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MadMadamMalfoy · 01-28-2023, 05:42 AM

SPOILER!!: Individual replies ^_^

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

While he had been waiting for Carton to move the lesson forward, Jude had gone ahead and done some more practice. He was sorry to say that despite this, his attempts had not yielded as many materials as he would have liked since he was still awfully slow with getting things transfigured. But some progress was better than none, yes?

The next question had him putting his thinking cap on once more until he raised his hand. “The magical way to building is rather quicker given that no manual labour would be required. But what happens if the magic wears off after some time? In that case, the mundane way may be a better choice.”

Norman was curious to see where the students would take this question. There were so many directions it could go! Right away, he was pleased with what he heard. “Valid points,” he replied, giving Anders an approving nod. “While it may take many years - sometimes even centuries, all magic weakens eventually. In which case, one would have to either re-enforce the spells or rebuild completely.”

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chelliephone

She was excellent at building if it was with thread, needles and some scissors. But the whole hammer and nails had her a little nervous, especially with the question. Would they be doing this the muggle way now that they'd used the magic to create the materials?

Raising her hand, Mouse waited her turn to be called on throwing in her two knuts. "Some pros of magic would be that if you do not have the materials, there are potential options like what we did here to create them from what you do have available - where as with the muggle way you have to use what resources are available." Which... She supposed was still true of the magic way. "And on the flip side of that, I think doing things the muggle way with your own two hands gives a whole different set of accomplishment." though... That was just her personal opinion.

Durand’s answer got a slight smile. Oh yes, Norman knew that sense of accomplishment well. Prior to becoming a professor, he’d been a vanishing cabinet maker, a job in which he’d used a combination of magical and muggle building techniques. But his work history wasn’t pertinent now. “True on both counts,” he said, nodding.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weasley174

Summer had been practing her spell quietly, now though the Professor was speaking and even though Summer wanted to say the muggle way but sure the wizarding way would be a lot quicker and easier. Summer quickly raised her hand. "It's got to be the wizard way surely."

For the record, Norman didn’t have a preference for magical methods or muggle ones. Both had their uses. The question was just something to get the students thinking; there were no right or wrong opinions. Valentine’s answer got a slight eyebrow raise. Did she care to elaborate on that? “Okay,” Norman replied. “Any reason why you think so?”

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrocat

Brandon set his materials back into their little pushed-away piles, not touching them again until he knew what to do with them. For now, the notebook came out again, and he took notes on the pros and cons of building with and without magic. "Magic building is probably better in most cases, especially if you don't have shelter-building skills... but it's not reliable, in my mind. I don't know every spell, and anyway I could lose my wand. I'd like to know how to make one properly without magic, just in case." He had a fear of things that weren't reliable. People, objects, knowledge. He wanted to always be prepared for everything at all times. Unreliability was unacceptable! Things should almost always work the exact same way. Otherwise they couldn't be trusted.

Well, here was a viewpoint Norman hadn’t expected. Most kids would probably not consider magic unreliable, but Fox was on to something with his reasoning. “Good point.” he replied with a nod. “Lack of knowledge or a wand can be an obstacle to doing things the magical way.” Come to think of it, a lack of knowledge was a barrier to most skills, magical or otherwise!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kimothy

Yukie had been working on her buttons and Taque-ing through them, when Professor Carton called for their attention once again. She put her transfiguring streak on hold to look up at the professor. Yes, she had indeed guessed from the beginning that they would be building something. Given their current materials, maybe a little house or wooden canopy thing if the hypothetical opening scenario was any clue.

To decide whether the magical or muggle way of building was easier came as a no brainer to the Hufflepuff. Yukie would prefer the magical way, if the situation permits it. There were certainly advantages and disadvantages to both, and she nodded in agreement as the other students shared their thoughts. She raised a hand. "I would prefer using magic, professor, but considering that most of us are underage, we could be traced and get into trouble if we attempted these spells in the real wilderness." Though, to be fair, Yukie wouldn't be as bothered if she did so. She just wanted to survive in that kind of situation, okay? "So I think it would still be nice to learn how to build things the muggle way." She also didn't really have the skills for actual building. Was it time to learn that too?

Here was another unexpected answer! “Ah, yes,” Norman replied with a nod, “though the degree to which you might get into trouble would depend on the situation. There’s some leeway where life-threatening situations are involved.” He hoped that non of his students would ever have to experience that firsthand, though!

