Wizard uses humor in times of horror
Your family is headed to the mountains, where you're excited to teach
your kids to ski. But as you're about to start up the slope, your son
breaks out in a sweat. He's afraid he'll fall off the ski lift. After
you struggle to get him up the mountain without disaster, he starts to
sob. He says the drop is too terrifying�even though you're only on the
bunny slope. He's worried about broken bones. You're worried about his
broken spirit.
The newly released film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
can help your kids learn to lick their fears using laughter. After
watching the movie, play our "Broom Bowl" game to bring the lesson to
life.
The movie features Harry Potter (Daniel
Radcliffe), who's returned for his third year at Hogwarts�a grooming
academy for wizards and witches�only to find trouble brewing. Sirius
Black (Gary Oldman), the criminal supposedly responsible for the murder
of Harry's parents, has escaped from Azkaban prison and is headed for
Hogwarts looking for Harry. Everyone at Hogwarts is afraid that Sirius
is coming to finish off the young wizard.
The
school employs the protection of grim-reaper guards called Dementors to
protect Harry and the students. But the Dementors are so daunting,
students become paralyzed with panic in their presence.
Surrounded by frightening Dementors and the criminal's impending doom,
Harry must learn to overcome his fears in order to survive and get back
to his life of flying broomsticks and magic wands.
Family Activity:
Broom Bowl
Your
children don't need to cast secret spells to conquer their worst fears.
After revealing what gives your family the willies, play our "Broom
Bowl" game together to help sweep away insecurities.
Share!
Take
turns sharing things that scare you�from dark, creepy closets to
presenting a book report in front of the class. Why do these things
seem so scary? Imagine the worst outcomes possible�from a closet
monster gobbling you up to forgetting the book's plot and having your
classmates laugh at you.
In the movie, Harry and
his schoolmates learn to transform fears into something funny�like
spiders sliding around on skates. How does hilarity help the students
cope?
Try to think of how you can add humor in
times of horror. For example, instead of picturing plummeting off a ski
lift onto a cold, hard mountain, think of yourself as king of
Marshmallow Land down below. The soft marshmallows must never let you
fall, or you'll banish them to the Land of Squished S'mores.
Humor
is one way to help face your fears. Take turns sharing some other ways
that have worked for you. Listen to each other's tips and try to use
them in the future!
"Broom Bowl" |
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Play!
You will need:
Six empty water bottles
Colored tissue
Masking tape
Marker
Tennis ball
Broom
Stuff the empty water bottles with tissue. Place a piece of
masking tape on the center of each bottle. Using the marker, write on
each bottle something that scares you�from bugs in your basement to
thunderstorms.
Line up the water bottles like
bowling pins with the labels facing front. Stand across the room. Your
goal is to try to bowl over the bottles by hitting the tennis ball with
the broom.
While the ball is rolling, you must
shout out a funny way to deal with the scary situation on the bottle
you're trying to hit�such as picturing the bugs in your basement
dancing the hula. Take turns�the next person shouts out something silly
for the bottle that's her target. Continue until all bottles are
knocked over.
Your kids will learn, just like Harry, that humor can help strike down fear, and spare their sanity!
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