If learning took the form of a vehicle, skills should be considered the gears that allow it to operate. Essential skills like keen observation and active listening are, according to this author, the first and second gears in the learning process. Yet in the age of information, where the name and likeness of a product is typically repeated five to 10 times in a single short advertisement, students may "unlearn" the skills of active listening and keen observation. This article describes a series of simple sensory-based lessons used by the author to recover, calibrate, and sharpen the students' essential skills, while also making use of their passion for optical illusions and special effects.