Once again the good people at Barnes & Noble at Oakland's Jack London Square are generously hosting us for a holiday book-buying extravaganza!
I invite all FFL students who have come to two or more programs over the past calendar year. We meet in the children's book section, where I read aloud several of the books on display. Promptly at the appointed hour I give everyone a shopping budget from a purchase order. Then everyone shops!
Barnes & Noble provides us a 20% discount, goodies from their cafe, a staff person to answer questions and help our families find books, a book truck to stack purchases while people are shopping, and a dedicated register for our families.
Over time, I've developed several rules. (1) No latecomers: Once I've done the math to divide up the purchase order among those present, there is no money left, and that's that. (2) No outsiders: although anyone is welcome to bring friends, family members, etc. to regular programs, this is just for students and the children I give them books for. (3) Math lesson: people are expected to keep track of their own purchases, although I'll help them before they check out to make sure that they are within their budget. (4) Watch your own children!
Sadly, Barnes & Noble is closing its Oakland store at the end of this year. But if you have a store near you, you might consider asking them to host an event like this. I'm thinking of trying Borders next year.
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