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okay hi everyone so after amazing and sometimes irratating my family especially my wife i was asked to put together a show for a local childrens charity. the audience age ranges from about 3 all the way up to about 14.
so im really trying to get together an act that will hold attention throughout for everyone there.
a quick overview of the routine so far .
card tricks ive kept these down to a minimum ive included a version of do as i do. some large reveals there are about 6 card tricks in total.
cup and balls. sponge balls. magic coloring book. hot rod. d lites any ideas on some music or patter. color silk blendo. and a sweet production.
ive also included healed and sealed. ice from water. and coin in can.
oh yes and as my final trick i chose snow storm in china.
the above order is not correct ive just run them off and i have a few extra's but i want to keep the show to about 25 - 35 minutes as i will be doing some walk around for a while after.
thanks for any ideas cheers

First of all about the snow storm in china, I do that on my kids show act too (a bit differently though, I use the rainbow colored snowstorm and use it as a follow up to my moth coil routine), and the most important thing I have to tell you is that you must inform the owner of the place you are going to perform in that you are going to do a thing of that manner, I once forgot to tell the parents that hired me that I'm going to do it and they didn't really liked the fact I just gave them a nice 15 minutes of cleaning up after the mess I made, so now I ask twice before every show if it is ok, and you should too.

Now I will try to approach to each thing you mentioned in separate:

*D'lite - it's a great effect for kids especially if you have one for each hand, but, the problem I find in it is that it is not closely as powerful when done under light then when it is done in a dark-ish environment, but here comes the other problem: not every place have the ability to dim the lights, or just not close all lights, so you should check on that. On the performance itself I can first suggest you to combine it with a lesser pan, you can use it to choose a kid (one that you can see that will not go crazy on stage, look for a clam nice kid) and then give it to him to point with it to somewhere and then produce the light from the beam. Second point is, don't go right at the beginning and use both hands, while to small kids it will look very cool and magical, the older ones will get it pretty fast, so to keep the interest you need to slowly build the routine so when they think they got it you add another thing to confuse them a bit. Also don't do it for too long or it will get boring, try to time it to the music is some way so again thing will look more interesting, also try to make it funny, like producing the light from the kid's armpit, eat the light and make it come out of your ass and such.

*card tricks- I wouldn't suggest you to do all the 6 tricks at the same time, but I also wouldn't suggest you to spread them to far from each other, do them in groups of 2 or 3, that way it won't get too boring for the kids, and also will give you the ability to change the deck (if you are doing any trick that involve a special deck). When you build your performance on what to do first and what second, I wouldn't suggest starting with a card trick, I would suggest you to start with something that is sweet and short, and most importantly easy for you to do, yet have great impact on the kids. From the list you gave I would say start with the sponge balls, do a multiplying sponge balls routine with a comic touch to it and you will win the kids, and also it will be a way for you to move to an other sponge ball routine with a spectator.
Now when you are planning your show on where to put each routine you must consider several things: how strong is the effect, how long is it, and what other trick can continue it or be a good warm up for it.
if you do a group of 3 card tricks one after the other you should put your second best trick first, and your best trick last, in order to keep the show interesting it is best not to do too many long trick one after the other, getting a spectator to stage is a nice way of giving yourself and the kids a small break between tricks.

About the sweet production, in my show I use it as a closer (I produce some lollipops put them in a "third hand bowl" and with the candy give each kid my business card). But the snow storm is a great closer as well, and as this is not a profitable show, close contact to the kids for business cards give away after the show isn't needed, the snowstorm will be the optimal chose as a big climax finale. but I would suggest you to keep the sweet production as one of the last tricks if not the one before last, that way you can keep the kids attention throughout the show, and here and there throw a word about a treat at the and of the show for the kids that where good (which will help restrain the kids a bit).

