And Then...

Below is one of my "And Then" stories. Read it to your child, and when you come to the end where it says "And then...", ask Jacob/Emily what happens next. Copy what they say in a comment, and we'll have fun reading what each other's kids have to say. (This will probably work best with the older kids, especially grade schoolers.)

Maddie dumped her school bag by the front door and headed for the kitchen. She smelled brownies. “Mom, you’re the greatest!” she said as her mom pulled the pan from the oven.

“I know,” her mom replied. “And that’s not the only great thing I did for you today. I picked up some shoes at a garage sale since you wrecked your old ones in that mud puddle incident last week.”

“A garage sale?”

“Yes, that will have to do until we have time to go shopping. Am I still the greatest?” Mom asked.

“I guess so,” said Maddie, taking a big bite of warm brownie.

As soon as she finished, she went to her room and spotted the shoes lying next to her bed. They were odd looking things, made of little squares of different colored leather sewn together with black thread. But they were soft and light weight, so she stuck her feet in them. They fit perfectly.

“I’m going to Nicole’s house,” she called to her mom as she slammed the front door. But when she turned right at the sidewalk, she found she couldn’t move. Her feet felt frozen to the cement. She strained to lift her legs, first one, then the other, but it was useless. She couldn’t move forward. She stared at her feet. Those shoes. Those shoes are doing this! Her next impulse was to get home, and she was relieved to be able to turn herself around. She took a step, then another. That’s better, she thought. But when she tried to turn towards her front door, her feet, or those shoes, kept going straight. “Stop!” she yelled, but the shoes kept walking.

And then…