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarcasticStrawberry

Had Maisey looked up she would have beamed at the professor for giving her an approving nod that he was giving all of them. She would have beamed back. But she had been way too busy and focused on the task at hand. She had finally gotten through all of that. She wondered what exactly they were going to build with all of this.

Maisey wondered what the magical was, she only really knew the muggle way to build with wood and nails using a hammer. Her father was a Architect so she had seen the muggle way of building houses a bunch of times. "Well Professor seeing that I'm pretty familiar way the muggle way, my dad builds houses and buildings, I've never seen the magic way before." She said with a nod. "I believe the magical way would probably be the quickest. I know one thing about the muggle way is especially with wood as material eventually it breaks down gets old and will need to be replaced, more so if it's not treated or taking care of. She nodded, that was pretty much it, for now anyway.

Wilde’s answer got a slight smile. Seemed like the girl knew her stuff when it came to muggle building! Norman vaguely wondered if her parents had a career in that field, but he didn’t dwell on that thought, as it wasn’t relevant. “Good point,” he said. “Magically created materials don’t wear down in the same way muggle ones do. You can also use magic to reinforce existing materials and stop the break down process.”

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadAlice

Hope wasn't familiar with any of these spells, but had managed to get the hang of them after a little practice. Though that last one was a bit tricky--she had a hard time getting the hang of the pronunciation of Taque. But finally she sat with a small pile of wooden boards, poles, and nails in front of her. Which was nice, but putting them together was the tricky part, after all. But her train of thought was interrupted by the professor's next question.

Which was better? Well, so far they'd only created materials, not built anything with magic, so it was hard to tell if that would be better than Muggle methods. Hope had not helped much with building things at home, but she seemed to remember that her father and his friends used both magic and Muggle-type handiwork when they were building things.

"I'm not really sure about Muggle methods," she ventured at last, "but it does seem like it might be handy to be able to create the materials you need to build with. Because you might not be able to find or buy the things you need all the time."

While the last student was unfamiliar with magical methods, this one was the reverse. Both were fine. Norman didn’t expect his students to know everything. Archer’s answer got an approving nod. “True,” he replied. “You never know what resources you’ll have available, and sometimes you have to work with what you have.”

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

Apollo should really try to focus more. It wasn't anything personal against Professor Carton and yet when he started off the lesson with Imagine you’re stranded in the wilderness somewhere, and you need to build a shelter. How might you use magic to help you?, the seventeen year old's mind immediately went to being stranded in the wilderness with the girlfriend. And was it a cold day? Because if it was, then probably using magic to keep them both from freezing to death. Assuming it was too cold where cuddling proved fruitless. While a tent was good, it wasn't insulated, which is where the heat producing charms would be handy.

So they were actually going to be building something then? Well that was kind of cool. And maybe potentially useful knowledge to show off. Even if he wasn't stranded but purposefully went on a date into the wilderness.

"Temran Madera" he rehearsed. Seemed easy enough. "Temran Madera" he practiced this time on the cardboard, watching as it morphed into a harder substance (aka a wooden plank).

The next incantation also seemed simple enough. "Palus" Apollo practiced aloud a couple times, before on the pipe cleaners, successfully transforming those into poles. Which made him wonder - what were the chances of them having pipe cleaners or cardboard in the wilderness with him? Could he use these spells on any object he could find? Apollo made a note on his parchment to ask the professor later.

Moving onto the final spell, "Ta-kay. Taque" Good thing he said that because in his head he would have said that as 'tack', not thinking it be two syllables.

Okay, so they were building something. Perhaps their own tent? Judging from the poles they made. Before that was to be revealed they had another question about which building method would be more efficient - muggle or magical. Everyone seemed to say magical, in which Apollo was inclined to agree except he also wanted to play devil's advocate because why not?

"Efficiency is a fun term. If you mean quicker, then yes, magical... but if by efficiency you're referring to the quality, then the muggle would be the more reliable method. Magic is finicky and much like muggles have skilled builders and contractors, magic also requires skills."

Adara-Stark’s answer may have gotten a slight smile from the professor. Norman wasn’t sure if he’d describe the word efficient as “fun”, but the boy made a convincing argument. “Valid points all around,” he replied.

