Okay if you were to perform magic for little kids (age 5-10), what routines would you perform?

hehe... i show them flourishes lol...

no la.. i still normaly do the same routines but i wont really ask them hold a card or watever as they might just be naughty and turn the card over blah blah or u know la... damage my precious card. lol..

rubberband tricks or coins will be good. if got sponge ball also good.. but me no have.

MagicB

I think D'lites would be great to get their cheering.
It's got a very good effect. Check it out at magicvideodepot.com.
Sorry I don't have the direct link.

Some thoughts.

Keep it as simple as possible - minimise patter. If a lot of patter, then be interactive.

Get them as involved as possible.

Humur is goos

oops 3 cents instead of 2... :)

i'd go for visual stuff. props.

colour changing hanky, milk to silk.

cut and restored newspaper.

multiplying balls.

I'd love to use Dlites, but I don't know where to get em.

So it'd be bestto use props right and not give them a chance to interact in a way that would spoil the trick.

Hmmm...

But one thing for sure: I'd refrain from doing card tricks. What do you guys think?

Children magic is a whole branch of magic on its own and there are lots of kid tricks sold at the dealers.

However you can still use some standard magic like the Chinese linking rings, sponge balls, milk tumbler, etc. but you might have to change the routine around to make it suitable for kids.

Generally, kid tricks have to be visual. This means that they should be able to easily understand everything even if they can't hear what you are saying. Long explanations don't work very well with kids. They have short attention spans and don't sit still when they lose interest.

Some DON'TS are:

- Don't do tricks with sharp objects or fire (Probably this is ok with teenagers but you have to remind them not to try anything at home. Children tend to imitate what you do.)

- Don't do "hand-cutting" or "head-cutting" illusions with kid volunteers. (I once saw a kid that was scared to tears because he really thought the magician was going to cut his hand off.)

- Don't embarrass the kid in front of his friends in bad taste. (I once saw an old guy magician reaching inside a kid's pants to pull out an egg. :o )

Just respect your kid audience, help them to have fun and have a lot of fun performing yourself and you'll do well.

Hope this helps. Thanks and magical regards,

Alex Tsui

Haha........ Yeah! I normally perform magic to them like vanishing silk handkerchief they like this very much as well as effects that incorporate some using candies, chocolate, and they love it.

I use coffee bag to transform paper candies into real candies, after that I distribute to them. They are having a really fun time. ^_^

I love to see their faces with giggles, laughs, etc.

That's the beauty of magic. ^_^

Andrew

very well said Alex!
anyway , have not seen you online for ages...
where have you been?

Heheheh thanks for all the advice folks!

hehe yeah... some pretty funny and good advice from u Alex... hehe...

Yeah.. kids are kids... dont la scare them with magic.... do some thing that put a smile on their face...

Andrew, i like ya idea of making paper to candies.... :rolleyes: that will sure make the children happy :P

MagicB

but one thing i notice bout children ..

some of them (not all but most) cos of their simple mind n thinking ..
they can somehow figure out our sleight ..

i dunno whether u have experienced it b4, i perform some simple card trick to my nephew 4years old i think .. she kinda can figure out DL n some simple routine ..
while my older cousin n aunty like shouting n screaming n amaze .. she stand there n said " Kor kor very simple one .. u hold 2card n put in one then ma can edi lor"

i am reali shock ... :!!:

Hi folks,

Here's some of the scene where perform a DL:

What the spectator sees

"I saw this guy do a cool trick the other day, he got me to pick a card and then lost it in the deck, he even let me shuffle the deck. I made a pigs ear of the shuffling but I was sure there could be no way in hell he’d be able to find the card. He showed me the top card and asked me if it was mine. I told him it wasn’t and he gave it to me to hold, I’m not sure why he had to turn it down on the deck before he gave me it but he did it anyway, just like David Blaine, I was well impressed (queue readers derisory laughter). He told me a funny story, I can’t remember how it went but there was a funny bit about a chameleon and an unfortunate incident with a kebab skewer. Anyway he told me to look at the card in my hand again and I was amazed! It was my card! I think I know how he did it, he must have switched the card he showed me, he probably didn’t really show me the top card, but it was amazing all the same. I mean he got me to shuffle the deck and everything."

Discussion: notice that the spectator wasn’t amazed at the fact that the card changed into their selection as they were holding it. They simply thought it was amazing that the guy could find the card even after the spectator was allowed to shuffle the deck.

What the spectator should see

"I saw this totally amazing trick the other day, I still don’t know how it was done. He let me shuffle a card I selected into the deck and then he gave me the six of diamonds to hold. I told him it wasn’t my card but he let me hang on to it anyway. A few seconds later he told me to look at the six of diamonds and it had changed into my card! Amazing! I almost shit myself."

Discussion: there was no doubt in the spectators mind as to what card they were holding, they knew it was the six of diamonds and therefore the only way for it to have changed into their card while they were holding it must have been magic, not a card switch or some sneaky sleight of hand.

