(upbeat music playing) - [Mrs. Hammoak] ♪Happy trails to you, until we meet♪ What are you doing over there?

No, it's not time for s'mores.

No, I know, but it's not time yet.

You're so silly.

We have to do so many things first before we can do s'mores.

Oh, Hey!

Hi Campers!

Yeah, I know.

He's excited about cooking s'mores.

Have you ever done that?

Well, maybe we can do that together sometime.

Hey, welcome back to Camp Read-a-lot.

I'm Mrs. Hammack and I am excited that you're here at camp with me.

Camp is a time for learning and fun.

We're going to spend our days reading and talking, singing and learning and enjoying all kinds of fun activities that will help keep our brains strong and help us be strong readers.

I'm so happy you're here.

Hey parents, I just want to remind you that rhyming games are a great fun way that you can practice sound awareness with your kids and it will help them develop into strong readers.

You can sing rhyming songs, read rhyming books or just play rhyming word games.

I know that you will want your kids to have strong reading brains.

So practice rhyming at home, okay?

Great!

Campers, are you ready?

It's time for our Camp Read-a-lot pledge.

We're going to do our pledge and then we'll sing our song.

Are you ready?

Get your little scout pledge ready.

Now remember, I will say it and I want you to repeat it after me, okay?

On my honor, I will try my best to be kind to everyone, to have a smile on my face, And have a song in my heart.

Great job.

All right.

You ready to sing our song?

The signal that says we start our day at camp.

♪Hello readers, hello writers,♪ ♪Hello campers, I'm glad you're here today.♪ ♪Hello readers, hello, writers.♪ ♪Hello campers.

I'm glad you're here today.♪ Oh, I am so glad you're here today because Scooter and I were talking about what kind of word game that we could play that would help you and me to train our ears for sound.

And I think he's got a good one.

We're going to play the blending game.

I know it's one of your favorites and I also know you are really good at this game.

Alright, Scooter.

Yes.

Yes, honey I know.

I know you want to have s'mores.

They are yummy and delicious and we will have s'mores later after our dinner tonight, okay?

Alright.

Be patient, be patient.

Alright.

Are you ready to play the game with our campers?

You are?

Okay.

Did you think of some words that they can blend?

Yes?

Okay.

Should we use our pocket chart with out acorns?

Oh, he's very excited about acorns.

Alright, let's do that.

Alright, let's do that.

Alright, I am going... what?

Oh, no, you are?

Okay.

He's going to tell me the sounds and we'll put up an acorn for each sound.

And then I want you to blend it together and tell us what your word is.

Here we go.

Are you ready?

Okay.

I'm ready.

Okay.

The first sound is R-.

The second sound is -ay.

R-, -ay.

Ray!

Good job.

Hey, they did it!

Great job, high five.

Alright, let's try another one.

Oh are you sure?

Okay.

Alright, here we go.

R-, -uh, -g. R-, -uh, -g. Rug.

Say it faster.

Rug!

Great job!

Very nicely done.

Alright, campers.

One last word.

Are you ready?

Okay.

Let's see.

Here we go.

N-, -ee.

Two sounds.

N-, -ee.

What do you think that is?

Do you know?

Knee!

Very good!

We had R-, -ay, ray.

We had R-, -uh, -g, rug.

And we had N-, -ee, knee.

Great job!

You did so well!

I can tell that you have been practicing blending at home and that you are building a strong reading brain.

Good work.

Okay.

But yeah, I do!

He wanted to know if I had a joke, you know I do.

How does the ocean say hi?

Do you know?

How does the ocean say hi?

It waves!

Get it?

Ocean waves.

Oh, you liked that one?

Oh, he likes that one.

Okay.

Well, you know what?

Its time for our catch of the day And we're going to listen to a story called stone soup.

Oh, look, he is very excited.

Oh, he wants stone soup.

Well, do you know what it is?

Well, what?

You better listen to the story first.

But you're going to listen to the words first.

Okay.

Oh, okay wow, you are really active today.

Alright, sit down right here in your normal spot.

Stay.

Alright, let's check out our words of the day.

Our catch of the day: curious.

This word is curious.

Do you know what it means to be curious?

Curious means that you're eager to find something out.

Like you want to know something.

Curious.

Like I'm curious if you've ever heard the story stone soup before.

Okay.

Let's see what else we have here.

Hmm let's try this one: village.

This word is village.

Do you see the vill-, village A village is a small group of houses and people living near each other in a community.

So it's smaller than a city and it's smaller than a town, but it's similar, right?

It's where a community of people live near each other.

Alright, let's oh, here's a word.

Ooh.

I like this word.

I know Scooter likes this word too: feast.

Feast.

Do you know what a feast is?

Can you think of a time when you have had a feast?

I know when I hear that word, I think of Thanksgiving.

Cause we always have a great big feast.

A feast as a large celebratory meal.

It is a great big meal you have to celebrate something That's why I think of Thanksgiving, right.

Okay, and the last one, moral.

Moral.

Now, this might be a new word for you.

