Box Day

Books, Frogs, and Castle Boxes!

2011-05-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

We came to homeschooling late -- pulling my triplets out of public school in mid-6th grade. Selecting curriculum for their first full year of homeschooling was scary and though I spent a large amount of time in the Sonlight booth at our local convention, I had no idea where to plug my kids into the curriculum.

But the idea of Sonlight made so much sense to me -- and made ME excited about school. So the following year, I decided to "dip a toe in the water" and have my now-8th graders use the Eastern Hemisphere curriculum for their Social Studies component. From day one, my students were invested in the people groups they were learning about; able (and eager) to discuss their studies and the books they were reading.

So, this year as I prepare for the trio to begin 9th grade and our littlest to begin 1rst....I didn't even wait for the convention. I called Sonlight and ordered the Multi-subject First Grade curriculum for my little one....and the Core 100 for my older kids -- adding the Biology component.

Sonlight Boxes

When the boxes arrived this weekend, we could not open them fast enough! My 14-year-olds were drooling over the first grader's curriculum -- wishing they had started school with so many amazing books! My husband was taking apart the dissection kits and getting the boys very excited about Biology. As my 14-year-old daughter finally just sat down in the middle of all the books and boxes with a stack of books in her lap to read, my 5-year-old looked at me and said, "Do I get to start first grade TOMORROW?!!!!"

Can't Wait to Start School

When I finally needed to get the books organized and put on the shelves, Dad took the boxes and made the castle printed on the inside. Four days later, my Cate is still asking if she can go play in her castle periodically throughout the day!!

Sonlight Box Castle

Thanks, Sonlight! We are eager for our school year to begin!!

-Carol S.

An Easter Miracle!

2011-04-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

On Saturday before Easter we were eating our normal traditional cinnamon rolls when truck pulled into our driveway. The driver proceeded to unload THREE BIG boxes all marked Sonlight Curriculum!

I was on the phone with my Mother-In-Law and got so excited. "It's here! It's here!!"

I got off the phone and the kids and I tore into the boxes like it was Christmas! The 4 year old found a Magic Schoolbus book and curled up on the couch looking through the human body book. Not 10 minutes after everything was tucked back into the boxes my 10 year old pulled out a book and said, "Can I start reading this one?" We are all so excited to begin our Sonlight adventure!

I've read other 'Box Day' stories and, admittedly, thought "Really?" Now I can say to anyone thinking about it that YES!! Box Day is just like Christmas...and will be exciting the whole year through!

Thank you Sonlight for a wonderful way to bless my children with the knowledge they will need to do what God has created them for!

Deeply thankful,

Linette B.
mother of four new Sonlighters!

We Love Box Day at Our House!

2011-04-22T08:25:00.000-07:00

Box Day

We had an extra special surprise this Box Day. My son, age 7, received his Grade 3 Readers with Core B. The next day I found him for the first time on his stomach for an hour reading a chapter book!

Reading

Thank you Sonlight! This is our fourth Core with Sonlight and my son really has learned to read, love books, and to love Jesus.

Blessings,
Carin

Our 2nd Annual Sonlight Box Day!

2011-04-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

Even though we still have about 14 weeks left of our current Sonlight Core (Core D), I went ahead and purchased our next Core (Core E)! I did this to give me time to pre-read all of the books, as well as make sure things are nice and organized... and also to take advantage of Sonlight's Time Payments option (a great option for those, like myself, on a tighter homeschool budget!).

Boxes of books hiding wonderful treasures inside!

See more pictures and read the rest of the story on A Full Heart blog.

-Erin

2011 Sonlight Box Day video!

2011-04-15T10:01:00.000-07:00

We love Box Day! Due to the snow storms, our box reached us later than we thought. I picked it up on Tuesday and had plans to open it the next afternoon with the kids.

Read the rest of the story and watch a 3 minute Box Day video on the Hayes Happenings blog.

-Taryn

It's here! It's here!

2011-03-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

It's here!

The excitement level was about equal to that of Christmas morning! Paper was flying! Books were were being pulled out of the box.

Box of Books

Boys were smiling and exclaiming over each treasure!

Treasure

This was our very first "Box Day". My five year old, Caleb, asked to read each book and soon dove into reading the Science books. He's doing Core K this year. My two year old, Nathan, was just as excited. He doesn't know that these aren't really his school books. And I'm not planning to tell him because I know he will learn so much right along with his big brother.

Books from Box Day

Thank you, Sonlight, for helping to make learning fun and exciting!!!

Jennifer

Our Sonlight Box Day

2011-03-09T12:17:00.000-08:00

We just love Sonlight (going on 4 years now!). Box Day is such an exciting time around here!

