We broke up our winter break this year with the ultimate Harry Potter scout overnight, complete with a Dobby! We had a ridiculously fun time for less than $20 per person, including a Wizarding World of Scouting patch.
Here are some of the highlights of the day:
Wandlore and Capes
What’s a wizard without her wand? One of the first activities the Girl Scouts did was to create an individual wand. (And yes, I lost mine to a Cadette, but hey, the wand chooses the wizard…)
To make our homemade wizarding wands, we beefed up wooden dowels by wrapping pipe cleaners and hot glue around them. Then the wands were painted and glittered as necessary.
The scouts also sewed their own wizard capes. They cut large rectangles out of a bolt of felt, then hemmed it lengthwise to run braided yarn through for a neckline.
Cauldron Cooking
Our Girl Scouts enjoyed sweet treats in our “Cauldron Cooking Class.” The girls made several treats for an end-of-the-day tea. Among them were chocolate chip scones, Cockroach Clusters (aka Chinese noodle cookies) and a fun twist on Jello: Snape’s Preserving Jars.
Cockroach Clusters
Ingredients
Dark chocolate
Dry chow mein noodles
Instructions
Melt chocolate in a glass bowl in the microwave, stirring occasionally until smooth.
Stir in noodles until the mixture is thick enough to hold together.
Spoon clusters onto wax paper and harden in the refrigerator.
Snape’s Preserving Jars
Ingredients
1 box of Jell-o
1 cup of boiling water
1 cup cold water or water/ice
small cups
Instructions
Stir one cup of boiling water into gelatin in medium bowl until completely dissolved.
Stir in one cup of cold water. Pour into small cups.
Refrigerate until firm.
Herbology and Magical Creatures
For our final two classes, the girls learned about herbology and care of magical creatures.
For herbology, the girls planted seeds for edible plants like cilantro, painted pots and discussed edible plants in nature.
For magical creatures, the girls got their craftiness out again. They blinged and painted styrofoam eggs to create their own “Dragon eggs.” I loved the creativity of it.
Questing
One of the most enjoyable parts of our Girl Scout Harry Potter overnight was our afternoon quest. Our very creative leader designed a quest for us to explore the quaint downtown of our county seat. The girls answered puzzles which took them to a train station, a candy shop (where they treated us to butterbeer and other Harry Potter treats!), an independent bookstore (complete with a huge Harry Potter book collection) and other landmarks.
What are your favorite Harry Potter activities to do with your troop? Share your ideas below!
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