(playful music) - What is going on over there?

Oh, hey!

I am so glad you're here.

Welcome to camp Read-a-Lot.

I'm Mrs Hammock, and I am so happy to see you.

You know, at camp, it's a great place for fun, and learning, and at camp Read-a-Lot we're gonna spend our days reading, and talking, and singing and telling jokes, and having all kinds of fun together doing activities that will help make us stronger readers.

So I am very happy to see you.

Parents, just a little tips for you as you are home in the summer with your kids, if you're reading, and your kids are reading, or you're reading to your kids, it is a great time to ask questions about what they are reading.

Ask them who the characters are, ask them where the story is taking place, is there a problem in the story, how did they resolve the problem?

How does the character feel about certain places in the story, or certain things that happen in the story.

Is there something that changes from the beginning of the story to the end.

These are all great questions to get your kids talking about books, and help them to deepen their understanding of stories and the elements of stories.

So, just a quick tip if you are reading at home, and I hope that you are.

All right campers, are you ready?

♪Hello, readers.

Hello, writers.

Hello, campers,♪ ♪I am glad you are here today.♪ ♪Hello, readers.

Hello, writers.

Hello, campers,♪ ♪I am glad you are here today.♪ All right campers, get your scout salute ready, and repeat after me, on my honor, I will try my best to be kind to everyone, to have a smile on my face, and a song in my heart.

Great job.

You know, yesterday, we read a story about Martin Luther King, and we concentrated on the strength of hope, remember hope is wanting something good to happen for yourself and for others.

Today, our focus is going to be on celebration, because we are going to read a story today that is about celebration, and so, I want you to think about what that word means, celebration, it's, you know, having a good time and being super excited about something good that has happened, and so we are going to read a story about that, but before we do that, we need, that right, to train our ears for sound.

Do you have your ears on?

Get them out, put them on.

Because we need to train our ears to help us grow our brain for reading and writing.

Today, we are going to play the blending game, and I hope that you have been practicing.

You are really good at the blending games, so I think that today, I am going to do some harder words, and see if you can blend my sounds, and tell me the word that I am telling you.

You guessed it, I can't find him.

He is no where, I have looked everywhere, and he is out, doing something in the forest.

Can you, what?

Oh my gosh, what?

What are you doing in my chair?

How did I miss you there?

Crazy.

All right, I maybe needed to have another cup of coffee, because you were sitting right there the whole time.

Okay, are you ready to play our blending game, the campers are here.

Okay, all right campers, lets go to our little board here because I am going to put up some acorns for each of the sounds that I tell you, and then you are going to blend them together, and tell me what my word is.

Are you ready?

Okay, here is the first one, R AI N. R, AI, N. Do you know what my word is?

Shh, don't tell, I know you know.

R-AI-N, rain, very nice.

And you are right we need some rain, right?

Okay, okay, I got another word, ready?

Oh this is a little bit harder, S K SK Y S-K-Y do you know my word?

Sky, very nice, good job.

Oh yes, give them a clap, that's good.

All right, lets see if we have one more word.

Okay, I think I do, I think I have enough acorns.

Oh, I dropped this one, let me get it.

Because we will need them.

Okay, here we go.

C L Oh C-L OU D C, L, OU, D What do you think that is?

Lets say it faster C, L, OU, D Cloud!

Great job.

Sometimes those beginning blends can be really tricky to put together, C, L, OU, D and S, K, for SK.

Great job, you did that very well.

I have a joke for you.

Are you ready?

Oh, it's going to be a good one.

Okay, it is kind of a camping joke, what do bears call campers in sleeping bags?

What do bears call campers in sleeping bags?

Do you know?

No you don't know.

Burritos!

(laughing) Get it, because bears can eat people like they are wrapped in a, not a tortilla, but a sleeping bag.

I thought that was a good one.

Yeah, I like that one.

All right, are you ready for our story?

Okay, today we are reading a story called "Come on Rain".

We could really use some rain, so maybe we need to say that nice and loud.

Oh, maybe later we can do a rain dance around the fire.

Maybe that would bring us some rain.

That would be a good idea, right?

Oh, you like that idea.

Okay, lets get to our catch of the day, so we know what the words are for our story.

You stay right there, friend.

Don't go anywhere.

All right, so for this story we have a few words.

We have four, this word is glistening.

Glistening, now glistening means shining or glowing.

Glistening, okay.

This word is mood, mood.

A mood is a feeling that, now yes you are right, happy is a mood, or a bad mood.

But, this a little bit different, so for this mood we are talking about like a picture or a story, and the mood that it feels.

The feeling that you get when you are, that the author or artist is trying to suggest a kind of mood for that picture.

You will kind of see what I mean as we read.

This one is lightning, do you remember what lightning is?

Oh, no no, that's thunder.

Thunder is the sound that you hear, lightning is the bright flash of electricity that comes from the sky during a rain storm.

So, first we hear the thunder and then we see the lightning.

Good.

I know that can get, and here's thunder.

