just beginners. His initial step is to get them to move out and not change direction. Then he gets them to turn, but to the inside. Very quickly he goes from there to getting them stop and turn to face him. If the horse does not face him, he sends them off getting their feet moving. Well.. I fed the horses a little oats early on and shut the trap gate while they were eating. In the meantime, the dogs and I went after hay and caked the goats. We also discovered the paint goat had had a beautiful paint nanny. Quite large. I expect Curled Back Horn to kid any day. Thank heavens the weather is a little better. Anyhow, when I got back and entered the trap with the halter.... both horses ran off towards the gate that was shut. So... once they realized they could not escape, I sent both of them off swinging the halter rope. Very shortly, Major stops and walks up to me. You do have a good horse... just needs the ground work. So... I let him out the gate. I sent Gray off a few times.... he never really faced me, just kind of gave up. We really need a 50 foot round pen. We may have to cut down a tree to keep it where it is, but even Ricky is too big now for the little round pen. I really think I will be ready to work with him.

Back to my horse..... I go through all the things we have learned..... desensitized with the lead rope, desensitized with the stick and string, flexed his neck on both sides, backed him up 3 different ways, and then we tried moving the hindquarters. Well.... we made progress. He can do it pretty well on one side, and is halfway there on his stiffer side. Somewhere in the middle of all of this I realized that his feet were solid with mud. I didn't want him lame, so I picked out his feet. He is so good about that. I pretty much just tap his leg, and he lifts it up for me. Good thing we stopped, all kind of rocks and mud. After that I lunged him... somewhere in there I was pretty frustrated and tied him up and cleaned off the porch to get ready to hang Christmas decorations. It calmed me and I went back to it. I don't remember if it was before or after I tried to lunge him. But.... we got that going again. Wasn't real pretty on our stops where he should turn and face me, but at least we can get it going. I am hoping to get the advice I need to make better progress this weekend.

The big thing I wanted to accomplish this weekend was to get more confident loping. I was a little more apprehensive yesterday because we were trying the new snaffle bit. I know he is way more used to the severe roping bits that they have used on him in the past, so I decided to only ride down the driveway and around the house until I felt comfortable. I am supposed to be able to do a one rein stop on both sides. I tried that as soon as I got on the horse. He didn't like it worth a darn, but he started to understand on his good side. The stiff side wasn't as good, he wanted to keep going in a circle, but finally he would stop. If I reined him like he was used to, we did just fine... So I know I can stop him, we just have to work on other methods. He sure wanted to go yesterday, even broke into a lope heading down the driveway. So.... I took another break... Tied him to a tree and worked on the house some more. The porch looks great!

About 30 minutes later I tried again. This time I lunged him with the saddle on... then we headed out the gate. He is doing better about not moving off when I mount, I keep his head tilted towards the saddle. That happens to be his good flexing side. I did a lot of stopping when he would break into a faster gait without me asking. I am also trying to get him to chill when we stop. He wants to always go. We headed towards the alfalfa field, I didn't want to tear up what Mike had plowed. When we got to the field, I let him lope the entire length... that is a pretty long field. We did a slow trot across the width... I was tempted to say good enough, but about 2/3 the way back up the field I cut across and did another bit of loping. Can't say I did it on a loose rein, but then again I wasn't in an arena where there are boundaries. When I tried to do a loose rein, I could feel him getting faster and faster. However, he would always slow down when I asked. On the way back, I made him walk the entire way. He didn't want to, but we did a lot of one rein stopping and backing up, and he finally decided that walking and relaxing was much more productive. When we got back, I tied him up... I didn't leave him too long. I had decided to catch the end of the boy's basketball tournament. They were in the championship round. So, I turned him loose. I started to brush him and he was soaked all over, so I even got an old towel and dried him off, then turned him loose. I meant to pick the mud out of his feet, but I forgot. I originally was going to try to ride again later in the day, but I decided that he and I both needed an evening to think it all over.

Kelly is going to meet me this afternoon to cut a bridle path and make him look good. Reba is going to come also so we can make final plans. Then I am going to haul him to Jim's and ride him in the arena. Then.... if I have time after school this week I will ride, but I won't worry about it. At least I have accomplished a few things, and am not going to this clinic clueless.

