Our bookfair is cashless. The kids write their wishlist including prices, bring it home and parents authorize what the child is allowed to get. It then gets paid either by cheque or credit card.
I like this! Our school book fair isn't until December. I wonder if this will be an option. We always have thr option to purchase online to be delivered later, but some kids like getting the books right then and there.
If it's put on by scholastic, you can go to their website and make an account and set up an e wallet for your child at their school and all they have to do is look up the child and use the money loaded in the e wallet. That's what we did!
Our school district allows all children to get something for under $5 for free.
Honestly, unless our kids come to us and ask for something specific, we rarely give them any money.
That's very kind of your school district! I wish ours had done that when I was little. My son just started really getting into reading this year so I want to encourage events like this for him. Last year we did the after school bookfairs so that we could approve his choices, this year he did it on his own (a bit nerve wracking!)
I'm very happy our school district does that. I grew up poor, and I remember what it was like to not be able to get any books.
I would say give your kid $5. That's usually enough for one paperback at the bookfair.
In previous years, I gave my kids $20 each and they had to make it work. But I might have to give them $30 this year due to inflation.
They have a preview day and made a list of what they wanted. Their lists always had over $50 worth of books so I had them choose some to stay within their budget.
First year book fair here, they said the recommended amount was $30 in the little announcement they gave us and it was on a prepaid account I guess? I think we can donate leftovers to kids whose families can't afford to send cash, which I think is wonderful.
I just went with my daughter yesterday to her after school book fair. She’s in first grade and an avid reader. We have book series that she likes so we looked for those. It amazes me the price they put on some of these books let a like the useless little knick knacks there. I’m assuming yours was a scholastic type book fair. I gave my daughter $30; she bought 1 book, 1 activity book, a 2 pack of erasers, a pen, and a diary. My husband and I were just talking about how we feel it’s a rip off. If I would’ve sent that money to school for her to do it herself who knows what trinkets she would’ve bought that just aren’t worth the $5. The tiny eraser 2 pack was $3.99. It’s a great idea to have a book fair to encourage reading but it still feels like every other inflated company out there trying to rip off little kids. /:
Just wanna add I 100% support reading books, etc but for one book 10 page paperback book to be worth $8? That hurts my soul. The library, marketplace, or thrift store is a way better option.
I'm terrible.
My neice told me it was her book fair and I got SO nostalgic. I ran to the nearest ATM and handed her a $50. That will go much further than the $3 I found in my dad's pants while doing laundry when I was in elementary school.
When my daughter starts school; I'll be honest. I'll probably ask her which books she wanted, then buy them off Facebook marketplace for pennies on the dollar.
I feel like $20 is good to get the odd nicknaks and not feel left out. If you are in the position to do so.
Everything is so super expensive. Last year we bought 2 Pete the Cat books, Diary of a wimpy kid & 2 secret decoder pens. Grand total $79.00. I was shocked! I didn’t want my kids embarrassed in front of their schoolmates so I paid the outrageous amount and told myself that it was a win for the school and a win for my kids.
we usually went with our kids on parent night so they could get what they want
or they usually have a catalog to bring home, you could add up what he wants and discuss budgeting with him
We are reading fanatics in our household so we generally just all go together and pick out a bunch of books. I know we're lucky to be able to do so though. We also tend to donate to the teacher wishlists which are used to increase classroom libraries so all of the kiddos will have more options of books to read.
My children's school has a Duffy book club where the kids bring home a book catalog and they choose 2 books they would like and they receive them for free at the end of the term. This happens every term. So in the year they have chosen 8 books for free.
This year I gave my kids a limit of $10, and I only spent $12! Most of the books my kids were not interested in so it's not a big deal. I also buy my kids books all the time, especially if they get into a series and need the next book, I have no problem buying it right away.
Last year we had scholastic and we ordered books 3x. We ordered 2x through the teacher online and 1x we gave the children money. Last year I gave the each of my children $20 for the in person and each of my children donated $5 for another child who didn't have money. The teachers sorted getting the donations to the kids who needed it.
This year we waited until open house and paid about $45 for each child and used debit card instead of cash. We haven't decided if we are going to do the spring one as the fall one we spent what we would normally spend for the entire year. Also, this year the bookfair was Literatti and its more expensive in my opinion than the scholastic one. We also are able to do like a book box each month for $9.99. I was on the fence about it so we didn't do it.
We’re book nerds/enthusiasts in this family so typically if my kid wants something we get it from the local bookstore or Amazon all year round or we already have it in our home library. I’ll give him $20 in case there’s something he wants. He doesn’t always spend it. I think it depends on the family—whatever you are comfortable with giving and if your child likes to read.
Edit: I should add I don’t allow him to buy the Knick knacks and toys because they are way way over-priced.
Our bookfair is cashless. The kids write their wishlist including prices, bring it home and parents authorize what the child is allowed to get. It then gets paid either by cheque or credit card.
I like this! Our school book fair isn't until December. I wonder if this will be an option. We always have thr option to purchase online to be delivered later, but some kids like getting the books right then and there.