Box Day

My children love box day and they had so much fun looking over their next year's schooling! Mommy was excited too (though a bit overwhelmed...)

-Emily B.

See more pictures and read the rest of the story on Emily's blog.

Our Very First Box Day!

2011-03-03T08:52:00.000-08:00

My daughter is three, turning four very soon. I decided to order both the P 3/4 & P 4/5 curriculums because I wanted all of the wonderful books from both. We are going to do the 3/4 over the Summer for some educational fun and then start 4/5 in the Fall. I anxiously awaited the arrival of our boxes from the moment I placed my order! I shared the news of what would be coming with Ava and she was just as thrilled. She LOVES books (She get is from me!). She also can't wait to "do school" with mommy.

When the boxes, totaling 59 lbs., arrived during my sons nap time I let her unpack the contents all by herself while I checked everything off on the packing list.

Ava Unpacking the Box

She wanted to read all of the books immediately, she was just so excited!

Excited

I can't thank Sonlight enough for all the wonderful book selections and the effort they put into making homeschooling so simple.

Please visit my homeschool blog for more pictures from our very first Box Day.

~Sarah

Unexpected Blessings!

2011-02-24T05:31:00.000-08:00

I only JUST ordered on Monday the 21st so imagine my total SURPRISE when my neighbor knocked on my door holding my BOX O' FUN! Thankfully, the FedEx man left it with her and not outside!

I am so happy to receive it so quickly.

Just one of the MANY reasons I love you all! Now, I'm going to go play on the forums! YAY for free access!

Blessings to all! In Him,

Barbara

Sonlight Box Day Core 1

2011-02-18T07:53:00.000-08:00

The box came in just before bedtime. The kids looked through them for a bit, and went off to bed. I wish I could have hidden it until the morning. But the moment they heard the FedEx truck, they were jumping up and down. ;-)

Read the rest of the story here.

Jana
23 Year veteran secular homeschooler.
http://homeschoolingintexas.blogspot.com/

Box Day!

2011-01-26T06:19:00.000-08:00

Our books have arrived! I have been tracking the two packages since a week ago and finally FedEx man came to my aunt's place. I think I am more excited than Reese! :) After checking the contents... I knew the decision to homeschool him is right. The materials are wonderful. This year's theme is 'An Introduction to the World: Culture'. What is nice about this program is that learning is through life books and not text books! Instead of reading from boring text, we get to read stories and more stories related to the theme and learn in a natural way with some supplementary worksheets.

Reese was so excited when I took out all the books!

Checking what else is in the box

'Reading' a map in the box

Our loot for the year!

Checking out the books...

Can't wait to read! This was taken when it first arrived at my aunt's house

Ready steady Box!

2010-09-08T06:46:00.000-07:00

I was like a child waiting for Christmas for the Sonlight box to arrive.

We were away on an errand and when we got home, there it was! The look on Isabel's face was precious. She was shivering with excitement to get that box open! I let her unpack and kept on saying, "Surely that must be it! Are there more!?"

She loved it.

Dr Seuss's ABC book is a favourite and I have to read the whole thing to her about every second day.

Isabel's Favourite

The other science books also seem to be a hit. I wonder: Could there be a little genius in the making? Of Course!

Riette

Christmas... uh, I mean box day

2010-08-09T08:47:00.000-07:00

We ~~impatiently~~ patiently waited on that special day to arrive.

Though it seemed to take ages, the delivery was prompt and complete.

The girls had been asking all summer about when we were going to start school. Getting our school material first was a definite requirement.When it came, I am certain you would have thought it to be Christmas morning, with all the excitement and paper flying through the air.

Why, one of the girls even had on their Christmas attire... it's a normal thing for my "bunch" to be in dress up mode.
They are girly girls after all, through and through!

This was our first experience with "box day".
I love how Sonlighter's use the term so lovingly.
It really is a very, very, very delightful day indeed.
I always enjoy a visit from Fed Ex!

I also rather enjoy planning things. And so I started organizing things way before the boxes actually arrived. I still have tons of things I want to do for the school room. But for now, I am pretty happy with what we have accomplished.

As I began looking through the material and reading some of the books I realized this was going to be a productive, eventful, and very fun year! Optimistically speaking.

I also spent some time discovering how to use the teachers manuals and figuring out how to plan my daily schedules in a way that fits our family the best. I like the sound of that! Such flexibility is a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful thing! (I often say things in threes to get my point across... it works with my girls!)

Anyway, I am beyond thankful to Sonlight and all it's makers for putting together such a complete program for our first homeschooling year.

I've always wanted two Christmas's... And now I have it.

We give Sonlight an: A+

-JW Davis

And away we go!

2010-08-06T09:13:00.001-07:00

The long awaited box day has arrived and we couldn't be happier. Grandparents came to share in the fun because frankly they wanted to see what I've been yammering about for the past few months!