Norman’s bluish-green eyes swept the room in search of any more hand in the air. Seeing none, he took it as his cue to move on. “Great answers, everyone! As you’ve demonstrated, there are advantages and disadvantages to each building method. Magic is fast and gives you a wider variety of materials to work with, but it requires specialized knowledge and can be tricky. Muggle methods are typically long-lasting, but they take longer and leave you reliant on the materials available at the time. In my experience, I’ve found that a combination of the two methods works best, but you’ll have to make up your own mind which method you prefer. To help you do that, we have a little building activity.”

Here he paused a moment to allow time for the students to absorb the information thus far. As he did so, he flicked his wand at the cloth-covered object at the back of the room. The cloth fell, revealing a large workbench containing tape measures, hammers, nails, spare planks and poles. “Today we’ll be building a simple stool using the materials you transfigured earlier. I pre-cut everything to the required dimensions earlier, so you won’t need to worry about that. If you successfully transfigured your items, you’ll have the correct size,” he continued. “You will need a tape measure and hammer, unless you want to try hammering with magic. As you can see, we also have extra materials should you need them… or want to compare magical materials with their muggle counterparts.” Hopefully no one would actually need extras, but better safe than sorry!

Was that clear so far? Okay, good. Moving on… With a flick of his wand, Norman levitated the boxes off his desk, guiding them gently to the floor below to create a clear workspace to demonstrate. “To assemble your stool, take two of your poles and lay them upside down on your workbench like this.” He picked up two poles that had been previously hidden among the boxes and flipped them over, gently laying them across his desk so that they were parallel with each other. “When you have your poles level, measure eight and a half inches from the end, and make a small mark on each pole so you don’t lose your place. This should be in the middle of the poles” He measured 8.5inches with a tape measure, marking each place with a pencil. “Take one of your small planks, and nail it to the poles at the place you just marked. It shouldn’t take more than two nails on each side.”

He decided to use magic to hammer the nails to spare the students the noise pollution of hammering. “Malleus!” he cast, tapping his wand at a nail carefully held in place with his other hand. The nail hammered itself into place, and he repeated the process until the plank was firmly in place. “When you’ve finished that, set that piece aside, and repeat the process for the other two poles. Measure 8 and a half inches, mark, and hammer the other small plank into place. These pieces will form the legs of your stool.”

Norman repeated the previous steps with two more poles then addressed the students again, “By now, you should have the small plank attached to the front of your poles. Now, you’re going to flip the leg over so that the side with the nails faces down. On the right side of the leg, measure seven inches from the bottom, and mark your spot; it should be an inch and a half below the smaller piece you previously attached. Take one of your medium planks and hammer it into place with one nail at the top and one at the bottom.” More wandwork and silent hammering followed. “When you’ve done that, move to the side facing away from you, and do the same thing. Measure seven inches, mark, and attach a medium plank.”

After another brief pause to allow time for the information to sink in, he went on, “By now you should have one piece with planks attached at the back, left, and right side. The left and right pieces should be facing up like this…” He gestured to the unfinished stool base on his desk. Two wooden planks on either side stuck up. “Now you’re going to take the other leg you made and attach it to this piece. This time, you want the side with the nails facing up.” He picked up the other piece and held it with the nailed wood up. “Measure seven inches from the end and mark the left and right sides.” He measured, marking the places with his pencil. “Line this piece up with the rest of the base - make sure it lines up perfectly!” That part was important. No one wanted a crooked stool! “Now, the open ends of your base should align with the marks you made on the left and right sides of the other leg. When you have that lined up, hammer the other end of the right plank to the remaining leg using 2 nails. Then do the same thing to the left one.” More magical hammering followed.

When Norman was done, he had a single piece. “Now you should have a complete base for your stool,” he said, gesturing toward his work so far. “All that’s left is to attach the seat. For this part, you’re going to flip the base over so that all four legs are touching your workbench.” As he did so, he continued, "Take your last piece - the large plank - and position it over the top. There should be a half inch overhang on each side; use your tape measure to check. When you have it positioned correctly, hammer the seat into place using one nail at each corner and at least one more on each side.”

For this step, Norman switched to a muggle hammer so the students who might not otherwise be familiar could see how to hold one. When he was finished, a simple stool sat atop his desk. “You’ll have the rest of class to work,” he said, flicking his wand at the board. A set of instructions and a stool diagram appeared. “There’s instructions and a diagram on the board, and I’ll be coming around if you need more help. You may begin - but please be careful if you’re using a muggle hammer!” He didn’t want to send anyone to the hospital wing today!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chalkboard

Click here for diagram!

