Outing: Wonderboom and the Fort

After visiting the waterfall at Wonderboom in Pretoria-North, Simeon kept on nagging us that he wanted to see the fort.  That day I was recuperating from an heavy cold, and we just did not have the energy to walk / climb further up the mountain.

 Simeon and Joshua last year at the Wonderboom

So, when I heard about the outing to the Wonderboom to visit the fort with our "new" homeschool support group, I knew this was the opportunity to make a dream come true.  Simeon always asks us about all the landmarks we have visited or passed and I try to share as much of the history about them.

There were four forts around Pretoria, Klapperkop, Skanskop, Wonderboom and Daspoortrand, built before the Anglo Boer War.  See this Afrikaans article from The South African Military History Society. and an English article on Wikipedia.

On Friday morning we met at the Wonderboom in Lavender Road, Pretoria North.  There were 18 moms and "millions" of children :-)   Doesn't it sometimes seem that way when children mingle, run around and play?  The route is well marked - to the fort or to the waterfall and paved with rock.  At first it climbs through the trees but then reaches the grassveld at the top of the mountain.  We had a beautiful view of Pretoria, first north of the mountain and then, on the other side to the south and the city centre. 

     

View to the North of the Magalies mountain

First view of the Wonderboom fort.

When I last visited this fort the doors were not painted and were flat on the ground.

It was such a surprise to see that the fort is well maintained.

View from above, and below a photo when still in use.

Inside the fort, and below the floor plan

 

Joshua in the stables

Two energetic girls exploring and enjoying every opportunity.

A hole in the wall used by the birds for nesting.

Simeon in a beautiful corner outside the fort.

Pretoria to the south of the Magalies mountain - towards Church Square.

A tired Simeon waiting for his mom and brother to catch up.

I'm very proud of them as they both walked up and down the mountain, a round trip of 2,8 km.

We had a lovely picnic and chat with the other moms afterwards and the children enjoyed playing so much they did not want to leave, mom just did not have energy to take any more photos.

At home Simeon drew the fort for his dad and when we left for speech therapy Joshua did the same.

Introducing Esther

1. Our homeschool family...

I'm Esther and live in Gauteng (for now) with my husband, Johan and two sons Simeon (7) and Joshua (3).

One of the most difficult questions about homeschooling for me is "How long have you been homeschooling?"  I really do not know when we started as I wanted to homeschool before Simeon was born.  I stayed at home with him, but never saw that as homeschooling.  Just raising my little son.  I had to work for 18 months, Simeon went to school, and Joshua, when he came along went to day care.  At 5 years of age (for Simeon) I could stay at home again.  Did I start then?  Or when he legally had to be schooled?  Or, as we believe in Better late than Early, do we need to start counting from a date in the future?

We live in Gauteng because our children need specialised speech therapy, but would like to move back to the beautiful Lowveld town of White River, or move on to other "greener" (hopefully non-city) pastures.

2. We homeschool because ...

Is there ever a single reason why we homeschool or do anything at all.  Mostly I would say that we homeschool because we feel God leading us on this road for our children.  I shared our homeschool journey here.  We also do this because our children should not be forced to pronounce words correctly.  So we have a "professional" recommendation not to place them in school (the best news any homeschool family could get).

I like the idea that my two sons learn to become best friends, and not just two boys who happen to live in the same house.  Being 4 years apart in age, they will be 4 years apart in school, they will not share experiences, friends, worlds, and many more.  Will they be friends?

And today I feel that we homeschool because I want to share those special developmental progress my children make, such as the first real picture Joshua drew last week - of his Little Tigger.

3. Five Favourites! The things I most like to ...

1. see...  a mountain river; creating mist as it tumbles over the edge...
2. hear ... that first time to be called "Mamma"; a heavy Highveld thunder and  lightning storm...
3. smell ...  the early morning crisp air; the moist smell of de-composting leaves on a forest floor; the salty sea; a newborn baby...
4. taste ...  fresh fruit; freshly baked bread; my mom's cheese cake...
5. touch ...  my child's soft hair; a cat curling around my legs; that little body of one of my sons sitting on my lap, listening to a story...

4. This year I hope to ... 

• wake up for my children and not to be awakened by them.  I joined the Hello Morning Challege for that and it's going ...well... well.  So far, for this week.  Going to bed early is one of the biggest challenges as night-time is Me-time.
• to make time to develop my drawing skills and to make some portraits (for myself).
• to try and get a little bit more structure in our homeschooling, and to get over the resistance for formal learning.
• To post more often on my blogs.