Special Speakers/Events

Geared toward EK-5th

June 4  – Kick-off Party 6 PM at Nelson Park

• Sponsor: Edward Jones – Erik Nilius, Melanie Vespestad, Kerrie Knudsen & DeAnn Thompson

June 11 – Mini Golf Event - 10 AM to Noon at Nelson Park

• Sponsors: Slater Animal Hospital & Slater Garden Club

June 18 – Mike Anderson - Musician at 10 AM at Nelson Park

• Sponsor: Heather Knittel Real Estate

June 25 – Toby Kid - Jedi Adventures at 10 AM at Nelson Park

• Sponsor: Gross-Wen Technologies

July 9 – Water Fights with the Slater Fire Dept. at 10 AM at Nelson Park

• Sponsor:  Huxley Communications

July 16 – Circus of Bubbles at 10 AM at Nelson Park

• Sponsor:  Fidelity Bank

*July 21 – Picnic/Pool Party at 6-8:45 PM at Grimm Park

• Sponsor: Friends of the Slater Library

*August 16 – I-Cubs Baseball Game against the Saint Paul Saints at 1:08pm

• Sponsor: Iowa Cubs Baseball

 

*Programs for all ages of children who complete their reading requirements.

 

 

Slater Tots

Toddlers and Preschoolers—Wednesdays @ 10:00 AM at the library with parent supervision

Our Slater Tots is an age-appropriate center-based story time, which means there are fun, themed stories read aloud, along with corresponding literacy activities, crafts and art.  Each part of story time includes plenty of movement geared toward little bodies, either to music or included in the day’s story.  This is not a quiet, subdued lesson, but a joyful, wiggle-friendly time of learning.

*Games and activities available for older siblings at the senior center.

 

Builders Book Club 1.0 and 2.0

Incoming Kindergartners & Kindergarten graduates = Builders 1.0 —Tuesdays @ 9:30-10:15 AM at the library

Kids who just finished 1st & 2nd grades = Builders 2.0 —Tuesdays @ 11-11:45 AM at the library

This is a drop-off program for our younger elementary kids where we explore fun stories and corresponding activities all while building our reading skills.  We will also be tending our library garden sponsored by Syngenta.

 

Lego Club

1st-2nd grade—Tuesdays @ 1:00 PM at the Library

- 3rd grade and older—Tuesdays @ 2:30 PM at the Library 

First graders and older will love our ever-popular LEGO Club!  Divided into two separate hours (Tuesdays 1-2 PM for 1st and 2nd graders, Tuesdays 2:30-3:30 p.m. for our 3^rd graders and older), each week we present a new challenge.  Past years have included building cars and racing against your fellow creators, zip lines, and catapults- just to name a few!  There are also weekly at-home challenges to keep the creativity flowing all week long!

Tween Book Club  

Students who finished 3^rd-5^th grades—Mondays @ 9:30 AM at the Library

Third, Fourth, and Fifth graders joining us for our Tween Book Club will receive their own copy of this summer’s fantasy adventure, Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins. We will read and discuss a set number of chapters each week and then get creative with some fun projects.

Participants will also have the opportunity to attend two field trips.  The first will be to watch Story Theater Company's musical production of Disney's Newsies, Jr. in Ames on Thursday, June 25 at 1 p.m.  The second field trip will be at the end of the program.  Details for this field trip are still in the works with a tentative date of July 20.

*There is a requirement of attending 3 of the 5 weeks and completing the book for this program in order to attend the 2nd field trip.  

Middle School Book Club 

Students who finished 6^th-8^th grade—Mondays @ 11:00 AM at the Library

Our middle schoolers will receive their own copy of this summer’s action adventure story, The Deadlands: Hunted by Skye Melki-Wegner. We will read and discuss a set number of chapters each week and then get creative with some fun projects.

Participants will also have the opportunity to attend two field trips.  The first will be to watch Story Theater Company's musical production of Disney's Newsies, Jr. in Ames on Thursday, June 25 at 1 p.m.  The second field trip will be at the end of the program.  Details for this field trip are still in the works with a tentative date of July 20.

*There is a requirement of attending 3 of the 5 weeks and completing the book for this program in order to attend the 2nd field trip.  

 

Fossil Fashion

Monday, June 8 @ 4:30-6:30 PM

Create a dinosaur fossil necklace out of salt dough and play with some insect-in-amber slime!

This event is drop-in and good for preschool and up. No registration necessary.

 

Dino Dimensions

Monday, June 15 @ 4:30-6:30 PM

We're going to learn how much space dinosaurs took up. How big (and small) were some dinosaurs and how looooong did they live on earth? We'll be making Mesozoic Sliders to help us visualize what different dinosaurs lived when.

This event is drop-in and good for preschool and up. No registration necessary.

 

Herbivores, Omnivores, Carnivores...Oh My!

Monday, June 22 @ 4:30-6:30 PM

Learn about what dinosaurs ate, sample from our dino buffet, and make an edible dinosaur terrarium!

This event is drop-in and good for preschool and up. No registration necessary.

Children's Farmers Market 

Monday, July 6 @ 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM

Please join us at Nelson Park as we support our community's young entrepreneurs at the Children's Farmers Market. Snack mixes, lemonade, sweets, crafts, flowers, vegetables, jewelry, and so much more! If your child/ren are interested in signing up to have a stand at the market, we're going to have an informational meeting for families, on Tuesday, June 9 at 6 PM, where we'll talk through a basic business plan (possible items to sell, pricing, signage, & other logistics). We'll also release the Google Form sign-up that same night. Then we'll have a follow-up, drop-in opportunity for kids who have committed to having a stand at the market. This will give us time to discuss how the planning is going, answer any questions the kids might have, offer a monetary change-making practice session, etc. We'll also have some poster-making supplies on hand, so if the kids want to make a sign for their stand here at the library, they're more than welcome to.

 

Birds are Dinosaurs!

Monday, July 13 @ 4:30-6:30 PM

Stop into the library to learn about the connection between birds and dinosaurs. Then make a bird feeder to attract dinosaurs birds to your yard!

This event is drop-in and good for preschool and up. No registration necessary.

 

Independent Reading Rewards for Teens

We have a reading record where middle and high schoolers can keep track of their reading for the summer. Each level they reach has a new prize.

 

BYO-Art Adventures: Summer Edition

June 10, June 24, July 8 @ 5:00-7:00 PM

Our beloved BYO-Art Adventures is continuing into the summer but with an added plus! You can bring in your own project OR we will have diamond art bookmarks available for you to work on among friends! 

 

Book Club

June 18 @ 2 PM & July 23 @ 10 AM

We have two books planned to read and discuss this summer.  June’s selection is a young adult book Far from the Tree by Robin Benway. Then in July we will read Tell Me What You Did by Carter Wilson.