Activities:

Homeschooling.

Once we reach November it is always exciting for the children, as they suddenly realize that their school year is almost done! By the middle of November, Murray John was able to head off farming, having completed his school year, but being older, Paula Joy has needed an extra few weeks to finish up her school year. -With so many sporting events during November, it was lovely not to have too much school pressure on top of it all.

As part of the ACE education program I have to record the number of words each child can read, in one minute. This test is to be done four times per year and it’s a great way to measure how their reading is progressing. One can find the average speed for each child’s age groups at: “Iris Reading at the Speed of Thought.” -and I recommend that you do this with your children. The quicker your child can read, the faster they can get through their daily school goals.

The children’s Grandparents came to visit this month for a week. With great excitement, the children showed their grandparents all their school work and what they have achieved this year. They also enjoyed having them watch all their weekly sports. I love seeing how they take such pride in their school work and sporting achievements.

Zimbabwe Economics.

Selling bananas continued successfully throughout November and the profits made enabled each child to enjoy some personal shopping. This activity certainly makes them appreciate money -plus, with inflation as it is, they have learnt to trade their Zimbabwe currency for US dollars as soon as possible! The cash profit from this business is not huge, but the learning experience is enormous.

Horses.

Vaulting.

The annual Christmas vaulting show was held at the beginning of the month. I attended a judge’s course so that I could help with the show judging. It also gave me an understanding of what the children should be achieving. Vaulting certainly looks so much easier than it is!

Paula Joy and Murray John are both now competing in D grade, with their compulsory routine performed at the canter and their freestyle routine performed at the walk. They have both improved enormously and finished up the show coming 4th and 5th. They will stay in D grade for another year, until they are able to excel at that level

Horses.

With a two day horse show, held at the end of November, the children and I have been riding as much as possible. Paula Joy and Murray John spent the two weeks before the show learning their dressage tests, and practicing their show jumping.

The Amateur Riding Club show was a great success and I got to see just how much the children’s riding has improved. Paula Joy did an awesome dressage test, to win the children’s dressage trophy.

Murray John’s pony, ‘Monty’ is always very cool when it comes to the Utility Pony class. The two of them have an incredible bond which is clearly evident, as Monty listens intently to all Murray’s instructions.

‘Showing’ is another class I make the children do, as it is so good for their general horsemanship. The children have to make sure that their ponies and tack are super clean, as well as making sure that they are very well turned out themselves! I was very proud of their end results.

Both children’s show jumping improved during the show, as they constantly gained in confidence. Paula Joy and her pony ‘Poppy’ came second in the championship class, achieving three clear rounds.

For more hose show videos pop across to our YouTube channel, faith4fun.

Homeschooling Sports.

Triathlon.

We started the month with a fun triathlon. Paula Joy and Murray John so enjoy doing triathlons, whenever they can. As they are always held on a Sunday, it’s not often we are able to attend. Zimbabwe Triathlon is a very well run, efficient organisation, which holds two events per month, during the summer.

Each time we attend we see an increase in participants, which is wonderful. We shall continue to attend triathlon events, as and when we can, as it’s a wonderful way to monitor the children’s fitness levels.

Swimming.

November ended with a swimming gala. I entered both Paula Joy and Murray John in the Mashonaland Country Districts Gala, which is for top swimmers, from all the out of town private schools.

There were about 17 swimmers in each age group and it’s one way homeschoolers can join in and swim against mainstream children. Both Paula Joy and Murray John did very well for their first ever serious gala. Paula Joy came in the top half of her age group and Murray John finished just under the top half of his age group. We now have a bench mark for their swimming and know what to do to improve their style and speed.

Cricket, Golf, Gym and Tennis lessons continued throughout the month. However, some welcome rain, towards the end of the month, limited the amount of hours we could do in each of these sports. By the end of November most of the children’s sports were over and they were now able to take December off to enjoy themselves.

Adventures:

Farm Life.

From the middle of November Murray John headed out farming at 5.30am each day, returning for breakfast around 9am, – and then immediately heading off again! As maize is the crop being planted at the moment, Murray John likes to spend his days in the maize planting tractor.

With the rains finally arriving, the farm suddenly sprung into life and the chaos began, as Douglas only has a month to get all the crops planted! As there is so much farming activity about, there is always something interesting happening to keep Murray John and Paula Joy busy.

Driving the digger machine is the absolute highlight of Murray John’s day…

Environmental Awareness.

The bird life on the farm is amazing and every year the Goliath Herons come and nest in some trees, just outside our garden. We also enjoy all the European Storks that arrive from Russia, to enjoy their summer here with us. Paula Joy and Murray John are slowly gaining in knowledge of the birds which are present on the farm.

With the sad increase in wildlife poaching, throughout Zimbabwe, the children like to keep up to date with all poaching activities on the farm. Fortunately we have a big guard force protecting the farm and it’s wildlife. Unfortunately, on our neighboring farms, there is little wildlife left due to the ongoing poaching. This is just another grim reality of living in a poor African country.

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33.

• Developing Life Skills through a Houseboat Adventure.
• Our Homeschooling Adventures and Activities for Jan-Feb 2024.
• How Horse-shows Grow and Develop Our Children’s Characters.
• Our Fun and Fantastic Cape Town Experience.
• Our Homeschooling Adventures and Activities for Nov-Dec 2023.

Please leave your comment below and let me know how your month went…….