Magic Log !!  

     I worked with a third grader named Charles.  He was referred by his teacher for low self-esteem.  We have been working for a few sessions and I have tried to use different media to improve the way he feels about himself.  By allowing him to be successful in what we do, he has felt more secure about himself and he has improved the way he behaves in class, feeling more confident.

     I thought that Magic would be an excellent intervention.  It is important for him to show his classmates that he knows different things and if he was able to do something amazing for his friends, he would feel even better.  That is why I decided to show him a cards trick that he could then show his friends.

     The card trick has a story and the purpose of the trick is to mix and mix the cards, but always ending up in a determined order, no matter how much they mix.  To do it, you have to use only the cards that have letters (A, J, Q and K).  He puts the four cards of each letter together.  Then he starts the story by saying:

1.  Four girls wanted to go out and play with a friend (as he tells this he places the four Q cards on the table, one next to 
     the other).
2.  Their friends were at the park waiting for them (he places the four J cards on top of each Q card).
3.  The person in charge of the park asked them all to play together in the marry-go- round (he places the A card on top of 
     the J card.
4.  Two hours later their fathers came to pick them up (he places the four K cards on top of each J card).
5.  But the fathers could not find them because they all mixed together playing in the marry-go-round  (at this time he takes
     all the four decks of cards and puts them one on top of the other).
6.  The children kept going round and round until they got dizzy (at this time he mixes the cards as many times as he wants).
7.  Finally, the merry-go-round stoped and each of the girl and her friend went back home.  (at this time, he places the cards facing down on the table.  He puts them in four sets of four, one on top of the other, like this:
 
 
 
 

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

At the end, he will have four columns and when he turns each column around, he will see that the cards are in order.  All the Qs are together, all the Js are together and so forth. They will look like this:
 


Q
J
A
K
Q
J
A
K
Q
J
A
K
Q
J
A
K

 

 
 

I first showed him the trick and then we practiced many times until he learned it.  He was very excited about doing it and immediately I could see that he was feeling proud of himself for doing it.  I still have to meet with him again to see if he showed his friends.  Teaching this tricks to kids are very useful.  The session was very productive and my objective was met.