Here is why you should pay attention to your students when they are learning a new trick and playing with it. (You are giving them time to play with the trick/props before moving on to the next trick right?)

We did Carnival Day today which is a variation of Circus Day. I ask them what is the difference between a Circus and a Carnival. Some have no idea and some come up with ideas like; more animals at a circus, more rides at a carnival, more acts at a circus more games at a carnival. It is the games at a carnival I then talk about. How they look easy to win but are really hard. Some of the kids know this and agree.

That leads us into doing tricks like the Five Card Monte or Snaparoo. Both of which seem easy but prove hard to do.

Now with Snaparoo the boys (mainly) play with the parts and soon discover the rubber band can be used to launch it across the room. Great fun. But you must put an end to that quickly or it will get out of hand. But today one student came up with a cool visual effect of an optical illusion I have been demonstrating for years.

This optical illusion is the one where you take a rolled up piece of paper making a tube and place it up to your eye to look through it like a telescope. Keeping both eyes open you then bring your other flat hand up to the side of the tube. You are now looking at your palm with one eye and through the tube with the other creating the effect of a hole in your hand as your brain merges the two images. The effect is enhanced if you slowly move your head, hands &
 tube and the background through the tube moves.
Okay, now for the new touch. Holding everything still, you slowly squeeze and release repeatedly the tube in your hand. This will deform the "hole" in your hand causing it to "morf" as the kids say. It is cool visual effect!

So watch and listen to your students and see how THEY like to play with the tricks you are giving them. They have better imaginations and less pre-conceived ideas about things than we do!