Advice on teaching a children's class on magic

In My Humble Opinion
1

I got semi-snookered into hosting an afterschool magic club (my very meager talents serve to impress the little tykes, especially the son of the PTO president who organizes the clubs). It’ll be a six-week course, about an hour a week, starting in mid-February. Students will range in age from about 8-11.

I’ve got an arsenal of about fifteen tricks, mostly card tricks, that I can teach, with a smattering of others. I’d like each class to have a focus on a principal of magic (misdirection, forcing, palming, prepped props, etc.), and teach a few different tricks along these lines; ideally I’ll also be able to show some videos of professional magicians performing tricks that apply the principle in some amazing feat.

Does anyone have any thoughts on conducting the class? Tricks, principles, structure, etc.?

I have a small budget for supplies, maybe around $30-$50. I’d like to get each kid at minimum a set of cards and a pair of dice, since these are so versatile, but other suggestions for supplies would be welcome.

Daniel

2

Have you ever taught kids before? This isn’t a snarky question, but just as a measure of how to much experience you have. Since they are 8 – 11, they should be reasonable dexterous, but some of the palming and sleighs could be difficult. I’d just make sure that you don’t plan a whole class which is too difficult for them. You may want to buy a book on magic for kids, just to get an idea of what would work well for that age.
Do you do rope tricks? I can think of a few which may work, such as the three rope which become the same size or the cut and restore.

Sounds fun. Have fun!

3

Sorry–should’ve mentioned I’m a second-grade teacher.

4

OK, sorry about that!

I’d still recommend a book on magic for kids, because ones I’ve seen has shown some great prop tricks such as the changing color popcicle sticks. The kids could paint them as part of the class.

It does sound like a lot of fun.

5

I have taught magic to kids of that age group for a number of years, in a variety of courses - mentalism and cards - but embedded in another theme - science or math. I work with gifted kids, my courses are biased in that direction. Kids do need to be able to do something when they go home - straight away - first week - that will work. Then a second one to follow up, so they don’t keep doing the one trick over and over, hence giving away the method to all and sundry. Sleights take much longer. Palming is probably way beyond them. If they mess up, it can really discourage them.

One thing kids love to learn is how to do a riffle shuffle, and waterfall. So I start with that and let them practice. I also teach the overhand shuffle, and again get them to practice. Until they can shuffle and hold a deck properly, the rest is a mess. I then do a number of tricks with a mathematical base - such as the properties of nine - because these will work every time. Otherwise it becomes a session about revealing magic tricks, which serves no-one any good purpose. Once they can shuffle, and have got their ‘safe’ tricks working, then we go onto more demanding stuff, like sleights.

I think it is important to get into the performance aspect fairly quickly. Individualizing the curriculum, as the jargon goes.

If they do a trick which everyone already knows (like the one where they line up three rows of cards and have the spectator tell them which row it is in a number of times) then they will soon lose interest because the kids will say “I know that one!” in the middle of the trick and tell everyone how it is done.

A good deck of cards (e.g. bicycle decks) is the best prop - but they are a bit more expensive than ordinary decks - for good reasons. I don’t use propped tricks with kids, or fake decks. If you do, then they need to buy things to perform, and it just becomes a spending spree. (I know - I have a drawer full of stuff I should never have bought)

As a teacher, I believe that there should be something more than just keeping them entertained - so I find the mathematically based card tricks by far the best to use at first. The perfomance aspect can help with self-esteem and all that stuff.

You can introduce all your aspects of magic with a deck of cards, and the kids can use a single prop which they will never grow out of, and can all afford. As soon as they show interest, then you can introduce them to the best books and DVDs, and let them start to take their own responsibility for choosing tricks and practicing them. I find that essential because you will find fairly soon (even in six weeks) that you need to differentiate the curriculum between the very quick, very keen, and the others. Just like all teaching!

I gave a presentation at a math conference, at the end of last year, to teachers about using magic in the classroom - and was thrilled with the reaction from teachers. I think this is a greatly under utilized art form which can do wonders for kids for a wide variety of reasons. I have seen it do so! So I really wish you well with what you are doing. Do let us know how it goes!

