First of all, THANKS for
considering hosting a seminar!
WHAT IS A BOOKSBLOOM SEMINAR?
Most of the time BooksBloom is at state or regional homeschool conferences, where our mini-bookstore of over 4,000 carefully selected books is a favorite booth. A BooksBloom seminar is an opportunity for booklovers to gather for a more informal time with Gary and Jan and their wonderful books. We
enjoy these smaller, more intimate settings as an opportunity to teach and
interact with book lovers and homeschoolers in a less busy atmosphere than that
of a homeschool conference.
But our seminar is so much more than a time to buy books. It
is an opportunity to become a fully vested member of the Book Rescue and Adoption Society, which history will show to be one
of the most important and elite groups ever to exist!
At a BooksBloom Seminar you will receive:
*Winning arguments that flaunt the modern ideology which esteems
only electronic media.
*Affirmation for your own love of books through interaction
with other bibliophiles.
*Instruction on how to develop your own cost-saving
resources for procuring good books
*Encouragement to cultivate a dynamic home library that
meets the needs of your family.
*Determination to rescue as many books as possible and
boldness to proclaim, “any book worth reading is a book worth keeping!
HOW MUCH TIME IS
NEEDED?
Our preferred time frame is a Friday evening - Saturday mid-afternoon
or another weekday evening and next-day morning. However an afternoon
and evening is an option. It takes us two hours to set up and two hours to tear down, so it is most comfortable to have a two day span of time, but we have condensed it into one day enough to know it is possible!
HOW MUCH SPACE IS
NEEDED?
We need at least 2 10' x 10' spaces, which translates
into many different configurations - a double car garage, a long, wide hallway,
a classroom, or the back of a church. WE are flexible though our book cases
are not! Since we bring in the 28 book cases with a two-wheeled dolly, we also need access to the space WITHOUT using an elevator
or stairs.
WHAT IS THE COST?
Though we would love to offer a free seminar
so folks would be able to spend their hard-earned
dollars on books, we have learned that we must charge a fee. It seems that if something is free, people think it has no value!
We
have determined that a charge of $20 per family, with a portion of that being a
credit on book sales ($15 off a purchase of $50+) is a
great bargain, yet it is enough to keep a
commitment. This is the only fee we charge. There is no additional speaking fee.
Pre-registration is encouraged, with special incentives
like early shopping and a 25% discount on all books if there are at least 25 pre-registrations.
NOTE: each family counts as ONE pre-registration,
regardless of how many of the family members attend the
seminar.
HOW MANY ATTENDEES ARE REQUIRED?
We offer a
special incentive for groups of 25 or more families: every one pre-registering
gets a 25% discount on their purchase IN ADDITION to the $15 credit.
We are happy to come for a group of less than 25 families, however we cannot
offer a significant discount for smaller groups. HOST BENEFITS
Host families receive free registration with all the
benefits PLUS a $5 book credit on EACH preregistration.
SAMPLE SCHEDULE
See "Conference Speaking" page for workshop descriptions
Two Day Seminar
Day 1
Noon-2:00 Set up
3:00 - 6:00 Preview shopping
6:00 - 10:00 Shopping
6:30 -
7:30 First
workshop
"Sailing on Living Light"
(Jan)
7:45-9:00 Second workshop
"Keepers of the Books"
(Jan)
"Gather 'Round, Children" (Gary)
10:00 PM Close
Day 2
8:30 - 9:00 Open for
shopping
8:30 - 1:00 Shopping
9:00 -10:00 Third workshop
"Cradle to
Grade: Giving your Child a Love for Books" (Jan)
"The Idiot's Guide to Building Bookcases"
(Gary)
10:30-11:30 Fourth workshop
"HELP! I'm Failing!"
(Jan)
"How
to REALLY Love Your Homeschooling Wife" (Gary)
1:00 PM Close
One-Day Seminar
Noon -
2:00 Set up
3:00 - 9:30 Shopping
3:00 -
4:30 First workshop
"Sailing
on Living Light" (Jan)
5:00 -
6:00 Second workshop
"Books for Boys"
(Jan)
"Gather 'Round, Children" (Gary)
6:00 - 7:00 Dinner break and book shopping
7:00 - 8:30 Third workshop
"Help! I'm a
Failure! (Jan)
"How to REALLY Love Your Homeschooling Wife" (Gary)
9:30 Close
HOUSING
Our housing needs vary with the temperature. We travel in a van that contains a comfortable queen sized bed, so in
moderate weather we just need a level driveway and an available bathroom with a
shower. In chilly weather (50 degrees or less) we don't
mind an indoor bed in a home. Some groups have opted to rent a hotel
room for us.
We've spent 11 years traveling in a van, so we ain't scared of much!