#10 Been a few days.....

I got to work with Smokey (Bev's great suggestion) one day after that last post. That must have been on December 4th. Here it is 5 days later, and the weather or obligations have kept me from being able to work outside. I did lunge Smokey the next day and he picked up on it very quickly. However, it was pretty muddy and he slipped one time, and I thought he was going down, but he caught himself. I didn't want to cause a problem, so we didn't stay out very long. I also realized that he still doesn't give me "two eyes" like he should when we change directions, so I have reviewed that on the DVD I have as well as one of the episodes I have downloaded from Clinton's TV shows that is of a clinic he held in Waco. I think I understand better how to communicate that concept now. The horseshoer finally came on Sunday, so we are really ready to go. Now maybe a break in the weather will help.

#9 Alas, the weather continues to not cooperate....

Since no go on outdoor activities, I watched the section on the DVD that shows how to lunge the horse first stage. I think I get it. This morning in the tub I reread half of Clinton Anderson's book, paying special attention to yielding the hindquarters and giving two eyes, yielding the forequarters and the part on lunging. Sometimes reading the information helps me solidify it in my brain. So.... maybe tomorrow. 25 degrees right now.

#8 Cold and rainy

Well... no way to work outside today!! It was bad enough getting hay and feeding everyone. A day to stay in by the fire if I had one..

So... I watched the part of the DVD that spoke to moving the forequarters... watched the section on potential mistakes and problem solving. I guess I was just giving up too soon. As soon as the weather clears we will cross that hurdle. That's all for today.

#7 Sometimes it can be discouraging....

Quite a bit colder than we are used to... didn't get home from school till late, and only had 30 minutes of daylight by the time I got outside. Determined to get some ground work in. He really does back up well now, and the flexing seems to be better... also yielding the hindquarters. However, I can't seem to differentiate between that and the exercise to have the horse yield and give you two eyes. And..... I can't seem to get Gray to understand what yielding the forequarters is all about. That probably was the most discouraging.... I guess that is one of the reasons I am going to this clinic. Hopefully, I will be shown what I am doing wrong and what I could do better.

So.... to make the evening productive, I did get the snaffle bit on the bridle, and managed to attach the mecate reins. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be worse, so I think I will just try to get that bridle adjusted to fit Gray and also adjust the reins. I guess I need to look for one baby step at a time.

#6 Temperature muust have dropped 30 degrees....

It sure got cold today. I had to convince myself to at least do some ground work with the Gray. Turns out I am really glad that I did. He, for the first time, backed up when I tapped the stick in the direction of his nose... I was elated. Maybe we are starting to get the hang of it. He flexed better than ever, yielded his hindquarters pretty well, and then I tried just backing him up holding just below his halter. He knows how to do that, so no problem there.

You would think I would know when to quit while I am ahead. Of course not.... I had watched one of the clinic dvds and knew the next step would be to yield his forequarters. We are back to Gray not having a clue as to what I am trying to get him to do. However, I didn't get too discouraged. That seems to be our pattern. I'll study a bit more, and we'll get it tomorrow or the next day. I went back and repeated the things he had done well and turned him loose. The weather is supposed to be very cold over the next few days, so I expect that ground work is all we will get done. I'll take advantage of the bad weather and study the next steps in the ground work. Sending and lunging....

#5 Worked with Major, too.

I didn't ride today, but after I got Gray to back up, yield his hindquarters, almost got the face me with "two eyes" thing... and kind of stiffly flexed.... I decided that there was a little daylight left and that I would try the ground work with Mike's horse, Major. (Was that a run on sentence, or what?)

I started with desensitizing him with the lead rope. He didn't flinch a bit as I flung it over his back, his withers, his neck and his legs. I did the same with the stick and string.... still the same unconcerned attitude. Then I did what I call the whackity whackity thing (which really amuses Kelly and Reba) and Major could have cared less. This is when you are doing figure eights with the stick and string over the horse's head and whacking it on the ground. He even flexed his neck to the point that he almost touched his side. If he didn't scare me a little when I ride him, I would take him to the clinic. Gray is 10 years older and much more set in his ways. However, if I can get him to do what I want, I guess I really will have learned something. Neither horse likes to back... and Clinton says that is one of the keys to getting good control of your horse.

