Getting Ready for Autumn Term!

Photo :: Property of HH

Just like the rest of you, we at HH are scrambling to ensure all is in readiness for the start of term. The cost of Muggle petrol being what it is, (our classes were held at Shan's who lives in the boonies) we've had to completely alter how we had been running HH.  This year we'll not meet weekly. Instead, we plan to meet twice a month, & have the other two weeks be either home study classes (with the project shared at the next class,) or field trips.

To match what we are doing with the rest of our homeschooling activities, we've decided to eliminate our rotating 6 classes, & go with monthly themes. This accomplishes a few things: it allows us to add more Professors, & we can have HH be an extension of what we're already doing each month. Please don't get me wrong; creating a traditional HH is great fun, & easy to do. We all just felt the need to do less & focus more this term in our homeschooling, so decided to take HH along for the ride. We shall see how it goes.

So themes. We don't officially start our HH until October, but as there are some fun field trips going on in September, we're proclaiming them Official HH Class Trips. Our theme for Sept. is to be Pirates! If the kids point out there weren't pirates in HP, we'll remind them they did not read Hogwarts, A History. Had they done so, they would have read about the dreaded Wizard Pirate (no name yet) from the Caribbean.

Being pirate-lovers, there were already a few pirate books at my (Kat) house: Piratepedia, & How I Became a Pirate. We added to our collection: Caribbean Pirates, Everything I Know About Pirates, The Great Pirate Activity Book, Pirateology, & Pirateology Handbook. Before you start thinking I'm rolling in Galleons, I should let you know that I ordered them all from Amazon's used section. All but one came looking as though they'd never been opened, let alone read. I recommend this option for purchasing books. Usually the book costs vastly less than s&h ($4)!! If you cannot, check your library.

The last two books listed got me thinking about Defense Against the Dark Arts (DADA.) I feel confident that pirates fall into that category. The Pirateology Handbooks is education hidden in a fun how to hunt pirates story. Perfect! Learning the parts of the ship, how to tie knots, map-reading, etc.

Because our HH isn't in session for pirate month, I haven't any Potterfied lessons for you. I can give you a few things we've found searching around the Muggle Web though.

Here is a cute map. The top version is the Wizard-sized map; the others are meant for dollhouses (or faeries!) You can use the map as is for ambiance, or to inspire you in creating a map of your own. Hunting for buried Philosopher's Stones would be a great end to a map-reading lesson.

If you can tolerate Veggie Tales; which I love, but other HH Mamas not so much; you'll find games, printables, & a certificate to earn after learning to talk like a pirate - here.

ABC Teach has a page of piratey links; activities & lessons for the tiny students on up to the teens. Just a little Potterifciation, & you're good to go. Don't forget to print them onto parchment!

Still unsure how to incorporate pirates into HH? There is the DADA bent we discussed earlier; couldn't you just see Mad Eye Moody teaching Pirate Hunting? Watch yer back arrrrgh! Reading pirate fiction for Charms, or non-fiction for Prof. Binns' History of Magic class. Find something that you want to do, & figure out in which class to stick it!

Don't forget: International Talk Like A Pirate Day is September 19th!

~Kat