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Is ianzin still around?

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Why ruin it for them? Why not teach a “Santa Clause and other Lies” class…

Just kidding… I think this sounds like a really fun class and I wish I’d been able to take it when I was in that age range. My 7 year old son would love it as well.

Like others have said, I’d avoid anything that requires much dexterity. “Mechanical” tricks and card tricks would work best, I’d imagine.

8

My son is in that age range and loved the classic cups and balls trick. He practiced it over and over until he really got good at it. This was when he was about 7 or 8, so the kids in your group shouldn’t have any trouble and the supplies are cheap.

There was a magic class during one week of their summer camp. One thing the magician did was stage a “show” at the end for parents where willing kids could demonstrate their best trick.

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I think the David Blaine-ish levitation trick (where you appear to levitate 1-2 inches off the ground when viewed from behind) is pretty easy to perform, and is pretty visually impressive.

10

Thanks for the replies, folks–especially lynne, with some excellent advice! I’ll have to learn the riffle and waterfall myself, it sounds like.

Does anyone have ideas for specific books that’d be good for kids learning magic tricks? I’ll stop by our public library (I think our school library only has one or two books on the subject), but I could also spend some of the club budget on a few books from Amazon if it’d be helpful.

Daniel

11

Part time professional magician here.

If it were me, I would start with some of the basic sleights first so that they have stuff to work on, then go into some routines which use those basics. It sounds like you are already doing that, but I want to stress covering the basics because it is those basics that the rest of the art is based upon.

As far as books, I would recommend the following:

  • “The Mark Wilson Course in Magic” by Mark Wilson- It has great illustrations, covers the basics and is easy to follow
  • “Now you see it, Now you don’t” by Bill Tarr - Amazing illustrations, each sleight is thoroughly illustrated and rated for difficulty
  • “Modern Coin Magic” by Bobo - The definitive book on coin magic.
  • “The Amateur Magician’s Handbook” by Henry Hay - Another great reference that covers a lot of the basics.
  • “The Tarbell Course in Magic” by Harlen Tarbell - This is an 8 volume set and is considered the bible of magic. It is the ultimate reference for single sleights as well as complete routines. It is expensive though ($25-$35 per volume when purchased new).

I hope this helps you out. Let us know how it goes.

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Thanks for the ideas, Dragwyr! These books lok great and I might grab it for myself. I’m wondering, though, about books that would be accessible for average-to-very-bright kids in grades 3-5 (our school has a disproportionate number of smart kids, and I expect a nerdy club like this will attract a high number of those). Books written on an adult level probably won’t work.

Also, I was thinking about the suggestion for Bicycle cards, and I was wondering whether I’d be better off buying a deck of high-quality cards that are significantly smaller, so that little hands can better manipulate them.

13

Teach them to run a three card monte game. Insist that they owe you a 20% cut for teaching them, then turn them loose.

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You could go to bridge size, but be careful of going any smaller. I tried using the mini-decks, but with 52 cards on a smaller size, they become too stiff to flex at all, or manipulate.

I worked with grades 4 to 6 (9 - 11 year olds), and found the bikes worked fine. I did get some of the plastic cards which were wonderfully flexible for riffle shuffles, and so slippery that they went all over the floor for anything else. I found the same trouble with any shiny cards. When they try to deal or manipulate stacks of cards, they slide everywhere. I have a class set of bikes which were past performance for me, and work fine for the kids. Magicians often have used bike decks.

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Lynne_42 has more experience directly related to the OP than I do, but nonetheless I’d like to offer a few points.

  1. When you’re teaching magic to children, there is one MASSIVE mistake to avoid: the notion that magic is something you can BUY, and that if you can BUY more books or BUY more tricks and props, you’ll get better. If you can disabuse kids of this very common error, you’ll be doing them a great favour (and their parents).

Try to get them to see that learning magic is like learning to do anything else well (play the piano, play basketball, whatever)… it’s all about putting in the time and the hours and the practice to learn to do something well. Magic is both a technical skill and a performance art. You can’t become good by spending money. You can only become good by doing it and learning what works and what doesn’t.

