This Harry Potter Defeat Voldemort activity teaches your child how to have confidence and banish their fears so they can be all they want to be!
In the Harry Potter book series, the main villain is a wizard by the name of Lord Voldemort. He is the most feared wizard in their world. He was so feared, that no one would even so much as utter his name. Instead, they would say “he who must not be named” and “You know who”.
Very few wizards or witches in the story were brave enough to even say his name at first. As the story continues throughout the series, the wizard community learns they need to face the feared wizard as he only gains power when they pretend he is not there.
In all actuality, their fear only grew because they never faced them and never created a space with would not allow them to return. Instead, their fears fed themselves and because they were avoided, the fear had space to grow. As the wise Albus Dumbledore said, “Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.”
In this activity, which was inspired by this fun activity from MomBrite, we are going to not only name and face our fears but watch them vanish and show the difference between harboring them and facing them to release them!
How to Make an Exploding Voldemort Bag
This activity is super easy and low maintenance! All you need are the supplies below! Let’s get started!
Supplies:
- A plastic baggie
- Permanent markers
- Baking soda
- Vinegar
- Paper towel or tissue paper
- Tape
- Scissors
Instructions:
* This activity is best done outside for easy cleanup. If outside is not an option, over a sink or in the bathtub could work too. The baggie will explode!
Talk to the child about what the greatest fear of many of the wizards in Harry Potter was and then explain to them that they are going to have a chance to defeat Voldemort (the greatest fear of many wizards) and also their fears as well!
1. Prep the baggie – Invite the child to cut out the printable. Then tape the image to the outside of the baggie, the image facing in so that you can see Voldemort’s face under the layers of plastic bag.
2. Draw – Invite the child to share their big fears with you. Some may be more shy about this than others. It helps if you do the activity along with them and share a fear of your own too. When the child shares their fear with you, invite them to draw it on the bag with the permanent markers. Help them if needed. Perfection is not needed here. Even if you can’t see what the picture is, they still know what it is.
3. Pour ½ cup of warm water and ½ cup of vinegar into the baggie.
4. Put 2-3 tablespoons of baking soda in a small pile in the center of the paper towel/ tissue/paper napkin. Then fold it so it creates a packet around the baking soda.
*I opened my paper napkin up and tore it in half so that it was thinner – it helped!
5. Hold the baking soda sachet inside the baggie just above the vinegar solution while zipping it closed. This can get tricky. You can pinch the sachet from the outside of the bag while you zip it shut.
6. Drop the sachet into the liquid, once you know the bag is all the way closed, then shake the bag a few times to help it activate (be sure not to shake it too hard or it could activate early and pop in your hand!) and set the bag down. Then it will begin to fill up with gas.
7. Step away while you watch it get bigger and bigger. Watch from a safe distance so you can still see it. If it takes a while to build up, you can talk about all the fears that were drawn onto the bag and that you are now going to see them disappear!
The bag will pop! If your kiddo has sensitive ears, you may want to have them cover their ears or wear ear protection!
This activity can be used at any time, it does not have to be Harry Potter-themed. Instead of drawing Voldemort’s face on the bag, just draw the fear(s) alone.
If your kiddos are enjoying learning about themselves while exploring the magical world of witchcraft & wizardry, and they want more, you can grab all 8 of our Harry Potter mindfulness printables for just $1.29!
(If you just want the free file, feel free to go to the individual posts to grab to grab them. It will ask you to enter in your information for each activity printable, but don’t worry, I won’t send you duplicate emails.)
Social Emotional Learning Behind the Harry Potter Defeat Voldemort Activity
Hiding from our fears, or pretending they are not there does not dispel them nor does it give us any confidence to move forward despite, or pass them. Hiding from them or trying to disguise them can make the fear stronger in some cases.
When we hide from fear, we subconsciously tell our brains that it is too big to handle, too scary, too hard. So the next time we encounter that fear, our subconscious brain remembers how big and scary it was, big enough we couldn’t handle it last time, so it hides again….and again…and again.
To move past the fear, it needs to be faced. It will not always be easy and in some cases, professional help may be needed. But it is possible to find the memory the fear is tied to and re-write it so to speak.
This article discusses a study in which the result showed the possibility of overwriting our fear-based memories. While there is still a lot of research going into this theory, this activity gives the child a fun, safe, and tangible way they can see their fear disappear.
Being able to see a physical representation of the fear explodes and becomes removed, in front of them, goes a long way in the brain’s ability to know and feel safety. In a child’s mind, seeing their fear gone, can help them subconsciously ‘choose’ safety and release that fear, allowing them to move past it.
Check out these other Harry Potter Social Emotional Learning Activities:
- Harry Potter Remembrall Activity – Positive Mindset
- Harry Potter Sorting Hat Activity – Character Building / Self Acceptance
- Harry Potter House Crest Activity – Self Affirmation
- Harry Potter Transfiguration Activity – Flexible Thinking & Growth Mindset
- Harry Potter Boggart Activity – Facing Fear & Defeating Worry
- Harry Potter Mirror of Erised Activity – Achieving Goals / Tenacity
- Harry Potter Marauder’s Map Activity – Self Care / Authenticity / Safety