Monday, January 25, 2010

Hand-in Time.

I have just finished printing out three copies of my write-up. Next I will be printing the process journal and binding everything together.

I'm glad that it's over!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Almost Finished.

Today I am making the last minor changes to my report. I will have my final word count and report ready to be printed and bound at school tomorrow morning. I plan on handing everything in during the second half of school. It will be very nice to have the Personal Project done with.

The exhibition night was a great success. My table was not as elaborate as some people's but it was simple and attractive. I recieved many great questions from parents, siblings and teachers in the ISB community.

My Timeline
Progress as of January 23rd 2010

-Topic selection
-Finish research this week. (week of November 16th)
-Have my plan done by the end of November.
-Star volunteering by December 5th 2009.
-Detailed outline done by December 7th 2009 (handed in), starting to write the draft.

-Starting to put my scrapbook together, January 2nd.
-Draft handed into Mr. Geraets just before ski camp, Jan. 6th .

-Changes made after ski camp, Jan. 10th.
-Good copy of the essay &possibly the product finished, Jan. 17th.
-Project Exhibition evening, Jan. 19th.


-Final date for submission of completed project and process journal, Jan. 25th.
-Internal Moderation of project and interviews, February 11-19th 2010.


Orange has been completed,
Blue is still to be done.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Reflecting.

With the majority of my project done, I've decided to reflect on the things I did/ learnt while completing this assignment.

Difficulties
Something that was very hard for me during my assignment was not making the horses the focus of my project. Since my goal didn't directly mention horses, I wasn't able to include as much about the horses as I would have liked. My scrapbook included pictures and a discription of the horses at Hippotherapie Zentrum, but in my report I could barely include them.
If I could do something differently, I would have chosen a topic that included horses more. I had a lot of problems going back to my write up and cutting parts out because it wasn't linked to my AoI or the goal.

What I learnt
This project has enabled me to learn so much about therapeutic riding and what it does. Before the personal project, I barely knew anything about riding being used as therapy. By volunteering at Hippotherapie Zentrum I feel that I have gained even more knowledge. This knowledge isn't linked to my assignment, but to horse-sense. I have learned what is involved in taking care of horses and that is invaluable to me. I have also been able to learn more about how horses interact with each other.
From the research I have obviously learnt a lot too. The different types of therapeutic riding and the associations that represent the therapy in each country. I feel that the 'hands-on' aspect of working at Hippotherapie Zentrum has helped the most though. I learn better by doing and obvserving rather than just reading or being told.

Time Management
One of the bigger things I have learnt from doing this project is deffinately the importance of managing your time. During the different stages of my project I didn't manage my time effectivly enough. At times I found myself scrambling to finish parts and it left me with a horrible feeling. If I had made an even more detailed timeplan I feel that I would have been more organised during my assignment. I will deffinatly take that into consideration next year when I do my extended essay.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Product Exhibition Night

The Product Exhibition Night is in two days, and my product is almost ready.
I have planned out all the pages and I am just getting ready to start the title cover.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Finished Write up and Product

My first draft has been handed into Mr Gerates and he is in the process of editing it. When I get it back, I will be editing and making the changes. My essay will be handed in on the 25th of January.

I am also in the middle of designing my product. I hope to have it done within two days of the Exhibition. I plan on using water colours and paint to make the title cover and background of the pages.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Project Focus Day 2

I have been working on my write up all day. I am going to have it finished today and have it handed in to Mr Gerates at the end of the day. These two focus days have been very helpful to me, since I had two full days to have all my focus on the project.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Personal Project Foucus Day 1.

I am in the middle of my first focus day. We are in Pi for the whole day working on our projects. At the moment I am putting the finishing touches onto my write-up. I will have my draft finished by Tuesday afternoon and will hand in a hard copy to my supervisor as well as an electronic copy sent.

I will be working on my product tonight. I will hopefully have it done very soon. The exhibition night is on January 19th and I have just finished booking my display board. After the exhibition I will be writing a brief section about it in my analysis.

I had Amber translate some of the pages that were in the packet Sonja gave me. I found them very helpful for the blurb I will be writing about Hippotherapie Zentrum. One of the pages talked about when the center was established as well as who it was established by. These are the type of things that I was looking for to include in my scrapbook.