Hopefully the weather won't keep me indoors tomorrow. I plan to do the sending lesson and try lunging the Gray.

#4 He can back up!

Well, I took some encouragement from a DVD and with handy stick in hand set out to get the Gray to back up. We tried and tried..... first you are to move the stick rhythmically in front of his nose for 4 beats, then tap his lead rope lightly for 4 beats, whack the stick hard, then whack the metal clip on his halter. It took whacking the clip before he would move. At least he moved, that was a first. I persisted and tried to go lighter.... but it wasn't happening. I moved to another exercise of moving his hindquarters, which the Gray does pretty well. Then I tried another back up technique of wiggling the rope and then swinging the stick from left to right. Lo and behold, that one worked. I went back to the first method, and he went to backing up without so much force. Progress indeed. I tied him to a tree, and was going to go get Major, when I noticed that my sister, Elizabeth had called. I called her back and we did some Thanksgiving catching up. Since the days are short, I decided not to mess with Major... sent a text to Reba seeing if she was going to ride, then tried the flexing exercise with the Gray, and he was much better. I haven't heard from Reba, but I intend to ride here in a little bit either way.

(Later....) Well, Reba got home too late, so I rode off by myself. My arms are sore from swinging the stick and string. At least I am getting a workout! Gray did fine. We just rode down to the next county road. I had him stop several times because he doesn't like to. He always wants to keep moving. He relaxed more as time went on. I also bypassed our gate because he was so sure I was going to turn in. It went pretty well.

#3 Happy Thanksgiving

Hope everyone has had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a gorgeous day here in Texas and dinner with the family was filling and the conversation enjoyable.

I must say I am greatly impressed with the staff at Clinton Anderson's facility. Not only were they extremely helpful when I was signing up for the clinic and extremely patient when I had a myriad of questions about the tools I was ordering, but they also got it shipped out in a hurry. I ordered around 2:30 on Monday and I could not believe when the UPS truck drove up yesterday afternoon. Hardly 48 hours had passed.

I had ordered a new halter and lead, a twisted snaffle bit, some new reins and talked myself into a new saddle pad. My Christmas is covered.

I learned my lesson Tuesday.... Major did one of his running off things and took the Gray with him. I just calmly followed and followed... and followed. Major came back up to me, so I put the halter on him and then took it off. He really is easy to catch. Gray didn't give me too much more trouble, but today the two horses and Bumble (the donkey) were in the trap and all the goats weren't, so I eased in through the pasture gate shutting the other trap gate behind me. Now they were caught without a struggle!! Made things much easier.

Anyhow...... since I had the new halter, I decided to do some of the ground work Clinton Anderson believes so strongly in. One of the things he stresses is to get the horse to flex his neck on the ground and from the saddle. He wants the horse to be able to flex his neck to the point that his nose practically touches the stirrup leather. I could never get Gray to do that before today. He flexes pretty well on one side, but has a hard time on the other. I was watching one of the DVDs and Clinton mentioned that one side will be stiffer than the other. He forewarned that the horse may back up or turn circles before he will flex.... Gray did both. I am supposed to release the pressure as soon as there is some slack in the lead rope, but I had to really look for it. He just didn't want to flex. I went back to the other side..... no problem.

By now it was twilight, but I was determined to ride. Well, lo and behold... Gray was much quieter than the day before. Tuesday he wanted to trot and lope. Yesterday he was content to ease on down the road. I only went as far a Bartis' gate since it was nearly dark. But at least I made some progress and got on the horse. One of the things I will work on next is Gray moving off when I get on. Clinton basically recommends backing him up about 50' or more from the ground or from his back, and then trying it again. Or to set him up in an arena and make him move his feet if he moves when one is trying to mount.

I didn't work with my horse today... too dark by the time I got home from the Thanksgiving gathering. I hauled my saddle up to the house. As long as I have had it I have never given it a good cleaning. I only thought I would get started, but Joseph and I watched the UT game and I cleaned every bit of it. If I don't perform that well, my tack will look good....

