At dinner tonight, my 9-year-old daughter Ari asked me what my kids worked on in class today. I told her they were reviewing for a quiz and when she inquired on the topic, I replied they were going to take a Suspense Quiz that included finding foreshadowing (among other things) in a story. She didn’t know what foreshadowing was, so I told her it was when the author gives you clues in the story about what would happen next. I gave her an example and then she left to bus her dishes.
A few minutes later Abby, my 5 year old, called pitifully from the other room that she wanted soup. She came home sick from school today, so I was happy I had just made soup (well, thick broth) from the roasted “happy” chicken we had for dinner last night. Ari is always hungry AND she loves my soup, so she asked for some too. Ari carried hers into the other room and was balancing it on her lap when she sat down (I can’t believe I’m writing this – now Chuck will know I let her eat in the TV room). It looked a little tilty (my own word) so I said “Be careful Ari; it might spill.”
You know where this is going…
A minute or two later I heard a big crash from that room and Ari started crying “Mom! I spilled my soup” as tears welled up in her eyes. Sure enough, it was ALL OVER the floor and the dog was already doing his part in the clean-up.
After sopping it all up, I just had to point out to Ari the foreshadowing. I’m pretty sure she will never forget that term!
Yes, I gave her more soup!