Ashleigh WhaleyJanuary Adventures and Activities.
January Activities:
Homeschooling.
The New Year started with a lovely evening spent with friends and family, outdoors on the banks of the Hunyani River. With the goods rains having finally arrived, everything is looking very green and lush.
The children thoroughly enjoyed their last week with their grandparents, before they headed back to South Africa and Botswana. They shall certainly miss their company and all the fun they had together over the Christmas period.
School began on the 4th of January, just as Zimbabwe went into another Coronavirus lockdown! We are so blessed that, despite the lockdown in our country, we can continue uninterrupted with our homeschooling.
Every January, the children return to school more mature and ready to take on the task ahead, after their long, seven week Christmas break. They are both that much older and able to set their own daily goals, – then knuckle down to achieve them.
This time of year calls for new goals to be set for 2021. However, with Coronavirus still around, we are not sure which goals we shall achieve. We have decided to set our goals anyway, as it gives us something to work towards. Due to Coronavirus, none of the children’s 2020 sporting competition goals were achieved, so they will try again to reach them this year.
Garden fun. 
Pool filtration. 
Mowing the lawn.
Murray John likes to organize the swimming pool filtration and so enjoys connecting pipes and pumps. When that task is completed, he then enjoys mowing the garden lawns. He shows great aptitude for anything mechanical.
Homeschooling Friends.
The children’s furry friends continue to bring them much joy. Both children are kept busy caring for their animal friends and they love spending time with them, once school is out.
Homeschooling Art.
Paula Joy loves to draw, so she is using YouTube videos to improve her drawing skills. We shall continue to help her grow her talent.
Thanks to homeschooling, I can enjoy watching my children’s artistic skills develop, year by year. It is certainly one of the joys of homeschooling and I treasure the memories it creates.
Horses.
January was a very wet month, so we were unable to ride each day. We took this opportunity to enroll in an online horsemanship master class, by Tik Maynard.
Murray John and Tula. 
Murray John and Duke. 
Paula Joy and Rooibok.
We then spend the month putting what we had learned into use. The end result was a much better understanding of our horses and how to train them into becoming more trustworthy and happy. I suggest that all horse loving children do this course.
From this great start we shall continue to spend time growing in our understanding of our horses. With 20 horses in our yard we have a huge variety of horses who can benefit from what we have learnt. We shall continue to update you with our collective progress…
Homeschooling Sport.
Garden cricket was the game of the month, with great fun being had at our cricket net. The highlight was having former cricketer, Pops (all of 81years old), bowling to the children.
Murray John is in charge of the cricket wicket and he spends time with the gardener getting it prepared for cricket practice. Much sporting enjoyment and exercise is had within this small space.
Click Professional Sports Coaches to find the best for your kids.
November Adventures:
Farm life.
Dalston Farm.
Murray John had an enjoyable time on the tractor, taking the water cart down to the horses most weekends. He also learnt how to work the hand held Strimmer grass cutter, which is another job he really enjoys.
With good rains falling this month, the children learned to cook their first green mealies(corn) over an evening fire, after they had checked their ponies. The daily challenge was getting the fire started! I am sure in time they will master the art of starting a fire.
There is always something creative and fun to do on the farm, even when rain is around.
Thankfully, as the dams have started filling, pumps have been returned to the pump house. It’s wonderful to see all the water going into the dams and, hopefully, all dams will be full by the end of the summer.
Trinity Rock Farm.
The tobacco reaping continues on this farm, with a lovely looking crop in the fields. It’s a great relief to have the crop curing so well and to see the tobacco cured and stored, ready for grading at a later stage.
Douglas farming. 
Tobacco barns. 
Tobacco cured & stored.
Zimbabwe Economy.
With another lockdown starting in January, our economy has crashed even further , with more people becoming destitute. With no financial support from the government, it is very sad to see people really struggling…
We continue in prayer for our country.
We Found ‘Candies and Blossoms’ Amidst Adversity!
Environmental Awareness.
The wild flame lilies came into bloom in January. We so enjoy seeing the different colors of our national flower, as they appear around the farm. We really love riding out on our horses, to collect flame lilies to place in our home. This is a very special time of year and flame lily picking has become a family tradition.
Keep the faith and rest in God throughout 2021…
“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119 vs 105
Please leave your comments below…
- 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.
