Keep Kids Coming Back to an After-School Class (Ep. 8)

Episode 8 · April 30, 2026 · Guest: Professor DR Schreiber, The Historical Conjurer

Kids come back to an after-school class when they get to perform every week, the group is small enough for one-on-one time, day one sets rules they buy into, and the material keeps getting harder. Families come back when you communicate early and find a way to run a thin class. Cancel a whole term and most of those families are gone.

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This is my written companion to Episode 8 of The Youth Enrichment Leader, "After-School Magic Classes: What Keeps Kids Coming Back with Professor DR Schreiber." Professor DR Schreiber is a performing magician and magic historian who has taught after-school magic classes in Portland-area elementary schools for well over a decade. His subject is magic. His lessons apply to chess, coding, soccer and every class in between. What follows is my paraphrase, plus my own notes.

What should the first day of an after-school class cover?

Purpose and rules come before content. His first session teaches zero tricks. Kids learn what a magician really is, an entertainer who creates illusions, and why secrets are kept: to protect the audience's imagination. Then they take a magician's oath together. Only then are they magicians, and only magicians get taught.

That opening does two jobs. It gives kids an identity to live up to, and it gives him a set of rules the kids agreed to out loud. He also tells them on day one that they will perform for family and friends at the end of the term. Some faces drop. By the last week they are ready.

Why should kids perform in every class?

Because knowing how something is done and being able to do it are two different skills, and only the second one builds confidence.

His sessions follow one shape: a short show, one new trick taught, then every child performs. He builds practice time into class because kids tell him plainly that they do not practice at home. When a child is too scared to perform, he gives them the emcee job. They introduce the next performer, and that is it. Most ask to perform the next time.

How many kids should be in an after-school class?

Few enough that every child gets one-on-one time and a turn in front of the group in every session. He keeps his classes small on purpose and told me he would go smaller if the economics allowed it, because room rental and his time still have to be covered.

Run the count on your own class. If every child gets a 4 minute turn and you enroll 12 kids, that is 12 x 4 = 48 minutes of a 60 minute class, and 12 minutes left to teach. At 8 kids it is 32 minutes of turns and 28 to teach. At Journey to STEAM we cap at 12 kids per instructor for younger groups and 14 for older ones. Set your cap by what the class needs, then price so the cap works. My pricing guide has the math.

How do I keep returning kids engaged year after year?

Teach new material every term and build on skills they already own. The first term at a new school fills fast. The next year some kids decide they already know it all. The ones who stay are enthusiasts, and they bring younger siblings. For them he reuses a move they have mastered with a new object, and the lesson takes one sentence to explain.

He also plans the calendar around the kids he attracts. Kids who love magic tend to love robotics, chess and theater too. If his class lands on the same afternoon as one of those, families have to choose. So he asks each school what else is running and picks a different day. My note: your biggest competitor is a busy family calendar.

What can I do besides cancel when a class misses its minimum?

Ask the families who registered. Most of us see two choices: cancel, or run it at a loss. He described a third, and the idea came from a parent. In his experience, families from a cancelled term do not return. Options he has used:

1. A family hosts the class at home, with every parent's agreement on how kids get there.
2. A library or community room, often low cost or free.
3. A dance or art studio with empty weekday afternoons, if your class will not damage the floor.
4. Two nearby schools combined at one site when dismissal times are staggered and the host school allows outside students.
5. A trade: teach a class for the venue in exchange for space.
6. One-on-one mentoring. His personal rule is that another adult is always present.

My note: before you move a class off school grounds, check your insurance and put the new pickup plan in writing. To set the minimum itself, read when to cancel a class for low enrollment.

What do I do when a class gets out of control?

Go back to the day-one rules. His oath includes respect, so a rough afternoon becomes a conversation about how a magician treats people. He reminds kids that after the bell it is still their school, and school rules still apply. He asks at registration who each child's classroom teacher is, and when one child keeps struggling he asks that teacher what already works during the day. The last resort is a call home for pickup.

His bigger point: loving your craft does not make you a teacher. Teaching is its own art, and no app will fix a class that is poorly taught. I agree. Tools clear the admin so your energy goes into the room. On that side, enrops rosters include each child's grade and homeroom teacher (see how it works), and here is how I structure a STEM after-school class.

Who should listen to this episode?

Anyone who teaches their own classes, and anyone with a niche program families have to discover first. If you are weighing a school-based model, read school-based vs studio-based kids programs next.

Listen or watch: Spotify · YouTube · Apple Podcasts

Frequently asked questions

I have a skill I love. Should I launch a full school program right away?

His advice is to start with samplers or a few one-on-one lessons. You learn quickly whether you enjoy teaching, which is a different job from doing your craft.

Should I plan for kids to practice at home?

Plan as if they will not. Put the repetitions inside class time and treat home practice as a bonus.

How do I tell families a class might not run?

Early, and with options. A thin class handled openly builds trust. A surprise cancellation makes parents wonder what is wrong with the program.

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Arielle Hammond, Ed.D. is the founder of enrops and host of The Youth Enrichment Leader, presented by enrops.