Friday, November 9, 2012

@Scholastic Book Fair

I posted this last year.  We did it again this year (today, in fact).

Even better, I know of at least 2 other moms who did this same thing for their book fairs.

It's an easy way to be a little generous, to help make a day brighter, to share some love with the world.

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Our school is having a Scholastic Book Fair this week.  Our preschool has had events like this but different.  At the preschool, catalogs were sent home and links were emailed so you could order books online.  This is our first official Book Fair where you send money to school and your kid picks out what they want to buy.

First, I want to brag a little on my girl.  She knew what she wanted- A Dolphin Tale.  She showed the catalog to Zach and he got excited to see Lightening McQueen books.  I was so proud that she brought home the book she wanted, a collection of 5 Lightening McQueen stories, a Scooby Doo book for them to share, and a Biscuit book that she can read on her own.  She was very excited to get a receipt showing her purchases and to bring home 4 cents in change.

But that isn't the purpose of this post.

I'm thinking that it might be Book Fair time at your school, too.  Or maybe there will soon be a Book Fair at your school.

As a kid, we struggled financially.  My mom was a single mom and sometimes it was tough to make ends meet.  There wasn't extra in the budget for things like skating parties or book fairs.  

I loved to read, I loved books.  I felt the excitement in my school as Book Fair time approached.  And I remember the Book Fair setting up in our school library.  I remember our class having time to go to the Book Fair and look at the books and other offerings.  

And I knew there wasn't anything for me.

There were books I wanted.  But there wasn't money for them.

I missed out on many things as a kid but the Book Fair is one of those things that has always stayed strong in my memory.  

When I sent in the envelope for Teagan's budgeted spending money, I sent in a second envelope.  I included a note to the teacher and $10.  I asked her to please use the money if she knew of a student that maybe couldn't participate in the Book Fair because of struggles at home.  

I'm sharing this because my hope is that others might consider doing the same.  It doesn't take much to have a big impact on someone else's life.  It doesn't take much to show kindness to others.  This is just one way to care for someone else that maybe you hadn't considered before.  



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2 comments:

Katherine said...

This is a wonderful thing. I hadn't thought of doing this, but I remember being the kid that didn't get to buy things. Our book fair is this week - thanks for the inspiration to reach out.

Anonymous said...

When I did the Scholastic Books Fairs, I asked they also send a $1.00 box of books that kids could choose from. Our school had a large percentage of kids on free lunch and this way, if they didn't have $$, they could select a book from the $1.00 box. At the end of the Fair, a few of the workers pitched in to pay for those books. Some years it was a few dollars, others, it was much more.

I urge you all to check with your Book Fair person to see if that is still available. Every child should have books!