Waiting to Open the Boxes

We had one box Wednesday and one box Thursday. It was awful waiting until the last box but we did and we dove right in!

"OOOH, we got movies too." (It's the Mathtacular and the Science DVDs)

Owen isn't wasting any time either...

Owen can't get over how many books there are!

Why'd we get a ping pong ball???

Had to rest a minute, Mommy, I'm excited.

Ian discovered Miquon Math....

And this is what he did for the next while...off to the side doing math!

But Daddy lured him back with more books

Map=happiness

Castle Time

And then it was castle time as Mommy checked off the list. Whoever thought up the castle on the inside of the box was a smart person!!!

Ian's castle needed decorating

Then it was time to get in it.

This is our loot!!!

I have no more doubts that we have made the right choice with Sonlight. We are all excited and impressed. I cannot wait to get some down time to go through it all and take it in. We have a daunting task ahead of us, a 4 year old and 6 year old doing the same core, but we are well prepared! Thanks for making the books and all the materials so inviting and interesting.

-Jessica B.

SHEER JOY on Box Day!!

2010-08-06T08:41:00.000-07:00

Sheer Joy

I simply cannot imagine that public-school children share the same thrill, excitement, and sheer JOY that my children experience when receiving new school books from Sonlight on Box Day!

The Big Box of Books

The entire family slept in this morning and missed the FedEx guy at the back door. But during breakfast, the box was discovered: "MOM! School books are HERE!!!!!"

School Books Are Here

The children could hardly contain themselves! I only wish I hadn't been just as eager and excited. I may have taken better pictures!

Shepard (Age 6) says, "SONLIGHT ROCKS!"

Selah (Age 7): "I can't wait, Mommy! How 'bout I just read one right now?"

Our start date this year is August 23rd. We are doing Core 1 Introduction to World History - Part 1.
Also: Language Arts 1 and 2-Intermediate, Singapore Math, A Reason for Handwriting, and Apologia Science [Botany].
New for us this year: ARTistic Pursuits. (The Supply-Backpack is securely hidden on a top shelf in the laundry room lest anyone including mommy feels the needs to sample supplies before opening the accompanying textbook.)

And Dad CAN'T WAIT to open up the missionary books! ...Pretty sure "George Muller" will be read long before week 26!

THANKS, SONLIGHT!!!!!

~Esthermay

Hiding the Box! (July 14th, 2010)

2010-07-16T07:16:00.000-07:00

Our box arrived unexpectedly the day before yesterday while our daughter had two friends over to spend the day and night. Of course, I had to open it and take a peek, but I didn't want our daughter to know because I knew there was considerable likelihood that she would desert her friends so she could peruse her materials for this year (which starts next week). I also was somewhat concerned that her two friends who are not homeschooled might consider such behavior to be unusual or even freakish, so I did the only thing I could do - I hid the box in my bedroom.

The next day, even though her friends were still at our home, I could stand it no longer and disclosed the information to our daughter. She immediately deserted her friends, plopped down beside the box and began to inspect the contents - most with great excitement, such as India's People and some with less than enthusiastic response, such as her math curriculum. She also began to look at her brother's material and asked why she had not read some of those books when she was his age. She was most indignant until I explained that she had been able to skip the level 2 intermediate readers at his age and had gone directly to the level 2 advanced readers. Nonetheless, I suspect that I will find her reading some of his books in her spare time this year...

I have yet to reveal the box to my son because he also had a friend over during the past couple of days, but his moment to explore the books is coming. I am sure he will try to start reading one of his readers immediately.

As for me, I immediately installed the World Book Encyclopedia on our computer and began looking through the Eastern Hemisphere Explorer to see how best to guide my daughter through it using the World Book Encyclopedia. I am really excited about delving into Core 5 this year! I am sure we will all learn a great deal, as usual.

Box day is the best!

~Elaine S

Surprise! The FedEx truck is here!

2010-05-17T05:50:00.000-07:00

I was not expecting the curriculum today, so when we saw a FedEx truck pull in the drive we all got excited! This was our first box day, so we didn't know what to expect when we opened our box. My son pulled out each item 1 by 1 and made a pile. I said STOP! I have to take a picture for Sonlight.

First Box Day Books

After that, they opened the books immediately and started asking me questions and wanting me to read everything to them. We even called daddy who is a pastor at the 1st Baptist Church down the road from our house, and told him to hurry home and see all our books. My husband walked in and said wow that's a lot of stuff!

He started looking through all the books and saying oh i love the Boxcar children, oh I remember reading this a kid, etc. This made the kids more excited because their daddy read all of these.

Excited to Start School

We enjoyed our first Box Day and look forward to many many more!

