Theme Homeschooling

[amandajf]

Okay.. i got this hairbrained idea.
We are all into the Harry Potter stuff.. i read the books and the kids love the movie and my 6 yr old is starting to read the first book. Anywho.. they are in total love with this story line. They play with their *wands* and try to levitate everything. So.. i got an idea. My dd is great on schoolwork.. but it's hard to get her to want to do it. My dh wanted me to make them robes like in the movie for play.. then it hit me..

I have a homeschool room just for schoolwork and books and stuff. What if I did some sewing and shopping on ebay and made this room into Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizadry? Like theme schooling.. but instead of baseball or frontier life.. we did harry potter? I could make them robes and buy the gryffindor patches online.. hats.. brooms.. wands.. quill pens and parchment... be a great way to encourage cursive writing.. instead of sleeping spells she could use numbers to make potions and formulas.. for say "Sleepy Butter" or "Transfiguration Cake" and writing to make her own spells.. phonics to learn how to properly speak so the spells work properly (a big thing in the movie) and history would be the history of certain ingredients and other *muggle* studies... and science would be learning the bugs, plants, animals etc! We could even get them their own brooms and they can pklay quidditch outside for activities.. i could give her "wizard" money when we go to the store to buy her opwn ingredients to teach her things...

I could make curtains of course.. but they sell 10x14 inch tin wall hangnings of hogwart's and other scenes.. i could transfigure the room with some fabrics and mirrors etc.. get some hogwart's pillows for the futon in there... i think it would be fun...

Only thing i would worry about is my kids knowing it isnt real.. they know it's not real.. and i think they'd have so much fun pretending it would be a hit..i could even have the House Cup once a month to see who racked up the most points.

Any ideas?

[anythingelse]

only one idea came to my mind-
please adopt me

[darlindeliasmom]

sounds like fun!! can we come? DD would love a schoolroom that looked like Hogwarts...tho' w/out Nearly headless Nick and Moaning Myrtle!

[amandajf]

Lol.. no headless people or whingy ghosts! I don't know exactly how i will do it though... perhaps hang lots of tapestries and curtains to cover the white walls.... dh wants to hang cardboard pieces shaped liek different keys from the cieling fan and paint them gold with wings.

[hahamommy]

WOW! That sounds great!!! We, too are totally into the Harry Potter *thing*; we listened to the second book on CD before seeing the movie, it was amazing what the kids can pull out to apply to real life! i.e. we now have a Happy Death Day Party for my DH, including lots of fun stuff that Daddy liked to do and any doll without a head instantly becomes *headless ______* and is the target of jealousy from Nearly Headless Nick :LOL
My ideas: use other sources to get some project ideas, like the American Girl series includes craft ideas and I know one girl's (Hannah took a HS class, but I can't remember her name) book includes how to make a quill pen, home-made inkwell and ink. Include your son in the sewing projects, great skills involved! (my children helped with sewing Holiday gifts and they're 6 & 4) I find it's also fun to talk about where the story came from, introduce them to JKR thru magazines, etc, and discuss how she's a regular *muggle* with great ideas in her head (we did this with George Lucas when DS fell in love with Star Wars, he's now interested in where all of his favorite stories come from, we've read about Stephen Speilberg, etc) suddenly, your child's fantastical ideas don't seem so *ordinary*!
I'm very lucky that MIL works at Warner Bros and we got some great promo stuff including a quill and ink (though DD prefers the one she made herself!) and a great *coin collecting* game that is actually self-storing in the game board (You move round the board as Hagrid and Harry and roll again to move Malfoy, you have to go to the bank and then to each store without Malfoy taking your purchases) it includes math, strategy, social skills ~ options are endless!!! ANYTHING in our house, long and straight, becomes a magic wand As an unschooler, I can make anything fun an educational experience! (and the kids don't have to know!) Have fun and enjoy the fantasy!!

~diana

[amandajf]

Would you have links to the quill pens and stuff? I can buy em on ebay, but if you say they come out better when you make your own i'd like to do that instead.. im open for ideas

[hahamommy]

Felicity is the name of the American Girl that lived during the Revolutionary War ~ the crafts DD did were related to living during that time, including the Quill pen and ink. You should be able to check out the Felicity Craft Book at the library or check out a local toy *boutique* (the book is ~$5), I know the craft, paperdoll, cook, and theatre kits are being discontinued, so finding one to buy will soon be tough. The girls were given big feathers (sorry, don't know what kind of bird it came from), soaked in water, then the end was trimmed at an angle. This would be a fun experiment, to see which feathers make the best quills (there were no metal inserts in them originally) ~ then compare your homemade ones to the metal ones. You can use all kinds of veggies/flowers to make ink, beets, spinach, rosepetals, etc. See, there's science, social studies and art, all in one episode I'll scope out my homeschooling resources to dig up an actual ink recipe.

~diana ild

[amandajf]

thanks a bunch.. im going to start my look out too

[~*max*~]

what a wonderful, creative mama you are! Your children are blessed. Your plans remind me of a classroom I had in second grade. It was decorated and revolved around the themes of Charlotte's Web. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and as you can see, it made a lasting impression. My only suggestion would be to try not to spend too much money, as kids' interests tend to change rather quickly. Good luck and keep us posted. You are an inspiration.

[amandajf]

Thank you! I'm hoping since she has 6 more books coming and many more movies they stay interested.. they're 6, 3 and 18 months.. so i have several opportunities. thanks guys.