by Kaylee Somerville
Wow! What an amazing summer it has been here at the library. With only one day left to go, we are wrapping up for this year. It's crazy how fast the summer goes by. We kicked off the program at the end of June with our Minecraft party. The following week, Lee and Sandy Paley joined us for our first family event with awesome songs. "Move it Move it" week brought us dance parties, movement themed activities, and bowling. "Super Spy" week was a blast, as we snuck around the library dodging lasers and decoding messages. "Earth and Space" week connected us with nature as we learned about bugs, the planets and celebrated Harry Potter's birthday. During "Create" week we became ninjas. Tae-kwon do instructors joined us, and we learned about self-defense. Also that week we toured the Q 93.3 radio station. Superman, Spiderman, the Hulk and other characters became our focus for the first week of August. Our "Hero" week encompassed tons of superhero activities, and EMT workers joined us at our Hero party to teach us about their heroic careers. Last week for "Super-Science" we channeled our inner scientists by making goo, explosions, and 3D objects. Last Friday we were joined by the mobile planetarium from Waskasoo Environmental Educational Society and we learned about the stars and constellations.
This week we have a "Games Galore" theme. We played Minute to Win It games and giant Jenga earlier this week, and today we will create an Etch-a-Sketch with an electronic Arduino controller. Our wind-up party is on Thursday, Aug. 20. We will be handing out prizes and then walking over to the water park for some fun in the sun. Both age groups will have their own wrap up party. The program for ages six to eight is from 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon and the one for ages nine to 12 is from 12:30 to 2 p.m. All summer we have been tracking participants' reading with our "Reading Tree". We are proud to announce that we have read over 150 hours this summer. Tomorrow we will be randomly drawing a bird from the tree for the grand prize: a Nintendo 3DS. Also, remember that this Friday is our Read and Rhyme event for ages up to five at the fire station. Please meet at the fire station at 10 to see the trucks, meet the firemen, sing some songs, and have a snack.
Overall it has been an amazing summer. We would like to thank all the incredible kids that we met over the summer; we have some fantastic and intelligent children in Stettler, folks. Also thanks to all of the special guests who joined us, and the staff at the library who put up with our shenanigans all summer. The theme for this year's program was "Play" and we did just that.
Stay tuned in September for even more programs. Read and Rhyme will be continuing twice a week at 10:30. Keep an eye out for start dates. The COW Bus (Classroom on Wheels) will be in Stettler on Tuesday, Sept. 22 from 1 to 3 p.m. On Friday, Oct. 30, our annual Monster Bash event will occur. This is a special giant fright-fest with performers, activities, crafts, and more. The library and the Jewel Theatre will also be partnering in the fall to show films sponsored by TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival). Like the TIFF Film Circuit - Stettler Facebook page (www.facebook.com/stettlertiff) and check the library's website for news on ticket sales, films, and dates for screenings.