About the coloring book, I saw a DVD of a very good kids show performer, I forgot his name, that in his coloring book routine he started with the book as a regular coloring book (pictures with no paint in them) and told the kid to imagine taking the colors from their cloths and throwing them into the book, and then he started naming the colors starting with regular names like red and blue and then going to more unusual color names like turquoise and scarlet etc., he then showed the coloring book to be full with color, then told the kids to take the colors back, again naming the colors, and then showed the whole book is a blank, and told them to give back the black color, and then show it to be a regular coloring book like in the first place.
I really like this routine even more then ones that involve vanishing crayons, because the kids get more involved and excited.

Some small notes: About the water to ice, if you do it in the way in which you really get a block of ice in the end you can do the snow storm as a follow up to it, saying you will turn water to ice, and then ice to snow.
About the healed and sealed, place the can in a near trash bin so when you take it out it will look more real, also prepare the can as close as you can to the actual time of performance, believe me more gas means easier for you to perform.
About patter, keep it funny, take the weekend and do the routines (using your wife or kids as the spectators) that way you will have some good practice and the chance to get ideas for funny patter that will come to you naturally with the tricks. you can make a story out of things like in the preparation for the snowstorm in china, personally I'm not really into building a story on tricks because it make it look a bit boring, I prefer on building a funny patter that looks improvised or something funny about what happens right now, for instance the cups and balls routine can be pretty funny if presented in that manner, and the patter can revolve on you saying what you are doing and then other things happen and you look confused or something like that.
About music, you should count on the music only for the things that are better without patter (pun not intended) like the multiplying sponge balls, or parts of the d'lite routine. Also background music even while you are pattering can make things more rhythmic and interesting. In my act I use an old trance/acid CD that is basically made of 6 music pieces of 10 minutes or so of a nice jumpy beat, that way when I put it on the background it's like giving the show tempo, and even though no one actually listen to the music as itself it does make the show more interesting.
So don't really go too far, look through your old CD's and find one of those trance CD that have nice jumpy melody but not no much hard bass (so it will be nice as an active background but will not turn the show into a dancing club).


Good luck and most importantly, have fun.

Damn I wrote a lot Oo…

thanks alot really helpful after reading i have a much more focused routine going i have split my card routine into 2 and dropped it down to five tricks.
i managed to get a hold of a six phase coloring book that goes from blank to nursery rhymes then to normal coloring pictures then with odd color ie purple faces flesh clothes then back to normal colors.
i have modified my d-lite routine to starting with a small home made gimmick its a glass jar with a screw on lid that has a red led inside that switches off as the lid is removed ooopps theyve escaped kinda thing.
i still have a month to practice in but i have got 2 family practice performances with all the little mates they can find coming.
so hope i can get some feedback from them aswell.
thanks alot for your ideas its really helped alot cause this is my first performance although i havent really thought of doing kids magic before this really has me excited.
my edit i do have a while would you think that balloon modelling could be learnt in a month.

i will keep you informed if all goes well

Seriously, I would suggest you stay as well away from card effects as possible...don't forget the youngest there will be about 3, unless you're doing visual stuff then it's probably best to cut back on things like Do as I Do otherwise you will just end up loosing their attention - and bored 3 year olds don't tend to just still still and quiet.

Good luck with it all! .

Sorry for not re-responding my PC has been giving me hell the last few days and this is the third time I'm writing this so.. hopefully this one will be sent..

So what I wanted to say is that Cardza is kind of right, kid do find card magic, when presented on stage mind you, rather boring.
The thing is that for kids, cards are a very plain every day object, which turn the magic into less interesting for them then if it was performed with some big magical apparatus they never seen before (when usually the opposite goes for adults). Kids, and this goes for 5 year olds as for 10 and 11 year olds, prefer magic that is simple yet impressive, what it means is that they prefer something that is simple, or is rather easy in it's technical side if the trick itself look amazing, more then a trick that looks impossible but on it's outer look is quite plain (for example, kids will prefer you producing 20 spring flowers out of a hat, then you making a signed card appear in your wallet), now that doesn't mean you need to go and buy all the expansive colorful apparatus and production items you find in a magic shop, it means you need to learn how to harness your skill in card magic and turn it into routines that will indeed involve cards, but still be interesting for the kids.

