A Sweet Ending

Fridays are short days at our elementary school and that tradition has continued in our current online school situation. As such, Malia completed her muggles studies in a very short amount of time this morning. Her owl, whom she has named Hedwig in honor of Harry Potter’s owl, arrived with a message just as she was completing her muggle studies. She was informed that Voldemort was hunting for the sorcerer’s stone and she had to find it before he did! She was also given a clue that set her on the trail. She was confused at first because she didn’t understand that she was going on a scavenger hunt, but once she understood she was off like a flash! 

This scavenger hunt for the sorcerer’s stone was honestly one of the most fun parts of the week to plan and execute. I combed the first couple of Harry Potter books for quotes that would lead Malia to certain places or objects scattered all over the house and yard. We sent her to the mailbox, the vacuum cleaner, the fireplace, the Aveo, even her sock drawer. We had flying keys, a chessboard, and some Devil’s Snare. The two funniest locations were her visit to Moaning Myrtle (in the toilet, of course) and her encounter with our very own version of Fluffy, the three headed dog. The boys and I followed her around and we were all laughing like crazy. The hunt ended when she stood gazing into the Mirror of Erised (my full-length mirror). It took her awhile, and some very pointed clues, but she was finally able to see the stone, which she could only see when reflected in the mirror due to some fantastic hiding skills on my part. At least, it was the supplies to create a sorcerer’s stone of her very own. 

Our end of term feast consisted of drumsticks, rice-a-roni, corn and butterbeer with a pumpkin cake for dessert. It was Malia’s interpretation of the feasts in the books. I did take some liberties with dessert and recreated the birthday cake Hagrid made for Harry’s eleventh birthday. It was super fun and made everyone giggle and was a sweet end to a fantastic week.

A couple of weeks ago we actually heard that the third grade teachers are still planning to hold Harry Potter week, but when I asked Malia if she wanted to cancel ours or do it the same week as the school one, she opted to continue with ours and keep it separate from the school one. She’s a smart girl. She knows that staying the course with our plans means she will get to visit Hogwarts twice. And I’m ok with that. With so much out of our control, I felt like it was necessary to do what I could to bring a little joy to my disappointed household. And I think I’ve managed to do just that. All the planning and work have been worth it. It has lightened the mood a bit, given us all something to look forward to, and brought a little magic into our lives.