Projects for Kids: Harry Potter & Related by Rachel Sanfordlyn Shreckengast

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Though I'm not a homeschooler, I practice something that I call supplemental learning. I describe supplemental learning as supplementing the education they receive from the system. In our case, we generally opt for the "un-schooling" method and there are no pre-set projects or lessons. We tend to go with the flow and find projects as the kids show interest in various subjects. As a result of the supplemental learning, I'm often seeking out new projects. Since I have four children, I also need to find projects for all age levels as well as projects that will hold the attention of my oldest three (3, 6 & 10 yrs. old).

I had this in mind when I began formulating a plan for a day during the summer where we would focus on the "magical" for our projects. A few of the ideas came easily. We would make wands and discuss woods and nature. We would experiment in the kitchen to make "potions" (such as salt dough, "Gak" type substances, etc) and discuss the properties of them. We would make a menu of our meals for that day and include magical sounding treats as well as objects in the shape of stars and moons. The girls will help me figure out the menu and will help me cook the food (each according to their ability) and prepare the drinks. We would also have a few projects based on the Harry Potter books. It was with this last project that I needed a bit of help, so I began to research it on the Web.

The first page I came across that showed promise was the Harry Potter Teaching Resources page. I found plenty of resources (and worksheets) through their general ideas section and will be using some of those ideas during our day of magic. I also found more resources through Gigglepotz.com, UHPFC, A to Z Teacher Stuff and coloring pages at Moviemaniac's.

As far as crafts are concerned, I found some at Kids Domain and FamilyFun: Wizard Party, but my favorites can be found at Owl & Mouse Educational Software and include software to help you create your own medieval castle and to help you create your own shields and coat of arms. You can see my shield creation at the top of this article. I used markers and a free gel pen to color in the printed pieces, cut them out and then taped everything together. It was extremely easy and if I cut out the pieces, even my three year old will be able to do this project. I also found a few individual projects of interest, which are listed below:

Basic Dress Pattern for costumes from craftown.com
Magic Wand and Wand Holder from Kinder ART
Paper Witch's Hat from thebestkidsbooksite.com
Wand and Hat from Nick Jr.
Wizard Hat and Cape from cranstonvillage.com

Although I will be using these ideas for actual projects, they could also be used for birthday parties or Halloween celebrations. Let your imagination be your guide and you will surely come up with even more ideas.

p.s. - For those who are interested, I'll do an article on my oldest daughter's magical themed room at another time.

Best Wishes,
Rachel Sanfordlyn Shreckengast
051402