  1. Cards are good, dice not so much. If you have at least a few kids who are seriously interested in magic, then you will doing them a huge favour if you focus on card magic to begin with. It’s true that there are many different specialities in magic, from stage illusions to coins, mind-reading to comedy cabaret. But cards are sort of the ‘lingua franca’ of the magic world. Almost all the top magicians, even if they seldom if ever use cards in their professional work, have at least a smattering of good, basic card technique, and can do a few minutes with a deck of cards if they have to.

There are lots of other reasons for an early emphasis on cards. A deck of cards is an inexpensive investment. Cards are the most versatile of magical props: the tricks you can do range all the way from beginner’s tricks that are totally self-working to routines that can only be performed if you have spent decades honing sleight of hand skills. It’s also good for the future: it’s a wonderful thing to be able to go anywhere and be able to entertain people, or even earn money, just by carrying a deck of cards around.

Cards also make for a good curriculum. It’s very easy to shape the tuition so you go from simple stuff to not quite so simple stuff, with a clear sense of progessive difficulty / challenge / reward.

  1. It’s ambitious, but try to get kinds out of the mindset that says magic is all about learning the secrets. It isn’t. The secrets are nothing. It’s all about performance, about giving people an enjoyable and entertaining experience, with the fact that something impossible happens being one part of the mix. When kids learn a magic trick, they are naturally keen to know ‘how it’s done’. You can do them a big favour by pointing out that ‘how it’s done’ isn’t just about the secret or the method. It’s about how you take this trick and make it fun, interesting, enjoyable to watch. In other words, it’s about performance.

  2. Books and DVDs and so on… it’s very easy to fall into the trap of buying more than you need. You don’t need to spend ANY money on such materials, because there are free video clips all over the internet showing basic card moves, sleights and techniques. If you want a great beginner’s book, buy The Royal Road To Card Magic. There’s enough material in there to keep any young enthusiast busy for three years.

  3. I understand you might not want to stick to cards all the time. Kids like bog, colourful props and they like variety. Okay, so you can show them magic with other things, but again try to avoid the trap of thinking you need special things to do magic with. You don’t. You can do magic with coins, handkerchiefs, books, coloured pens, plastic cups, newspapers, envelopes, coloured ribbons and so on. If the kids want to make ‘magic boxes’, they can make them from empty cereal packets or the hundreds of boxes that your local supermarket throws away every day (plus some poster paint).

The very best book I know on this subject is by my friend Nick Einhorn, and it’s called “Magical Illusions, Conjuring Tricks, Amazing Puzzles and Stunning Stunts”. It’s the ultimate ‘Make It Yourself’ book of magic for children of all ages. And Nick is a first-rate magician who knows his stuff.

  1. Cliche time - remember that if it isn’t fun, you’re doing it wrong. Magic is about creating a sense of fun, wonder, mystery, delight… it’s a form of entertainment and art unlike any other. If you’re not having fun learning about it and practising and performing, something is wrong.

If I can be of any further help, just drop me a line via www.ianrowland.com .

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ianzin, what wonderful advice! I will definitely look for Einhorn’s book; it sounds like something I could really use to improve my own very meager skills. Your philosophical advice toward teaching such a class is right along the lines of what I was thinking (emphasis on patter and on technique, not on gimmicks).

Very sad news, though: the clubs were moved to a different day of the week, and I have enough after-school meetings scheduled for that day already that I’m not going to be able to run the club. I’m hoping I can do it next year, using the great ideas y’all have offered here.

Daniel

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It is! And the more your follow his advice, the more you realize just how spot on he is. Ianzin’s advice to me over the last few years has been critical to the fact that I am doing so much work with kids and decks of cards. I have just taken quite a few bookings to do more work with kids in schools - most of which is magic stuff which I do entirely with an ungaffed deck of cards. It’s so much fun, the kids love it, and they go home with something which can then last them a life time. Parents love the fact that when watching TV or on a car trip, or some other ‘wasted’ time, kids will get out their card deck and practice their shuffles or work on their routines.