I also watched a segment on backing a horse from the ground. Since backing is an unnatural act for a horse.... the more you can get your horse to do it, the more control you establish over the horse. My horse just looks at me asking "You want me to do what.....?" So, I knew I needed more instruction. Backing will be my goal for tomorrow!

#2 Horse Adventures....

If you have just found my blog the first installment of this horse adventure that I am undertaking starts below. I will number them to help it make sense.

That is quite a strange look on my face.... I appear to be irritated..... but I don't think I am.

This just happened to be the best picture of my horse that I have at the moment. His name is Tabasco, but Jim has a horse with the same name, so he is due to have his name changed. At the moment we call him "The Gray"... how original is that? If someone out there can come up with a better name I am willing to consider all possibilities.

Today was a big step up for me. For probably the first time ever, I rode off on my own. I have always started with a group, or at least Mike. One time he had a problem with his horse and we got seperated and I rode home alone, but that is about the only time I have done that. So.... today I saddled, bridled and took off. My horse has been lame for more than a month and I needed to see if he was better. If not, I was going to have to start riding Major. Mike's horse is a bit feistier than my horse and I would need to get used to him before the Clinton Anderson clinic. However, the Gray showed no signs of lameness today. I only rode for a little over 30 minutes, as I didn't want to overdue it his first day out in quite awhile. We rode around 3 of our fields, managing quite a lot of trotting and a little bit of a lope. When we headed back to the barn, he wanted to speed up, but I managed to communicate with him that we were going to just take it easy. After a few corrections, he managed to chill out. I felt very good about the whole thing. I tied him up for a bit while I tended to some outside chores, then unsaddled and put him up. I even connected with my horseshoer, so I feel that I have made a few positive steps toward making the clinic a success.

I ran into Jim at the grocery store and told him of my plans. He offered his trailer with the sleeping quarters and his diesel truck, but we'll see... I just may take my old livestock trailer... I guess it depends how cold it will be to haul a horse that weekend. Maybe I ought to take him up on that offer.

#1 2009 - The Year Facing Many Fears.....

Well, this has been quite a year. In January, I went with 11 women on a 4 day cruise for my sister, Elizabeth's 50th birthday party. I had never been on the ocean, and even learned to snorkel...

In March, I dealt with my slight fear of heights and rode a mule down the Grand Canyon. Quite exhilarating and I highly recommend it, but not for the feint of heart.

In June, I went to Brazil for 10 days to Macae' where very few people spoke English. I managed to buy groceries and to order at the local McDonald's...lots of pointing. I also went on a trail ride on a small Brazilian horse! What a wonderful, memorable trip.

In July, I went with Dad and Beverly on a Canadian Expedition. I braved the North Sea in a Zodiac! Now that was scary! We traveled north around the tip of Labrador. Such an adventure and good times spent with my folks. We even saw a Polar Bear.

Just this November I walked a half marathon in San Antonio with good friends and family. The fear there was only of not finishing. We did great and finished half an hour faster than we thought we could.

Well, now I've gone and done it. Yesterday I signed up for a 3 day Clinton Anderson Horse Clinic. I only checked to see if I had moved up from 7th on the waiting list and suddenly I was offered a spot. I panicked and then said yes. The gal did ask me if I could trot and lope on a loose rein in an arena.... I told her I could....... Well, I trot all the time and occasionally lope. I will have to make good on that statement by going to Jim's arena to practice. After I called Kelly and we both screamed..... I went over to Reba's and told her. We had a celebratory toast with a bit of the "Gold".... or was it to calm my nerves? I did go home and watch the last 45 minutes of one of Clinton Anderson's "Regaining Lost Confidence" DVDs. (Not that I had any to begin with.....). Reba loaned me two sets of her DVDs, so I will immerse myself.

Since Mike will be starting his "Stardates" while moving the rig from South Africa to Barbados, I thought I would start a little horse journaling of my own. The countdown to the clinic is on... only 23 days to get my act together...

Here in a little bit I will post my adventures of this afternoon.

