ACTIVITIES:

Homeschool:

Summer has arrived in Zimbabwe, -a great time of the year to get back to summer sports.

We have managed to complete our school program for the year so have moved onto the next year’s work. I like to keep my children ahead in their school work so that we can travel or do extra sport when the opportunity arises. Paula Joy and Murray John both went down with flu for a week, so they were only able to do a few hours of school each day. I try to encourage them to do what they can and then rest, as and when needs be.

This month saw hyperinflation in our country which caused panic and chaos from empty shops to long fuel queues. We therefore spent an extra week on the farm without traveling to Harare for sports. It was a great educational opportunity for the children to learn about increased prices and shortages.

Homeschool Art:

Due to not having to travel to Harare for sports we had extra time on the farm to do some art projects. The new town school room needed additional wall work. I purchased four A3 sized white painting canvases and had the children draw and color them. It was great fun, with wonderful results that have really brightened up the wall.

The next art project was to go into the junk yard where all the old pieces of metal etc. are dumped, once they are of no more use on the farm. The children had to collect pieces and design their own junk creatures. Once they had their items they took them to the farm workshop, where the welder helped them weld their creations. The end result was awesome! They are now on display in the garden.

Paula”s finished junk art called “ANGEL”.

Murray”s finished junk art called “DOG”.

Homeschool Sport:

The kids sport in Harare continued through the month with tennis, golf, gym, gymnastics and horse vaulting. Dragging each other around on a sled is part of their gym training! Friday’s tennis doubles match is absolutely the highlight of the tennis week.

Horses:

As we spent more time on the farm we rode the ponies and horses each day and had fun. The kids loved riding their ponies bareback and taking them through the newly combined wheat fields.

Murray John’s pony, Monty, follows him wherever he goes. Such a lovely partnership they have.

ADVENTURES:

Farm Life:

At this time of the year we have loads of bush fires which are dangerous for the dried wheat crop. We love to rush out with the tractors to see the fires. Often we drop our school work to go and watch the excitement and observe how the fire is managed.

The combine came out of the garage this month to combine the wheat crop. Murray John loves to spend time in the combine with the driver. The kids also like to help weigh the grain trucks on the farm weighbridge.

We have started a project on the production of the farm tobacco crop. We visit the tobacco lands each week to assess the progress. We watched the dry-land tobacco planting, as well as seeing how much the irrigated tobacco grew this month.