Ashleigh Whaley
Activities:
Homeschooling.
October is Harvest Month on the farm. Once the combine harvesters arrive, the children rush through their school work, so that they can go and spend their spare time in the combines. It is certainly a great incentive to get them to do their work as quickly as possible!
Murray John managed to complete his whole year’s work this month. As he is a bright little guy, I allow him to push ahead of his age group. I know that once he reaches grade 5, the work will become harder, which will slow him down. Paula Joy is now completing grade 5.
This year she has had to do an extra hour or two each day, which has meant that she needs to manage her time well, in order to complete her day’s goals. Often, due to our busy sports schedule in Harare, Paula Joy has had to catch up with school work on a Saturday morning.
Paula Joy is now capable of managing her time around her work, which is a wonderful achievement. With the October heat upon us the children love to swim at break time. It certainly refreshes them, before they head back to the hot classroom.
Zimbabwe Economics.
Thankfully, we are blessed with generators, diesel and inverters, so that we have power to run our homes. It is amazing how electricity has become such a part of our lives that, without it, we become extremely stressed.
Even with generators etc., we still have to manage our time well, in order to keep the gardens watered and the ironing done. Zimbabwe is not for the faint hearted and is currently very tiring…
The children are learning a lot about economics, politics and survival, which is a course all of its own! Selling bananas keeps the children up to date with the exchange rate and has shown them how they need to keep their banana profits in USD and not in Zimbabwe bond cash, which is losing value by the day!
Horses.
October has been a quiet month for the horses and horse sports. The children continued with their vaulting and are training their ponies for a show jumping and dressage show at the end of November.
There was a slight accident, when Murray John’s horse, Monty, suddenly veered off and took him under a low tree branch. I am not sure how the pony managed to duck under the branch, but he did, resulting in Murray John being swept off his pony backwards, – landing on his head!
He certainly was not amused with Monty… Murray John suffered a slight concussion, however one trip to a chiropractor helped him recover quickly and he was absolutely fine, after four days’ rest.
Homeschooling Sports.
Tennis.
October is a very busy sports month for the kids. They started the month playing in a well organised BTA tennis tournament, held at Highlands Sports Club in Harare. Paula Joy won her green ball under 10 girls’ division and showed great maturity on the court.
Thanks to giving her tissue salts called ‘Cal Fluor’ her growing pains are now manageable. Murray John, having only just recovered from his concussion, managed to come second in his first green ball under 10 boys’ division. Both children played well and are now on the court four and half hours a week, for training.
Cricket.
Both Paula Joy and Murray John started cricket this month. They have joined a cricket club “Dynamic Sport Cadets” coached by Gary Brent, who is a former Zimbabwean Cricket player.
Gary has great vision for the development of cricket, including girls’ cricket, and indoor cricket. Paula Joy is so enjoying playing cricket, alongside her brother. After a few weeks of practice, the team had their first match against a junior school’s B team. It was such fun to see the camaraderie amongst all the players -and such enthusiasm!
See my latest post: Homeschooling to achieve sporting success – Including girls cricket.
Swimming. At the end of October the children entered the first Harare Homeschooling Swimming Gala. What a wonderful event with over 80 children. So awesome to see homeschooling parents coming together, to organise and run the event, which ran very smoothly and efficiently.
Paula Joy won the U11 girls’ age group, with some great swimming, and Murray John came second in the U10 boys’ age group. Both children are now training for a bigger gala at the end of November.
Golf, gym and vaulting all continued throughout October, despite the incredible heat we have recently experienced.
Adventures:
Farm Life.
Combining is the highlight of the season. Both kids have been driving the combines, in the afternoons after school. It is hugely exciting for them and they are slowly learning all the ins and outs of a combine harvester.
They come home with all sorts of stories about the combining and various activities in the field, from the rats running hastily out of the fields, to the combines breaking down. Often catching a lift back from the field in the lorry, pulling a trailer full of wheat. Paula Joy and Murray John have now learned how wheat is combined, moved from the field, then weighed and stored.
Environmental Awareness.
The other excitement was going out bush pig tracking with Jamie, the farm assistant manager. Both children headed off one Saturday afternoon all dressed in their camouflage outfits, with a bottle of water each. They were very excited to eventually see a very large wild boar, before it was time to return home.
They are slowly learning about all the creatures we have on the farm and their preferred habitats. It is very important for children to become environmentally aware, early in their lives.
This book below is a wonderful resource we use on the farm. I suggest adding it to your phone for easy access.
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalms 91 vs 1.
- Our Victoria Falls Celebration Trip.
- Our Homeschooling Adventures and Activities for May-June 2024.
- What is a Healthy Homeschooling Culture?
- Our Homeschooling Adventures and Activities for March-April 2024.
- Developing Life Skills through a Houseboat Adventure.
Please leave a comment below or let me know how your homeschooling month went…..
Wow, Ashleigh, PaulaJoy and MurrayJohn! What a fabulous fishing holiday you had as a family. I admire your determination to do what you want to do, despite the situation in Zimbabwe… Most inspiring! 👍🏼👏🏼
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