Do Hogwarts House points at home for a fun and geeky way to get kids to behave and reward them for doing chores.
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I have found the secret to getting Harry Potter-loving kids to behave. It’s using Hogwarts house points.
Just like at Hogwarts, kids earn house points for good things and lose points for bad ones. This geeky parenting trick has worked fantastically in my house and I wanted to share with other parents who might want to try it too.
Note: No Harry Potter plot spoilers here!
A quick recap of Harry Potter
In case you aren’t as Harry Potter-obsessed as I am, here’s a quick summary of what house points are and how they work.
All of the students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry are sorted into one of four houses when they start school. Harry and his closest friends are sorted into Gryffindor, known for bravery and boldness. The other houses are Ravenclaw (for cleverness and quirkiness), Hufflepuff (for loyalty and diligence), and Slytherin (for ambition and resourcefulness).
Students earn house points for doing good things above and beyond the requirements. Points can range from just a few to a lot. A student might win 5 house points for answering a teacher’s question in class or 50 house points for making the best potion during a lesson.
Students also lose house points for doing things that aren’t good. A student might lose a few points for being tardy to class or a lot of points for sneaking around the castle in the middle of the night.
House points are tracked by a set of four magical jars in the dining hall. The house that has the most points at the end of the school year wins the house cup.
How we use house points
Obviously at home, this has to work a little differently than at a school. Although if you are homeschooling, you can probably follow a lot of the most student-like rules. For parents that aren’t, here’s what we did.
At first, we just awarded and took away house points whenever we felt like it. That means we did it pretty randomly and the kids had a hard time knowing how many points they would win or lose, even though they knew the rules for behavior. (This is honestly how it appears to work in the books too…)
That wasn’t really the point, though. We wanted to reward the kids when they were exceptionally good and discourage them from doing things they knew they weren’t supposed to do.
We came up with a list of things we considered “extra good” like doing a chore without being asked. The expectations in your house will definitely be a personal thing.
We also had to really narrow down the definition of misbehaving. Again, this will be really personal for your family. Our philosophy – which has changed a ton over a decade – is that all kids have problems being calm, quiet, responsible, or even nice to their siblings all the time.
We wanted the house points to be taken away when they really stepped outside the expectations. For example, leaving your laundry on the bedroom floor isn’t worth taking away house points, but still needs reminding. Punching your sibling for looking at you “funny” will lose some points.
Our definition of “the rules” and what wins or loses points changes over time. The important part is that the kids know.
After a while, we also realized that doing this all day every day was crazy. We usually only bring out the house points when the kids need extra motivation. On a school holiday, it’s easier to remember to get along when those shiny points are adding up.
DIY Hogwarts house points
To keep track of our house points in a non-magical way, I made two simple glass jars. The kids chose their houses years ago, so I just printed the two logos I found online.
All you need is a pair of glass or plastic jars with lids, craft glue, and colored glass beads. We found everything at Michaels.
I cut out the logos and glued them on each jar. I also have a canning jar that I keep the unawarded house points in. The kids really love picking a few beads out of the main jar and dropping them into their house jars.
The house cup
Of course, what point is winning if there is no prize? My husband made this wooden goblet and burned an H on it.
We usually set goals for a limited time period. For example, whoever has the most points at the end of a 3-day weekend is the winner.
Usually, the prizes are simple and most of the time they don’t even cost anything. The winner might get to choose what cartoons they both watch one day. I might make their favorite dinner or dessert.
Once, we used the house points to encourage both kids to work together to earn points. We said that if they reach a combined goal during a set time, we would do something big together.
My favorite “rewards” – whether you’re doing house points or not – area always things the kids naturally want to share with each other.
There has been a lot of trial-and-error here using Hogwarts house points at home. Like any parenting technique, it’s really personal, depends on the age of your kids, and takes time to figure out. When it works, though, it’s a lot of fun.
If you’re thinking about trying it in your house, I encourage you to start small. Outline the rules of the game so that everyone knows what to expect. It’s very easy to get mad when the kids have gone full-on crazy and take away all of their points. What works best for us is setting a limited time, outlining what earns or loses points, and how many points any action is worth.
Check out some other fun and creative ideas on One Mama’s Daily Drama:
Please. How do I print out the printables?
I didn’t create the logos myself. I just Googled “Hogwarts houses” and printed some images I found.