Our Homeschooling Adventures and Activities for Nov-Dec 2023.

Our Homeschooling Activities for Nov-Dec:

Homeschooling.

Busy Year End:

November and December were extremely busy months with lots of sporting activities, from cricket and golf, to horse-shows. We had to push hard to get all our academic goals achieved for the year, resulting in the children having to do Saturday school most weekends, whenever they didn’t have sports. Finally, Paula Joy and Murray John managed to achieve their goals, with a considerable amount of pressure from me.

Broken Finger:

Murray John broke his finger when he fell off one of his horses, whilst preparing for a show. His finger was badly broken and a bone fragment needed to be screwed back on.

He had an operation and, as it was his right hand, he was unable to do any of his written schoolwork. I had to do all his written work for him, so that he could continue with his academics and reach his goals.

It took six weeks for his finger to heal and then he had another small operation, to have the screw removed. Finally his finger was back to normal, just in time for our Cape Town trip.

School is Out!

In early December, the children finished their schooling for the year. They will return to school during the second week of January.

This is the longest break we take during the year and it is very well deserved, as the children have worked incredibly hard throughout the year. We happily closed the school office and headed off to Cape Town for an amazing holiday.

Homeschooling Friends.

Furry Friends.

Sadly in November, Murray John’s guinea pig, Fuzz, passed away. He was a wonderful pet and brought such joy to our lives. Murray John was very blessed to have had such a fun friend for 4 years. Fuzz will always be remembered.

Paula Joy’s guinea pig, Boo, is now home alone and will soon need a new friend. I am sure he will have one, after our next Harare trip.

Horses.

November and December was a busy horsey time for Paula Joy. Sadly, Murray John was unable to continue riding, due to his broken finger.

Ruby Jones (Aka Gem):

We said goodbye to a lovely pony ‘Ruby Jones’ (Gem), who we have had for five years. She returned to her owner, as she is now too slow for the children’s polo. This great pony will forever be remembered, mainly for her spunk.

Hillcrest Derby:

Paula Joy trained 4 horses to compete at the annual showjumping derby weekend. It was a very busy weekend of camping at the show. Paula Joy competed throughout the day, in the various levels of dressage and show jumping classes.

Paula Joy did very well on her polo ponies and came home with lots of rosettes and prizes. She particularly loved competing in the one meter Derby class, which she rode on Duke. She rode very well, but sadly knocked the last fence, so she ended up in third place.

Paula Joy is determined to do better next year!

Murray John Showjumping Course Building.

Murray John worked with the show course builder, building jumps and designing courses. It was a busy few days for him and one he enjoyed, whilst learning a whole new side of showjumping.

Christmas Show:

Paula Joy then went onto to compete in a Christmas Show, riding five horses, over two days.

She participated in showjumping, showing, the fancy dress and the five bar competition. She enjoyed another fun weekend, winning loads of rosettes and prizes.

Murray John Show Steward.

Once again Murray John worked at the show, this time as the collecting ring steward, where he made sure the correct horses and riders entered the ring on time. He has now learned another part of the horse-show business.

All in all the children gained invaluable experience and confidence over the two shows.

The horses then had a three week break, whilst we all traveled to Cape Town.

Homeschooling Sport.

Cricket.

The cricket league tournament ended at the end of November. Paula Joy managed to make over 35 runs in a number of innings. She also took a good few wickets.

Murray John played, until he broke his finger. He also made runs, took wickets and did some wicket keeping. In the end, it was a great tournament, which saw Paula Joy improving the most.

Golf.

Paula joy played in the year end junior golf tournament, which consisted of 5 days of golf, playing 36 holes a day.

It was a busy week,- but oh so good for her golf! With not much golf practice beforehand, Paula Joy entered simply to improve her golf and make new friends.

Hopefully next year she will be more competitive, as her golfing improves. Murray John will also be able to compete next year.

Our Homeschooling Adventures for Nov-Dec:

Farm Life.

Dry November:

November is a very busy planting month on the farm! It is all systems go, getting in the dry-land tobacco crop and the seed maize.

With with no rain and very little electricity, it was a hectic month of planting and trying to keep the newly planted crops alive.

Planting Time:

It was still very dry on the farm, until mid December, when the summer rains finally arrived.

December is another extremely busy month at Dalston, with the planting of maize and soya beans, the reaping of bananas, as well as the start of irrigated tobacco reaping.

Farmer Boy:

Murray John spent most of early December learning how to operate the irrigation pivots and how to switch on the irrigation pumps. This is an area of the farming operation he doesn’t normally have time to learn when he is at school. He likes to take time in the holidays, to learn new aspects of the farming operations.

Murray John will be up, dressed and gone on his motorbike by 5 AM, returning home for breakfast at 9 AM, after which he goes out again, around the farm, until 6 PM. He has lunch with the tractor drivers in the fields and just loves being out on the farm all day long.

Zimbabwe Economy.

The Zimbabwe economy continues to fail -and now, with extensive electricity load shedding and inflated shop prices, it has become a very difficult place to live.

Travel.

Cape Town.

In mid December we left for Cape Town, for a wonderful three week holiday staying with my parents. Cape Town is a wonderful place to enjoy many activities, ranging from cultural, to hiking, swimming in the sea, eating out at wonderful restaurants, as well as taking in some sporting activities. In between all this we also enjoyed loads of amazing family time.