Harry Potter and his MAGIC!

So, what is Harry up to now? Does he have another wand-waving magic that we do not know of? Not exactly. I’m going to talk about what he has magically done to the world in the last few years.

This has been reported many times but what I have today is my own personal opinion that inadvertently confirmed all those previous reports. I’m sure that every parents in the world today realized that JK Rowling’s Harry Potter have created a big storm last few years. Suddenly we have a new generation of euphoric kids who loves to read fantasy story books. Such scene has not been seen for quite some time and the impact that Harry Potter is bringing to the world today is a big welcome for parents. Harry Potter does have real world magic after all.

I’m in Malaysia, a small nation in the South East Asia region. Believe it or not, Harry Potter’s impact on the young generations here are phenomenal. I can see it with own eyes through observations made on my own 8 to 12 year old nieces, nephews and my close friend’s children. Before Harry Potter, none of the kids I knew read books. Their reading habits are almost non-existent except for the sole cause of completing their school’s homework. Every Malaysian parent then were groaning and nagging their kids to read books but all that goes in vain.

Then suddenly JK Rowling’s first book on Harry Potter came out. Nothing happened here in the first few months but suddenly children are begging their parents to buy them their very first book on Harry Potter. I really don’t know how this new craze for Harry Potter develops in the first place really. Over in South East Asia, the marketing promotions for JK Rowling’s Harry Potter are limited to established book stores such as MPH and Kinokuniya. There are no specific television or radio promotions that I could remember. After interrogating my nieces, nephews and their friends on the matter, I found out that this whole obsession with Harry Potter was probably started here in South East Asia by the internet itself. Some kids who are internet savvy and have access to the internet must have stumbled upon some rave Harry Potter fan sites and that ignites their curios interest. The news will of course spread through words of mouth from one child to another and by the time we know it, every kid is hooked on Harry Potter. So, that’s how it started here.

Kids suddenly made about turns and return back to positive reading habits. In the long run, this helps them in performing better at schools too! Pure magic. Their new found passion in reading story books reminded me of my own childhood. Remember Enid Blyton’s books anyone? Yes, I too was very much attached to her books. Reading them brought me a lot of good. My English mastery both orally and in writing is better than most of my peers and gave me a slight edge in the society. Seeing the new rejuvenated interest kids nowadays have on reading fantasy story books such as Harry Potter, I foresee a great future for them. If you still can’t see it, the following is what Harry Potter has magically done for children here in South East Asia:

1. Redevelop that crucial reading habit that was waning fast before the arrival of Harry Potter.
2. Helps them to perform better in schools and achieve better grades much to the joy of their parents.

So, if you are looking for a fun way to develop good reading habits to your kids, you may start by buying them fantasy story books. Harry Potter’s series would be preferable since your kids would then be able to reach out and connect to a big Harry Potter’s fans out there. They can immediately be a part of the group and develop that sense of belonging in no time. One word of advice though, maybe it is best that you buy a few dictionaries to accompany that Harry Potter’s books. Stories written by British story tellers do sounds a little bit odd and mind boggling at times. Keeping those dictionaries handy for your kids would ensure that they would be able to enjoy their reading fully.

Saidul A Shaari is the principal and founder of Sahabatul Ventures, specializing in helping aspiring home based entrepreneurs establish and setup their online businesses cost effectively. An enterprising business individual who turn half ideas into real money making opportunities.

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The Magic of Harry Potter Films

What's up with these Harry Potter films anyway? It is absolutely amazing the effect that these movies have on some of their fans. Have you seen the first four? Well, if the answer is no, then you're certainly in the minority. The amazing thing is that both kids and adults alike seemed to equally love the adventures of the young wizard.

As a matter of fact, the Harry Potter films alone have made J.K. Rowling a very, very wealthy woman. There's just something about wizards and supernatural evils that gets our juices flowing. I suppose it's the mystery and magic of it all. I know two things for sure, this movie series will be around for a long time, and lots of money will be generated from them. Harry Potter films are similar to a new-age Star Wars. It's that kind of phenomenon.

It all began if one single book. We humans seem to love our works of fiction. Or perhaps in this case, fantasy. Either way, the Harry Potter series is a runaway smash hit. When the first book hit the shelves of every bookstore around the world, I actually didn't really care for its. Yippy, yet another children's novel that delves into the supernatural realm of magic and the age old good versus evil genre. Like that hasn't been done to death already. But kids from all over the world were new to these concepts and this in turn got the adult's attention as well.