So how DO you turn a card trick into a routine that will interest the kids?
Here are some tips and routines that will help you customize routines for yourself with little to no money:

*First there are two basic ground rules about magic for children:
1)For the trick to have impact on the kids it needs to be either funny, or amazing or both (again, the term "amazing" changes by the age, but for the harder to contain kids, that are usually the 5-11 year olds, amazing is more about how grand is the climax rather then what the climax means, making a sighed card appear in your wallet, as said, may be so impossibly amazing, but for kids it's rather plain, revealing a chosen card by a jumbo card, or a big silk with the card name on it however, is maybe a lot easier and less impossible, but more amazing for most kids)
2) Keep it short and sweet, what it means is, don't do a routine that has a build up that is too long (unless it has humor in it that will keep the kids attention)

*Now that doesn't mean you need to make a carnival out of every card trick, you can build 2-3 more amazing routines, and between them insert 1-2 less impressive short tricks (but again keep them swift, and deferent from the other ones), you can make the more "mild" tricks more interesting by presenting them together with flourishes or small card manipulation bits that can also be comical (like producing a fan of cards from behind a kids back), if you are good at card manipulation you can even do a full manipulation routine instead of a magic trick.

*you can save the more close-up/simple card tricks for your walk around, things like ambitious card, 4 ace routines, even simple color changes can be very interesting to kids when done face to face under their nose (and slowly so they can understand and grasp what is happening).

*On stage, for kids even a simple "choose any card.... is this your card?" trick can turn into an amazing act, again by comedy, and by a big finale/revelation. Here are a few ideas you can use:

*have the chosen card name, or a jumbo copy of it on your back, let the kid "choose" the card, then try to tell him what his card is and fail, act confused say you are going to read the tricks instructions, turning your back to the audience on the way. And you can do it as a running gag, come back, again fail and again turn your back, and you can do it 2-3 times. You will know it's working if the kids will be yelling "on your back".
*you can have some double sided scotch tape on the forced card, and after the kid chooses it, steal it, and stick it on his back (do it as you "come to show him something" that way you can have a reason to get close to him and stick it), then you can produce cards from your pocket, shoe ,the deck, etc. saying "your card is here" and fail, then ask the kid to turn his back and wisper in your ear what the card is, all the kids will be laughing, seeing the card is on his back, and then you can tell the kid he stole it (not in an angry way, or this can be miss read), take the card off, and that's it.
*Another thing, and that's something I sometimes do on my own kids show, Is this: buy a cardboard sheet, and on one side write "If the card is X clap your hands" (when instead of X you write the card you are going to force), and near the writing paint a copy of the card (or just glue a jumbo copy), and on the other side of the cardboard write "Keep looking at the card". then on performance, force that card, and tell the kid to hold the card with it's face to the crowd and look at it's back (without you seeing what the card is), then tell the kid you are going to try and find out what the card is, go behind him and lift the sign, the kids will of course clap their hands, and eventually the kid holding the card will turn to you (to see why the kids are clapping for) and when he turn his head, swiftly turn the sign so it will now shows "keep looking at the card", you can do it again, but don't do it more then 2 times, eventually put the sign down and tell the kid you can't find what card it is, tell him to place it back in the deck, control it to the top, and then basically you can do what you want, make it "jump" from the pack (telling the kids to yell "jump" to make it jump), have the kid choose a card, top force it, so it will look like the kid re-choose the same card, you can palm it and produce it from anywhere, etc.
*another way for an amazing revelations that won't cost you too much money but the kids will flip is this: get an old white bed sheet you don't need (or just buy a cheep large piece of white fabric on a fabric store, shouldn't cost you more then a few bucks), and get some paint (any paint will do really), and paint on the sheet a card (make a simple one like the ace of diamond). then roll it on a broomstick or something like that, and find a place to hang it on the stage behind you, then all you need to do is to attack the sheet's edge to a string, force that card, and while trying to find what is the card pull the string, or have someone do it for you so while you try to find out what the card is, a giant copy of it opens behind your back.
*Another nice thing is the magician's insurance trick, print a card on a paper, and fold it (with the printed side inside) into quarters and on one of the sides write "the magician's insurance". then on performance patter about you having insurance if a trick you do doesn't work, then force that card, shuffle the cards, you can steal the card and have the deck checked for the card to show it's gone, but I find it makes the routine too long, especially if you let a kid look for it , then you say the card traveled into your pocket, and pull a wrong card from there, and then keep pulling cards from any where, your shoe, your sock, you pants, what ever as long as it's funny, and then pretend to give up and say "well at least I have my insurance", take it, and open it to show the selected card printed inside.