--
Holly M.

Box Day, Box Night, Box Morning!

2010-05-05T15:15:00.000-07:00

Standing on the Box

We knew the box was coming, we got pictures of the kids standing on it, we opened it and the boys helped me check off everything on our packing slip. Then we settled in to read a few books. I made it clear to the boys (almost 4 and almost 5) that they would be allowed to look at everything for one day, and then I would pack it all away until the fall. Throughout the day, we read several books in between the times that the boys went outside to play in the sunshine. As they played, I looked through the books myself.

Checking the Contents

After the boys went to bed, I continued to read. I had been reading the first few pages of each book, but when I got to The Apple and The Arrow I couldn't put it down! I intently read from start to finish. The last sentence read, "Switzerland was born." What a story! I had know idea! Though I got straight A's in a private Christian School, I don't really know anything about history. My classmates were lazy, my history teachers were lazy, and somehow I knew how to study for a test and forget. Anyway, I was so excited to learn something from my sons' kindergarten history, and it wasn't even borning! All I wanted to do afterward was research more about the birth of Switzerland! My husband, who loves history, saw my excitement and congratulated me on doing a great job picking out home school curriculum. When I went to bed, I closed up the box, but left it sitting on the table.

Reading Together

5:43 the next morning my alarm went off, time to get ready for church.
The house was quiet, I stumbled down the hall, thinking I was the only person awake, and what do I see? My two boys sitting silently on the couch looking at the books! I had to laugh and grab my camera! Those kids are usually at their loudest when they first wake up, but instead they looked at me and said, "Will you please read to us?" Of course, I rubbed my eyes, smiled, and said, "Yes, but not for too long." Needles to say, we were a few minutes late for church that morning...

Absorbed in the Story

~Brianna L.
Kindergarten with LA and Readers 1

We Can't Wait! Start Now!

2010-05-03T11:36:00.000-07:00

My very first box day was in late June 2002. I was waiting for "a box"
from Sonlight containing what is now called P4/5. I had NO idea what was in store for me. I am a planner, and we were going to start preschool with our oldest child (4) in September. I wanted to get all the books organized, on the shelf and figure out what I was doing. I thought three months was long enough to do that, considering I had a toddler and newborn to care for as well.

Well, guess what? School began on July 5. There was no way I was going to let those books "just sit there." They demanded to be opened and enjoyed. So that is what we did. It started our family tradition of beginning the new school year on the Monday after July 4.

We've now had 7 more Core Box Days, with smaller ones in between. Each one is met with anticipation, excitement and rejoicing.

~Sarah W.

Box Day in Pictures

2010-05-03T07:50:00.000-07:00

Here is the much-awaited box

Last Wednesday, after checking a certain shipping confirmation email, I did not spend all morning peeking out the front door waiting for the FedEx man. Nope, not me! Ok, who am I fooling? Of course I did! And the old adage about the pot boiling goes the same for the FedEx truck - it didn't come until mid-afternoon! Oh, the torture!

Ready more here.

-Erin

Our PreK adventure begins...

2010-05-03T05:16:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting for this day for almost an entire year...and it has officially begun! Abby has fallen in love with all of her "school" books.

Abby checking out one of her new books.

Read more here.

-Alli

Can we start school TODAY??

2010-04-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

Today was our very first "Box Day"!

I could not believe what all you get for the money with Sonlight...what a great deal!

Sonlight Core 3 + extra science and math

Jack is almost 11 and has Asperger's Syndrome. He had a tough time in middle school, but was doing better when our family was transferred with the Army to a different state in October. He did not want to start a new school in the middle of the year, so I started homeschooling him using another program. The program was very difficult and he was not interested in it at all. I started searching for a different curriculum, and I kept coming back to the Sonlight website. I ordered a catalog, and when it came a few weeks ago, my daughter picked it up and started looking through it. Katelyn is 10 and decided to go to public school in our new state. She adjusts to change very easily, so it was not a problem for her. She came to me a few weeks ago and told me that she decided to homeschool with Sonlight because it sounded like more fun than public school!

I ordered Core 3 for them to share and placed an order for an extra Science Kit and Math Kit for the additional student. I believe that Sonlight will work very well for Jack because he will be learning through the stories and not having to memorize facts that have no meaning to him. He learns better when he is entertained and Sonlight fits the bill! The math curriculum is very colorful and easy to follow, so I believe he will enjoy that more, too!

Thank you, Sonlight!

~Karyn N.

Ick! Pre-Algebra

2010-03-19T04:19:00.000-07:00

Normally, we love box day around here just as much as the next family. All the new books to look through and read, such excitement.

A Regular Box Day?