Simple Stool Instructions

1. Take 2 poles and lay parallel to each other on your workbench.
2. Measure 8.5 inches from the bottom. Mark the spot on each pole with a pencil.
3. Take 1 small plank and hammer into place using magical or muggle methods. This should take no more than 2 nails on each side.
4. Set piece aside and repeat steps 1-3 with your remaining 2 poles.
5. Turn piece over so that the nailed side faces down.
6. Measure 7 inches from the bottom on the right side of the leg. Mark place with pencil - should be 1.5 inch below the previously attached small plank.
7. Take 1 medium plank and hammer into place using 2 nails, 1 top & 1 bottom.
8. Repeat steps 6 & 7 for the left side.
9. Hold the other leg so that the nailed side faces up.
10. Measure 7 inches from the bottom. Mark the place.
11. Line up leg so that the measuring marks on the left and right sides align with the open ends of the medium planks on the base.
12. Hammer open ends of planks to the leg at the right and left sides. Now you should have a complete base.
13. Turn base over so all 4 legs rest on your workbench
14. Place large plank over top of base. There should be a ½ inch overhang on each side.
15. Hammer into place using 1 nail at each corner and at least 1 nail on each side

OOC: Sorry, this post took way longer to write than I thought! We’ve reached the mini activity. For this one, your students will build a simple stool using the materials transfigured in the main activity. The pieces were pre-cut to the correct dimensions; all your student needs to do is put them together using the directions provided. You may use magic or a muggle hammer [or some combination of the 2) to do so.. Norman and I will be around if you need help; please indicate in the title of your post. You’ll have AT LEAST 48 HOURS for this one!

