The cost of my programs

By Bruce Van Patter
The cost of my programs

	A summary of my elementary school program
	*Let's Get Creative!* is a whole day of creative-writing motivation and instruction through a combination of an assembly program and brainstorming workshops. The assembly (usually done twice, once for younger students, once for older) gives an overview of creativity and where ideas come from. It's engaging and fast-paced, with plenty of participation for kids from the audience. Then throughout the day, I am available to meet with students in grade-level workshops. I'm willing to do three in the course of the day. These workshops, 40-45 minutes long, build on the ideas of the assembly. We take a random doodle, create a character out of it, then build a story around the character. Students learn the basic structure of stories as they contribute ideas that eventually lead to my drawing a large marker illustration of the tale we constructed. I usually end the workshops telling humorous personal stories, or telling jokes as a way to underline how creativity often leads us onto unpredictable paths. Read a comparison of my program to the usual author and illustrator show.

Other authors will give you two assemblies for your money. When I come to visit, your school will get:

• two assemblies

• three grade-level workshops

• five large original drawings for the school to keep, illustrating the stories your students invent

• a sheet of signed bookmarks to run off (if you choose to) which remind kids of my website

• the opportunity for students to purchase my books and have them signed

• and a page for your school on my site, displaying the drawings I did during the day

Most of all, you'll have kids motivated to write!

	Costs: One day's visit is $1100, plus additional costs: For schools in PA, NY, NJ, DE, MD, and parts of WV, VA, OH, and CT: add in the cost of a hotel. For all other states: add in the cost of airfare, hotel and car rental. I require at least two consecutive days booked for long-distance schools. These can be days booked by the same school, or by different schools within the same general area. Having more than one school book a day helps defray the travel cost per school, since the airfare and car rental expense can be shared. On a recent trip to Wisconsin, two schools were able to share the travel costs (airfare and car rental), which came out to only $250 per school. If you'd like something for parents to attend, I also make available to schools the option of an evening program for parents and kids entitled *How to Invent Stories With Your Kids, which gives families practical, entertaining ideas for creating stories in their own homes. The cost of the evening program is an additional $250. Some schools use Title 1 funds to pay for this. I also have teacher in-services I can do.* This cost is also $1100, which would include two 2-hour sessions.
	Want to find a date to book a visit? Have more questions? Contact me by the button below and let's talk! *I can inspire your students, too!*