Our Homeschooling Adventures and Activities for Sept-Oct 2025.

Homeschooling Adventures and Activities:

Our Homeschooling Activities:

Homeschooling.

Our homeschooling adventures and activities for September-October 2025 were filled action, as we experienced another move and many new schooling and farming challenges.

New Farming Adventure.

September and October saw new beginnings for our family, as Douglas happily stepped into a new position, as general farm manager, on a large, titled farm in the Marondera district.

Karimba Estates is a vast 3500ha farm that we are moving onto, after a year filled with uncertainty, whilst we searched for a new prospect for Douglas.

Boys and Farming.

Our house move was postponed until mid-October, but Douglas was already on the new farm and was later joined by Murray John. They shared a small cottage together and dined with the other farm managers.

Murray John’s days started at 5am, when he worked on his school assignments in the farm office until 10 am. As he always had a farm radio with him, he stayed updated on what was happening around the farm, even during his school hours.

Straight after school and breakfast, Murray John rode his motorbike to the yard to receive instructions and tasks for the day. He thoroughly enjoying this new and exciting farming adventure and he was a great help to Douglas, who was tackling many new farming challenges.

Schooling and Life.

From many years of collective experience, Paula Joy and Murray John are both extremely well adapted to doing their schoolwork alongside whatever life throws at them.

Sometimes they find that a little nap between lessons is very necessary!

Birthday Girl and New Driver.

Paula Joy celebrated her 16th birthday in September and, shortly afterwards, she successfully passed her driving test.

Thanks to our ACE educational system, where the pass rate is 80% and the kids take monthly tests, Paula Joy found the provisional drivers test relatively non stressful. Plus, having started her driving training at a very young age, the actual driving test was pretty straight forward for her.

Moving Time!

It was finally time for us all to move… We have now become pretty good packers and movers, after all our experience!

With Paula Joy’s newly obtained driver’s licence, she was of great assistance, as we could now transport everything using two vehicles, a trailer, and a horsebox!

As we had lots of furniture and goods stored in two locations, Harare and Macheke, the total relocation took us a few weeks. We were on the road every day, putting in long hours, but we were all incredibly excited about moving into a lovely, spacious house, with a dam right outside the garden and a lovely spot for the horses nearby.

After over a year of uncertainty, the family is finally reunited under one roof! It’s been a challenging, stressful, and tumultuous time, but the future appears promising, as we settle down again, into normal, busy farm life.

Homeschooling Friends.

Meet ‘Case’.

After the loss of Murray John’s beloved cat Seb., we have found another ginger male kitten to become Murray John’s newest little furry friend. ‘Case’ (named after a tractor brand, of course!) joined us in early September. He is adorable and quickly became one of our family favourites.

Horses.

Diamond Ladies Polo Tournament.

In September, Paula Joy had an amazing week in Johannesburg, South Africa, participating in the Diamond Ladies Polo Tournament. Whilst she didn’t win any awards, she truly enjoyed the experience and the opportunity to meet many other female polo players from across the globe.

Her favourite moment was spending a day with the elephants at Adventures with Elephants, in Bela-Bela, which is a few hours north of Johannesburg.

Horses on Holiday.

With the polo season concluded, all the horses were turned out to rest in the paddock for the next few months. The 16 horses remained in Macheke for a time, as we needed to construct their stables and other facilities on the new farm.

Homeschooling Adventures:

Farm Life.

New Farm Life at Karimba Estates.

Douglas began his job at Karimba just in time to plant 250 hectares of tobacco, as well as harvest the 280 hectares of barley, and then plant 480 hectares of maize. With the dam levels being quite low, Douglas faced the monumental task of managing the water needs of the crops, until the rains arrived. Fortunately, the farm received early rains, which was a tremendous relief.

Farm Fires.

Like all farms in Zimbabwe, fires occur in September/October, raising significant concerns as the crops are drying in the fields. Douglas and Murray John invested a significant amount of time managing bush fires.

New Climate.

Now that we have relocated to the Highveld area of Zimbabwe, where the climate is cooler and there is more rainfall, crop growth conditions will be slower. We also need to make some lifestyle adjustments, as we learn to live in a much cooler climate.

Barley Harvest.

Murray John thrived during the October barley harvest thanks to Karimba’s impressive, large, and very modern combine.

As a result, he devoted all his spare time to harvesting the barley. He knows how the computerised equipment in the combine operates and takes great pleasure in ensuring it functions correctly. Murray John has spent hours driving the combine, often until late at night.

New Farm Equipment.

The combine comes with a large baler, which provided Murray John with additional learning opportunities. Also, the 17 irrigation pivots on the farm, need regular checks and management. This means that Murray John is rarely at home, after finishing his schoolwork each day.

Murray John also enjoys earning a small wage each month, so he is thriving in this new farming environment, where he spends most of his days working alongside his father.

He is certainly acquiring a wealth of life skills that, combined with his education, should prepare him well for the wider world.

Travel.

Botswana Endurance Horse Race Trip.

In early October, Paula Joy and I traveled to Botswana, with some friends, so that Paula Joy could compete in an Endurance Horse Race event.

We both thoroughly enjoyed our short weekend getaway to Botswana. It was truly wonderful to be in the bush, connecting with new people, and discovering another equestrian sport.

We stayed at the Tantebane Game Ranch, and the whole stay was a remarkable experience.- You can find all the details of this worthwhile horsey trip in my earlier post; “40km Endurance Ride through the Botswana Bush.”