01-28-2023, 05:42 AM	#50 (permalink)
MadMadamMalfoy Newbie Mod MO & DMLE Chizpurfle Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Hazbin Hotel Posts: 10,915 Hogwarts RPG Name: Norman A. Carton Graduated Hogwarts RPG Name: Sydney M. L. Masters Slytherin First Year Ministry RPG Name: Gaston A.L. Marchand Minister's Office Ministry RPG Name: Normandie A. Carton Law Enforcement	Mini Activity Rhibear ~ Madam Solo ~ Dark Brooding Girl ~ Accio Jedi ~ Gryffinclaw ~ Just a doll SPOILER!!: Individual replies ^_^ Quote: Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 While he had been waiting for Carton to move the lesson forward, Jude had gone ahead and done some more practice. He was sorry to say that despite this, his attempts had not yielded as many materials as he would have liked since he was still awfully slow with getting things transfigured. But some progress was better than none, yes? The next question had him putting his thinking cap on once more until he raised his hand. “The magical way to building is rather quicker given that no manual labour would be required. But what happens if the magic wears off after some time? In that case, the mundane way may be a better choice.” Norman was curious to see where the students would take this question. There were so many directions it could go! Right away, he was pleased with what he heard. “Valid points,” he replied, giving Anders an approving nod. “While it may take many years - sometimes even centuries, all magic weakens eventually. In which case, one would have to either re-enforce the spells or rebuild completely.” Quote: Originally Posted by Chelliephone She was excellent at building if it was with thread, needles and some scissors. But the whole hammer and nails had her a little nervous, especially with the question. Would they be doing this the muggle way now that they'd used the magic to create the materials? Raising her hand, Mouse waited her turn to be called on throwing in her two knuts. "Some pros of magic would be that if you do not have the materials, there are potential options like what we did here to create them from what you do have available - where as with the muggle way you have to use what resources are available." Which... She supposed was still true of the magic way. "And on the flip side of that, I think doing things the muggle way with your own two hands gives a whole different set of accomplishment." though... That was just her personal opinion. Durand’s answer got a slight smile. Oh yes, Norman knew that sense of accomplishment well. Prior to becoming a professor, he’d been a vanishing cabinet maker, a job in which he’d used a combination of magical and muggle building techniques. But his work history wasn’t pertinent now. “True on both counts,” he said, nodding. Quote: Originally Posted by Weasley174 Summer had been practing her spell quietly, now though the Professor was speaking and even though Summer wanted to say the muggle way but sure the wizarding way would be a lot quicker and easier. Summer quickly raised her hand. "It's got to be the wizard way surely." For the record, Norman didn’t have a preference for magical methods or muggle ones. Both had their uses. The question was just something to get the students thinking; there were no right or wrong opinions. Valentine’s answer got a slight eyebrow raise. Did she care to elaborate on that? “Okay,” Norman replied. “Any reason why you think so?” Quote: Originally Posted by astrocat Brandon set his materials back into their little pushed-away piles, not touching them again until he knew what to do with them. For now, the notebook came out again, and he took notes on the pros and cons of building with and without magic. "Magic building is probably better in most cases, especially if you don't have shelter-building skills... but it's not reliable, in my mind. I don't know every spell, and anyway I could lose my wand. I'd like to know how to make one properly without magic, just in case." He had a fear of things that weren't reliable. People, objects, knowledge. He wanted to always be prepared for everything at all times. Unreliability was unacceptable! Things should almost always work the exact same way. Otherwise they couldn't be trusted. Well, here was a viewpoint Norman hadn’t expected. Most kids would probably not consider magic unreliable, but Fox was on to something with his reasoning. “Good point.” he replied with a nod. “Lack of knowledge or a wand can be an obstacle to doing things the magical way.” Come to think of it, a lack of knowledge was a barrier to most skills, magical or otherwise! Quote: Originally Posted by Kimothy Yukie had been working on her buttons and Taque-ing through them, when Professor Carton called for their attention once again. She put her transfiguring streak on hold to look up at the professor. Yes, she had indeed guessed from the beginning that they would be building something. Given their current materials, maybe a little house or wooden canopy thing if the hypothetical opening scenario was any clue. To decide whether the magical or muggle way of building was easier came as a no brainer to the Hufflepuff. Yukie would prefer the magical way, if the situation permits it. There were certainly advantages and disadvantages to both, and she nodded in agreement as the other students shared their thoughts. She raised a hand. "I would prefer using magic, professor, but considering that most of us are underage, we could be traced and get into trouble if we attempted these spells in the real wilderness." Though, to be fair, Yukie wouldn't be as bothered if she did so. She just wanted to survive in that kind of situation, okay? "So I think it would still be nice to learn how to build things the muggle way." She also didn't really have the skills for actual building. Was it time to learn that too? Here was another unexpected answer! “Ah, yes,” Norman replied with a nod, “though the degree to which you might get into trouble would depend on the situation. There’s some leeway where life-threatening situations are involved.” He hoped that non of his students would ever have to experience that firsthand, though! Quote: Originally Posted by SarcasticStrawberry Had Maisey looked up she would have beamed at the professor for giving her an approving nod that he was giving all of them. She would have beamed back. But she had been way too busy and focused on the task at hand. She had finally gotten through all of that. She wondered what exactly