(or magic flip-flops, magic sticks…)

Outline:

Sit in a circle; introduce the magic stones (2 or 3 normal stones) and the magic stones rhyme, ‘Magic stones, magic stones, show us the number, magic stones’. (In a theatrical manner). Then throw the stones into the circle and explain that they have revealed a magic number.  Continue this until all the children in the circle can guess the magic number on the first go.  The magic number is the number of fingers you rest on the ground when you throw the stones. Sssh don’t tell.