Thing #23

Yea!! I made it. I started to have my doubts, but with a few folks that were cheering me on I was able to focus and get it done.

My favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey were learning how to blog, discovering mashups, the cool tools from Google, RSS feeds (who knew all that info could be gathered in one place...), Library Thing, Rollyo, Google Documents and Ning. I have created a place for my family on Ning to gather and share family history as well as plan future reunions.

This program had totally expanded my understanding of and approach to using the Internet. I really get the whole “collaboration” thing (even though my school has a very frustrating filter that will discourage it....). I will use much of what I have learned in my classroom, as well as in my personal life. It has revived my desire to learn more...

There were many take-a-ways and unexpected outcomes from this program. I was surprised and delighted on a daily basis. Coming into this program, I was completely unaware of the power of what is “out there.” I have never thought that there was much that was on the Internet that would be useful in my small pull out program for remedial readers. However, the use of collaborative word study projects, book reviews, motivating clips and posters, video casts, and much more will find a place in my room this year.

I have been very impressed with the Library2Play program. I wish I had even more time to peruse all the sites suggested, but will get back to it over this next year. I also wish the format was not one that is blocked at school so I would be able to share just how wonderful my experience has been, as well as my own blog.

If you offered another discovery program like this in the future, I would definitely choose to participate.

I would describe my learning experience in the one word, collaboration. I would probably not have finished without the support of other players. Now I hope to carry that spirit of collaboration back to the classroom with my box full of new tools.

Thing #22

Ning is very cool. I recently came home from a Family Reunion and decided a page on Ning would be just the thing to connect family and plan for next year's reunion. More selective thanFacebook, all family members could post photos, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, birth, graduations, etc. All in one spot!

One application at school would be to create a classroom Ning, that only students and parents in that class could participate. A place to post pictures, accomplishments, questions, etc.

I enjoyed looking at the educator Nings and plan to revisit Teacher Librarian Ning as well as Texas School Librarian Ning.

Thing #21

I wasn't sure that I could use Photostory on my Mac, so I made a little podcast on my computer using iMovie. It was very simple to use and I know my students at school would do better than I. I started a little project about vowel sounds and then added photos and pictures using the free clipart available on Classroom Clipart that would represent the sound. It will be fun to let my students add on to this project and improve it. The quality of some of the photos could be better as well as the transitions, but it is a start.

This was very easy to add to my blog using the Add Video button in the compose section of posting.

Thing #20

I enjoyed looking through the videos on both Youtube and Teachertube. The videos by children on Teachertube were really fun. I watched some "commercials" children made about their books. I can see where this would be a great tool.

Youtube had quite a few interesting videos related to dyslexia. I had no trouble embedding this link, however the screen doesn't quite fit the blog. Here is the link if one would like to view the whole screen, The Power Of Dyslexia about Famous Dyslexics This video could be used for many different audiences. Teachers would perhaps look at their struggling students with a different perspective, children would feel better about themselves, and parents may realize that there is hope.

Thing #19

I spent some time perusing the Web 2.0 awards list trying to find sites that would be useful in my setting at school as a Reading Specialist. I had high hopes for .Docstoc thinking that if someone else had a better document outh there to share it would be great. However, I had to really search to find anything helpful. I will revisit.

Next I looked at all the collaborative writing sites, but decided that for me Google Docs is still the best and simplest way to go.

I will recommend to my son that he check out the emplyment and jobs section....

The PEERtrainer seems to be a good tool for health and weight loss. As a person who always wants to lose a few... I found this free site to have lots of potential.

There do seem to be lots of intriguing sites that when time permits I will investigate further.

Thing #18

Had I known that there were at least two free document tools, I would not have just paid megabucks for Microsoft Office. I am impressed with both Open Office and Google Docs. I like that anyone can use these regardless of income. Both are easy to use. One of the problems I have had in the past with my Mac was the inablity to share documents with PC users. The different platforms available on Open Office is appealing.