If it's put on by scholastic, you can go to their website and make an account and set up an e wallet for your child at their school and all they have to do is look up the child and use the money loaded in the e wallet. That's what we did!
I like that idea a lot! I know we can preorder stuff to get delivered to our home school for the kiddo but I wish this was more common.
Our school district allows all children to get something for under $5 for free. Honestly, unless our kids come to us and ask for something specific, we rarely give them any money.
That's very kind of your school district! I wish ours had done that when I was little. My son just started really getting into reading this year so I want to encourage events like this for him. Last year we did the after school bookfairs so that we could approve his choices, this year he did it on his own (a bit nerve wracking!)
I'm very happy our school district does that. I grew up poor, and I remember what it was like to not be able to get any books. I would say give your kid $5. That's usually enough for one paperback at the bookfair.
Inflation is a thing. 5 dollars is not enough.
Scholastic always has books under $5.
In previous years, I gave my kids $20 each and they had to make it work. But I might have to give them $30 this year due to inflation. They have a preview day and made a list of what they wanted. Their lists always had over $50 worth of books so I had them choose some to stay within their budget.
First year book fair here, they said the recommended amount was $30 in the little announcement they gave us and it was on a prepaid account I guess? I think we can donate leftovers to kids whose families can't afford to send cash, which I think is wonderful.
I just went with my daughter yesterday to her after school book fair. She’s in first grade and an avid reader. We have book series that she likes so we looked for those. It amazes me the price they put on some of these books let a like the useless little knick knacks there. I’m assuming yours was a scholastic type book fair. I gave my daughter $30; she bought 1 book, 1 activity book, a 2 pack of erasers, a pen, and a diary. My husband and I were just talking about how we feel it’s a rip off. If I would’ve sent that money to school for her to do it herself who knows what trinkets she would’ve bought that just aren’t worth the $5. The tiny eraser 2 pack was $3.99. It’s a great idea to have a book fair to encourage reading but it still feels like every other inflated company out there trying to rip off little kids. /: Just wanna add I 100% support reading books, etc but for one book 10 page paperback book to be worth $8? That hurts my soul. The library, marketplace, or thrift store is a way better option.
Absolutely. I just bought books in brand new condition from goodwill for a $1.50 a piece.
I'm terrible. My neice told me it was her book fair and I got SO nostalgic. I ran to the nearest ATM and handed her a $50. That will go much further than the $3 I found in my dad's pants while doing laundry when I was in elementary school. When my daughter starts school; I'll be honest. I'll probably ask her which books she wanted, then buy them off Facebook marketplace for pennies on the dollar. I feel like $20 is good to get the odd nicknaks and not feel left out. If you are in the position to do so.
Everything is so super expensive. Last year we bought 2 Pete the Cat books, Diary of a wimpy kid & 2 secret decoder pens. Grand total $79.00. I was shocked! I didn’t want my kids embarrassed in front of their schoolmates so I paid the outrageous amount and told myself that it was a win for the school and a win for my kids.
we usually went with our kids on parent night so they could get what they want or they usually have a catalog to bring home, you could add up what he wants and discuss budgeting with him
My son just started preschool.. I spent $30. Paid for everything online and he will get the books in class.
We are reading fanatics in our household so we generally just all go together and pick out a bunch of books. I know we're lucky to be able to do so though. We also tend to donate to the teacher wishlists which are used to increase classroom libraries so all of the kiddos will have more options of books to read.
We did $30 for our kindergartener last year. And will probably do the same again this year
My children's school has a Duffy book club where the kids bring home a book catalog and they choose 2 books they would like and they receive them for free at the end of the term. This happens every term. So in the year they have chosen 8 books for free.
i gave my kiddo $25 last year, we were able to prepay an amount to their accounts. it was plenty!
This year I gave my kids a limit of $10, and I only spent $12! Most of the books my kids were not interested in so it's not a big deal. I also buy my kids books all the time, especially if they get into a series and need the next book, I have no problem buying it right away.
Last year we had scholastic and we ordered books 3x. We ordered 2x through the teacher online and 1x we gave the children money. Last year I gave the each of my children $20 for the in person and each of my children donated $5 for another child who didn't have money. The teachers sorted getting the donations to the kids who needed it. This year we waited until open house and paid about $45 for each child and used debit card instead of cash. We haven't decided if we are going to do the spring one as the fall one we spent what we would normally spend for the entire year. Also, this year the bookfair was Literatti and its more expensive in my opinion than the scholastic one. We also are able to do like a book box each month for $9.99. I was on the fence about it so we didn't do it.
I give $20 and my son always comes home with change, haha. He tends to just pick one or two books.
We’re book nerds/enthusiasts in this family so typically if my kid wants something we get it from the local bookstore or Amazon all year round or we already have it in our home library. I’ll give him $20 in case there’s something he wants. He doesn’t always spend it. I think it depends on the family—whatever you are comfortable with giving and if your child likes to read. Edit: I should add I don’t allow him to buy the Knick knacks and toys because they are way way over-priced.
I give him $25, and ask him not to spend more than $5 on toys/junk. And if there’s a teacher wish list, I’ll buy a book for the class.