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Synbadd New user 7 Posts |
Hi all
Over the past year I have been teaching some very basic magic to children as an extra school activity. Some of these kids have really taken to it so with the town hall we have decided to trial a magic club/school. As you look back at your beginnings in the firld of magic what "do you wish you knew when you started out" what do you think I should be teaching these kids in the art of magic. I don't want to "give it to 'em on a plate" learning magic is a voyage of discovery and self discovery but I would like to give them some good solid foundations. As I'm sitting here putting together my lesson plans any input would be appreciated. Thanks |
Aus Special user Australia 996 Posts |
Teach the kids to have respect for what their learning, teach the values of Never revealing the secret to a trick and why it ruins the mystery and value of practicing the trick many times. Walk through every part of the trick, including what to say, where to look, what to do with your hands, where your props need to go—as if you were performing it live. Practice in front of a mirror so you can see what your audience will see. So much depends on angles! If you mess up, don't move on, start over. You build your skills by repetition, doing the entire trick as one unit. Once you have done this trick so many times, you can do it in your sleep, you are ready to perform it.
Do not repeat tricks in front of the same audience—no matter how much they beg! Most magic is based on the spectator not knowing what to expect. The second time around they will know what to look for, and might spot the secret! Most importantly of all is have fun! It's why you are doing magic in the first place; as long as the audience is being entertained then you are a success! You will have a style all your own, molded a bit by all the magic you've been watching. If you are good at telling jokes or being a bit silly, then make your audience laugh while you do your tricks. If you lean more toward the theatrical, strike a pose while you find their card. It bears repeating: Have fun! Teach the kids presentation, have a presentation lesson where one trick is taught and every child needs to come up and present it in a different way from all the other kids, maybe divide them into teams and get them to come up with a presentation idea for the trick and a nominated person presents it in front of everyone else. Magically Aus |
davidpaul$ Inner circle Georgetown, South Carolina 3086 Posts |
I once taught a class which I was asked to do for a local church. The age ranged from 8 to 12.
I struggled as well regarding what to each and not just giving away secrets. I stressed as Aus mentions about respect for the art , practice, not showing an effect before you've learned it well. Maybe it's me but they could care less about the respect for the art. They just wanted to know the secrets. Those are he same kids that go to shows of other magicians and yell out "I know how you did that" I will NEVER teach another class unless I KNOW the students are VERY serious about the art. Good luck..
Guilt will betray you before technique betrays you!
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Doug Trouten Elite user Minnesota 471 Posts |
This is a bit off the track of what you were asking, but it's a response to your situation. When my kids were younger, I took them to monthly meetings of a magic club sponsored by our local SAM chapter. The adult who led the group did a great job of introducing the kids to magic, both as a hobby and as a business. But he also wound up doing time for child molestation. Fortunately my kids were never part of a club function that didn't include additional adult supervision, but not everyone was so lucky.
If you're starting a magic club for kids, figure out some common sense safeguards you can put in place, such as always having an unrelated adult (ideally a parent) there with you. Making this standard practice lets parents know that you care about protecting their kids, and also provides adult leaders with some protection from being falsely accused. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
It's still magic even if you know how it's done.
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funsway Inner circle old things in new ways - new things in old ways 9981 Posts |
I have attemprted this at various times -- from goups to private tutoring.
I would advise getting some small magic sets of about six effects. Only about $5.00. They could get these sets themselves so the "secrets" are generally available. Demonstate 2-3 and then allow the kids to explore for themselves, select one and present it at the next meeting. At the end of a couple of weeks you will find the 1-2 who have a real interest and can shift to another level for them. For the others you are just a babysitting function. Let them work on the original effects and only add others when those are "adequate." Each student will be able to put on a small show at home and develop some performance skills. Be prepared to shift to puzzles, games and optical illusions for some. Never become discouraged. Anything they learn will be better than watching TV or playing vidio games.
"the more one pretends at magic, the more awe and wonder will be found in real life." Arnold Furst
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RogerTheShrubber Veteran user 301 Posts |
I've done a lot of magic for my kids' friends and have done a few shows in their school. If you're going to teach a few tricks, keep in mind that davidpaul$ was right when he said "They just want to know the secrets." So out of the tricks you're going to teach, save the best one for last and promise only to teach that one to the kids who take it seriously and learn the others well. And when it comes time to teach that one trick that all the kids want, keep your promise and only teach it to the good students. Magic is a bad field to put self-esteem above achievement, this is not one of those fields where every kid should a trophy for just showing up. The kids who miss out on the good trick may well take things more seriously next time when they see their friends doing the trick. My first attempt to teach magic was a disaster for the same reasons that davidpaul$ described, but after I got this same piece of advice I saw that when the kids have something to work toward their behavior gets a lot better.
Also, regarding whatever tricks you're going to teach them (especially the trick you're going to hold back only for the best students), spend some time with your search engine of choice and check to see that they're not easy to find on the Internet. Don't bother searching under the trick's name - if a kid knows that, there's nothing you can do anyway. Search under descriptions of the effect, like "only card face up in deck" or "sliced unpeeled banana" to make sure that the secret doesn't pop up immediately. I once saw an episode of a sitcom (Big Bang Theory) where one of the characters was performing magic for kids and right as he was doing the trick (pouring milk into a rolled-up newspaper) one of the kids said "I know how you did it, it's right here on my phone." The kids you teach might be discouraged if that happens to them, so do your best to teach them effects which aren't going to pop up the first time someone enters the basic gist of the trick into Google. |
Ihop Inner circle Glen Spey, NY 1604 Posts |
Quote:
On Sep 13, 2015, davidpaul$ wrote: You know, I'm worried about the same thing. I want to give magic lessons to kids at various summer camps.. It's important to respect the art as well as learn some magic history. I get the feeling kids are not interested in that. They'll probably get bored and disinterested. There should be a balance. I would like to sit in on a children's magic class before I make a lesson plan.
Ihor
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Dr_Bagelman Regular user Among the Dead 119 Posts |
Perhaps an entrance exam? Some sort of tryouts, or something like that. I know also in many other physical discipline fields, like dance or martial arts, you can't move up to the next level until you perform at a certain level.
Before we begin any good experiment, we must remember to hydrate.
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