Ashleigh Whaley
Activities:
Homeschooling.
May was a very busy homeschooling month. We enjoyed our freshly cleaned and painted office and pushed hard at achieving all our goals. With mainstream schools closed, most parents are trying to school at home. My latest post: ‘How can I Achieve Success whilst Schooling at Home?’ will help those of you trying to school at home, as well as offering assistance to new homeschooling parents.
I love to incorporate daily news into our homeschooling program and have learnt to look for the truth behind global scenes, by following the news behind the news… We especially focus on what is happening in Israel, as we head towards the end times.
Murray John loves following anything military, so we follow the US defense forces on twitter. It can certainly lead us into loads of discussion and debates!
My goal is to teach my children to look for the truth and not believe everything they see or read.
Homeschooling Friends.
The guinea pigs are still very much part of our lives and just too cute! Paula Joy and Murray John have embraced this added responsibility and take it very seriously.
Daily cleaning of cages and sourcing of food keeps both children busy, especially first thing in the morning and again in the evening.
This has been a great way to teach the children how to take responsibility for their pets, whilst Murray John has also been tasked with repairing the guinea pig houses.
Homeschooling Art.
Paula Joy entered an art competition with her lovely Caracal drawing.
Children need to be creative on their own and should be allowed to find ways to entertain themselves. Some of their creativity can be most impressive.
For example; Making farms with their dinky toys and mini farm implements helps expand their imagination. After all, a sieve borrowed from the kitchen and secured to a tractor really makes an awesome planter!
Horses.
This month was polo time. With the lockdown still in place and all sports cancelled,, we cut a small polo field on the farm and began practicing with indoor polo balls.
We made our own goals, by painting four of our gymkhana bending poles. It turned out to be a super field and enormous fun has been had on it!
It was certainly worth the effort and both the children and all the ponies have improved their game enormously. We shall continue with farm polo, until the lock down ends and we can go back to our club to practice.
We also took some lovely outrides around the farm, enjoying the freedom of space. However, it is sad to see our dams so empty…
Homeschooling Sport.
We continued gym work at home, during schooling hours. Everyday the children design an obstacle course, which they complete 6 times during the morning.
Adventures:
Farm Life.
The month started with 40 ha of wheat being planted. Murray John loves planting wheat and he spends his afternoons doing just that.
With the drought we have experienced over the last few years, the farm dams are now almost empty. This has resulted in only one tenth of our normal wheat crop having been planted this year.
Once the wheat was planted it was time to combine some of the dry maize, so Murray John spent all his spare time in the combine, learning all about maize harvesting.
Zimbabwe Economy.
The lockdown in Zimbabwe continued through May. With vendors unable to trade, due to their shops having been bulldozed, a large percentage of our population are now facing starvation.
On the farm we have experienced a huge increase in maize theft. The farm has had to increase its guard force, in order to reduce the theft. This is an extremely sad situation and one the government needs to address, as soon as possible.
The government released new ZWL$ bank notes this month, which has just increased inflation and caused the ZWL$ to devalue even more! Subsequently, as soon as we receive funds we spend them, ASAP!
As our food stocks started running low, we took a trip into the local village of Raffingora, in order to purchase much needed groceries. This really was an adventure into the unknown! With our masks firmly on, we proceeded to purchase goods from the numerous and interesting small shops in the village.
Helping our staff.
The children continue to shoot a few birds, so that our house staff have meat to eat.
Environmental Awareness.
As no one has been going in and out of our townhouse, our pair of guinea fowl have hatched 14 babies, for the very first time! We are so excited to have baby guinea fowl and are enjoying watching them grow. Lovely to see nature benefiting from the quiet time of lock down.
“The LORD is all I need; I can depend on Him!” Lamentations 3:24
- 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.
Please comment below and tell me how your month was?
Wow Ash what a busy month. Love hearing what the kids are up to. What an awesome childhood!