10 ideas to make your classroom truly magical

There’s nothing more magical than a Harry Potter inspired classroom. At Quizzic Alley, we know all about decorating a room!  Here’s our top ten tips for creating a spell-binding classroom.

NUMBER 1 – THEMED ENTRY

A themed entry is perfect for setting the scene.

• Grab a sponge and some paint and a large piece of paper or calico. Use the sponge to create a brick effect for a convincing Platform 9¾ experience. Check out this one from Paper Trail Design.
• Give the door a stone-effect archway through which wizards can make a grand entrance. Try Hover Dad Incorporated.
• There are some awesome full-door stickers available online – look out for designs like a stone staircase that for-all-the-world look like you could climb it.
• Create a tailored Marauders Map for the door.  Use brown paper and a black marker and cover it in footsteps, corridors and rooms. Model it on the classroom or the school.

NUMBER 2 – FEATURE WALL

If you have the talent and the time, you can recreate a stone castle wall or the great hall receding off into the distance or a window with a view out to Black Lake complete with merpeople, Grindylows and a giant squid.

Fortunately, for those of us who are artistically challenged there are some easier options.

• Velvet curtains are the best for creating an instant castle-y vibe and you can often pick them up second-hand. Look for red ones.
• Print out some quotes from the books and stick them on the walls.
• Remember the sponge and the calico? Make one big enough to cover the whole wall. Change the paint colour for a different effect.

NUMBER 3 – NIGHT SKY

You can’t go past a night sky if you want to create real magic in a wizard classroom.

Painting the ceiling black is probably not an option so try draping instead. Using black poplin, available at any store that sells fabric, use thumb tacs or wire to secure it. String some fairy lights under the draping and viola…night sky!

NUMBER 4 – HOUSE COLOURS

Harry Potter fans are very loyal to their house. Make some paper or fabric bunting in red, green, blue and yellow for Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff.

NUMBER 5 – POTIONS BOTTLES

Old bottles and jars can be re-purposed for potions.

What to put in them?  Get thee to a dollar shop for plastic flowers (think herbology), big balls of bobbly wool (squashed into a jay they look like the intestines of just about anything), small decorating rocks (you can get these in an amazing array of colours), small wooden balls (eyeballs, stones, eggs).

Even better, head off on a scavenger hunt for dried twigs and leaves, interesting pieces of bark, pine cones, seeds and pods. Liquids are fine but careful how you use them as no-one wants a potions bottle to explode!

Finish them off with authentic looking labels using one of many templates available online. 

NUMBER 6 – FLYING KEYS

Flying keys are a no-brainer: they’re pretty easy to make, they look great and they don’t take up floor space. Winner!

Check out Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace for old keys. Your local antique or junk shop may even have a box of them you can hunt through.

Cut wings out of baking or tracing paper (there are oodles of templates online) and glue them to the keys. Attach them to the ceiling using thin thread or fishing line. Hang them at different heights and make sure one has a broken wing.  This is very important.

NUMBER 7 – OLD LAMPS

Nothing says dim and dark castle like lamps, the older the better. Again, second-hand is the way to go. Just one floor lamp and a few smaller lamps in a group on a shelf or beside a bed will create some truly magical atmos. If you prefer to stick with the current lighting, you can just hang a group of old lampshades or paper lanterns from the ceiling. They look better if they don’t match.

NUMBER 8 – OLD SUITCASES

Stack them up to make a small table, hang them from the ceiling or place them on top of cupboards or on shelves. Use them to store books or puzzles.

Old suitcases and on trend right now so can be hard to find and are expensive if you buy them from antique shops. Look on Gumtree and other online pubic marketplaces for people who are cleaning out their garages. Ask around – parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents.

NUMBER 9 – HEDWIG

You really must have a Hedwig and she really needs a cage to rest in when she’s not delivering howlers.  If you don’t have an old birdcage lying around, look out for throw-outs on people’s verges or at the tip. They’re everywhere once you start looking. If you’re lucky, you might score one with a stand.

Hose all the old bird poop out, remove the base and spray it with gold paint. Replace the base or nail a few old fence palings together for a more authentic look. Place it on a shelf or hang it.

NUMBER 10 – QUIZZIC ALLEY

Enlist the help of the Quizzic Alley team. We have all sorts of stuff to decorate your classroom.  And, until school goes back, we are offering teachers 20% off banners, posters, lanterns, note books and mugs. Just visit Quizzic Alley and show us your current Teacher Quality Institute (TQI) card or interstate equivalent (Education Standards Authority in NSW) card to claim the discount.