Simple magic tricks to make and perform for children

Harry has been very interested in magic tricks lately. We've seen a couple of little magic shows, and he has been fascinated watching magic trick videos on YouTube. Most magic tricks take a lot of time to practice, which is difficult for little ones, so I researched a few super simple tricks that take little preparation and young children can easily learn to perform themselves. They look really effective too!

Harry loves performing his magic tricks, although he gets just as much enjoyment from showing people how they were done! Here is his repertoire of magic tricks:

The disappearing coin trick

You need:

A plastic, clear cup or tumbler
Coloured card
A coin
A handkerchief or small cloth

To make the props:

Draw around the rim of the plastic cup on to some coloured card and cut out the circle. Glue the coloured circle firmly across the top of the glass. Use the remainder of the coloured card as the base for the trick.

To perform the trick:

Explain to your audience that you will be making a coin disappear. Take your coin and place it on the base sheet of coloured cardboard. Place the handkerchief over the glass so that it is completely covered, then move the handkerchief covered glass and place it on top of the coin. Remove the handkerchief, and the coin has disappeared! Make sure that you clear away the props for this trick quickly though before your audience spots what is going on, and make sure that the upturned glass always remains on your base sheet of coloured cardboard.

A coin through the hand

You need:

Two coins that look the same

To perform the trick:

This trick is very easy even for young children, and it looks really effective. It does need a little bit of practice, and it's much easier to demonstrate rather than explain in writing. We learned how to do it from this video:

The magic floating toilet roll tube

You need:

A toilet roll or kitchen roll tube (or a plastic/styrofoam cup)
Decorations

To make the prop:

Firstly you need to prepare your toilet roll tube. Make a small hole in the back of the tube about halfway down which is large enough to fit your thumb. Then decorate the tube using felt pens, stickers, coloured tape, paint and so on.

To perform the trick:

Stand facing your audience and hold the toilet roll tube with a hand on each side. Push one of your thumbs through the hole in the back of the tube, making completely sure that your audience can't see it. Then with a bit of practice you can move your hands away from the tube and move it using just your thumb, so that it looks as though it is floating in the air. Make it fly away from you and pretend to chase after it. It might help to watch the trick being performed first, like in this video:

The classic cups and balls trick

This final trick is a bit more complicated for little ones, but an adult can pick it up really easily and it's great for impressing the children with. Again, it's one that you need to learn from a video. I taught myself quickly and I've been showing it off ever since!

There is a wealth of videos on YouTube with magic tricks for all ages and skills, it's definitely worth having a go at learning some!