I chose to work with Google docs for this exercise, but plan to get back to Open Office at a later date. This had applications for school as well as in my personal life. My husband, who is now working in Singapore, sometimes runs documents he is working on by me. Using google docs would not only speed up the editing and revising process, but we could do it in "real" time. I was just now explaining that to him. I told him that we could be talking on Skype and editing his document both at the same time. He was impressed..... Again, this would work well in a school setting. The ability to share documents interactively will foster the idea of collaborating on projects.

What amazes most so far about google docs is the templates that are available. Software always comes loaded with them, and I guess those can be updated online, but I got perusing the education templates and am very excited about what is available. I am going to share the student schedule, student cover letter, research paper and resume templates with my college bound son.

Back on the task for Wiki's, I tried to make a collaborative word study project. I just wanted to have a little project for kids to become more aware of suffixes or prefixes that are already in their own vocabulary. I had hoped to take the primary concept of a word wall and expand it to include multi-syllabic words. I think using a shared Google document might be a simpler way to go. It would be an open ended project to add to all year long. When I get it put together, I will add it to this post.

Okay, I have made my Google Doc Word Wall, now let's see if we can get there from here!

Thing #17

I added the Rollyo Search to my blog, but I had to put it at the bottom because part of it wouldn't show up if I put it in the sidebar. I haven't quite figured out how to customize the size of the gadgets.

I just love the RollBar. I figured out how to add it to my browser's toolbar and then did some experimenting with some websites. I went to the local newspaper and was delighted with how the rollbar quickly came up with information faster and a more organized presentation than the search that the newspaper offered. I anticipate using the Rollbar often.

Then I learned how to create my own Book Websites SearchRoll, and finally figured out how to link it with my blog. I also searched the Searchrolls that were created by Rollyo users. I found a ton listed under teacher websites and added some to my Rollyo Search list. Here's one: Rdg Interventions

Oh, the things I am learning!!

Thing #15

I am beginning to finally understand the Web 2.0 philosophy. The moving away from the web being just a tool for information to becoming the center of our "new digital lifestyle" as stated in the article Web 2.o. Blogs, wikis, websites, email, messaging, videos, pics, and other formats I know little of, are all collaborating in the learning experience.

The line from Wikipedia's entry on Library 2.0, "the need for Libraries to adopt a strategy for constant change while promoting a participatory role for library users," helps to illustrate another aspect of collaboration.

The video, A Vision of Student's Today, was very good and helped me to better understand what my son will probably experience as he heads off to college. Our traditional methods of instructing and imparting knowledge are quickly being outdated.

Now I guess we just need Education 2.0!

Thing #16

Ah, wikis.... never heard of them. I had heard of Wikipedia, but that is only because I have a teenage son. I think the formatt is great... especially the collaboration part. Not only can a wikki help to organize ideas and concepts, but in this case the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts.

I added my thoughts to the Sandbox... Wikis are sure user friendly. I can see using them for collaborative learning, planning events, collecting data, book reviews.... and as I wrote in the Sandbox, I am going to make a Wiki Wall.

Later... after some effort... I did make my Wiki Wall. It wasn't as creative looking as I would like, but at least it is a start!

Thing #14

I will certainly use Technorati as a search tool to find information in blogs for personal or professional use. Tagging makes so much sense, the world of blogs is so immense. As I was looking around and trying various searches I discovered that phrases did not produce a lot of "hits", but short one word tags delivered many. I guess it is kind of opposite of what I would do in a "google" search. Usually I would use many words to narrow down my search, but when searching blogs I am looking for a word to bring me many sources of information. Still trying to make sense of it all.

I found it not surprising that 4 out of 5 top blogs were tech related. However, I did not understand why the top tag search was the word taskbar. Other popular searches related to celebrities and cheat codes. The most popular tags were: friends, internet, life, music, news, politics, romance & relationships and weblog. Pretty good range, I think.

I did claim my blog.. I wanted to add a "tag generator" widget to my blog, but it seems to no longer exist. So, I have added the Technorati Top Tag Widget add the botom of my blog to help me remember to tag... and to know what words are appropriate, or useful, as tags.

