Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Starting Harry Potter

We are pretty big fans of Harry Potter around here ... especially the Mama ... I know, sad but true. I just adore the series!

Even though the girls have seen the movies, they have never read the books so I decided to start reading the first of them, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, to them this week.

At the same time I have been having a look around for some school work that they could do along side the books and confess I am having a blast.



I found a terrific acceptance letter to Hogwarts online at HSLaunch (Homeschool Launch). I played around with the font and added some clip art and then printed the letter on some cream coloured paper which came out looking ever so cool and official. I dropped the letters on the girls work table and walked away. I could hear their squeals of joy in the other room.



The idea of the letter is that they had to "type" an official reply on the computer accepting the position, print it off and redeliver it back to me. It jokingly says to deliver it "by owl" on the letter and there is a date their letters had to be back by. Well despite them having a few days to reply, much to my amusement, they desperately got on to the PC as soon as they had some free time, to write their replies.


Agent Smelly wrote ...

Dear headmaster Xxxxxx,
I would love to be in Hogwarts school of the wizardry arts.
Do you mind if I ask a few questions? Of course you don’t!
When do I get chosen to be in my group, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw? I would love to be in Gryffindor!
Do I get a wand? I would love a wand!
Do I get a robe? I love robes!
When do I start?  It sounds like so much fun to be a wizard!
From...the soon to be wizard,
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx



The Fashionista's reply ...

Dear Headmaster XXXX,
I would love to attend the Hogwarts School of Magic! Thank you so much. I will enjoy it so very much!
I would like to be sorted into Huffle-Puff if possible please.
Where do I get my supplies: wand, broom-stick, cloche, etc?
When does the magical school term start? Is it the same as normal schools?
How exactly do I get there? I mean, I know about 9 ¾ but what station?
Do we get our own rooms or do we get sorted into rooms of let’s say three or four?
About the classes, do you take any? Is there allot of reading involved?
Yours sincerely,      
Soon-to-be, Witchy, Xxxx.   
They do ask a lot of questions don't they? I do think you can probably feel their excitement in their letters though!


I later saw Agent Smelly on a chair in the dining area tying a rope to the curtain rod and she looked at me and said "no questions please mummy" so I left her to it. Later on I was called over to the table to sit and then lo and behold she had tied her owl puppet to the string and placed her own letter in it's arms and then let it slide down the rope to where I sat. I was gobsmacked and couldn't help but laugh. Apparently she took the "delivery by owl" rather literally.




Such a fun activity for us all.
Highhill Homeschool

8 comments :

  1. Lisa
    You might find this unit interesting
    http://lapazfarm.homeschooljournal.net/unit-studies-weve-done/harry-potter-a-term-at-hogwarts/

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    1. Erin, thank you so much, those ideas look awesome. I printed them off some "quiz (comprehension) and glossary questions" by chapter and made them into a booklet and last night I found them in their rooms filling out the answers to the chapters that we have already covered. I crept quietly away and left them to it ... lol

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  2. Lisa,

    You certainly inspired your girls to write! Yes, their letters are full of excitement. What great fun! Somehow we never read the Harry Potter books. It sounds like we missed out on something wonderful. It's never too late...

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    1. It's now on my bucket list to go to Harry Potter world in the UK ... I have a serious problem I think. You must give the first book a go and see what the girls think. It's probably quite different to what they normally read (same as my girls) but they are loving it.

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  3. you have such a creative daughter :) love the owl delivery

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    1. It's really cool when kids do something like that and surprise you. It's one of the things I love best about homeschooling.

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  4. This is adorable. You can tell your girl it's Kings Cross station in London. They have the trolley going in to the wall and platform 9 3/4 written above it. Makes for great photos.

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    1. Thanks for that we googled it ... not as good as being there person but it will have to do for now ... sigh

      It reminded me of a joke "On a scale of 1 -10, how obsessed would you say you are with Harry Potter? 9 3/4"

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