Thunder is the loud rumbling, oh, it says after lightning.

Okay, well we will have to see, right.

Okay, we will see.

All right, those are the catch of the day.

So lets jump into our story, let me get my eyes on so that I can see really well and strong.

And this story is called, "Come on Rain" by Karen Hesse, pictures by Jon Muth.

Come on Rain, here is our front cover of the book and our back cover of the book, and here is the title page, and then, do you remember we read last, a few weeks ago we read a story that had a dedication page.

That means the author and illustrator wanted to dedicate this book to someone and that usually right after the title page.

Some authors do that and some don't.

Lets jump in and see what is going on our story.

Are you ready?

"Come on rain!"

I say, squinting into the endless heat.

Mamma lifts a listless vine in sighs.

"Three weeks and not a drop," she says, sagging over her parched plants.

We have a lot of parched plants in Fresno, don't we?

The sound of a heavy truck rumbles past.

Uneasy, Mamma looks over to me.

"Is that thunder, Tessie?"

she asks.

Mamma hates thunder.

I climb up the steps for a better look.

"It's just a truck Mamma."

I say.

I am sizzling like a hot potato.

I ask Mamma, "May I put on my bathing suit?"

"Absolutely not."

Mamma says, frowning under her straw hat.

"You'll burn all day out in this sun."

Up and down the block, cats pant, heat waves off tar patches in the broiling alleyway.

Miz Grace and Miz Vera bend, tending beds of drooping lupines.

Not a sign of my friends Liz or Rosemary, not a peep from my pal Jackie-Joyce.

I stare out over the rooftops, past the chimneys, all into the distance.

And that's when I see it coming, clouds rolling in, gray clouds, bunched and bulging under a purple sky.

A creeper of hope circles 'round my bones.

"Come on rain."

I whisper.

Quietly, while Mamma weeds, I cross the crackling-dry path past Miz Glick's window, glancing inside as I hurry by.

Miz Glick's needle sticks on her phonograph, playing the same over and over in the dim, stuffy cave of her room.

Can you tell who is telling this story?

Right, it's the little girl, right?

She is telling the story.

The smell of hot tar and garbage bullies the air as I climb the steps to Jackie-Joyce's porch.

"Jackie-Joyce!"

I breathe, pressing my nose against her screen.

Jackie-Joyce comes to the door.

Her long legs, like two brown string beans sprout from her shorts.

"It's going to rain."

I whisper.

"Put on your suit and come straight over" What does Tessie hope for more than anything else?

Right, she wants it to rain.

Slick with sweat, I run back home and slipup the stairs past Mamma.

She is nearly senseless in the sizzling heat, kneeling over the hot rump of a melon.

In the kitchen, I pour iced tea to the top of a tall glass.

I aim a spoonful of sugar into my mouth, then a second into the drink.

"Got you some tea, Mamma."

I say, pulling her inside the house.

Mamma sinks into a kitchen chair and sweeps off her hat.

Sweat trickles down her neck and wets the front of her dress and under her arms.

Mamma presses the ice-chilled glass against her skin.

"Aren't you something, Tessie."

She says.

I nod, smartly.

"Rain's coming, Mamma."

I say.

Mamma turns to the window and sniffs.

"It's about time."

She murmurs.

Jackie-Joyce is in her bathing suit, knocks at the door, and I let her in.

"Jackie-Joyce has her suit on, Mamma."

I say.

"May I wear mine, too?"

I hold my breath waiting.

A breeze blows the thin curtains into the kitchen, then sucks them back out again against the screen.

"Is there thunder?"

Mamma asks.

"No thunder."

I say.

"Is there lightning?"

Mamma asks.

"No lightning."

Jackie-Joyce says.

"You stay where I can find you."

Mamma says.

"We will."

I say.

"And go then quickly."

Mamma says, lifting her glass to her lips to take a sip.

"Come on, rain."

I cheer, peeling out of my clothes and into my suit, with Jackie-Joyce runs to get Liz and Rosemary.

We meet in the alleyway.

All the insects have gone still.

Trees sway under a swollen sky, the wind grows bolder and bolder, and just like that, rain comes.

The first drops plop down big, making the dust dance all around.

Then a deeper gray descends and the air cools and the clouds burst, and suddenly rain is everywhere.

"Come on, rain!"

We shout.

It streams through the hair and down our backs.

It freckles our feet and glazes our toes.

We turn in circles, glistening in our rain skin.

Our mouths wide open as we gulp down rain.

Jackie-Joyce chases Rosemary, who chases Liz, who chases me.

Wet slicking our arms and legs, we splash up the block, squealing and whooping in the streaming rain.

We make such a racket, Miz Glick rushes out to the porch.

Miz Grace, Miz Vera come next, and then comes Mamma.

They run from their kitchens and skid to a stop.

Leaning over the rails, they turn to each other.

A smile spread from porch to porch.

And with a wordless nod, first one, then all.

Fling off their shoes, skim off their hoes, tossing streamers of stocking over their shoulders.

