(bright music) - Hello, little learners.

Welcome back to Camp Read-a-Lot, the place where we read books, sing songs, and keep the learning going all summer long.

My name is Ms. Lara.

Can you tell me your name?

Oh, I heard a couple of your names.

Hello.

Good morning.

Shall we start our morning off with our song?

Okay, let me get Ms. Maria ready.

Wanna say hello?

Here we go.

♪ Good morning, good morning ♪ ♪ It's a sunshine kind of day ♪ ♪ Come join Ms. Lara for some learning and some play ♪ ♪ Will we sing a song ♪ Of course we will.

♪ Make our brains strong ♪ Like super strong.

♪ So come along ♪ Yes, come on friends, ♪ For some learning and some play ♪ All right, Ms. Maria, are you ready to be put away?

Let's figure out what we're going to do with our day.

So today, we're going to worry and talk a little bit about worrying, I'm sorry.

And our book is gonna be all about how to handle when you feel worried.

I'm gonna give you some clues to see what it's about and then we're gonna watch a video about our book and work on our foundational skills, which is retelling a story.

And then we're gonna move on to our project place where we're gonna use circles and paint to recreate the character in our story.

Does that sound like a good plan?

Okay, so right now I think I hear Ms. Maria (doorbell dings) dropping off some mail.

There it is!

All right, let's see what our mail says.

Now, remember when we start to read, we start on what side?

The left, of course.

♪ Remember this is the left ♪ ♪ This is the right ♪ ♪ When we read, we start on the left, we slide to the right ♪ Let's see what it says today.

Dear Ms. Lara, have I got a story for you.

Yay, I love stories.

Have you ever felt worried?

Worried.

Have you heard that word before?

Worried is a feeling that you get when you're a little bit nervous about something that's coming up.

You might feel a little queasy, you might feel sick.

You might get hot.

I've felt worried before.

Well, I worry about everything.

Too much worry.

Can you help?

Love Wemberly.

Now, we're gonna meet Wemberly a little later on, but I think I can help.

Whenever I feel worried, I always like to read a book and I think Ms. Maria left one here about a Weasel that's a little worried, just like our character Wemberly that we'll meet and just a bit.

"Weasel Is Worried."

Now, let's look at the front cover.

Weasel is wearing a scarf and all the wind is blowing around him.

I wonder what the book is going to be about?

This book is by Ciara Gavin and it's illustrated by Tim Warnes.

Remember, the author, Ciara Gavin, wrote the words and the illustrator, Tim Warnes, he drew the pictures.

So let's read about Weasel and his worry.

Here's the first page.

Weasel was minding his own business out collecting leaves when suddenly the weather changed.

Oh, I can tell because there's big gray clouds.

I wonder what kind of weather it's going to be.

He was soaked through by a nasty rain, then a gust of wind knocked him flat on his bottom.

Weasel stood up and puffed out his chest.

"That's enough of this nonsense," he told the sky.

But just then, the skies opened up and he was pelted by a mighty hail shower.

Weasel was starting to feel very small and defenseless against this angry storm.

So it's raining and there's hail.

Oh, no.

He built a wall to keep himself safe, but the wind blew and whirled around all night long.

So he built the wall higher, but then the rain came back and wouldn't take no for an answer.

Have you ever tried to stop the rain?

It's quite impossible, isn't it?

So Weasel added a roof.

"Keep out!"

he said, feeling very satisfied.

Weasel settled down in his new safe place.

He thought of the storm raging outside and it made him shiver.

Can you shiver?

When you shiver, you go like this, you shake your body.

The days passed and Weasel got used to being by himself.

But one day, he turned around and was alarmed to find Mole sitting on his couch.

There's Mole.

"What is this place?"

asked Mole.

"It is a fort," said Weasel nervously.

"Oh, marvelous!"

nodded Mole.

"I love a good fort.

You guard this side and I'll guard that one."

"No!"

said Weasel, "It's not for playing in.

It's a home!"

"Marvelous!"

yawned Mole, getting comfortable.

"How about a snack?"

"No!"

fretted Weasel, "It's not a place for visitors.

It's a place to hide!"

"Marvelous!"

said Mole.

"You count to 10, and I'll hide.

No peeking."

Oh, no.

Mole is not taking the hint, is he?

