Scholastic Book Fair AKA Where I've Been Lately

I'm bored.  Between being a mom, student, blogger and party planner, I'm Secretary of my boys' PTSA and chair a few events.  So I figured, eh, that's not enough, why not become a Scholastic Book Fair chairperson.

So twice a year, for an intense week, armed with a team of volunteers to help set up lots of books and displays, I show up early to get the registers going, make sure the morning shift is set, open the doors to tons of children with bags of change to buy $15 books, leave for a bit, come back for the afternoon shift change, leave for a bit, come back for the rush of after-school kids with bags of change to buy $15 books, close up, count tons of money, leave for evening, rinse, repeat the next day.

Throw in an evening event for another 2 hours, then finally close up, repack everything and settle our account.  Not to mention meeting with students for a few weeks creating posters, decorating, advertising, making flyers, prepping the library, etc. etc. etc.

This would explain my sporadic posting, and oh yeah, dealing with full on-allergies (gotta love those cherry blossoms) which developed into something that knocked me the past weekend, and pretty much all week. I still sound like Big Ang from Mob Wives.

Do you want to see what I've been up to?  Here are a few highlights from last fall's Book Fair, it was awesome with a space theme, an alien made with pumpkins, a space ship beaming up books...

5th grade students created the wall mural...my job was the front case display window.

Scholastic's One For Books program gets books in the hands of children that need them. I challenged the students to fill up our buckets with spare change, the winning grade would get a party.  We raised almost $300 that we purchased books for the Marine Corps Toys For Tots.  The winning 5th graders students enjoyed a doughnut party...

...and I invited our local Marine Corps recruiter to our school assembly to accept the books on our behalf.  Man, how I love their dress blues...

This spring's Fair, Book Fair Luau. In my manic state putting the window together, and later, drug-befuddled state taking it down, I neglected to take pictures of the front case.  It involved a piñata hula girl, tons of tissue flowers and surfboards....yes, I know.  But I did get the volcano wall mural the students created.  I gave them the idea and they ran with it...

I also discovered a great idea called Name Tiki Craft from The Party Animal and had the students create a few for the opposite wall. 

Exhausting but totally worth it! We earn books for our school and classroom libraries and our students get excited about reading.  

If there is a school-aged child in your life, chances are, their school holds a Scholastic Book Fair. Please support their endeavors...many schools depend solely on the credit earned to maintain their libraries.