A moral is an important lesson and they're often found in folktales, which are stories that have been told over and over again and passed down from great grandmas to grandmas to great grandmas, to grandmas, to moms, to dads to you.

Right?

A folktale.

And it started a long time ago Today, we're going to read a folktale that actually comes from China.

Way far away on the other side of the world.

This story is called Stone Soup And this one is told by Jon J. Muth, Jon J. Muth.

Okay, I want you to look at the title or the cover of this book Remember, this is the front cover and we have the back cover and remember sometimes on the back cover it will read a little bit, or you can read a little bit about what the story is going to be about, but I'm not going to read that part to you because I want you just to look at the front cover.

And what do you notice on the front cover of this story?

Right.

Okay, yeah.

I see four people and they're looking into something aren't they?

And do you see these stones?

And it looks like he's throwing them into something, right?

Alright, well, this story in this story, there is a moral, or a lesson that we need to look for and think about what kind of lesson do you think we might learn in this story?

Any ideas?

Let's find out, alright, stone soup.

Here's our title page It tells us the title again.

And then it tells us the author and illustrator.

This says retold and illustrated by Jon J. Muth.

Now, retold means he didn't actually write this story.

Somebody else wrote it a long time ago and he's just retelling it.

So he's telling a very old familiar story and in his own way.

So let's find out about stone soup Three monks: Huck, Luck and Sue traveled along a mountain road.

They talked about cat whiskers and the color of the sun and giving.

"What makes one happy?"

said, Sue.

As he asked Huck, or asked Huck the youngest monk old Sue was the wisest.

And he said, let's find out.

Alright, so they're on a quest to find out what makes people happy.

The sound of a bell brought their gaze to the rooftops of the village below.

They could not see from so high above that the village had been through many hard times famine- which means that they had no food-, floods, and war had made the villagers weary and un-trusting of strangers.

They had even become suspicious of their neighbors.

So, this community has been through a lot.

So they're un-trusting of strangers.

That means they don't trust strangers and suspicious means they're thinking that their neighbors might be trying to plan something against them.

Does that sound like a happy place to live?

Yeah, no, I don't think so either.

Let's find out what happens.

The villagers worked hard, but only for themselves there was a farmer, a tea merchant, a scholar a seamstress, a doctor, a carpenter, and many others but they had very little to do with one another.

So take a look at these characters.

How would you describe their personalities?

Like what kind of people do they look like?

Yeah, I don't see anybody smiling, do you?

No.

And look at this guy, he looks like he's looking over his shoulder.

Like he's expecting something bad to happen.

Right?

Why do you think they had little to do with each other?

Why do you think they didn't share and talk to each other?

Hmm, that seems strange for a small community.

Doesn't it?

When the monks reached the foot of the mountain the villagers disappeared into their houses and no one came out to greet them.

And when the people saw them enter the village, they closed and locked their windows tight.

The monks knocked on the door of the first house.

There was no answer.

Then the house went dark.

They knocked on the second door and the same thing happened.

It happened again, and again, from one house to the next.

"These people do not know happiness" they all agreed.

"But today," said Sue, his face bright as the moon "we will show them how to make stone soup."

What do you think that Sue means by showing people how to make stone soup?

How is he going to show them when everybody's locked in their house and won't come out?

What do you think is going to happen?

We better find out.

They gathered twigs and branches and made a fire.

They placed a small tin pot on top and filled it with water from the village well.

A very brave little girl who had been watching came to them.

"What are you doing?"

She asked, "we're making fire," said Huck.

"We're gathering twigs," said Luck, "We're making stone soup, and we need three round smooth stones."

The little girl helped the monks look around the courtyard until they found just the right stones.

Then they put them in the water to cook.

"The stones will make an excellent soup," said Sue, "but this very small pot will not make very much I'm afraid."

"My mother has a big pot," said the girl.

Why do you think she offered a bigger pot?

Maybe she wants to have some, right?

The little girl ran home and started to take a pot.

Her mother asked what she was doing.

"The three strangers are making soup from stones," she said, "they need our biggest pot."

"Hmm," said the girl's mother, "Stones are easy to come by.

I'd like to learn how to make a soup with stones."

The monks poked the coals and smoke, drifted up.

The neighbors peaked out their windows.

The fire and the large pot in the middle of the village was a true curiosity.

One by one, the people of the village came out just to see what this stone soup was.

"Of course, old-style stone soup should be well-seasoned with salt and pepper," said Huck.

"Ah, that's true," said Luck as he stirred the giant pot filled with water and stones, "but we have none."

"I have some salt and pepper!"

said the scholar, his eyes big with curiosity.

He disappeared and came back with salt and pepper and a few other spices.

Sue took a little taste.

"Oh, the last time we made stone soup of this size and color carrots made the broth very sweet."

"Carrots?"

said one woman.

"I have a few carrots, but just a few," and she ran off.

She returned with as many carrots as she could carry and dropped them into the pot.

"Do you think it would be better with onions?"

said Huck.

"Oh yes, maybe an onion would taste good," said a farmer, nd he hurried off.