Well, not so much the day the pre-Algebra came. We had already had our big box day with core 5 and all the books that come with it (and there’s lots). For some reason (and now I don’t remember why) pre-Algebra was ordered separately. So while there was semi-excitement, because it was a Sonlight box after all, Whitney only reluctantly opened the box to pull out her new math books. Can’t wait until she gets Algebra this fall! :)

Pre-Algebra

And apparently there was something good in the box, seeing the look on her face in the last picture.

Something Good from Sonlight

Debbi L.

A BOX FOR ME?!

2009-08-31T09:45:00.000-07:00

The box came while my son was taking his nap. I had to fight with every ounce of my being not to open it and tear through it myself. I did, however, yank out the parent's companion with closed eyes, but replaced everything around it carefully and perfectly, then closed the box back up for when the boy awoke.

And thank goodness I did, otherwise I might have missed the screeching, "A BOX FOR ME?!" moment and this look:

Ben and His Box

Unfortunately, this was the only picture I was able to take. One moment after I got that look, the paper started flying and he wanted to read every.single.book in the box. Right then and there.

I do believe he's a fan!

Jess R.
Ben, P3/4

A New Way to Enjoy Box Day!

2009-08-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

As my 12 year old and I trekked up to our schoolroom with armloads of all her WONDERFUL new books, my little ones were busy with the box! You never know what will come in a Sonlight box... : )

Enjoying Box Day

We are using cores K, 5, and 7 this year. We love it!

The S. Family
Baltimore, MD

My Kids were actually excited!

2009-08-21T10:33:00.000-07:00

So after a year with a different curriculum, with pleas of no more homeschooling, I went looking for a new program and found Sonlight! The kids still weren't convinced that it'd be a better school year and they'd have more fun and more time with mommy......

But BOX DAY came!!! They got so excited to see all the books mom would be reading to them.

BOX DAY!!

Needless to say they dug in pulled everything out. And they showed me the map, they carried it around to show Grandma and Dad all day, they loved it. Also they got to playing with the box before I could tell them there was a castle inside!!

Soooooo Excited!

And then they found the Science Supply kits and were so ready to start school!!! My second grader, who had been the one who did not enjoy last year, actually asked me if we could start Science, and maybe a little of the other books!! I couldn't believe my ears and if I had been prepared I'd of dug in! It gave me so much hope for this new year!!

But before any of that I had to figure it all out. So I got to checking my order and getting my Instructor Guide setup, it was a little overwhelming but not as much as I thought!! After getting it all put away it didn't look so complicated and the Guides are awesome!!! And I can't wait to read Charlotte's Web to my kids... the one book I remember enjoying so much in school.... now I am confidant they won't only love that book but so many more!!!!

Wow! So Many Books

I can only thank God for the friends he brought to me to keep me going last year though I thought we'd never get through it, and helped me find a better program that is so better fit for my kids!!

-Amy M.

Overwhelmed. What? Me?

2009-08-19T11:09:00.000-07:00

Exciting stuff happened last weekend...the FedEx man delivered two important boxes!

Reese's 1st Grade curriculum arrived and we couldn't wait to dig in and see what Mommy had ordered!

Lots of exciting books, instructor guides, manipulatives, experiments...

And more....

Overwhelmed with all of the items? Me? *cough cough* Nah!

I have to keep reminding myself that these are the supplies for our entire year and that if I laid out the supplies from my 1st Grade Teacher Days it would have looked just as massive an undertaking.

Luckily, Hubby always reminds me to eat the elephant one bite at a time & it does help me to remember that this isn't all for Day 1! :)

I've sorted through all the Instructor Guides and placed everything in the notebooks for Mama. We will begin our school year on August 17th & I can't wait...this curriculum from Sonlight is heavily literature based which makes me so excited!

And...it is a little less intimidating once everything is put on the bookshelves, in the cabinets, organized in the binders, etc.

But don't even get me started on the fact that my baby boy is a 1st grader...I remember when I taught 1st grade that the students seemed so independent and "big" by the end of the year. Don't even get me started I tell 'ya....

Heather W.

Our box day!

2009-08-17T13:07:00.001-07:00

This is our first year using Sonlight and we are super excited! My son CJ has been anticipating this day all week! I ordered it on Monday, it shipped on Tuesday and we received it Friday. (It probably helps that we aren't too far from Colorado) We tracked it through the FedEx website so he would know when it was coming. When the doorbell rang he started shouting "It's here! It's here! Box day is here!" He was so excited to see the two boxes out front.

As we started pulling out the books he was getting more and more excited.

He couldn't help himself and had to stop and look at the Science kit and then he ended up reading one of the Magic School bus books....then he told me that I had to read them to Nicholas his little brother.

