Funny thing happened at class today. One child was absent but showed up about five minutes late with his mom. I stopped class and asked the mom, "Oh, did you forget we had magic class today?" "No" she replied, "my son has a soar throat and didn't go to school today but insisted on coming to magic class." Now, I have had mom's tell me in the past how their child was out sick earlier in the week but felt much better on magic class day and wanted to go to school. This was the first time the mom ...
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Okay, for today's classes I went back to Houdini Day to try out a new trick.  A card with Houdini's picture and a hole at his feet was used to demonstrate his ability to escape. The younger ones were able to help Houdini escape alright but the second part, adding a card with a straight jacket for them to use, was too complicated for them to grasp in time. My philosophy that any child can learn these tricks GIVEN ENOUGH TIME and ATTENTION was born out again. We spent the majority of time worki...
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The kids had fun laughing at Mr. Fingers today! They then made accessories to go along with his eyes. The most popular item was headphones or Princess Lea's hair buns. =)  The usual question came up: How is this magic? I should have headed that one off by first explaning magic's Allied Arts. Ventriloquism, puppetry (you don't have to use ventriloquism with a puppet, just have it whisper in your ear or squeak and you translate) juggling, even escapes like Houdini. No matter. We talked about gi...
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Whew! Finally getting the picking up the kinders and getting them to the MPR down. I do love their excitement! They are so open and honest.
I changed when I give them the Finger Traps. The last couple of classes I have introduced Houdini, asked what they might know and then after building his reputation up asked if they would like to see the only thing he could not get out of. Of course they say yes! I bring out the finger trap and ask if they can get out of it. Then go thru the rules of not b...
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These kids are so much fun! The enthusiasm they bring to class makes me feel great.
I did the Houdini Day intro for both classes. They had some funny ideas about how Houdini died. Shot, pills, old age. But that gave me lead ins for how he didn't even drink and was in great shape even at 52 when he died of appendicitis. We did some different routines that I wanted to try out on them. The Zig Zag Magician was one. Some of them had heard about the famous illusion, The Zig Zag Lady I based it on....
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I plan to do Houdini Day at all my classes this week. Ties in with Halloween as that is the day Houdini died 75 years ago. Houdini Walks Thru A Wall went well today. The kids got a bigger kick out of Can You Walk Thru This Wall. It was even more fun even though their scissor skills are spotty. They really like trying to fit thru that paper hole! Houdini's Nemisis, AKA Chinese Finger Trap always get laughs. One student tore his to shreds and asked for another even though they were told at the ...
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Today was my small class. Only twelve eager little sponges. A satisfying but magically unsound report by one of my students: his dad liked a trick so much he asked his son to keep repeating it. How can a child not keep doing it when asked by a parent even though they are breaking Rule Number 2 in magic? I do like it when they fool their parents!
Tested out two new magic tricks with them. The Zig Zag Magician based on the a famous illusion in magic, The Zig Zag Girl. It is half puzzle, half odd...
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Whew! This class has 26 students. That is not a problem except they range from K-5. You would think the Kinders would be hard to control but they are the best behaved! The problem is they need more one-on-one time and the older kids get restless and want to move on to the next trick. But they should be practicing. They think knowing how a trick is done equates to knowing how to perform it. Not. Anyway, the Kinders are wonderfully attentive and everything is magic to them. =)
I did resort to t...
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Started a new class today. Total of 32 great students. One or two have taken my class before and it was nice to see a familiar face. We had some fun. The spoon gong really seemed to blow their socks off. They love the spiral as well. Ran out of time to do the third trick (Appearing Birthday Candles) for the younger class. Will get to it next week. I do like the kids at this school. They are smart and well mannered.

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Today at my Monday magic class I taught the 11 students Pick One, The Amazing Two String Trick and The Compass That Doesn’t Point North. They had a great time seeing the tricks as usual. =)
One student figured out the workings of Pick One as soon as I talked about the circles each having a secret number. His mind raced ahead to the next steps and it was very impressive! The other kids had fun fooling each other with it.
For the Two String Trick one boy had seen it before in a magic kit but ...
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Welcome Teachers to the Teaching Magic Blog. I will use it to document the classes I teach adding any tips or tribulations I encounter. If you have any questions, comments or class experiences you would like to share then e-mail them to me and I will add them here!
info.DougHoover@gmail.com

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