Obviously, adult supervision is necessary to run a Student Operated Bookstore TM . But, once the children understand how to run it, most schools find that they only need a teacher or adult aide in the same room. If you like, you can continue their education by teaching them to be attentive and courteous to their customers. These skills will serve your students well as they move on to their first non-school jobs. Book fairs and Student Operated Bookstores TM serve different purposes.
Book fairs are traditionally fund-raising devices operated once or twice a year.
Often they sell used books. And book fairs are often designed to sell books to parents, not students. The Student Operated Bookstore TM operates year-round. And it is intended to sell books at cost to students, not at a profit as a fund-raising event. Of course, you can simply close down your Student Operated Bookstore TM during your book fair, even though these are very different in operation, design and intent.