they were going to build with all of this. Maisey wondered what the magical was, she only really knew the muggle way to build with wood and nails using a hammer. Her father was a Architect so she had seen the muggle way of building houses a bunch of times. "Well Professor seeing that I'm pretty familiar way the muggle way, my dad builds houses and buildings, I've never seen the magic way before." She said with a nod. "I believe the magical way would probably be the quickest. I know one thing about the muggle way is especially with wood as material eventually it breaks down gets old and will need to be replaced, more so if it's not treated or taking care of. She nodded, that was pretty much it, for now anyway. Wilde’s answer got a slight smile. Seemed like the girl knew her stuff when it came to muggle building! Norman vaguely wondered if her parents had a career in that field, but he didn’t dwell on that thought, as it wasn’t relevant. “Good point,” he said. “Magically created materials don’t wear down in the same way muggle ones do. You can also use magic to reinforce existing materials and stop the break down process.” Quote: Originally Posted by MadAlice Hope wasn't familiar with any of these spells, but had managed to get the hang of them after a little practice. Though that last one was a bit tricky--she had a hard time getting the hang of the pronunciation of Taque. But finally she sat with a small pile of wooden boards, poles, and nails in front of her. Which was nice, but putting them together was the tricky part, after all. But her train of thought was interrupted by the professor's next question. Which was better? Well, so far they'd only created materials, not built anything with magic, so it was hard to tell if that would be better than Muggle methods. Hope had not helped much with building things at home, but she seemed to remember that her father and his friends used both magic and Muggle-type handiwork when they were building things. "I'm not really sure about Muggle methods," she ventured at last, "but it does seem like it might be handy to be able to create the materials you need to build with. Because you might not be able to find or buy the things you need all the time." While the last student was unfamiliar with magical methods, this one was the reverse. Both were fine. Norman didn’t expect his students to know everything. Archer’s answer got an approving nod. “True,” he replied. “You never know what resources you’ll have available, and sometimes you have to work with what you have.” Quote: Originally Posted by PhoenixRising Apollo should really try to focus more. It wasn't anything personal against Professor Carton and yet when he started off the lesson with Imagine you’re stranded in the wilderness somewhere, and you need to build a shelter. How might you use magic to help you?, the seventeen year old's mind immediately went to being stranded in the wilderness with the girlfriend. And was it a cold day? Because if it was, then probably using magic to keep them both from freezing to death. Assuming it was too cold where cuddling proved fruitless. While a tent was good, it wasn't insulated, which is where the heat producing charms would be handy. So they were actually going to be building something then? Well that was kind of cool. And maybe potentially useful knowledge to show off. Even if he wasn't stranded but purposefully went on a date into the wilderness. "Temran Madera" he rehearsed. Seemed easy enough. "Temran Madera" he practiced this time on the cardboard, watching as it morphed into a harder substance (aka a wooden plank). The next incantation also seemed simple enough. "Palus" Apollo practiced aloud a couple times, before on the pipe cleaners, successfully transforming those into poles. Which made him wonder - what were the chances of them having pipe cleaners or cardboard in the wilderness with him? Could he use these spells on any object he could find? Apollo made a note on his parchment to ask the professor later. Moving onto the final spell, "Ta-kay. Taque" Good thing he said that because in his head he would have said that as 'tack', not thinking it be two syllables. Okay, so they were building something. Perhaps their own tent? Judging from the poles they made. Before that was to be revealed they had another question about which building method would be more efficient - muggle or magical. Everyone seemed to say magical, in which Apollo was inclined to agree except he also wanted to play devil's advocate because why not? "Efficiency is a fun term. If you mean quicker, then yes, magical... but if by efficiency you're referring to the quality, then the muggle would be the more reliable method. Magic is finicky and much like muggles have skilled builders and contractors, magic also requires skills." Adara-Stark’s answer may have gotten a slight smile from the professor. Norman wasn’t sure if he’d describe the word efficient as “fun”, but the boy made a convincing argument. “Valid points all around,” he replied. Norman’s bluish-green eyes swept the room in search of any more hand in the air. Seeing none, he took it as his cue to move on. “Great answers, everyone! As you’ve demonstrated, there are advantages and disadvantages to each building method. Magic is fast and gives you a wider variety of materials to work with, but it requires specialized knowledge and can be tricky. Muggle methods are typically long-lasting, but they take longer and leave you reliant on the materials available at the time. In my experience, I’ve found that a combination of the two methods works best, but you’ll have to make up your own mind which method you prefer. To help you do that, we have a little building activity.” Here he paused a moment to allow time for the students to absorb the information thus far. As he did so, he flicked his wand at the cloth-covered object at the back of the room. The cloth fell, revealing a large workbench containing tape measures, hammers, nails, spare planks and poles. “Today we’ll be building a simple stool using the materials you transfigured earlier. I pre-cut everything to the required dimensions earlier, so you won’t need to worry about that. If you successfully transfigured your items, you’ll have the correct size,” he continued. “You will need a tape measure and hammer, unless you want to try hammering with magic. As you can see, we also have extra materials should you need them… or want to compare magical materials with their muggle