WALNUT, CA--Imagine a camping excursion with no packing, cooking, or cleaning.

That’s just what C.J. Morris Elementary offered families on Thursday evening.

The school opened its doors for an evening of literacy-related activities during Camp Read-A-Lot on December 6.

With pitched tents and a roaring “paper” campfire, the decorated multipurpose room set the stage for a cozy night out of the rain.

Over 400 family members gathered on blankets and munched on nachos while listening stories read by teachers and staff members.

The children, parents, and grandparents then rotated through several reading and writing activities hosted in classrooms.

During a Scrabble-like challenge, families competed to build 3-letter,4-letter, and 5-letter words.

At another station, students made up silly Mad Lib camping-themed stories by adding verbs, nouns, and adjectives.

Fourth grade twins Truth and Tasen Stovall collaborated on the writing activity and then proudly read it aloud.

“It was a ‘fluffy’ summer day and we were excited to go camping in ‘New York’ for the very first time. We went in our ‘awesome’ van listening to ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ all the way down,” they happily recited.

Youngsters also enjoyed coloring bookmarks and creating puppet pals.

“I like to read realistic fiction - like Bridge to Terabithia,” shared fourth grader Wailing Walker, 9, as she colored a bookmark.

“We’re reading it in class right now!”

“We’re having a blast tonight!” said parent Bryan Tanori as son, Luca, used a glued stick to complete his hawk sack puppet.

“I finished!” exclaimed the first grader holding up his craft project.

Families also brought cookies, chips, cupcakes, and fresh fruit to share, while Community Club members sold tacos and hosted a book fair.

A representative from the Los Angeles County Library was on hand to help children complete library card applications.

“Our school community really came together to make Camp Read-A-Lot a success,” said Title 1 specialist Jennifer Veneracion.

And what camping experience is complete without s’more treats?

The children used a recipe to fill baggies with tiny marshmallows, chocolate chips, and golden graham cereal for a little extra energy and to encourage “s’more” reading!

Shown:

Let’s gather around the camp fire!  C.J. Morris Elementary provided a family night of fun during Camp Read-A-Lot on December 6.

Families filled the multipurpose room for Camp Read-A-Lot story time on December 6 

C.J. Morris Elementary classrooms hosted literacy-themed activities during Camp Read-A-Lot.

C.J. Morris Elementary fourth graders Truth and Tasen Stovall get ready to share their camping-themed Mad Lib during Camp Read-A-Lot.