"No, no, no!"

insisted Weasel.

"It's not for games.

It's for keeping me safe."

Mole got a little scared and said, "Who's after you?

Is it a fox?

I'll help scare him away.

Look at my scary face."

"No," groaned Weasel, "I'm hiding from the storm and there isn't room for both of us."

"Well, what's the fun in that?"

replied Mole.

"It's not meant to be fun!"

cried Weasel, "Just safe."

"Well, what's wrong with a good storm anyway?"

added Mole placing a hand on Weasel's shoulder.

Weasel told Mole about the wind and the rain and the damp and the chill, the snow and the hail, all the things that scared him the most.

"The storm is scary," said Weasel, "and much, much bigger than me."

"I see," said Mole gently, "but storms can be a lot of fun too.

Whenever it snows, I love to scoop it up and make a snowman."

"A-And the wind," questioned Weasel, "it knocks you off your feet."

"Oh, I love when that happens!"

beamed Mole.

"The wind lifts my fur and it feels ticklish."

With a giggle, he twirled and fell over laughing.

So the mole is having fun in the storm while the weasel is worried about the storm.

"But the cold rain, Mole," continued Weasel, "what do you do when you get caught in that?"

"Why, splash around in the biggest bestest puddles I can find!"

replied Mole.

"Then I sit in the chair by the fire and dry off with a cup of hot soup.

Soup always tastes extra wonderful when you've been out in the rain."

Mole had such a different way of seeing things.

"But Mole," said Weasel, "what do you do when you're afraid to face something?"

"Oh," Mole said, "I face it with a friend."

And with that, he held out his hand.

Weasel took Mole's hand and together they walked out into the warm sunny day.

The end.

So what did you think of that story, boys and girls?

The Mole and the Weasel found friendship and that helped the weasel feel better with his worry.

Now, I have a book for you that I'm gonna share a video puppet story of, and I want you to use these clues to try to guess what it's about.

The first clue is a letter clue, and we're gonna make this letter with some big lines.

So we're starting at the top.

We're gonna go down and down again and up and one more.

What letter have I made?

The letter W. That could be for Weasel.

And then I have this.

Oh, this is what I use to help me breathe when I'm feeling really stressed and nervous.

What kind of book could involve this?

And then, a stuffy.

Oh, what would that have to do with that book?

I wonder.

Let's see.

What book is it?

It's "Wemberly Worried."

So let's watch our puppet story together so that we can learn about Wemberly who wrote our letter.

Let's watch.

(soothing music) It's storytime.

"Wemberly Worried" by Kevin Henkes, retold by Ms. Lara.

Wemberly worried about everything.

She worried about big things like making sure her parents were safe when they were asleep.

She worried about little things like when she accidentally spilled grape juice.

And she worried about things in between, like when she was in the bathtub and thought, "Mama, what if I shrink?"

Wemberly worried in the morning, she worried at night, and she worried throughout the day.

"You worry too much," said her mother.

"When you worry, I worry," said her father.

And when her grandmother came over, she said, "Worry, worry, worry.

Too much worry!"

Wemberly always worried about her doll Petal.

When Wemberly was especially worried, she rubbed Petal's ears.

Wemberly worried that if she didn't stop worrying, Petal would have no ears left at all.

"Don't worry," said her mother.

"Don't worry," said her father.

But Wemberly worried.

She worried and worried and worried.

On her birthday, Wemberly worried that nobody would show up to her party.

But when her friends showed up, she then started to worry that she wouldn't have enough cake.

Soon, Wemberly had a new worry: school.

Wemberly worried more about school than anything she had ever worried about before.

Wemberly had a long list of worries.

What if no one else brings a dollar?

The teacher's mean?

What if the room smells bad or they make fun of my name?

What if I can't find the bathroom, or I hate the snack?

What if I have to cry?

"Don't worry," said her mother.

"Don't worry," said her father.

But Wemberly worried.

She worried and worried and worried.

One day, Wemberly met somebody new.

Her name was Jewel.

She was standing by herself and was holding a doll.

At first, Wemberly and Jewel just looked at each other.

"This is Petal," said Wemberly.

"This is Nibblet," said Jewel.

"Hi," said Petal.

"Hi," said Nibblet.

"I rub her ears," said Wemberly.

"I rub her nose," said Jewel.

