Ask any adult if they remember the Scholastic Book Fair as a child, and you will likely hear about how much they loved the excitement, the books, diaries, and special pens. For many, visiting the book fair is a treasured core memory. I love being able to provide the book fair experience for my K-5 students. No other event that we have at school generates the energetic buzz throughout the school quite like the book fair.
Having said all of that, hosting a book fair is a lot of work. I have not hosted very many, but as I head into my 7th book fair, I thought I would share some tips that have helped me get through the week with my sanity somewhat intact.
Scheduling
My fair takes place during the week of conferences. Students in grades 3-5 have an opportunity to shop during library classes. All K-2 students shop with their caregivers when they come to conferences. I start by creating a schedule that will ensure that all grades 3-5 will have a block of time to visit the fair. I also offer times for classrooms to come and browse with their teacher. I lay out the schedule and share it with teachers approximately 2 weeks before the fair.
One Pager
I offer several evening hours so families have plenty of opportunities to visit. Then I create and share a one-page document with hours, links to our fair's site, etc.
Organization & Signage
I create these small cards to leave near the checkout in case inventory runs out or an item is not included in the fair. The purchases online still count toward fair profits.
Wishlists, pens, and clipboards are near the entrance if students want to make wishlists to share with families.
Posters are numbered within the cases.
One copy of each poster is hung with twine and clothespins.
They are numbered with a sticky note to correspond with the number in the poster case. The students ask for posters by number. This year, I included the price of each one since prices vary. This eliminates the "How much is it?" question.
To help students figure out taxes, I copied enough of these sheets for each case and each register. I save them to use for each fair. A case number helps students when they create wishlists.
Smaller items are kept near the register.
I keep a change jar to use if a student is a little short or to cover taxes.
Other things near the register include rubber bands to roll up posters, hand sanitizer, and various-sized baggies to hold small items and change. I am also working through a stack of donated plastic shopping bags.
Pointers and any squishy items are kept behind the register.
After trying teacher wishlists, I switched to a wish box a couple of years ago. Staff members locate the physical book they would like and place it with their name in the box. When one is purchased, the students write their name on a sticky note, and I put the books in the teachers' mailboxes.
I place sticky notes with prices of small items.
During book fair week, I wear an apron because I am always misplacing things as I go from the fair to teaching classes and back again. I keep pens, a marker, a pack of sticky notes, and a pair of scissors in it, along with my keys, chapstick, and sometimes a snack for busy days.
It is a fun and exhausting week, but it is so worth it when you see the excitement of the students.
I would love to hear about your book fair hacks to make the week more manageable.