To sidetrack onto educational theory - researchers (I can give cites if you are desperate) have concluded that the best indicator to student success as adults is not IQ, but perseverance. It’s logical anyway - those who can stick at things will get further. Card magic, because practice and discipline can lead to such great outcomes, is a perfect vehicle for allowing students to really commit over a long term while having great fun and using their brains and creativity, while also giving confidence because of the performance aspect. It is a win-win for the price of a decent deck of cards - a few dollars.

I used Royal Road to Card Magic (on Ianzin’s advice) and agree that the traditional and systematic approach in it is what works so very well. The younger kids struggle with reading it - I tend to produce worksheets of graded tricks using the skills. Then those who get hooked buy the book. One deck of cards and one book and they are right for three years, as Ianzin says. I was!

18

Bumpity bump: although this didn’t work out two years ago, I’m going to give it another go this year, starting in late April, and I figured if I was going to dig this thread up for ideas, I’d bump it to see if there are any more thoughts on the subject.

19

Okay, I’ll do one more bump, since I had the first session of the club yesterday.

The bad: I managed to flub the very first trick I showed the students (“Four Jacks”: show the jacks, tell a goofy story, put them at various points in the deck, do magic, and all four jacks reappear on the top). I still don’t know how I flubbed it, but I did: the jacks didn’t reappear on top. It was totally humiliating.

The good: I performed the trick again and it worked perfectly; the kids didn’t seem to mind; we had a quick discussion on how to recover from a flubbed trick (something I wish I were better at); and the kids had a wonderful time. A couple parents saw me today and told me that they were treated to a magic show that night and that their kids were great at it.

In addition to Four Jacks, I also showed them how to pass a loop of string through their neck (or a friend’s arm, or any other object) and how to memorize a book (perform a series of transmutations on a random number to end up with a four-digit number, which guides the audience to a particular word in a book; you’re able to tell them what the word is.)

For the next five sessions, I plan to do about three real tricks and one silly trick per session. The silly tricks are easy, things like, “Stick out your tongue and touch your nose,” or putting a bowl over a cup of water and betting someone you can drink the water without touching the bowl–those kinds of things.

For my other tricks, my schedule is something like this:

WEEK 2:
Cards: Four Aces (forced choice/misdirection/patter; no sleight of hand involved as students cut cards into 4 piles and discover that each pile is topped by an ace)
How to palm a coin
Working with a partner to do a “guess the object” mindreading trick.
Silly trick: cutting a loop bigger (essentially cutting a moebius strip lengthwise–if you’ve never done this, make a moebius strip and try it out, it’s wild).

Week 3:
Cards: Spell a card (a tiny bit of manual dexterity, a lot of patter and misdirection: after failing to find someone’s card, you spell the name of the card and find it that way)
Passing a beaded string through a neck
Partner: working with a partner to guess a letter written down by the audience.

Week 4:
Basic cups and balls routine (since that’s all I know)
“One-ahead”-style number-guessing
Eliminations (Magician and audience take turns eliminating cards from the deck until one card remains, which the magician produces dramatically–really good demonstration of forcing a choice)

Week 5:
Holding cards in front of you and guessing the card
Quick multiplication (audience chooses two 3-digit numbers, magician chooses one; numbers are cross-multiplied and added in a particular format, and the magician mentally calculates the resulting 6-digit product/sum faster than the audience can get it with a calculator)
Passing a coin through a hand (good sleight-of-hand trick)

Week 6:
Cards: a double-lift (I’m not really sure about doing this one: I bought them each a cheap deck of cards to work with, which makes double-lifts harder, and also I’m not very good at it, but it’s a really impressive trick if you can pull off the double-lift)
Passing two ropes through a cored apple (I’ve never tried this one, and it’s the only trick that really requires the preparation of a prop, but if it works it’ll be really cool)
Circle the mystery number (this kind of annoying Seven-Up website demonstrates the trick).

So that’s my curriculum. Three tricks seemed about right for a single hourlong session, although we might be able to fit a fourth one in occasionally. If anyone has any feedback, I’d love to hear it!

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:confused: How do you do that?