I had to stop several times from assembly of my Instructors Guide to help cut out the castles from the 2 boxes. What a fun day! We are very excited to start school and I know that this year is going to be fantastic! Thank you Sonlight!

Nichol H.
North Las Vegas, NV

It's here already!

2009-08-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

Boy! Did our box get here in a hurry. We ordered before heading to the beach for a week or so and the box was here when we got back.

Opening the Sonlight Box

The curriculum was for our oldest daughter, Amelia. The youngest, Michelle, uses her big sister's curriculum from past years.

Admiring the Books

After opening the box Amelia asked if she could start reading the books. She really likes the books you select.

Thanks Sonlight!

Ready for a New Year

Neecie H.
Michelle, 2nd grade
Amelia, 7th grade

Shall we leap into the next school year?

2009-08-05T09:45:00.000-07:00

Our new Core is here!!! The excitement we feel cannot be contained! Thank you Sonlight for the opportunity to homeschool using such a wonderful array of amazing literature. We LOVE Box Day!

My Daughter Leaping Over Her Core

~Andrea P.

Box Day out in Africa!

2009-08-03T11:58:00.001-07:00

Using Fed-Ex to deliver books sounds so easy and simple, but believe me it took more than one stop to get our books here far out in the bush! Our box reached Maputo, Mozambique in early July – only a few days after ordering! Now, it needed to get way up north - a journey of three to four days by car!

A lift was arranged and we went to town to pick up the long-awaited box …… but the visitors hadn’t yet arrived and so we had to go home empty handed! (This is Africa and all things take their time!) But as all good bush dwellers, we networked and planned lifts again and so this morning our boxes were door-delivered by fellow-missionaries passing our way!

Missionary Delivers Sonlight

Quite a few stops later but the books made it in, I think, record time! God has His own special delivery system using His people across the world!

Belinda P.

Sonlight Box Day

2009-07-29T14:50:00.000-07:00

Our official box day was months ago, but I let the kids dive in today and take a peak at what the year has in store for them. We are trying Sonlight this year. We have the Core K program (Introduction to the World: Cultures) with First Grade Readers since Pumpkin is in Pre-K4 and the boys are in First grade.
I'm not usually a fan of a packaged curriculum. I prefer to piece together our own curriculum following our own scope & sequence. However, we have 4 children in our home, 3 in our homeschool, and are nearing the end of a 2+ year construction project that will culminate in a complicated move and move-in. In other words, Mommy needed a break this year. I needed something I could just open and follow without a lot of prep work on my part. Thank goodness homeschooling allows us some flexibility, both in our scheduling and curriculum choices.

I chose Sonlight because of their great reputation, wonderful literature, and because their curriculum is most compatible with my teaching style and personality. I'm looking forward to spending the year exploring Sonlight with my children. Everyone found several books in the box that they wanted to start reading right away---Mommy included!
I'm so glad that my children are so enthusiastic about starting school. They cannot wait until we finish each book so that it can come out of Mommy's school box and onto their personal bookshelves.

~Karin T.

Sonlight Frenzy

2009-07-24T08:42:00.000-07:00

After much schedule arranging and profuse pleading from the short people who live in my house, we finally found an afternoon to open the coveted box sitting on our living room floor...

I attempted to get some good pictures, really I did, but there was much frenzied activity! Protective paper was flying every where, books were being admired and soon I, too, was mesmerized by the treasure in the box!

We carefully went through every thing we ordered talking about all the great books we couldn't wait to read. I carefully stacked them all back into the box and had my husband carry them downstairs for safe keeping. Yesterday I found Isaac (12) half way through one of his science books! He was excitedly telling me some amazing facts about tornadoes. I began to tell him that he needed to put the book back downstairs, because it was for next year and he hadn't completely finished core 5 yet. Then I thought better of it. Why stop him. He's learning and enjoying it. And in the process he is teaching me and his younger brothers when he shares what he has read.

Thanks Sonlight it looks like another awesome year of learning is ahead of us!

Jenn B.

Sonlight Box Castle

2009-07-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

I always put in my order after the catalog comes out so that we can receive our box toward the end of May. The girls (12 and 9) get excited about the Fall books which seems to rejuvenate our spirits and allows us to finish strong.

Because we've always homeschooled, I own every Core.

My five-year-old was initially sad because he only got a couple new books to add to Core K UNTIL he noticed the inside of the box. Here he is with his finished product:

Sonlight Box Castle

BTW, the fuzzy balls are cannon balls and he painted the entire outside and inside by himself. He has played and played with his special Sonlight box for the past two months.

Ms. Lynn S.

Christmas in July~ Box Day

2009-07-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

Jayden didn't really understand what Box Day was since this was our first experience. I kept telling him, but he just didn't get it until those two big white boxes showed up on our doorstep.