Our barelegged mamas danced down the steps and join us in a fresh, clean rain, while the music from Miz Glick's phonography shimmies and sparkles and streaks like the night lightning.

Jackie-Joyce, Liz, Rosemary, and I, we grab the hands of our Mamas and twirl and sway them, trampling through puddles.

Romping and reeling through the moistly green air.

We swing our wet and wild-haired Mamas until we are all laughing under trinkets of silver rain.

That looks fun, doesn't it?

I hug Mamma hard, and she hugs me back.

The rain has made us new.

As the clouds move off, I trace the drips on Mamma's face.

Everywhere, everyone, everything is misty limbs, springing back to life.

"We sure did get a good soaking, Mamma."

I say, and we head home purely soothed, fresh as dew, turning toward the first rays of the sun.

Wow, that makes me want some rain, how about you?

Yeah, why do you all came out to celebrate?

Right, it was very hot outside, right?

They were melting and wilting and the rain was fresh and cool and it just revived them and made them feel new again.

Right, that's what the author said, they felt new.

Isn't that awesome?

Right, sometimes when it is really hot and it starts to rain, it feels amazing.

It is definitely a cause for celebration.

So lets take a look at our reading power chart.

It says, the author say, and this one says, what her words tell us.

So, I wrote down a few pages in our story for us to think about.

And, on pages four and pages five, she says squinting, the author says squinting into the endless heat.

And then, she also says, I was sizzling like a hot potato.

So, what do her words tell us?

The author says squinting into the endless heat and that Tessie was feeling like a hot potato.

What is the author trying to tell us?

Right, she's telling us that Tessie is so hot she feels like she's cooking, right?

She feels like she's cooking and she feels like it's never ending, like there is no end insight to the heat.

She's just so hot she can even see and end to it.

All right, so also I saw on pages eighteen and nineteen, she said the first drops plop down big and make the dust dance.

What do you think she means by that?

What is she telling us?

Right, she tells us how the rain sounds, it plops, and she's telling us that there was the dryness of the ground and when the rain came down and hit really hard, the dust danced out of, or push out of it way, and it made the dust scatter, and it looked like it was dancing, right?

So, the dust dances because of the drops, great.

You see how beautiful the word are that the author choose.

She makes a picture with her words, right?

Can you close your eyes and think about the rain drops hard and big, and the dust dances?

Can you picture what that looks like?

Yeah, words are amazing.

You can create all kinds of pictures in your mind if you choose the right words.

I have a super fun activity for you, and we are going to the activity table now because it is going to take some time, and I want to make sure I have enough time to show you what to do.

Today, we are going to make a rain stick.

Right, so come on, Scooter.

Lets get over to the craft table.

You sit right there, all right.

Today, we are going to make a rain stick.

You need a tube, like from the paper towels, and then I have closed up one end.

I took a piece of paper like this, and I folded it over and taped it so it is nice and secure.

Now, before I close up the other end, I took a piece of foil and I scrunched it and then I gave it a twist, see how it is all curvy?

I am going to poke that inside, okay?

Now, you can use just regular foil and you will have to kind of play with the size that you want.

Mine is a little bit short, but you could make it bigger than that if you want to.

As long as it fits inside the tube.

And then, I gathered up some things to make the sound of the rain.

I have popcorn kernels and rice.

And so, I am going to open up my little bag and very carefully, I am going to try to pour this.

Lets see if I don't make a mess.

I am going to put it hear in my lap so I can control it a little better.

And, I am going to pour it in there.

Oh, can you hear it, it is already sounding like rain, isn't it?

Okay, I am going to pour the whole thing in.

I want it to be really rainy.

Okay, so now my tub is full, I am going to give it a shake.

And then, I am going to take this piece of paper, and put it over the top, and I am just going to fold it down, it doesn't have to be neat, it can be messy.

As long as you can get it secure, that means you are going to tape the paper to the tube so that none of the rain falls outs.

So, let me get this taped up here.

All right, now, now it is the fun part, right?

Because now, I can decorate, and I brought all kinds of different tapes and fun things to wrap around it and make it really decorated, and then I can make it rain.

Can you hear it?

Can you hear the rain sound?

Doesn't it sound like rain falling on the roof?

You probably can't here it, but it is pretty fun, and then you can take this and decorate it.

You can use construction paper, you can wrap it with different kinds of tape, and then you will have your very own rain stick, and you can practice making the sound of rain.

So here, I am going to put this around.

Decorate it like that.

Tada!

Pretty fun, huh?

I hope you will make a rain stick.

♪Skinamarinka dink a dink♪ ♪Skinamarink do♪ ♪I love you♪ ♪I love you in the morning♪ ♪and in the afternoon♪ ♪I love you in the evening♪ ♪and underneath the moon♪ (mimicking wolf howling) ♪Skinamarinka dink a dink♪ ♪Skinamarink do♪ ♪I love you and you and you and you♪ See you tomorrow, bye-bye.

(playful music)