Camp Hogwart- Goblet of Fire

 It has been two years since our Camp Hogwarts at home and I just realized I never finished writing about the last two days of camp! I remember being exhausted by the time the week ended and was preparing to begin a new job, so I'm not terribly surprised I didn't get around to it. 

Recently the kids and I reflected on that week and they talked about how much fun they had during it.  Along that same time, we had just started reading the first book aloud at bedtime and had visited Universal Studios not long before.  The wizarding world was very much top of mind at that time.  Now that two years have passed, we have finally made it to book six of the series, which happens to be the book we stopped at for our camp.  Since the kids had so much fun, (and I did too!) I decided to do a mini-Camp Hogwarts just for the day and pick back up at the Half-Blood Prince.  We are currently underway with our day, but before I get to it, I'd like to finish what I started and share the details from the last two days of our camp from two years ago. Let's see how much detail I can muster up...

Day 4!

Schedule: 

Activities-

Triwizard Tournament!

Capture the golden egg from the dragon, Recover lost items from the lake, Find your way in the enchanted maze

            Yule Ball

            I Spy 

Movie- Goblet of Fire

Today was a challenge for not only the kids, who were competing in our makeshift Triwizard Tournament, but mainly for the crazy mama who had to come up with the tasks! I distinctly remember feeling terribly silly and somewhat embarrassed that I posted my madness on social media for it.  But looking back, I chuckle and am grateful I was not too self-conscious to make this magic for them. 

We had a small ceremony where they each put their name into the goblet of fire and were chosen by it to compete. Next, we began the tasks.

The first task was stealing the egg from the dragon.  Well, who else is going to play the role of the dragon? That's right, it was me. I donned one of Tucker's raptor masks, which was as close as I could get to a dragon face, grabbed a spray-fan, created a nest out of pillows, and settled myself inside them to wait for the kids to try to take the prize from me. Each time they got too close, I sprayed them with fire (water), and if it got them, they had to start over.  It was wildly funny and we all erupted in more giggles than serious game play. 

The second task was fairly easy, seeing as we had a pool in the backyard already.  The kids had three dive toys each that I "hid" in the water and timed them to find. Whoever came up with all of them first won. Both of them were pretty quick, but Tuck won by a mere two seconds. 

The third task was the most daunting of them all. I spent nearly two hours creating a maze with STEM sticks and balls, sheets, curtains, and chairs throughout the main floor of the house.  The kids were having their quiet time upstairs and couldn't believe how elaborate it was when they came down.  It was so large, you couldn't get from one side of the house to the other without going outside and around.  I have to admit, I'm quite proud of how it turned out and they had a blast making their way through it. 

That concluded our Triwizard Tournament!  Both of them felt winners, as we didn't keep points for anything, and the prize really was the activities themselves. 

Perhaps my favorite part of the day, (and maybe even the entire week) was the Yule Ball.  In typical male fashion, Tucker was not excited for this next part of the day, but Olivia of course was very excited.  I made them both get "dressed up", show them a few simple dance steps, and had them dance to the song that played in the movie during the ball. These photos are my favorite of the entire week. 

The last activity was a simple one, more for distraction than anything, and that was a word search that I found and printed from Pinterest. 

We ended the evening by watching The Goblet of Fire and relaxing after a fun-filled day. 

At this point, I was thoroughly exhausted, and I think the kids were too. I remember thinking I was overzealous in trying to pull off five straight days of activities, but looking back on it two years later, I'm so glad I did.  The memories we made are priceless.