Make Believe Play with Harry Potter and Chinese Take-Out

Leave it to my children to gather up every chopstick in the house, (whether they be of the standard take away variety, or the fancier ones, which my husband and I have collected over the years), and turn them into wands.

Wands. Like the ones on display at Ollivander's shop in Hogsmead. (Translation: our back deck.)

Yes, my children are on the Harry Potter bandwagon. 

I recall teaching a musical theater summer camp back in 2000. During lunch breaks, rather than running around all loud and obnoxious, the kids participating in the camp were either sprawled out reading, or discussing the book they were reading. It was called,  "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer Stone". I remember thinking the book must be something awesome to be captivating the attention of 5th and 6th's graders over their summer vacation.

Little did I know that I would get hooked on the series. Complete with midnight book release parties.

And now, 11 years later, my children are completely mesmerized as well.

Thus, our own wand shop in the back yard. 

I have also found stacks of books in various places around the house - apparently these are "textbooks" left over from a previous game of Harry Potter, during which my two children sit under a sorting hat, are assigned a house, gather up their textbooks, and go up and down stairwells to reach their classes.

"I have Potions. Where are you off too? Wrong way, silly!"

There are spells being practiced - a wand pointed at the chandelier in the dining room - a determined "Lumos!" - and poof, suddenly the light over my head is now bright. Hmmmm?

I hear a lot of "Reparo", which makes me nervous. What have they damaged? And everyone gets a kick out of the correct pronunciation of "Wingardiom Leviosa." But the most fun? "Expelliarmus!" (you may wanna duck around that one - wands go flying.)

No kidding, they can play this for hours. Together. An 11 year old and a 7 year old. 

Make believe play is still alive and well in our house. 

Who knew that an order of General Tso's chicken and "extra chopsticks, please", would turn into something so very magical?

What kind of games do your children invent????

Joline Pinto Atkins is an actress who also uses the web as her world-wide stage and can also be founding writing at The Cuppa Jo, Workingmother.com, and is the founder and a contributor at Daily Fast Fuel. Joline is wife to one (phew - that's good to know) and mother of two amazing children, aged 11 and 7, who are both named after authors. Addicted to fitness, she is an Independent Team Beachbody Coach and sweats out any daily angst by exercising and P90X'ing, and longs for good books, vats of coffee, and an endless supply of buffalo wings - which she will not share with you. So, please, do not ask.