counterparts.” Hopefully no one would actually need extras, but better safe than sorry! Was that clear so far? Okay, good. Moving on… With a flick of his wand, Norman levitated the boxes off his desk, guiding them gently to the floor below to create a clear workspace to demonstrate. “To assemble your stool, take two of your poles and lay them upside down on your workbench like this.” He picked up two poles that had been previously hidden among the boxes and flipped them over, gently laying them across his desk so that they were parallel with each other. “When you have your poles level, measure eight and a half inches from the end, and make a small mark on each pole so you don’t lose your place. This should be in the middle of the poles” He measured 8.5inches with a tape measure, marking each place with a pencil. “Take one of your small planks, and nail it to the poles at the place you just marked. It shouldn’t take more than two nails on each side.” He decided to use magic to hammer the nails to spare the students the noise pollution of hammering. “Malleus!” he cast, tapping his wand at a nail carefully held in place with his other hand. The nail hammered itself into place, and he repeated the process until the plank was firmly in place. “When you’ve finished that, set that piece aside, and repeat the process for the other two poles. Measure 8 and a half inches, mark, and hammer the other small plank into place. These pieces will form the legs of your stool.” Norman repeated the previous steps with two more poles then addressed the students again, “By now, you should have the small plank attached to the front of your poles. Now, you’re going to flip the leg over so that the side with the nails faces down. On the right side of the leg, measure seven inches from the bottom, and mark your spot; it should be an inch and a half below the smaller piece you previously attached. Take one of your medium planks and hammer it into place with one nail at the top and one at the bottom.” More wandwork and silent hammering followed. “When you’ve done that, move to the side facing away from you, and do the same thing. Measure seven inches, mark, and attach a medium plank.” After another brief pause to allow time for the information to sink in, he went on, “By now you should have one piece with planks attached at the back, left, and right side. The left and right pieces should be facing up like this…” He gestured to the unfinished stool base on his desk. Two wooden planks on either side stuck up. “Now you’re going to take the other leg you made and attach it to this piece. This time, you want the side with the nails facing up.” He picked up the other piece and held it with the nailed wood up. “Measure seven inches from the end and mark the left and right sides.” He measured, marking the places with his pencil. “Line this piece up with the rest of the base - make sure it lines up perfectly!” That part was important. No one wanted a crooked stool! “Now, the open ends of your base should align with the marks you made on the left and right sides of the other leg. When you have that lined up, hammer the other end of the right plank to the remaining leg using 2 nails. Then do the same thing to the left one.” More magical hammering followed. When Norman was done, he had a single piece. “Now you should have a complete base for your stool,” he said, gesturing toward his work so far. “All that’s left is to attach the seat. For this part, you’re going to flip the base over so that all four legs are touching your workbench.” As he did so, he continued, "Take your last piece - the large plank - and position it over the top. There should be a half inch overhang on each side; use your tape measure to check. When you have it positioned correctly, hammer the seat into place using one nail at each corner and at least one more on each side.” For this step, Norman switched to a muggle hammer so the students who might not otherwise be familiar could see how to hold one. When he was finished, a simple stool sat atop his desk. “You’ll have the rest of class to work,” he said, flicking his wand at the board. A set of instructions and a stool diagram appeared. “There’s instructions and a diagram on the board, and I’ll be coming around if you need more help. You may begin - but please be careful if you’re using a muggle hammer!” He didn’t want to send anyone to the hospital wing today! Quote: Originally Posted by Chalkboard Click here for diagram! *Simple Stool Instructions* 1. Take 2 poles and lay parallel to each other on your workbench. 2. Measure 8.5 inches from the bottom. Mark the spot on each pole with a pencil. 3. Take 1 small plank and hammer into place using magical or muggle methods. This should take no more than 2 nails on each side. 4. Set piece aside and repeat steps 1-3 with your remaining 2 poles. 5. Turn piece over so that the nailed side faces down. 6. Measure 7 inches from the bottom on the right side of the leg. Mark place with pencil - should be 1.5 inch below the previously attached small plank. 7. Take 1 medium plank and hammer into place using 2 nails, 1 top & 1 bottom. 8. Repeat steps 6 & 7 for the left side. 9. Hold the other leg so that the nailed side faces up. 10. Measure 7 inches from the bottom. Mark the place. 11. Line up leg so that the measuring marks on the left and right sides align with the open ends of the medium planks on the base. 12. Hammer open ends of planks to the leg at the right and left sides. Now you should have a complete base. 13. Turn base over so all 4 legs rest on your workbench 14. Place large plank over top of base. There should be a ½ inch overhang on each side. 15. Hammer into place using 1 nail at each corner and at least 1 nail on each side OOC: Sorry, this post took way longer to write than I thought! We’ve reached the mini activity. For this one, your students will build a simple stool using the materials transfigured in the main activity. The pieces were pre-cut to the correct dimensions; all your student needs to do is put them together using the directions provided. You may use magic or a muggle hammer [or some combination of the 2) to do so.. Norman and I will be around if you need help; please indicate in the title of your post. You’ll have AT LEAST 48 HOURS for this one! __________________ Old voices I had thought long since dead whisper of another life I might have led If I could take that second chance, If I could make my life anew, If only dreams came true...