September, Homeschooling Activities and Adventures.

September Activities:

Homeschooling.

September was a very busy month -with weekly travels to Harare and the new farm in Centenary. I always make sure that, wherever we travel, there is a table available for the children to school on. I have set up desks for them in the new farm office, so they now have a comfortable working environment. With our ‘book baskets’ it’s easy to pack up and move to other venues. Keeping everything organized and simple certainly helps reduce stress levels…

Since January, Murray John has been saving all his Pace test money, until finally he had enough to purchase another large Bruder toy. He was so excited and thoroughly enjoyed his shopping experience. He is slowly learning how to think, save and plan for what he intends to spend his money on. As Murray John has now learnt the value of money, he looks after his toys extremely well and lines them up every day, in a very impressive line next to his bed. Learning how to manage and value money is a skill I believe needs to be learnt at this young age.

Paula Joy turned 11 this month and had a lovely birthday. We are very blessed to have such a happy, healthy daughter. She has grown 12cm since her last birthday, so it is no wonder she still suffers from some growing pains!

Homeschooling Friends.

Paula Joy and Murray John continue to have a great deal of fun with their furry friends. Often Murray John has Fuzzy (his Guinea pig) or Seb (his cat) on his school desk. Life is so much fuller with furry friends!

Homeschooling Art.

Whilst Paula Joy loves to draw, color or paint, Murray John prefers DIY projects and is always happy to help me fix things. DIY is Murray John’s idea of art! It’s so wonderful to have his help and not to have to do everything myself.

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Horses.

The children have certainly improved their horsemanship skills throughout this polo season. They have also both learnt how to look after their ponies before, during and after a polo weekend.

As the Harare Polo Club were still playing polo, after our club had closed for the season, we decided to join them for two September weekends. The children loved having a chance to play with others and really enjoyed the whole experience.

As their polo has improved enormously since the beginning of the year, they are now ready for tournament polo. However, the polo ponies need to rest for awhile, before we start preparing for horse shows.

Paula loves to spend time ‘trick riding’ on Monty. Her years of vaulting training have given her the confidence to stand at the canter, which she finds to be so much fun!

Homeschooling Sport.

As we are not in Harare every week, we need to schedule sports, as and when we can. We have had a few enjoyable golf, cricket and swimming lessons and Paula Joy has started ballet lessons, which she was very keen to do.

September Adventures:

Farm Life.

Trinity Rock Farm in Centenary was a very busy place this month, as we started planting tobacco. The children love to ride around on their bicycles, checking on all aspects of the farm.

As it’s all go on the farm, the days spent there are usually long and adventurous. Murray John enjoyed seeing the big generator being delivered and Paula Joy helped me measure up for a new farm sign. The irrigated tobacco crop, of 35ha, will all be planted by the end of the month, which is a huge achievement!

We are enjoying comparing the tobacco crop at Trinity Rock to the home farm at Dalston. It’s a wonderful exercise for the children, as they can now see how a developed farm operates, compared to a new farming venture. We certainly have many interesting discussions together!

Therefore we continue with our goal of “Creating Agricultural Entrepreneurs Whilst Homeschooling.“

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Both Paula Joy and Murray John are able to drive most of the tractors on the farm and are already capable of taking the water cart to the horses on a Sunday morning. As they develop their driving skills, we shall ask them to do more tractor driving and farm chores.

Zimbabwe Economy.

Zimbabwe is never a dull place! With the return of electrical load shedding, we are always prepared for long power cuts. At Trinity Rock we have had to hire a big generator to run the irrigation pumps, to avoid interruptions to our tobacco planting activity.

One constantly has to think ahead, whilst trying to survive in a rapidly failing economy. Being able to employ more people this month has been a blessing. Hopefully, we shall slowly continue to increase our number of employees, as employing people is one way we can help feed the local rural community.

As the economy continues to decline, so crime levels have gone up, creating a need for us to become more security conscious. We need to be more vigilant and have had to educate our children, as to how they should respond, should they find themselves in a dangerous situation.

Next month we are off on an adventure to the Zambezi River for more fun and family time.

Please continue to keep safe and keep praying.

“Worship the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.” Psalm 100:2

• 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.

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