Ashleigh Whaley
Activities:
Homeschooling.
With Zimbabwe in shutdown, we pushed on with school for an extra two weeks, resulting in a long 13 week term. I decided we needed to keep going with schooling and then we can take time off, once the world rights itself.
However, over Easter we took a two week break from school. As we were in lockdown we stayed on the farm and enjoyed some wonderful farm activities.
This month, as we are not travelling, I have been able to spend more time doing the things I don’t normally have time to do. Spring cleaning became one of my tasks, so I went through the house sorting and cleaning. The children were tasked to clean and paint their school desks and help me clean and reorganize the school room.
We went back to school for the last week of April, so we are now well placed to finish our school year on time. Homeschooling is certainly a huge blessing for us, as our lives have not been too disrupted during the Corona Virus shut down.
Homeschooling Friends.
Paula Joy and Murray John take care of all their guinea pig needs and have learnt that these little creatures just love to eat! During the day the guinea pigs are allowed out on the grass to play. However, either Paula Joy or Murray John have to keep a close eye on them, as there are cats, dogs and raptors around.
Homeschooling Art.
Paula Joy loves to do crafts, when she has a break. She has painted her guinea pigs’ houses and tunnels, done some art paintings and made Easter biscuits.
Murray John is not a fan of painting, however he managed to paint his school desk, before racing off to sit on the combine harvester.
Horses.
With all horse related competitions cancelled, we spent April riding our young horses and enjoying outrides around the farm.
April became ‘fun horse month’, as each day we rode different horses. Some of our rides lasted up to two hours, as we love to explore the far corners of the farm.
Homeschool Sport.
Due to the lock-down, all Harare sports were cancelled in late March,-hopefully to resume sometime in May. It has actually been a good break for the children and has given them some time to just be kids.
Adventures:
Farm Life.
Life on the farm is always busy and we have made the most of enjoying it this month. As the farm has not shut down and is still in full production,
Murray John spends most of his days in the combine harvester, whilst it combines the soya bean crop. He so enjoys all the farm machinery and loves to spend time watching it work and learning all he can!
We have taken many bicycle rides around the farm and on Easter Sunday we watched the sunrise from a large rock, overlooking one of the dams. Such very special memories have been created this month of lockdown…
Zimbabwe Economics.
Due to the Corona Virus epidemic, Zimbabwe has shut down for 40 days. Our high inflation has meant that the prices of most food stuffs has doubled during the shutdown. Each month it becomes more difficult to survive in Zimbabwe and we really feel for all the poor people…
One of the highlights of this month were two road graders, which arrived to grade the gravel roads around our area. As we have not had the roads graded for a number of years, we were all thrilled to see the graders!
In the evenings the children go out with Douglas, to shoot a guinea fowl or pheasant, for our house staff to eat. With the farm dam levels so low, there are very few fish available for our staff to catch.
Having 24 hours of electricity each day is another blessing we have experienced, since the start of shut down. It is so amazing to be able to hear the birds for a change and not just one continuous growl from the large generators.
Environmental Awareness.
We like to keep an eye on what wild birds we have on the farm. The two resident fish eagles have left their usual dam and headed for the dam near the stables, as it still has some water and fish in it. Thankfully, this month we have had no wild animals poached on the farm, although some poachers have been seen in the area.
“The LORD you God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6.
- 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.
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