Ashleigh Whaley
Adventures and Activities July 2022.
July Activities:
Homeschooling.
Homeschooling on the Move.
Our lives are always on the move, between our two homes. This requires organisational and self disciplinary skills, to ensure that the children keep up to date with their school work. They have now both learnt how to manage their monthly goals, even if it means doing school on Saturdays.
Adma Show.
The month began with the annual Adma agriculture show in Harare. This is one of the highlights of the year, as the children love visiting the show and seeing all the new agricultural equipment on display.
Two days of school were missed, whilst Paula Joy and Murray John enjoyed a wonderful time at the show, despite the cold and rain. They both came away with many stories to tell!
My Health Improves.
My health continues to improve slowly and I am so grateful for the loving support and understanding of my family. When I struggle, they all step up to help. Paula Joy and Murray John have truly learnt that ‘the team is the family and the family is the team’.
Making Polo Speeches.
Part of the children growth and confidence development is for them to learn how to speak in public. We took an opportunity to make them give ‘thank you’ speeches, at the end of every polo tournament where they have won.
Paula Joy, due to her age and maturity, has no problem speaking in public. Murray John is still a little shy, so he needs to be pushed and encouraged. As with most things, the first time is always the hardest…
Homeschooling Friends.
Kitten’s Fully Gown.
All our furry friends bring us much joy. Our two Siamese kittens are now almost fully grown – and very adorable.
Chirpy our Old Polo Pony.
Our old polo pony, Chirpy, is still playing polo with Murray John, despite being 21 years old. She has travelled across country borders with us and will always have a very special place in our hearts.
Homeschooling Art and Crafts.
Harare Home Repairs and Maintenance.
Developing a property is an ongoing exercise, in which the children are always included.
This month they were sanding ceilings and removing old burglar bars, as well as adding fish and water plants to our various ponds.
Bike Repairs.
Repairing groom’s bicycles is another exercise the children are involved in. They can now replace all the parts on a bicycle and really enjoy working on them, during morning break times.
Horses.
With three tournaments this month the children have been very busy and successful.
Carnival Cup Polo Tournament.
The Carnival cup was the first tournament of the month. The children played against each other, with Murray John’s team claiming victory.
Children’s Polo Match.
The children played in a fun match without adults. Paula John and Murray John were in opposite teams and had to work very hard at creating the play. In the end Paula Joy’s team was victorious, after a sudden death chukka.
It was a joy watching the children giving it a full go, as they all played their hearts out!
Prizes were generously handed out by Patrick Mavros, which was a wonderful end to the day.
PAZ Polo Club Champs.
The annual club champions tournament is always a very competitive weekend. Douglas played with both the children this weekend -and they enjoyed another well-deserved victory.
Murray John particularly enjoyed his weekend, as he had to mark the South African polo captain, Gareth Evans.
Pony Master Experience.
A Zambian polo team visited Harare, for a weekend test match against our national side. Visiting teams are always lent ponies for the weekend. Paula Joy and Murray John had the task of being ‘pony masters’ for the visitors.
They needed to check the ponies tack and have each pony ready and waiting for the riders. Due to the fact that our children can now speak the local Shona language, they find communicating with the grooms an easy task. They both enjoyed their weekend and came away with another new experience under their belts.
Homeschooling Sport.
Garden Tennis.
Both our children love to hit balls. This month became garden tennis month, with them playing mini tennis during their school breaks, as well as into the evening. There were some extremely competitive matches played!
Cricket.
The children attended cricket practice, as and when they could. With Paula Joy’s U19 national cricket trials and camp coming up soon, she needed to practice as much as possible.
With added ‘eye gym’ work, which she does at home, she will hopefully be ready for the trials.
Both children received new cricket bags and bats this month, as they had grown out of this equipment.
July Adventures:
Farm Life.
Wheat and Tobacco.
The winter wheat crop is growing well as it thrives in the colder weather.
The tobacco seedbeds are in and ready for the new season, whilst last year’s tobacco is still being delivered and sold. As one tobacco season ends, so the new one starts…
Zimbabwe Economy.
We experienced more power cuts this month, which caused the irrigation pivots to suddenly stop. This continually disrupts Douglas’ irrigation plans. We have no idea when we shall experience power cuts, which just adds another layer of stress to an already stressful environment.
However, a beautiful sunrise always ushers in a new day, with a new promise…
Travel.
We shall soon be off on our annual two weeks camping trip at the Zambezi River. The children have been busy checking fishing tackle and re-packing fishing boxes.
This year they each wanted to have their own tents, so those were ordered and checked, before being packed. Due to our many years of camping experience, the children now old enough to help, which has reduced the time it takes to prepare for the trip.
We shall keep you updated on our trip, so please subscribe to our YouTube channel, where we shall be posting regular updates.
Here is my post from our trip in 2020, Our Amazing Adventure to the Zambezi River, Zimbabwe.
‘Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.’ Proverbs 21:5
God bless…
Please leave your comment below…
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