Because of the wild enthusiasm that the kids work is flying, the adults too were getting sucked into these imaginative books. The writing was on the wall that we would soon see feature films created. While I did see the first four, they didn't really excite me as much as I had hoped. But that's just me, my daughter absolutely adores them. I must admit, the concept of the Harry Potter films is the perfect key to classic escapism. Isn't that why we go to the movie theaters, as an escape from our everyday lives. Come on, you want to get your money's worth and there's a lot to be said for vicarious thrills.

If you're not an avid reader you may want to simply watch the Harry Potter films. In my opinion, the third and fourth installments or more entertaining than the first two. Of course this is just my opinion, but the way cinematography was much better. The Internet also provides any fan of the Harry Potter films with a plethora of material. You can hop online and pick up any of the first four Harry Potter films today on DVD for a decent price. Amazon.com is a superstore or you can find any of these films and can buy them either new or used.

Morgan Hamilton offers his findings and insights regarding the world of entertainment. You can get interesting and informative information here at Harry Potter Films

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Harry Potter House Teams Work "Magic" in Classrooms

Throughout every school year at Hogwarts School, Harry Potter and his schoolmates worked on a point system on their house teams. The 4 teams in the Harry Potter novels were Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin.

The students were sorted into their teams on the first day of school when they arrived at Hogwarts for their very first year. You may wish to sort your students for the entire year, semester, month or week depending on what you will think work best for your group. Teachers wishing to purchase a real Hogwarts Sorting Hat can find one online in the Harry Potter Shop. along with many other terrific Harry Potter items which can complement your teaching strategies.

Each student can gain or lose points for their team based on their attendance, punctuality, classroom participation, working cooperatively with other classmates, following instructions or completing tasks on time. As well, points may be gained or lost for their team based on academic achievement, sports intramural activities to promote good health and physical fitness, classroom monitoring jobs etc. There are many various ways that allow each team to compete with each other.

Students need to be able to learn how to work effectively as a team, with others as well as individually. The peer pressure from their team members will help motivate positive responses from a student often more effectively than the teacher can motivate alone.

At the end of the competition, there should be a reward that the teacher will chose depending on what is most appropriate for his/her group of students. Work a little magic into your classroom activities this year. Challenge your students effectively.

Valerie Giles owns and operates Cyber-Prof: Teacher Resource Site an educational web site that specializes in resources for school and teacher supplies . Free stuff for teachers, teaching strategies, K-8, educational toys and games, back to school, classroom technology and home school curriculum. http://www.cyber-prof.com The accompanying article is copyrighted. It may be reproduced only if the hyperlinks here are left intact.

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Harry Potter Audio Books - the Pros and Cons

The Harry Potter mania has not skipped the audio books world. Apart from Harry potter books, movies and video games you could find all the Harry Potter series on audio books formats – downloadable audio books, audio books on CD and books on tape. Is it good for our children? Decide yourself after getting to know the pros and cons of the Harry Potter audio books:
The pros:
1. The Harry Potter audio books are an excellent educational activity for young children that can not read yet or for children with dyslexia. Yet, young children may be afraid of some of the chapters on the Harry Potter audio books – just skip these parts.
2. The Harry Potter audio books are the perfect solution for children who do not like to read. It will help them get all the essential values from the Harry potter books without actually reading them. More than that, it could motivate them to start reading books. One mother told me that she allowed her children to listen only to the first Harry Potter audio book. To get to know the rest of the Harry Potter series, her children had to actually read them.
3. The Harry Potter audio books are the best method to teach children proper pronunciation. A perfect reading will teach them new words and correct speaking techniques.
4. The Harry Potter audio books will keep your children busy for hours. You could use them while traveling in the car, instead of reading to them before they go to sleep or just to get some rest from your children.
The cons:
1. The Harry Potter audio books may encourage children not to read books. In some cases I have heard of, children who started listening to audio books, have read less books. Yet, I believe it’s all a matter of a good education and parents’ domination.
2. Some say that listening to audio books such as the Harry Potter audio books may damage the imagination and creativity of the children.
Paton Jackson is the audio books’ expert of 911 corp. Find the best audio books sources and more about audio books on http://www.911makemoretime.com/audio Harry Potter audio books and more. All about time management on http://www.911makemoretime.com
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