I couldn't believe the excitement and glimmer in his eyes as we started unpacking and opening up his new school supplies for the fall. The photos I took doesn't begin to show the excitement he had.

First he had to pull out all the brown paper before he could start taking out all the goodies. As he kept pulling out book after book, Jayden got more and more excited. He couldn't believe all the new, beautiful books that we got!

After we unpacked the boxes, he of course had to go through and open all the packages and look through all the books. I then reorganized and cleaned out the school shelf. Doesn't it look beautiful and inviting?!?

Jayden asked me when we would be able to start with his new school stuff and I told him I was planning for September. "Momma, that is not right. I want to start tomorrow." =)

I am so glad that he is showing so much excitement about doing school at home. I love that he has such an awesome love for learning. With a newborn at home and it already being mid-July, I have a lot of planning still to do, which is why I was shooting for September.

With Jayden's excitement and mine, we shall see if we last that long.

--
Missy

The anatomy of a Sonlight Box Day

2009-07-21T06:19:00.000-07:00

First you take a picture of the Fed Ex delivery guy and get a really strange look from him. (You get an even stranger look when your kids are jumping up and down at the sight of their Sonlight boxes and you tell the delivery guy that they are excited over their homeschooling curriculum.)

Then you leave the boxes where the delivery guy placed them just inside the door and go back downstairs to finish the school day. The anticipation of opening the boxes is so fun that I always leave them for a little while until just the right moment comes for opening them.

When the time comes to open the boxes, you check to be sure the toddler isn’t already attacking one of them with a knife. Fritz gets excited over the new books, too.

Then you empty out the box (with several hands helping) and gaze happily at the pile of lovely new books. Following this you have your oldest help you go through the books to be sure everything is there. Ani picks up a book and tells me the name and I check it off on the packing list.

Next you place the baby in the big box where he happily plays until the toddler sticks a bunch of books in the box with (and on top of) the baby. Notice the box can be turned into a nifty castle. That’s one of the awesome things about Sonlight. Even the box is useful.

Finally, you put the labels on the books and stack them in groups. Included are some Sonlight books we already had (like Cameron’s readers - Ani used those when we did Core K).

Heather

This is Better Than Christmas!

2009-07-20T11:46:00.000-07:00

I am one of those moms who never thought I would homeschool. I didn't have anything against homeschooling, I was just certain it wasn't for me.

But then we started looking into Kindergarten options for our daughter, and I wasn't very happy with what we found. So I emailed a few homeschooling moms that I knew and asked them a bunch of questions. Their answers were so enthusiastic I knew I needed to look at this option more closely.

I sat down with a mom who has six kids and has used Sonlight with the two oldest that she homeschools. After looking at all the great materials she uses, I left saying, "Maybe I could actually do this!"

After a few weeks of researching various curriculum, we decided to use Sonlight's Newcomer Kindergarten Package. We placed our order and the wait began!

I knew our "Box Day" would be exciting, but I had no idea just HOW exciting it would be!

The delivery man rang the doorbell and there on our doorstep was a huge box with the Sonlight logo on it. "Thank you!" I called out after him. "That's not all!" he laughed, and carried another huge box to our door.

Sonlight Newcomer Package Boxes

As my daughter and I pulled books and materials out of the boxes, she kept saying, "Mom! Look at this!" over and over. At one point, I was fighting back tears as I thought about what a great year we have ahead of us using these fabulous materials. I never dreamed that I could be this excited about homeschooling!

Sonlight Box Day: Better Than Christmas

Thanks to Sonlight for making Box Day far better than Christmas morning!

Kristen S.

Box Day

2009-07-20T11:36:00.000-07:00

I was agitated all day today. Every time a car went by, my ears perked up to see if the engine was rumbly enough to be the FedEx truck. Several times, I muttered to Jeff, “Where is my box?!”

Together, we speculated about its location. Maybe it was accidentally delivered to the church office. No, the office manager was still there. She would have called. Maybe it went to a house up the hill. Last month, we got someone else’s FedEx package. Maybe this time, that someone got ours.

I went online and checked the tracking info again. “On the truck for delivery.” Same thing it said two hours ago.

Had it been on the FedEx truck that went by around 10 am? Maybe, maybe not. Those packages would have been of the ‘guaranteed by 10:30am’ variety. Mine was FedEx Ground. NOT guaranteed by 10:30. Or noon. Or 2:30. Or 5:00. Or today.

But I had been waiting for this box not just all day, but all month. Its delayed arrival accounted for our extra week of summer. Its appearance at our door would mean the long-anticipated beginning of my very first year as a homeschool mom.

But the hours ticked on. 1:30pm. 3:00pm. 3:30pm. Such a long, long day.

