Ashleigh Whaley
November Adventures and Activities.
November Activities:
Homeschooling.
November saw the end of the school year for the children. Both Paula Joy and Murray John have worked extremely hard, to achieve their academic goals. They will now get a long break over Christmas, which will allow them to have fun on the farm and enjoy just being children…
Our school year started before any sign of Covid19 in Africa, so we had written down our goals for the year, thinking that this year would be another normal one. The global Covid19 pandemic reached Zimbabwe in March, which led to us spending the majority of this year on the farm. Unfortunately, many of the children’s sporting goals had to be postponed until next year, as well as all our travel dreams and desires.
We therefore shifted our focus onto the horses and pushed to achieve a great deal more than we initially thought we could. The children’s equestrian skills have improved enormously, so they can be proud of themselves.
With the wisdom of homeschooling, the children have not missed any school this year. They are now very competent readers, which has enabled them to achieve more at school each day.
Murray John ended his grade 4 year with a reading speed of 137 words per minute, whilst Paula Joy ended her grade 6 year with a reading speed of 154 words per minute. Both are within the norm for their age groups. I have to constantly be mindful of the fact that we start our school education a year earlier in Zimbabwe, than they do in the USA. To find out what level your child’s reading speed should be, visit this website…Iris Reading.
Our small farm garden is a place of fun and play. With a cricket net, trampoline, small swimming pool and swing ball, the children are always busy playing. I plan to add a few more things to the garden in the holidays, giving them more sporting activities to enjoy.
My last post was called: ‘Finding and Following Your Homeschooling Vision’. Please share it with friends and family and always remember that God gives us our visions. We need to embrace and run with them.
Homeschooling Friends.
Fuzz at school. 
Boo chilling out.
Paula Joy and Murray John continue to have fun times with their furry friends. ‘Fuzz’ always seems to be in the school, chilling on Murray John’s desk. ‘Boo’, however, prefers to sit on Paula Joy’s lap. This year has certainly been fun with their little friends and both kids enjoy looking after their pet’s needs. They have both become very diligent, always making sure their friends are well cared for.
Homeschooling Art.
Christmas time has arrived! As soon as we finished the school year, we set about putting up our house Christmas decorations. Paula Joy and Murray John also decorated their rooms for Christmas. Decoration day always turns out to be a fun time, with loads of laughter and chocolate! I just love seeing the children’s creative spirit coming alive.
Murray John’s Pony House. 
Murray John’s Christmas tree.
Horses.
November was a quiet month with the horses. The children enjoyed some fun time on their ponies, whilst their polo ponies rested. We are back into jumping lessons and working on improving jumping positions and balancing their ponies. The children also like to help the groom, Luke, with schooling the young horses.
Paula Joy and Poppy. 
Paula Joy and Poppy.
Homeschooling Sport.
Cricket practice. 
Golf 18 holes.
A few cricket lessons this month and a 18 holes of golf, gave Paula Joy and Murray John some sporting events.
November Adventures:
Farm Life.
Dalston Farm.
Dalston Farm has finally run out of water! As it has been extremely hot and dry this past month all the large farm dams are empty. Now all we can do is wait expectantly for rains to arrive. Thankfully, the farm received a little rain in mid-November, so Douglas was able to finish planting the dryland tobacco crop.
Murray John spends his weekends taking water to the horses and shooting at targets with his pellet gun. When not at school, he is always busy on the farm, returning home for meal times. He also loves to drive the folk lift, as and when we go to the banana packing shed.
Paula Joy is finally big enough to ride my motorbike, so she spends her weekends following Douglas around the farm, learning how to handle the motorbike.
Trinity Rock Farm.
The tobacco crop is growing well at Trinity Rock farm, despite the fact that the farm has not received any rain. With all the tobacco crops now planted, it is time to get the barn ready for the tobacco curing season. We now have a lovely vegetable garden on the farm, which is a joy to see.
Zimbabwe Economy.
Electricity load shedding is back again in Zimbabwe. We now have growling generators, for hours every second day. As the economy continues to fail, so our roads deteriorate, causing a constant stream of punctures to our vehicle tires. How we long for decent roads to drive on and not ones filled with pot holes!
Environmental Awareness.
Outside the main house at Trinity Rock farm we found a bulbul birds nest, containing an egg. We shall continue to watch it, to see whether it hatches. It is not often that one finds birds’ nests so low to the ground.
After the dry winter, fires are a huge hazard on the farm. We are now on high alert and always prepared with labor, tractors and water carts, to prevent fires coming onto the farm. This month we had a huge fire threaten the horse paddocks and stable area. It took us a whole day to extinguish!
“The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.” 2 Timothy 4:22
Stay well and enjoy the festive season. – God bless you all.
Please leave your comments below…..
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