Cheers,
Andrew

alex??
is tat u the uncle alex??
u know danny, nicholas, kenneth they all??
are u the old old alex???with white hair one?
plz, i think i know u if u say yess to all

He's the Alex from Sabah...a lecturer in uni if i'm not mistaken

Jim Gerrish is publishing some of his Wiz Kid routines on my web-site. Currently he has the OOPS Machine, Horse Play and Star Warts. His style of kid magic is to involve as many kids from the audience as possible. Check it out if you want to see examples. The Magic Nook

Jim Gerrish and I collaborated to put both of our routines for the Magic Coloring Book together. It's on my site under Gerrish's Kid Magic Series. It uses ordinary coloring books that are actually colored with crayons (not printed with ink), plus directions for making vanishing crayons, a color catching scarf or book bag, multiplying crayons, and reappearing crayons. At the end of the routine, the helper ends up with an ordinary coloring book and the box of crayons which reappears at the end. All can be examined... in fact I give him the coloring book and the crayons to take home.

Wow! It's great to read many magic friends who like to perform children magic. In my long time professional magical experience, if you perform for few kids, there must be simply and visual like sponge ball..., if you perform for group of children at party like birthday party, new year party, school... pls add MORE ENTERTAINMENT VALUE!!! there are totally different performing for children and adult.

13 years ago when that time I was back to Malaysia, I share with many local magician that magic industry should change, but nobody care about it. I talk again about title: magical children entertainer, no just a magician for party. 8 years untill now. it's encouraged, there were many looking for magical children entertainer..

remember!!! be a children good friend, thier's amazing big brother. not just show-off.

my little cent :)

children have a certain ESP that adults don't have. for instance, kids are always the ones who see a TT, whereas an adult will never spot one. i'm terrified of performing for children. :blink:

Ya know...

You just have to LOVE children to be able to perform for them. Not just being an entertainer, but I guess you should be there as their brother.

:o that's awesome!!

yeah.... that would certainly make them feel wow.. respected and important and thus will get more of ya attention. Great one Anderson! :)

Siow arh flourishes!!!...Brendan gone crazy with flourishes anyways most probably the children will think flourishes as magic and just keep staring hile you sit relax and do...and GET PAID!!! lol jk jk...cups and balls,sponge balls,rope magic,no card tricks pls,vanishing hanky,all these "look like toy stuff" you go extremely well when performing for children...coz its visual,high impact,and gives some sense to childrens especially when they dont know what are cards yet haha no kidding man...they're cute lil kids,no doubt haha! :lol:

Jarrett B)

The first thing about children magic show is - even way before your performance begins - I mean the moment you reach the house or performing venue - you must win them over to you immediately. That is very important.

Magic begins not when the show starts but the moment they see you arrive their place. Their little mind look up to a magician and when they see that you don't behave like a magician then they will gang up and become the worst nightmare of your life.

BTW have you all seen little children eyeballs rolling on the ground before? Looks very cute - little three or four years old rolling on your left and a six year old eye ball right in front of you.

I always enjoy blowing their eyeballs out with some of my children effects.

One of my favorites is my version of the 6-card repeat for children. After the finale they look soooooooo cute - no eyeballs left, blank face - look so blurrrrr and scratching their head with their tiny fingers. And all the parents were bursting with laughter.

Imagine what a few cards can do.

My adult version of the 6-card repeat would be the 6-dollars repeat. Instead of using cards I would use dollar bills.

Another thing - instead of using coins and balls - I would use chocolate coins (gold color ones that look like gold coins) and rounded chocolate or candy balls as ball effects.

So instead of using coins for my 'Misers Dream' I would use the gold chocolate coins and produce a lot of them to be given away.

One more effect I have innovated is - instead of doing the cut-and-restored rope I perform the cut-and-restored necktie. My reason for doing this is - when the audience see a new item (eventhough it is an old effect) - to them it is new magic they have not seen before.

Hope some of these ideas can widen your perspective towards other areas of magic.

Mr.James Tong going Over-the-top again!Mr.James tong strikes again! Malaysia boleh...Mr.James Tong lagi boleh! These words sounds like the headline of a newspaper like Mr.James strikes again!

Wow... I like that reinvented idea for misers dream! Thanks for sharing that with us Mr. James Tong ^_^ I have Sketch-O-Magic which I use for kids parlour shows... it's a nifty thing that gets all to participate. Packs flat and with the right patter, you can get great reactions from the little ones!

Oh!!! I also have tubs of Instant Snow :lol: They are much cuter than slush powder!

Ningy ;)

Hei, Ning, why don't you bring over your tubs of instant snow and sell them to us? If it is better than slush powder I am interested and you already have a customer now. Bring them and I'll buy them from you.

Hi Mr James Tong :) Thanks for your vote of confidence!

Just so everyone knows what Insta-Snow is, here's the link ^_^ If it doesn't load properly, just type the keywords into the search box.

It comes in tube, bag and tub form but it's much more economical to get it in a tub... I think it's nicer for kids shows since it's so visual. An empty cup gets clear water poured into it & in seconds, a vast amount of snow just errupts out of it :lol:

Ningy