The Learning Tree, a resource education center for students at Saint Mary's, will be co-hosting a book fair with Usborne Books, an educational materials supplier, this Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Student Center Atrium.
Usborne will be giving 50 percent of all the proceeds of the fair to the Learning Tree in the form of learning material, including textbooks and educational packets.
The fair will offer educational materials ranging from preschool to high school age-appropriate. Jayne Fogle, director of the Learning Tree, said there will be items like chapter books, activity books, learning activities, puzzles, phonics flash cards and many other materials that cover topics from geography and language to science and social studies.
Fogle said they are books for College education majors, "but more than that, they could be used for gifts."
She said the fair was planned for around this time of the year so students could buy Christmas gifts for their siblings and friends. The items also could be useful to education majors who are looking for materials for their classes.
Prices of items start at around $4, and Fogle said given the high quality of the books, the prices are reasonable.
Fogle said Karen Richards, a consultant for Usborne, is certain there will be a book at the fair for all who attend. Richards said she plans to bring hundreds of books to the campus.
The fair has been held successfully at other colleges and schools around the community including Indiana University South Bend, and the company has been looking forward to bringing it to Saint Mary's.
The Learning Tree, located in Madeleva Hall, has been a resource at Saint Mary's since 2001 and serves the South Bend community as well as students at the College, Fogle said.
The center supplies services and materials at reasonable costs, she said. Services include laminating and poster making.
The Learning Tree also is unique, Fogle said, because it has learning games available for sale ranging from $1.50 to $2.50. The accompanying packets allow the student, parent or teacher to put the game together on their own.
The Learning Tree is open to the public from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Wednesday. Fogle said she is also available to students in the Saint Mary's community as needed.
Fogle said she works with South Bend area schools, parents who home school and education majors from not only Saint Mary's but other colleges