Throughout the morning, Wemberly and Jewel sat side by side and played together whenever they could.

Petal and Nibblets sat side by side too.

Wemberly worried, but no more than usual and sometimes even less.

Before Wemberly knew it, it was time to go home.

"Come back tomorrow!"

Jewel said.

Wemberly turned and smiled.

"I will," she said, "don't worry."

The end.

I hope that you enjoyed that book, boys and girls.

"Wemberly Worried" can be found at your local library and on the Sora app, don't forget to check it out.

Now, I love sharing books with you, but my goal is to get you to read books on your own.

So one way that I do that is focus on a few foundational skills.

This one is reading comprehension where we retell the story using pictures, of course.

So here are our pictures.

Do you remember what happened first in our story?

There was a little girl named Wemberly, actually a little mouse, and she had a little stuffy named Petal that helped her because she worried all the time.

In the morning, in the afternoon, at night, worry, worry, worry.

And her parents and her grandmother would tell her don't worry.

But did she listen?

No, she couldn't help it.

She just worried all the time.

In fact, when she had her birthday party, even though everybody showed up, she still worried, will there be enough cake?

And the thing that worried her the most was going to school, and maybe that's something that worries you too.

But she found that going to school was a good thing.

She met a friend named Jewel who also had a stuffy named Nibblet, and together they played and had fun in school, and in the end they were friends.

Just like our story about the weasel and the mole, having a friend can help you when you worry.

Now, let's go over to our project place where we're gonna make the character Wemberly Worried and maybe write about something that worries us.

All right, let's walk over.

So here is what we're going to make together.

Now, we might not get to finish it, but here's where we're gonna end up.

We're gonna make some circles, just like our book cover, and then we're gonna make our character Wemberly, and we're gonna end with some writing that says, "I worry when," and you can try to write here.

Now, for this project, you'll need some paper, some glue, and some scissors, watercolors, and water.

And really, you can use anything that you have around the house.

If you don't have paint, you can actually use crayons.

Now, I thought what would make this activity really fun is, of course, we could just draw circles, but let's make it a problem-solving activity to develop our critical thinking skills, where we're really using our brain.

It's a muscle after all.

We're going to make some circles, but we're gonna make a bigger circle than a smaller circle, a smaller circle, a smaller circle, what we call concentric circles.

So I thought here's your challenge.

Gather things around your house that are circles and that fit inside of each other.

So the first thing I gathered was this plate.

Do you see it's a circle?

It doesn't have any edges.

Then you're gonna place it flat on your piece of paper and you're gonna trace around it like this.

All right, there's our first circle.

Oops, all the way around, Ms. Lara.

There you go.

I'll show you in just a minute here.

Okay, largest circle, at least I think it's the largest.

Now, I'm gonna need one that fits inside here.

I think I'll try this one.

It's a bowl.

And I figured, well, it's a circle and it's round enough, so I'll put it inside and do the same thing where I'm gonna trace it.

Now, you might find some circles that don't fit on your paper.

That's okay.

Just trace what fits on there.

You can paint that as well, which is what we're going to do.

Okay, here's our second one.

Could we make more circles fit?

Ooh, I wonder.

Let's try this one.

I got this off of my sugar canister.

It's a sugar lid.

I think it fits right inside there.

Now, this is a really good activity for developing your, like I said, critical thinking skills because children not only have to think about circles and finding and matching the shape, but they also have to think about bigger and smaller.

Lots of different things and activities going on with this one simple project.

I have another lid here, little snap lid that I found.

And then, should I do one little tiny circle in the middle?

Okay, let's try that.

Little pink lid that I found.

Again, you can use spaghetti jar lids, anything that you have laying around the house.

And really, I probably could've gone a little bit smaller, but we'll stop here for now.

Let's count how many circles I was able to find.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

I found five circles.

Can you find more around your house?

So our next step is we're actually gonna paint each circle a different color.

If you'll notice, if you check out the book in the front cover of "Wemberly Worried", there's circles all around, and I think it's supposed to represent worry and anxiety.

So here I have my water colors.

I'm gonna dip my paintbrush in a little bit of water and I'm gonna pick a color.

Which one should I pick?

I'll pick orange.

I like orange, a warm color.

Then I'll just start painting it up.

Let's see.