Also about what you said about balloon sculpting, the basic stuff like hats, dogs , swords and flowers are very very easy to do, personally I learned how to make them in 15 minutes or so, and now I offer to parents me staying for half an hour after the show to make balloon for the kids for an extra 20$ (and I haven't got a single show where the parents said no for this offer^^). but any way, a lot of balloon packages already come with instructions for the simple stuff, and they are rather good, but it's not the same as seeing it made in action, so what I would suggest you to do is get someone that knows the basics to teach you, and from there you can learn on your own, or if you are willing to pay, buy one of the instructional DVD's, they are probably the best thing beside someone actually teaching you, and they also have more complex things in them, personally I purchased the DVD "Balloon Magic Made Easy" and it has been very helpful for getting me started.
Also you can find some instructions for simple and more complex things on this link: http://www.mbd2.com/kidsstuff.htm

Oh and a small tip: buy a balloon pump, it worth the money believe me!

Have fun, and good luck.

For that age group, I would deffinatly include a levitation effect. I would recomend Wild Levitation. Do a video search for it if you don't want to buy it (penguinmagic.com, $35 USD) and I'm sure somebody has a video of themselves doing it poorly and you will be able to find out how it is done.

may be a bit late to offer advise on this one

I personaly would be carefull with the cards, a common mistake with kids magic is that as they know colours and numbers that they know cards as well. A kid usually knows suits and court cards at about 8 years old, as long as their short tricks the tiny's won't lose interest in the show, if your doing a walk around how about dropping a couple more of your card tricks and doing them for the older kids later? This will make them feel special as 'this is adult magic now' is how they will perceive it.(it's not that they dont appreciate or enjoy your 'baby magic' they just won't admit it )

Kids love it if things go wrong, magician in trouble.
Kids love it if for the last part of the trick they help you get out of trouble.
Then for the applause possition (kids need to be told when a trick is over) I tend whenever possible to use the "a round of applause for little jonny as I could have not done this trick with out him" and then join in the clapping of your helper, Parents LOVE this......
You are never the star in a kids show...the kids are
Kids will yell out 'i know how this is done' or something like it. IGNORE if you get out a deck of cards they yell out they know the trick! How do they know out of the hundreds of card tricks which one is about to be performed! they are just saying we like card, rope, sponge tricks. This shouting out is seen by magicians new to kids magic as the kid about to expose, but in reality is ment as 'great a card,rope,sponge trick'. So don't be afraid of shouters

Hope this helps, smile, relax and enjoy the show. You will find the kids performance funnier than your own

PS why not let this thread know how you got on?

hey everyone thanks for all the help this is the update on my show.
i never thought it would have gone as well as it did im over the moon.
the kids loved it all and now im visiting 4 other childrens homes as a result so fingers crossed it all goes well with them aswell.
and the buzz is amazing so im really fired up ive got a few new ideas and some more tricks.
oh yes and my snowstorm in china finish had them in stitches as before i started i got me 2 nurse assistants and they stood looking confused as i handed them each a broom and then began to perform the trick leaving everybody laughing as i made a quick dash only to return with a dustpan and a very happy audience.