Wizard Theme Day

Wizards

My eldest son is crazy about Harry Potter and was very excited about going to see the final movie in a movie theatre. To add to the excitement we had a Wizard’s Theme Day before we saw the movie. Even if your children are too little to watch the Harry Potter movies this is still a fun Theme Day full of wizardly activities.

Print out the Family Theme Day Planner and decide which activities you’d like to do and in what order.

SONGS:

Any soundtrack music from the Harry Potter movies would work for this theme day.

A great wizard song is “We’re Off the See the Wizard” from the movie The Wizard of Oz.

For something different try “Pinball Wizard,” by The Who.

SCRAPBOOK ACTIVITIES:

COLOURING PAGES:

You can find many free colouring pages online by using your favourite search engine and typing in “wizard coloring pages” or print out my Wizard’s Hat Coloring Page.

JOURNALING QUESTION PROMPT:

Write out one or more of the following questions in your Family Theme Day Scrapbook or on a piece of paper to glue in your scrapbook: If you were a wizard what magical powers would you like to have? What do you think the greatest magic potion would do? What magic words can you make up?

Choose the level of your child:

¨ Toddler – discuss the answer(s) out loud first and have your child draw a picture of the answer

¨ Preschooler/Kindergartener – discuss the answer(s) out loud first and write the answer down for him/her leaving one word for him/her to write out himself/herself with your help. You could also encourage him/her to draw a picture as well.

¨ Early Grade School – have your child either write out the answer himself/herself (encourage phonetic spelling) without your help, or offer to help with spelling each word out loud one word at a time.

¨ Grade School – have your child write a sentence or two on his/her own and then read over and discuss the response. (You decide whether to correct the spelling or not)

¨ Older Child – have your child write a longer response (paragraph).

¨ As A Challenge – instead of a question ask your older child to write a story or poem about a wizard.

PUZZLES:

Print out a Wizard Word Search: Easy Wizard Word Search or Difficult Wizard Word Search.

Check here for the answer keys: Easy Wizard Word Search Key or Difficult Wizard Word Search Key.

BOOKS:

Raid your child’s bookshelves to find any books with wizard characters in them.

Go to the library with your child to find some books about wizards.

Go to the library on your own to find books about wizards from both fiction and nonfiction to have already on hand for your theme day. (Search for “wizards” under “Children’s Books”). Many libraries allow you to go online and search for titles based on subject. Reserve them if you can to save time.

Here are some picture books with wizards in them:

· Abracadabra, by Indrif & Dieter Schubert, Front Street Books, 1996—The animals of Brush Mountain have been changed magically by Macrobius and the magic word Abracadabra. How can they trick the mischievous magician into changing them back to normal?

· The Book of Wizards, selected and illustrated by Michael Hague, Harper Collins Publishers, 2008—This has nine tales from around the world that deal with wizards, witches or sorcerers and includes beautiful illustrations. With more text than pictures though this one might interest older readers more.

· Little Wizard, by Kazuno Kohara, Macmillan Children’s Books, 2010—A lonely little wizard who cannot fly meets a dragon who tries to teach him how to fly.

· The Magic Hat, by Mem Fox and illustrated by Tricia Tusa, Harcourt, Inc., 2002—A magic hat flies into town and changes people into different animals in this rhyming tale.

· The Wizard, the Ugly and the Book of Shame, written and illustrated by Pablo Bernasconi,Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2004—I love the whimsical collage illustrations in this tale about loving yourself. In the story the wizard’s ugly assistant asks the magic book to make him handsome and inadvertently mixes up the book’s words.

Here are some other fun wizardry titles:

· Imagine You’re a Wizard, by Meg Clibbon and illustrated Lucy Clibbon, Annick Press, 2003 – This book offers a simple yet fun look at what a wizard is, what they wear, , what equipment they need, even a wizard code among other things, along with fanciful illustrations.

· A Practical Guide to Wizardry, text by Susan J. Morris, Mirrorstone, 2008—This is a fictitious guide to the wizardry school Aldwyns Academy and is filled with many illustrations (11 different illustrators) as well as fun information about what is taught at the school.

· Wizardology: The Book of the Secrets of Merlin, text by the Templar Company Limited, Candlewick Press, 2005—Older kids will pour over this book which looks like an ancient text and has lots of classical looking illustrations, little flaps and tiny books to open all the while teaching about wizarding ways.

For Harry Potter Fans try these two books that explore the magical creatures and myths used in J.K. Rowling’s series:

· The Sorcerer’s Companion: A Guide to the Magical World of Harry Potter, by Allan Zola Kronzek and Elizabeth Kronzek, Broadway Books, 2010.

· The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter: A treasury of Myths, Legends, and Fascinating Facts, by David Colbert, Lumina Press, 2001.

CRAFTS:

PAPER ROLL WIZARD:

Materials: Empty toilet paper roll, purple paper, white paper, markers, child safe scissors, glue stick, clear tape, a toothpick, (Optional) star stickers.