Going all around.

All around, all around.

It might take you a little while.

And of course, if you don't want to use paints, you can use all kinds of things.

You can use crayons.

You can leave them white.

That's okay, too.

You can use markers.

You can even use a little bit of food coloring.

Just be very careful with what you wear because it does stain.

I have ruined many shirts playing with food coloring.

But you know me, I like to get messy.

How about you?

You like to get messy too?

Here we go.

I'm gonna show you how I paint this one around and maybe we'll do one more and then I'll go on to the next step here.

Okay, we'll do one more.

Maybe the smallest one after this.

Now, what color should I choose?

I have orange.

What's your favorite color?

Hurry, yell at me.

See if I can guess.

Ooh, somebody said purple.

Okay.

Purple.

We'll do purple right in the middle.

So you can see how you can paint all of your circles round and round until you have a big colorful mass here.

Now, as a bonus tip, painting these circles is a very calming activity, so if you do feel worried, having a project like this will help calm you down.

Next thing we're gonna do, and I know it's a little wet, you're gonna wait until it dries, okay, we're gonna take our scissors and we're gonna cut around our circle.

Cut around and around.

I'm using my helper hand to hold the paper steady.

Otherwise, the paper would be super wobbly and all over the place, and we don't want that.

Boo to that.

Save the scraps for later.

You know I love to use my scraps.

Now, I decided that I wanted to put my circle and my character on a piece of black paper.

Using black paper just helps things stick out, so I'm gonna take my glue, here we go, and I'm gonna glue it down.

Again, you're gonna wait until yours is dry, and mine is dry enough, and I'll finish it when I can.

So here it's starting to look a little like this, isn't it?

There we go.

The next thing we need to do is make our character.

Now, Wemberly is a mouse and she has a face that kind of looks like a bicycle seat, huh?

It's kind of oval and long.

So we're gonna cut that out here with some white paper.

All right, let's put you down here and we're gonna begin to cut our bicycle shape face here, bicycle seat-shaped face.

All around, all around.

Now, you can trace it if you want first.

I'm just gonna cut it here.

Now, the next thing that she has are two ears, that's right.

So I'm gonna use my method for cutting out two things at once.

Cut out a strip of paper like this and then cut it in half, meaning in two pieces, and then we will cut.

Cut, cut, cut, and we have, ta-da, two ears like this.

Now, her ears go on top of her head.

They don't go on the side of her head like our ears.

All right, so I'm gonna put one ear here and then one ear here.

I think we'll have just enough time to finish her, which I'm very excited about.

And then we need to add the details.

Of course, the details are what bring the character to life, aren't they?

All right, let's look here.

I know I have some pink paper.

I saw you, pink paper, don't try to run.

There you are.

I'm gonna have a little nose on the side here.

Just cut a little oval.

Quick, quick, quick, just like that, and I'm gonna put it at the bottom of her bicycle seat head.

I hope she doesn't get offended I'm calling her head a bicycle seat.

And then I'm gonna cut out the two pink kind of inner parts of her ear.

That'll make it look more like a mouse.

Here goes that.

And one.

And two, here we go.

Almost there.

What does she need?

Some eyes.

Let's get those done really quickly here.

Let's see, she has kind of a worried expression to her like this where her eyebrows go like this.

And I'll give you a quick little tip to make everything look really clean and done.

You're gonna outline it in black, and that just makes everything look really crisp.

See?

All right, boys and girls, after you're all done, you're gonna glue it onto your circle so that it looks like this.

And when you're done, you can either add a strip of plain white paper, or if you have access to a printer, you can print out the words I worry when and then write your sentence.

You can then hang this in your room as a reminder of reading "Wemberly Worried," or the Weasel in the Mole book too.

Looks like it's almost time for us to come to an end with our day.

Let me tell you what we're gonna do tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I'm going to read the book "Wemberly Worried" live here for you, boys and girls, so if you have a copy, bring it so you can read with me.

We're also gonna make a worry box.

Have you ever heard of a worry box?

It's a place where you put all your worries and then forget about them.

So hopefully you join me for a worry box and more books.

Until then, Ms. Lara sends you a big squeeze and a big smooch, and reminds you to read and to play, to be a scientist and use your imagination every day.

Goodbye, we'll see you tomorrow.

(bright music)