Thing #13

Tags... I noticed the term when I started using Firefox as my web browser, but didn't know how to use them. Now I understand how to use tags to organize my bookmarks. I am also proud of myself because not only did I add Delicious on my tool bar, I was able to upload all my bookmarks from Safari (the browser I now use) as well as the bookmarks from Firefox. The most exciting part is that I can access these bookmarks from my computer at school... or anywhere. It may not seem like a lot to you technically savvy folks... but I am delighted!

Thing #12

Wow, thought this wouldn't take long.... but I got lost in the world of blogs and have only just now surfaced 2 1/2 hours later. So many blogs on so many topics. I would start reading one... that blog would reference another... and so on. I finally had to put a time limit on myself, or I would have been here all day!

I read through all the suggested readings, and all were extremely helpful. I am such a beginner. I have bookmarked the Cool Cat Teacher Blog: How to Comment Like a King (or Queen). I couldn't begin to remember all the good information in that article. How to "Criticize Kindly" is just one of the many helpful ideas.

I loved Meredith Farkas' about sharing. Her comment, "But most importantly, sharing will encourage others to share. And when there’s a culture of sharing, when we’re all sharing knowledge, we will all benefit." I have always learned so much from others through workshops, internet, chatting with colleagues, and even teacher lounge conversations. All have made an impact on the teacher and person that I am. I added Meredith's blog, Information Wants to Be Free, to the list of blogs that I am following.

As I started to read other teachers' blogs... I got rather caught up. I found a great poster to motivate reading utilizing football players on the 21 Things Training blog, enjoyed a great video called "The Power of One" on Book Egg's blog, discovered that CountryBooker and I have horses and NY in common, Molto Bene! and I are former Nancy Drew fans, and that Book Diva and I are both just discovering Facebook. As I mentioned before, I made myself quit and I hadn't even made it through half the blogs..

More fun was to be had when I got searching for blogs that pertained to my personal interests and realized that there were tons of blogs on horses and found a good one on crocheting. I added several, but my two present favorites are FaveCrafts and Adventures of the Painted Creek Farm .

I'll be gone for the next 3 weeks...

Off on a Canadian expedition... I'll pick up where I left off when I get back!

Thing #11

As a person that spends all her spare time reading, I found LibraryThing to be just what I was looking for. It is fun to catalog your own books, but to find interest groups, recommendations and reviews all in one spot is wonderful. I read for pleasure, but I also love to read about the field of reading. All kinds of wonderful ideas out there. I got the small LibraryThing Link to work on this blog, but I never could get the widget to work that would show some of my books. Maybe someone out there can help me figure out what I am not doing right.

I work with reluctant readers at school and am always looking for ways to motivate my kids. I think reviewing and posting about the books they are reading in a private group would be really fun and exciting for them. They will nearly always take a peer's recommendation over mine, so this might be a neat way for them to share.

Thing #10b

Next I tried Image Chef and did the Word Mosaic.. that was a lot of fun.

On to the Happy Face Generator.... so many fun things to do at that website. I will need to go back to check them all out. That is one reason I have tried to link all these cool sites on my blog. That will be another easy way for me to get back to the ones I like.

I used the Smiley Face Logo Maker to make this sign for our ranch:


Then I went on to the Big Huge Labs and tried out the
Motivator, here is the result of that endeavor....
I was wanting to come up with some inspirational pictures and quotes to help inspire our parents a little bit.

I did this Rubik's Cube on Dumpr, just for fun.

I think these websites will allow me to be a bit more creative in motivating my reluctant readers and parents. I would love to make inspirational posters using the pictures of my students (with parent's permission). They do love a little attention.

Thing #10a

Wow, all the free fun stuff one can do with the online image generators.. Here is my first attempt that was made with Body Switcher. I will add some more later in the day.

I like the thing I made in Wordle.. I wish I could put it on this page, but I guess a link will do. My wordle is based on the word Read.

Thing #9

Well... I checked them all out... took me a couple of hours, but I discovered all kinds of useful feeds and blogs.

I particularly enjoyed the Edublog Award Winners and intend to make another visit to this site. I added two blogs, Hey Jude and Free Technology for Teachers, to my list that I am following. These two blogs list even more technology ideas to wrap my head around, but some of the ideas I look forward to getting back to.

