Ashleigh Whaley
Adventures and Activities June.
June Activities:
Homeschooling.
Horsey Month.
June is always a very busy month. The polo season continued in full swing, with horse activities most weekends. Homeschooling was ongoing, with a week’s break early in the month, so that the children could prepare for the annual pony club show.
Homeschooling Year End.
With our school year closing at the end of this month, the children only had three weeks of schooling remaining, in which to achieve all their yearly goals. Well done to them both for all their hard work over the past year.
Orthodontist Treatment.
The children both started orthodontic work, to correct their teeth and widen their jaws. This will be a two year process and Murray John was initially most unimpressed!
Whilst struggling to eat his lunch, he tried very hard to urge me to get him back to the orthodontist, to have all his metal work removed. Meanwhile, I am hoping that they will both end up with stunning Hollywood smiles!
Birthday Boy.
Murray John turned 11 on the 23rd June. He celebrated with a day off school, to practice his target shooting. The happy day then ended with a lovely family dinner.
Not many 11 year olds can to say that they can drive tractors, diggers, fork lifts, combines, cars and motorbikes. He has, as yet, to master the 30t lorry.
We continue to pray daily for our children as they grow and mature. Celebrating birthdays with them is always a joy!
Homeschooling Friends.
Chilly mornings meant that the cats wanted to snuggle in their baskets, throughout morning school. Our school would simple not be the same, without the added joy of our cats.
Homeschooling Arts and Crafts.
Pony Fancy Dress Competition.
Paula Joy’s Spring Garden.
With the annual pony club show, comes a fancy dress competition. This month the children were very busy sorting out their costumes for this year’s theme: – ‘In the Garden’.
Paula Joy spent hours sewing and gathering whatever she could find, in order to transform her pony into a spring garden. The end result was absolutely stunning, complete with fish pond and fountain!
Murray John’s Hunting Snakes in the Garden.
Murray John imagined that hunting snakes in a garden would be his contribution. With his camouflage kit, pellet gun and loads of bush cuttings from the garden, his pony Monty was transformed into a walking bush, complete with a snake dragging along behind him!
He ended up winning the competition, which he thought was amazing.
Horses.
Pony Club Show.
The pony club show was held on the first weekend of the month. It’s a three day show with many events, from dressage, to showing, gymkhana and show jumping.
The children entered as many classes as they could. They were busy riding all day long and loved every minute of it!
Paula Joy with Her Three Ponies.
Paula Joy took three ponies to the show. All of them were inexperienced ponies, so this was a test of her horsemanship skills. She came home with prizes and rosettes and much added experience.
Murray John with His Two Ponies.
Murray John took two ponies to the show. He dislikes dressage but I made him do it, to improve his horsemanship skills. He won the utility class on Monty and thoroughly enjoyed the gymkhana and show jumping.
In the end he came home with the Victor Ludorum trophy, for those under 11 years of age. He also won the utility class trophy, along with other prizes and rosettes.
Bushman Rock Polo Tournament.
The following weekend was the annual Bushman’s Rock polo tournament.
The children played with their father and won the B division. I have written more, below, about our fun weekend trip to Bushman’s Rock Safari Lodge.
Umzari Polo Tournament.
A few polo practice weekends were followed by a fun polo tournament at our Umzari (Chinhoyi) polo club. Once again, the children played with Douglas in the B division and won the tournament.
Murray John was elected to give the team speech at prize giving, which he managed well.
Next month is another busy polo month, as our polo season continues.
Homeschooling Sport.
U19 Women’s Cricket Trials.
The cricket academy coaches recently approached me, to ask whether Paula Joy could try out for the Under 19 Zimbabwe women’s national cricket team. She began the trials, by first having to be selected for her province, after which she attended the three day national selection trials.
Paula Joy absolutely loved the trials and played her heart out, both with batting and bowling, as well as helping out with wicket keeping.
She succeeded in making the first cut and will have further trials in August, after which the national squad of 15 will be selected.
Paula Joy is determined to make the team and is training hard, around all her polo commitments.
June Adventures:
Farm Life.
June was so busy, with all the children’s sport, that not much time was spent on the farm. The wheat crop is growing daily and the maize is currently being harvested. The tobacco crop continues with tobacco grading and weekly sales.
Zimbabwe Economy.
What is so amazing is how we all seem to keep going, as inflation continues to rise and power cuts become more frequent. Thankfully, most of the Covid19 restrictions have been lifted.
Travel.
As we have to travel across country to the annual Bushman’s Rock polo tournament, we love to stay at their lodges and enjoy a wonderful relaxing weekend, surrounded by nature.
The staff are always very friendly and the children just love being able to roam around the farm, seeing all the different animals.
Thank you Bushman’s Rock for such awesome hospitality. See you next year!
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9
God bless you, everyone…
Please leave a comment 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.