Step 1: Cut a strip of white paper to be the face of the wizard and glue it around the toilet paper roll.

Step 2: Cut a larger wider purple strip of paper to be the robe of the wizard out of the purple paper and glue it around the paper roll. If these strips do not stick well with just the glue stick use some clear tape to keep the edges down.

Step 3: Have your child draw a face on the wizard on the white paper.

Step 4: Cut out a circle from the purple paper and then cut a slit to the middle. Roll it into a cone shape and use clear tape to hold together. Let your child decorate it with stars if he/she wants to.

Step 5: Tape the wizards hat to the paper roll.

Step 6: Cut out two small rectangles for the wizards sleeves and glue or tape to the purple robe.

Step 7: Cut out two mitten shapes from white paper for the wizards hands and glue or tape to the purple sleeves.

Step 8: Tape a toothpick to the wizards hand for a wand.

WIZARD HAT:

Materials: Two large sheets of construction paper (we used black), child safe scissors, stapler, white glue, clear tape, a piece of yarn or a large geometry compass (used to draw a quarter circle), black and purple tissue paper, old paint brush, (Optional) foam star stickers.

shape construction paper (or felt) into a cone and staple? (of using felt glue rim) add star foam stickers. Tissue paper glued to it. One circle larger than the hat rim then trace hat rim. compass

Step 1: Cut a piece of yarn or string to 16 inches/ 40 cm and tape it both to one corner of the black construction paper and the Ground. Then tie or tape the other end of the yarn to a pencil. Use this as a guide to draw a quarter circle (you could also use a large geometry compass).

Step 2: Cut out the quarter circle and roll it to form a cone shape. It doesn’t matter if it is perfect at this point. Staple the bottom of the cone together and then apply white glue to the rim and then seal with a strip of large clear tape. It is ok if the cone gets a bit squished at the top, too, since a wizard’s hat is usually well worn.

Step 3: Allow the cone to dry.

Step 4: To add a brim continue with these steps but if you don’t want a brim go to step 10. Make small slits (all the same length) along the circular rim of the hat and then fold these fringes into the hat to hide them at first.

Step 5: Trace the bottom of the hat onto the rest of the construction paper to make a circle.

Step 6: Take the yarn now and tape to the center of this circle. Now use the pencil to make a larger circle around the smaller circle.

Step 7: Cut out the larger circle and then the smaller circle from the middle which leaves you with the hat’s brim when slotted over the hat.

Step 8: Take the folded fringe of the hat and now fold them the other way so they are seen on the outside of the hat. Place the brim over the point of the cone until it rests with the folded fringes.

Step 9: Glue or tape the fringes to the bottom of the circular brim.

Step 10: Once the glue dries it is good to wear or you can continue to make it even fancier. Cut out rectangular pieces of tissue paper and glue them to the hat using an old paintbrush dipped in white glue. This will hide any irregularities making the hat look more uniform.

Step 11: (Optional) Once the hat has dried, your child can add foam stickers to the outside of the hat (see the photo below of my littlest wizard who added stars and moons to his hat).

WIZARD WAND:

Materials: White paper, markers or crayons, clear tape, glue stick, craft glitter, white glue, paper plate, old paintbrush, wax paper.

Step 1: Have your child decorate a piece of white paper with crayons or markers on one side of the paper. Your child can use many colours or just one colour depending on how he/she wants the wand to look.

Step 2: Help your child tightly roll the paper into a wand.

Step 3: Apply glue stick along the edge to help seal it and then use clear tape to keep it together.

Step 4: Using an old paint brush paint the outside of the wand with white glue.

Step 5: Pour craft glitter into a paper plate and roll the wand over the glitter.

Step 6: Let the wand dry on wax paper.

SPELL SCROLL:

Materials: White paper, black pen, used tea bag.

Step 1: Have your child write some magic words onto the white paper or a fake recipe for a magic potion. If your child likes Harry Potter they could include some spells from the books. Check here for a list of spells found in J.K Rowling’s books: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spells_in_Harry_Potter

Step 2: Rub the used tea bag over the paper to dye the paper colour.

Step 3: Crumble the paper to make it look old. You could also rip some of the edges.

Step 4: Flatten the paper and let the paper dry.

Step 5: Roll the top and bottom edges to make it look like a scroll.

PAPER PLATE OWLS:

Every wizard needs an owl. Make your own flying friend by following these simple instructions:

Materials: white paper plate, orange paper, brown paper, googly eyes, markers, child safe scissors, white glue, damp cloth for sticky fingers.

Step 1: Cut out a small orange rectangle for the owl’s beak.

Step 2: Cut out two long half circles from the brown paper for the owl’s wings.

Step 3: Glue the brown wings onto the paper plate.

Step 4: Glue the googly eyes and the orange beak to the plate closer to the top rim.

Step 5: Draw some claws on the bottom rim of the plate.

Step 6: Let it dry.