Tomorrow I will be bringing in the things I am using to make my scrapbook as well as my computer. I will be using my time very wisely tomorrow, since my finished draft needs to be handed into my supervisor in the afternoon tomorrow.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Things for the Scrapbook.


Yesterday I went to M-parc and bought a scrapbook to use for my personal project. I also went into SBB and printed out the pictures of the horses that I will be using in the book.

I am going to start to put the scrapbook together once I have finished the last bit of my draft. I will be making a 'mock copy' first, to ensure that everything fits on the page and looks the best possible. With all the scrap booking things in my house, I'm sure that will have no problems constructing the books. Now the only thing I need to find is the tool that will round the edges of the photos....

Saturday, January 2, 2010

The Horses

Description of the horses.
-as seen in the scrapbook


Blakkur
Blakkur can run for hours, do a session then run afterwards. During a session he likes to move around quickly and the children love it. He is an Icelandic pony along with all of the other horses at Hippotherapie Zentrum. He loves to go fast. While working he doesn't always love it, but cooperates because he knows there will be carrots shortly after.

Dimma
Dimma is an equine Houdini. She notices every hole in the fence, no matter what the size, and tries to escape. She is a merry and lively pony who is willing and honest in the arena, but working is not her favourite thing to do. "We are going to go forward, no matter what you do! Watch out! Here comes 350 kg of horse!" She enjoys the longe and moves smoothly between gaits. When there is a child on her back, no matter what position or speed, she is confident and nothing fazes her.

Frami
Frami is sporty and lively, always moving quickly forward. During therapy she is attentive and willing, although sometimes impatient. She is not used for children in therapy. In the herd she is in the third position, and lets everyone know that she is the boss.

Gàska
Gàska is a lively mare who is friendly and like to look around the fields. Sometimes impatient, she is always full of surprises. If the barn door is left even slightly ajar, she creeps quietly, despite being shod and is guaranteed a room full of hay to munch on. She moves briskly and evenly during therapies, to the delight of the children.

Geysir
Geysir is a clown, and loves to pull jokes. Often underestimated because of his size, he does his work unshakably and has the most endurance of all the horses. He goes to work radiating with joy, if he decides to show it, full of joy and energy.

Laxi
A pretty mare, my second favourite, is ranked second in the herd. A rounded individual, Laxi is used for all types of therapies. She is very independent as well as self-confident, and knows what is expected of her during therapy sessions.

Nös
Nös is a good, patient and exceptionally pretty horse. He is used for any and every type of therapy with out any problems. Unfortunately he have had a very difficult year. Tooth problems, mushroom illness, infections and founder have kept him away from working. He recovered very slowly but is back in the herd. He is lucky to have had the support of veterinary surgeons.

Ragnar
Ragnar is the newest member of the Hippotherapie Zentrum and is settled into the herd well. While he carries children he is attentive and unshaken in the arena. He still needs more training, however there has been good progress. His mood varies from day to day, but never stays grumpy for long.

Reykur
The undisputed boss of the herd, Reykur is strong, balanced and always friendly. He is not afraid of intervening when conflict between other horses arises. He keeps the peace in the herd while making sure everyone knows who's boss. While working, Reykur shows he is glad to be working and always cooperates.

Silingur
Sili is the oldest of the herd. At 33 years old he is still in good shape for his age. After suffering from colic, he had to be closely watched while he recovered. His group of "fans" (consisting of hands and therapists) make it possible for the old gentleman to be able to spend his days as a reliable and successful therapy horse. The group checks in on him to guarantee he is groomed regularly, but no carrots for him!


Descriptions courtesy of the Hippotherapie Zentrum website.
Translated by me from Swiss German to English,
some modifications made.

Pictures of the Horses.





After finishing my barn chores, I took pictures of all the horses at Hippotherapie Zentrum. I will be using these pictures in my scrapbook and include a summary of the horses. ie. what breed, what they are used for (if there is a specific thing) etc... I also took pictures of the ramps used to help disabled riders mount, tools used during therapy sessions and the centre's sign.

I was not permitted to take pictures of the sessions, to my disappointment, so I will be using pictures off the Internet and referencing them in my bibliography etc.. By using most of my own pictures in my product, it will make my referencing much easier when I need to put my bibliography together.
I have started putting together my scrapbook, right on time, according to my timeline. I'm planing on having it done just before the exhibition night. I am looking forward to making the scrapbook, because I love doing crafty things like scrapbooking.