At Topix Net I was amazed that I could follow news that pertained even to the itty bitty town I live in in West Texas.

I think the most confusing site for me was the Atomic Learning. I am not sure I understand how to add RSS Feed from this site...

Thing #8

RSS feeds was something brand new for me. I like being able to access information all in one location on topics of my choosing. There is, as others have said, an overwhelming amount of information available on the Internet... I had difficulty not adding too many feeds. For now, I just added topics related to my field in teaching. Down the road I will add more topics that relate to me more personally.

I can see where this would help us all make better use of our time, as well as it being a good tool for students to gather information on topics of interest, current events, and research.

I am not sure how interesting this will be for others, but I did try to share my "public page" on this blog.

Thing #7

So many "cool tools" to choose from. Since I actually have time to explore I went through most of them on and off all day long yesterday. I have set up two Google Alerts. I am an elementary reading specialist and am always interested in learning what is being talked about in my field. I have already received some interesting information. I got the Google Calendar up and running and intend to share that with my family. I am doing a great deal of traveling this summer and that will be a good way for them to keep up with where I am. The Google Scholar is right up my alley. I like to be up with the current research in the field of reading, and my eyeballs hurt by the time I was done reading all the articles that came up. Also the advanced search already yielded some interesting power points which I have tried to list below:

www.ed.gov/parents/read/resources/guide/reading-parents.ppt

www.k8accesscenter.org/.../ThreeTierReadingProjectAccessPresentation4-27-06-handoutformat.ppt

And of course, Google Earth is amazing. I found the exact house we are staying in here in Macae, Brazil. The picture was from 2007, but it was still way cool. I still intend to check out igoogle.com soon, but I get overwhelmed with websites. I have one at school that I barely keep up with. I am planning to do a better job this next year.

Thing #6

This morning I tried... but I just could not get this Mosaic application to work. This afternoon, no problem. However, I could not upload pictures from my computer. I was going to make a mosaic of our travels, but things just seemed to hang up when I hit "upload." Nothing seemed to be happening. Maybe I wasn't patient enough. Maybe someone out there could give me some advice. The mosaic was a lot of fun to put together. The students at my school would enjoy it. I am going to try the Captioner later.. I would have made a Trading Card, but I have no pictures of me here... I'll get someone to take one and try again.

Thing #5

I had heard of Flickr before and knew somehow it was related to pictures, but I had no idea how extensive the number of photos until I got there. I spent way more time there then I meant to. I chose this picture because I am in Brazil missing my two Boston Terriers. I discovered that there were plenty of other Boston Terrier fans... thousands of pictures to choose from. I finally figured out and bookmarked the page for the Creative Commons Site. I would accidentally get out of it, find a picture that I wanted and then would realize that it was a copyrighted picture. The are lots of pictures in the Group - Dogs, dogs, dogs.... and I do realize that I could purchase them if I so desired. My students always enjoy finding pictures of people and places on the Internet that are mentioned in the books they are reading. This seems to help engage them and perhaps improves their comprehension. I will enjoy exploring this site further.

Thing #4

I have just sent my email to get registered, I hope that I am not too way behind everyone else. I'll do my best to catch up.

Thing #3

Decisions, decisions... however, I think my avatar mostly represents where I am at this moment. I may try to add a few more details a bit later... At one point I had to laugh, I kept thinking that someone in my family was going to walk in and think I was playing some sort of game... and I thought I was working so hard.. I need to lighten up.

Thing #2

As others have noted.. I also consider myself a lifelong learner. I enjoy the act of discovering new things and challenges to my abilities. Presently I am trying to improve my horsewoman skills, learn tricky new crochet patterns, understand and speak the Portugese language (husband's new job is in Brazil), and am always trying to understand how I can reach my students better so that all will be successful.

In reading over the 7 1/2 habits, I realized that "Teach & Mentor Others" is probably the most difficult for me. I am very comfortable teaching children, but in trying to work with my peers, I lose my self confidence. Quite often I become tongue tied. The easiest habit would be having confidence in myself as a competent, effective learner. I enjoy challenging myself to aborb and then utilize new information and ideas. The whole process is very stimulating.