hogwarts magical studies: day five
Well, at the end of every week I attempt to do something special and tie it into the curriculum. So, today, I had all the houses go through four challenges in a sort of tournament. We didn't have the Triwizard one because, well, only one 'school', so all the houses competed for house points; Fifty points to a house for being the first to complete a challenge, twenty points for coming in second. And sadly, no pictures today because my camera ran low on batteries.
Day Five: Four Challenge Tournament
I had four challenges, and as you might have guessed from the livejournal cut, they were based on four qualities: strength, cunning, teamwork, and wisdom. One for each house. Gryffindor got strength because, well, I didn't know a good test for bravery. Oh well.
The strength test had all of them choosing the strongest member of their team to engage in a sit-up competition. Unfortunately, Gryffindor didn't win its own tournament challenge. In this test, a girl from Ravenclaw got first place for fifty sit-ups and a boy from Hufflepuff ran a close second with forty-nine. (They were siblings. HMMMM.)
For cunning, I gave each team a word and told them to go trick the other teams into saying it. Gryffindor got 'bubbles', Hufflepuff got 'shower', Ravenclaw got 'gold', and Slytherin got 'unicorn'. Slytherin very quickly tricked someone into saying their word and got first place, Gryffindor came in second.
The teamwork test had everyone in a group sitting in a circle with their backs facing the center, then locking arms and trying to stand all together. There was a lot of giggling and falling down before Hufflepuff tied with Ravenclaw for first, with Gryffindor coming in second.
For wisdom, I had four riddles worth fifty points apiece. Here they are:
What carries water but is full of holes? (A sponge, won by Ravenclaw.)
What at night appears without being fetched, and at day is lost without being stolen? (Stars, won by Ravenclaw.)
You are caught in a blizzard and you're in a small shack with a single match. In the hut there is a lantern, a torch, and a fireplace. What do you light first? (The match, won by Gryffindor.)
A condemned prisoner is faced with three choices. He may enter the room full of blazing flame, the room full of assassins with loaded guns, or the room full of lions who haven't been fed for three years. Which room is safe? (The lion room. Lions who haven't been fed for three years are dead. Won by Slytherin.)
After that, I took out a bag of mixed Starburst and five bouncy balls, and threw them out randomly. I awarded points to the houses of whoever caught the bouncy balls, calling them 'golden snitches'. Everyone else got to keep and eat their candy!
At the end of the tournament, I had the teams choose the child who'd won their team the most points, and awarded them a special prize. (Pumpkin juice, small glass 'potions' bottle, Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts, both books which were found at the used book shop in terrific condition for $1.50) Everyone had a splendid time and left the room babbling happily about the upcoming Quidditch match on Monday.
After the weekend: Quidditch match!
Day Five: Four Challenge Tournament
I had four challenges, and as you might have guessed from the livejournal cut, they were based on four qualities: strength, cunning, teamwork, and wisdom. One for each house. Gryffindor got strength because, well, I didn't know a good test for bravery. Oh well.
The strength test had all of them choosing the strongest member of their team to engage in a sit-up competition. Unfortunately, Gryffindor didn't win its own tournament challenge. In this test, a girl from Ravenclaw got first place for fifty sit-ups and a boy from Hufflepuff ran a close second with forty-nine. (They were siblings. HMMMM.)
For cunning, I gave each team a word and told them to go trick the other teams into saying it. Gryffindor got 'bubbles', Hufflepuff got 'shower', Ravenclaw got 'gold', and Slytherin got 'unicorn'. Slytherin very quickly tricked someone into saying their word and got first place, Gryffindor came in second.
The teamwork test had everyone in a group sitting in a circle with their backs facing the center, then locking arms and trying to stand all together. There was a lot of giggling and falling down before Hufflepuff tied with Ravenclaw for first, with Gryffindor coming in second.
For wisdom, I had four riddles worth fifty points apiece. Here they are:
What carries water but is full of holes? (A sponge, won by Ravenclaw.)
What at night appears without being fetched, and at day is lost without being stolen? (Stars, won by Ravenclaw.)
You are caught in a blizzard and you're in a small shack with a single match. In the hut there is a lantern, a torch, and a fireplace. What do you light first? (The match, won by Gryffindor.)
A condemned prisoner is faced with three choices. He may enter the room full of blazing flame, the room full of assassins with loaded guns, or the room full of lions who haven't been fed for three years. Which room is safe? (The lion room. Lions who haven't been fed for three years are dead. Won by Slytherin.)
After that, I took out a bag of mixed Starburst and five bouncy balls, and threw them out randomly. I awarded points to the houses of whoever caught the bouncy balls, calling them 'golden snitches'. Everyone else got to keep and eat their candy!
At the end of the tournament, I had the teams choose the child who'd won their team the most points, and awarded them a special prize. (Pumpkin juice, small glass 'potions' bottle, Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts, both books which were found at the used book shop in terrific condition for $1.50) Everyone had a splendid time and left the room babbling happily about the upcoming Quidditch match on Monday.
After the weekend: Quidditch match!