He returned in a moment with five big onions and he dropped them into the bubbling soup.

"Now that's a fine soup," he said.

The villagers all nodded their heads and the smell was very agreeable.

"But if only we had some mushrooms" said Sue, rubbing his chin.

Several villagers, licked their lips a few dashed away and returned with fresh mushrooms, noodles, pea pods, and cabbages.

Something magical was beginning to happen among the villagers.

As each person opened their heart to give, the next person gave even more.

And at this, as this happened, the soup grew richer and smelled more delicious.

Do you think something really magical is happening?

What is happening to the villagers?

Hmm.

"I imagine the emperor would suggest we add dumplings," said one villager, "and bean curd," said another.

"What about cloud ear, and mung beans, and yams," said the others, "and taro root and winter melon and baby corn," cried other villagers, "garlic and ginger roots, soy sauce, lily buds."

"I have some!

I have some!"

people cried out, and they ran off returning back with all that they could carry.

The monks stirred and the pot bubbled.

Oh, it smelled good.

How good it would taste, and how giving the villagers had become.

At last the soup was ready and the villagers gathered together.

They brought rice and steamed buns.

They brought lychee nuts and sweet cakes and they brought tea to drink and they lit lanterns.

Everyone sat down to eat together.

They had not been together for a feast like this in so long.

No one could even remember when.

After the banquet they told stories and sang songs and celebrated long into the night.

Then they unlocked their doors and took the monks into their homes and gave them a comfortable place to sleep.

Hmm.

How was the community changed after making stone soup?

Remember how they were when the monks first arrived?

Everyone closed their doors and locked everything, turned off the lights, pretended they weren't home.

And now they're eating together and singing and playing.

In the gentle spring morning everyone gathered together near the willows to say goodbye.

"Thank you for having us as guests," said the monks "you have been most generous."

"Thank you," said the villagers "with the gifts you have given, we will always have plenty.

You have shown us that sharing makes us all richer" "And to think," said the monks, "to be happy is as simple as making stone soup."

Oh, what a great story!

So, what do you think the author is telling us about sharing?

Right!

Sharing makes us happy and it helps others.

Right?

It makes everybody better.

It makes everything better.

And do what do you think is going to happen now that the monks leave?

do you think everyone will go back to the way they were at the beginning of the story?

No, I don't think so either because now they realize what they've been missing.

Right.

They can help each other.

And that always makes things better when we try and help each other.

What a great story.

I love that.

Let's take a look at our reading chart here and see some of the lessons, we're not going to get to all of it but let's at least talk about the lesson of kindness.

So did you hear, what do you think was the first act of kindness that you heard in this story?

Do you remember?

Yes.

Remember the young girl?

She was the first one to go and talk to them.

Right.

And bring them a big pot.

So she brought the pot so that they could make enough stone soup for everyone.

That was kind wasn't it?

So she brought, I'm not writing a sentence so I don't have to start with a capital.

Brought a large pot to make soup.

That was definitely, oh I don't need a period because it's not a sentence, it's just a little phrase.

Good.

Okay.

So let's think about, Hm friendship.

Did you see any, any examples of a lesson on friendship?

What did you see in this story?

I'll right friendship here.

What did you see?

Oh good.

Good, good, good.

Yeah.

Friendship.

They all gave to the soup.

Right?

They all went home one after another to find things that would make the soup even yummier.

And that was that's friendly.

Isn't it?

That's what friends can do.

They worked together as a community.

Right?

Great job.

Alright, come on.

Let's go over here.

I have a story to sh- I mean, I have a joke to share with you, and then I have an activity.

Are you ready for my next joke?

Alright, which superhero hits home runs?

Do you know a superhero?

You're right.

Batman, of course!

That was a good one.

Alright, today we are going to do a little project.

You can sit right here, friend.

And we are going to build our own stone soup with a art project.

So you can see here I took a piece of black paper and I cut out kind of a pot shape.

And then earlier I was working on this and you can use construction paper and cut different things out, but do you remember they had carrots in the story?

So I put a little carrot and I'm going to just going to glue that on.

It wouldn't be stone soup without a stone, right?

Now, I only made one stone but you could put three, just like the story.

And I have some celery to go in my soup.

Let's stick that on there.

Oh, they talked about peas.

So stick that on there.

And corn, I don't know if there's had corn or not but oh yeah, that's right.

It said be sweet baby corn, right?

And some cabbage.

And I'm going to add a little pepper.

Cause I like, I like a little spice in my soup but you can use your imagination and draw or cut out some vegetables and make your very own stone soup picture to help you remember the story.

And you can share that story with your family.

I am so glad you were here today.

And I want you to come back to Camp Read-a-lot tomorrow and read with me some more ♪Skinamarink a dink a dink, skinamarink a do♪ ♪I love you♪ ♪Skinamarink a dink a dink, skinamarink a do♪ ♪I love you♪ - See you tomorrow.

♪I love you in the morning,♪ ♪and in the afternoon♪ (upbeat music plays)