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Frequently Asked QuestionsHow much?We schedule our school programs by the half-day or full-day.
Travel expenses vary depending upon your location but often can be discounted or waived by networking. We have several rate options for public libraries, after-school events, and/or evening programs. Call us for more information or check the "Contact & Booking" page on this site. What does “Half Day” and “Full Day” mean?A full day consists of 4 presentations -- usually 2 presentations before lunch and 2 presentations after lunch. Other schools like two have 2 presentations and then spend the rest of the day doing classroom visits. It is also possible to split the full day between two or more schools with no additional charge, so that each school pays only a portion of a full day fee. In other words, it is much cheaper to have two schools coordinate and split a full day than for each of them to pay a half day fee. Half-day runs either from the start of the school day until lunch time, or from just after lunch until the end of the school day. This allows for 1 or 2 programs per half-day. How many students can participate in your assemblies?We have performed for groups as small as 25 and as large as 750. For optimum educational impact, we suggest limiting each assembly to 300 students or less. How far will you travel?We will travel throughout the Pacific Northwest, however we perform most of our programs in Oregon and Washington. When we travel, we try to block book an area. If several schools in the same area schedule programs, we often waive travel expenses (see more information on the "Contact & Booking" page). What age/grade levels are the programs designed for?Pre-K through 6th. There are very slight variations in the presentations if you break them out by grade level but not much at all. We have other programs specifically designed for secondary students from 6th-12th grades, and you can split a day with a Middle School or High School just as easily as with another elementary school. “Curt was absolutely delightful--teachers have been gushing about his presentation --and also very professional. He was able to ignite the kids' enthusiasm from his very first sentence. I'm so impressed. (Frankly, some of the staff weren't so excited about 'just another' author coming to the school. There are some authors out there who have difficulty relating to children. They lack the presentation skills to keep kids attentive. Curt was NOT one of those! He wowed everyone--from kindergartners to administration!) The appeal was universal--both boys and girls loved the show. I have a whole host of reluctant readers clamoring for books that he mentioned. So don't hesitate! Book Curt Nelson right away. It is rare to find a presenter who holds equal appeal to kindergartners and fifth graders. He was able to reach ALL the students and get them excited about books! (Not just *his* books, but all the books in the library too!)”
-Carrie Martinet, Librarian, York Elementary, Vancouver, WA Are your programs better for younger or older students?The school assembly programs have been designed by a team of professional educators with over 75 years of combined classroom teaching experience. It may seem impossible, particularly if you've had bad experiences in the past, to believe that one program can be just as entertaining to the older students as it is with the younger ones, or as educationally significant for the younger ones as it is for the older ones, but that is exactly what we offer. I've had schools tell me, "Since you use puppets, we are going to let you present only to the younger children" and then I've been to others who said, "Since your assembly programs are so educational we are going to let you present only to the older students." Without fail they later tell me, "I think the whole school would have benefited from that program. We'll have to have you back!" Is it best to divide our students by grade level?On the one hand, this works well because it allows us to modify the programs slightly for each age group. However, from a practical standpoint, we know this is not always possible. In fact, we've noticed that combining younger students with older students in an assembly can often be beneficial, as the younger students can learn from the older students how to behave during a special event. How long is each program?Each program can run between 45 and 60 minutes, depending on what works best with your school schedule. If you divide the students by grade level, then you might schedule 45 minutes for K-2nd, and 55 minutes for 3rd-5th, for example. Do we need to provide you with a P.A. (Public Address) System?No, we provide our own sound system. What do you need our school/library to provide?We bring everything we need for the programs except the students and the electricity. How do the book sales work?We send you professionally designed full-color glossy order forms that you send home with your students. If their parents would like to buy one of our books (which by the way, promote reading and library-usage), then they send the order form back to the school. Then we will autograph the books while we're there for the visit and you can send the books to the students' classrooms to be handed out. We don't sign in front of the students because it is really supposed to be Roosevelt Rat autographing the books, and he doesn't do well under pressure. :-) How much time do we need to allow between assembly programs?Typically we can reset our programs in the time it takes to dismiss one group and bring in the next group (about 10 minutes). “I would say that this was by far the best literature-based program that I have seen. The kids K-5 were all engaged, and actively learning. It was great that it fit in so many grade level themes from reading topics to social studies content as well. The energy level was AMAZING! And this was one of the easiest assemblies to plan for.”
- Kari Vetter, Librarian, Yolanda
Elementary, Springfield, OR Small changes can be accommodated, as long as the changes do not
impact the educational significance of the program. Since each of our
programs is written like a one-act play, major changes can disrupt the
flow and value of the presentation. Call us for details. There are two factors that limit us: How many shows the presenter can
fit in his vehicle and the length of time it takes to strike one set,
reset another, and change costumes. If you are planning a multi-day author visit it is quite possible and
rather easy to have a different program for each day, with a limit of
the number of educational assembly programs we can transport. This
usually limits us to 2-3 different titles depending on which shows you
want (some have larger props and stage sets than others). We usually do not change assembly programs during the same day at the
same school. The reason for this is the length of time it takes to
put away one set and replace it with a new set. The exception is
the Math-A-Magic program, which doesn’t have nearly the props and set up
as my elementary shows, so sometimes schools will have me do that
program for their 6th graders on the same day that K-5th enjoyed an
elementary program. This company was founded and continues to be run exclusively by
educators. We are NOT prima donna performers who need the green M&Ms
removed from our candy dish (Wait a minute! What candy dish?!). We
understand how to work with POs. We understand that processing paperwork
through the system can be time consuming and frustrating. We know you
don't need an uptight performer whining about how he needs to be paid
TODAY or his car will be repossessed. So we write our invoices with a
"payment due within 30 days after the author visit" clause. YOU focus on getting approval and scheduling the program. WE will
focus on entertaining and educating your students. We'll BOTH let our
accountants work out the money. Math-A-Magic and Tales of the Unknown are designed specifically for
secondary students. Slitting a full-day between a secondary campus and
an elementary campus works the same way as between two elementary
campuses. We also have a brand new program for Drama, Business, Music, Choir,
Vocational, and other select high school groups. In this program,
students from the secondary school see firsthand how we run a home-based
business that requires performing skills, marketing skills, accounting
skills, etc.
“Awesome! Curt, keeps everyone in the audience on track and laughing at the
punch lines. -
Jan Peterson-Terjeson, Librarian, Nancy Ryles Elementary, Beaverton, OR
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