These ideas are useful for homeschooling parents keen to harness the enthusiasm of their children for all things Harry Potter. The projects may also be fun for artistically-inclined children after school or during the holidays.
Draw a Schematic of Hogwarts
Older kids may enjoy drawing an architectural model of the Hogwarts castle and grounds. Plenty of clues about the building's layout can be gleaned from the books; any other details can be provided by the child's imagination. The resulting schematic could be decorated with Hogwarts colours, tea-dyed to look like Harry's secret map, or decorated with dragons and house-Elves.
Copy the House Standards
The Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Gryffindor devices require careful drawing. This project could lead into a discussion of heraldry. A child could use the principles of medieval heraldry to create a personal coat of arms for Hermione, Hagrid or Voldemort.
Sew Hogwarts Robes
Use Harry Potter to get kids sewing! The hogwarts robes are forgiving of any sewing mistakes, and the results can be used for a Harry Potter Halloween costume. An Invisibility Cloak is another quick sewing project. Look in the costume section of pattern magazines (at the back); most have Harry Potter robes, or at least generic wizard robes, medieval cloaks and so on that are designed for quick-and-dirty sewing and easy adaptation.
Knit a Gryffindor Scarf
A striped scarf from the Harry Potter movies is a great beginner knitting project. Even fairly young children should be able to manage a plain stitch.
Make Harry Potter Glasses
Use clear plastic or acetate and black paper to make a pair of Harry Potter glasses. This is a fun project for younger children, who might like to complete the effect by drawing a lightning-shaped scar on their foreheads.
Make a Quidditch Mobile
Use pipecleaners, chopsticks, ping-pong balls, spray paint, fishing line and whatever else you need to create a Quidditch mobile including broomsticks, the Snitch, Quaffles and Bludgers. The mobile can be hung from crossed chopsticks, which could be covered with a canopy decorated in the colours of the child's favourite Hogwarts house.
Make the Mirror of Erised
Transform a thrift store frame into the Mirror if Erised, complete with the inscription “erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi”.
Make a Potions Cabinet
Buy a few inexpensive bottles of body lotion, bath salts and shampoo in different colours. Use antique glass bottles from a thrift store to create a potions cabinet for the bathroom. The bottles can be decorated with hand-calligraphed labels in old-fashioned script; add copper wire, glitter, leather straps, drips of wax and so on to give the bottles a magical look. A similar idea can be used for storing kitchen spices, candy, small craft supplies, odds and ends such as screws and rubber bands, or anythng else that can be housed in bottles and jars. For the most dramatic effect, display the bottles in a shadow box.
Individual bottles filled with candy make excellent favors for a Harry Potter-themed birthday party.
Draw or Paint Harry Potter in Different Styles
Ask the children to choose a famous scene or image from the books – or instance, Harry and Cedric reaching for the Triwizard Cup – and draw or paint it in a variety of styles. One child might choose an impressionistic style; another, manga; another, a medieval stained-glass-window look. Encourage the use of mixed media and non-literalism to achieve some unique and creative Harry Potter-inspired art.
The cover art of the books, the visual companions to the films and various Internet sites such as Craftster provide ample jumping-off points for crafty Harry Potter projects. Some homeschoolers with particular talents in one area may like to spend time on a far more elaborate project – quilting a Harry Potter bedspread, for instance, or sculpting a model of Hogwarts from clay. Let their enthusiasm lead the way!
Homeschoolers may also enjoy Lord of the Rings Art Project Ideas and Little House on the Prairie Art Project Ideas.
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