ORIGAMI FORTUNE TELLER:

Some wizards can read the future. Make a folded fortune teller and make some fun predictions. Check here for instructions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_fortune_teller. Have your child colour the outside with bright colours and then number the inner parts. Lift the flaps and help your child write some fortunes: ”You will soon find…”, “You will have….”, “You will go…”, etc..

FOOD:

HINT: Remind your children to use “the magic word today!” “Please!”

SNACK:

Drinkable “Magic Potion” (Soda Pop Float):

Ingredients: Grape soda Pop (or your child’s favourite but we think purple is very wizardly), vanilla ice-cream

Step 1: Pour some grape soda into a tall clear glass.

Step 2: Carefully place a scoop of vanilla ice-cream into the glass and watch the purple drink fizz like a magic potion.

Step 3: Enjoy!

LUNCH:

Breadstick Wands and Magic Pizza Dip: Make some breadsticks using refrigerated dough (we used refrigerated pizza dough) and heat up some tomato sauce with Italian herbs and garlic powder for an easy pizza sauce dip.

Edible Scrolls: Spread cream cheese on a small whole wheat tortilla and place a piece of ham in the middle. Place a pickled asparagus along one edge and roll the tortilla to make a scroll you can eat.

For the easiest wizard lunch around let your child help you make some potion (soup) in a cauldron (pot).

DINNER:

Serve up a favourite stew in a big cauldron/pot for dinner.

DESSERT:

Purple Cupcakes with Sprinkles: We tried to make the actual cake purple by adding grape pop but that didn’t work out, but decorating the cupcakes with homemade purple icing (use blue and pink food colouring) and purple sugar sprinkles still made them look magical.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES:

MAGIC POTION EXPERIMENT:

Materials: white (clear) vinegar, water, food colouring, glitter, small jars, 1 teaspoon baking powder, a baking sheet or pie plate (to catch the mess).

Step 1: Fill several small jars with the vinegar about half way up.

Step 2: Add some food colouring to make the potions more colourful.

Step 3: Sprinkle some craft glitter on top.

Step 4: Put the jars on the pie plate or baking sheet and then add a teaspoon of baking powder to each jar.

Step 5: Watch the bubbling brew!

HINT: When an acid (the vinegar) mixes with the base (baking powder) bubbles are formed and these bubbles are carbon dioxide gas.

WEBSITES:

To learn about wizards in literature and folklore check here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizard_(fantasy)

For Harry Potter Fans check out J.K Rowling’s Webpage: http://www.jkrowling.com/en/

FOR FUN:

TOOTHPICK MAGIC TRICK:

Make pepper magically swim using a magic toothpick!

Step 1: Before your audience arrives soak a toothpick in dish soap.

Step 2: Pour water in a clean bowl (no soap residue)

Step 3: Sprinkle pepper into the bowl.

Step 4: Say some magic words and dip the soap coated toothpick into the center of the bowl and the pepper.

Step 5: Watch as the pepper moves away!!

GAMES:

LEVITATION BALLOONS:

Use your magic wands from the above craft and try to keep your balloon in the air. The one who keeps the balloon in the air the longest wins!

WIZARD SAYS:

Instead of “Simon Says” play “Wizard Says”. One person is the Wizard who announces “Wizard says...touch your nose” (or some other action). All participants must obey the Wizard but only if he/she says “Wizard says.” If the Wizard only gives the command without “Wizard says” before it anyone who obeys is out.

BROOMSTICK RELAY RACE:

Set up an obstacle course in your backyard or plan a path and have your kids take a ride (run with the broom between legs) on a broomstick.

JOKES:

Q: What do you get when a wizard puts a spell on a dinosaur?

A: Tyrannosaurus Hex

Q: What did the wizard name his favourite spell pot?

A: It was called-Ron! (Cauldron)

Q: Why did the wizard want to be a weatherman?

A: So he could forecast sunny spells!

Q: What kind of jewellery do wizards like?

A: Charm bracelets.

EXTENDED ACTIVITIES:

AUDIO VISUAL:

Search through your child’s DVD/ video collection (or visit your local library before hand or the Video Store) to find your child’s favourite shows with wizards in them.

For some wizard movies try:

· Fantasia (with the classic Mickey Mouse piece where he is the Sorcerer's apprentice).

· The Sword in the Stone

· The Wizard of Oz

Older Kids might like these movies with wizards in them:

· The Lord of the Rings Series

· Harry Potter Series

· The Sorcerer's Apprentice

FIELD TRIP:

See if you can find a Magic show to attend. Often libraries have programs where magicians visit.

OTHER:

House Points: In the Harry Potter Series the characters belong to school “houses” and either earn or lose points throughout the story. To encourage sibling peace over the summer we had our own version of “House Points.” When my boys performed acts of kindness toward each other they were reward with 5 points. When they continued to fight after a warning they lost “5 points.” At the end of the summer we add up the points and for reaching certain levels they will receive little prizes (50 points = a slurpee, 100 points = a LEGO mini figure, 150 points = a new DVD movie). If you want to try this print out our House Points Sheet and have your children create their own Family Crest to keep track of points.