Finally, around 4:00pm, I surrendered the arrival of the homeschool books to the Lord, assuring Him I would be fine if they didn’t come today after all.

After ten more minutes of pacing, I resolved to put my mind on something else, and I headed for the front door to get a bit of fresh air (and watch for the FedEx truck).

Just as I reached the door, through the window I saw an unmarked FedEx-looking van brake as it drove past our house. But it kept going. I yanked the door open and trotted off the front porch and down the sidewalk in my bare feet.

My excitement grew when I heard the truck’s back-up beeping noise. As the van came into view, the driver, amused at my wild wave, poked his head out the van window and grinned, “I have a box for you?”

I nodded vigorously. He jumped out of his truck and headed around to the back, asking over his shoulder, “How are you today?”

I said, “I’m very excited about my package.”

He carried it to the front porch for me and I dragged it on into the house. James pulled out one of the books and sat reading it, entranced, for forty minutes. Good sign.

I pulled out the instructor’s guide and began to frown at all the pages, unsure of what to do. There was a handy brochure, giving me all kinds of confusing instructions. I’d ordered the 4-day, but I found instructions for the 5-day. There were so many readers, and I wasn’t sure if they were too advanced for James or not. I looked at the fifty or so books strewn about my living room floor and went numb.

By the time Jeff and the boys left for karate, I was in a bit of a panic. But I was thankful I’d have a few minutes alone to sort everything out.

I remembered an email I’d received from Sonlight. “Click here to see three nifty videos about ‘Box Day’.”

The nice homeschooling moms on the screen were so pleasant and reassuring that I just burst into tears. Then I chuckled. Just before Jeff headed out the door, he’d said, “Do something girly…”

Well, crying over homeschool materials definitely fits into the ‘girly’ category.

So, alone in the house and free to be as girly as I pleased, I just let myself cry tears of relief and hope and fear and anticipation, all the way through all three videos.

You see, I’ve been so excited to homeschool that I forgot all about the rest of my emotions. Beneath my all-encompassing excitement lurked something else: sheer terror. Good gracious. What was I thinking? What if James hates it? What if *I* hate it?

Can I even do this? Abba, HELP!!!

Then God reminded me that I was not alone in the house at all. He wrapped His loving arms around me and covered my soul with His incomprehensible peace.

And I had my answer:

No. I can’t do this.

But God can.

Becky

Box Day made me revamp my plans!

2009-07-20T11:32:00.000-07:00

We have used 8 Sonlight Cores so far with our 5 children. My 12yo daughter was supposed to take two years to complete Core 7 before beginning the high school Cores, so I did not order new books for her this year.

My 17yo son will be doing Core 530 for his senior year and was not too excited--he would rather not do school at all!

Everything changed on Box Day.

My dear daughter saw all the great books that are in Core 530 and eagerly asked how long she had to wait to read them. When I told her probably 11th or 12th grade, she was visibly upset. She pleaded with me to allow her to read them with her brother NOW and has spent her summer finishing up Core 7 so that she can dive into British Lit!

My son is happy to have someone to discuss his books with and is now ready to conquer this final core! Thank you Sonlight for teaching me I can be flexible and for providing a curriculum so wonderful that my kids are chomping at the bit to get started.

Jessie L.

Box Day !!

2009-07-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

I checked Sonlight's website for the tracking info this morning. Our package was in the Big City, on the truck for delivery. Well, I had an appointment today, so I called to see if it needed to be signed for. They informed me that home deliveries do not happen on Mondays. Well, someone should train them..... because that big beautiful truck pulled up to my driveway just after 1pm today!!!!!

I can't wait to really look at them all, once the children are in bed!!! Mr. Q. is hogging them all ;-)

Jana

Love to Learn Starts at Box Day

2009-07-17T06:11:00.001-07:00

This was our very first box day!

My son Dylan, 8 and daughter Mandy, 5 had no idea what to expect from the word "Box Day." I pitched the idea and struck out for about a week. Dylan was so not interested in books. Actually, I bought Sonlight because it pitched, Love to Learn, and boy, did we need that!!! The day finally arrived and Dylan cautiously approached Mandy and I digging into this huge box. He casually asked where the castle was, and I told him where it was in the box... and then it happened....

He looked at a book, and another, and another, and another.....
Pretty soon he was digging in and helping sort them out. He even read <--- I did ask him to read the packing slip for me.

We are on our way now, Week 3, and he has had a blast with it...

THANKS SONLIGHT

Belinda, Dylan and Mandy

Yeah right, Mommy...sure.

2009-07-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

We ordered Sonlight Core 3 this year for the first time for our 3rd grade son. In my excitement, I built up how much fun it would be to read all the new books that come with it. He is always saying that I don't have enough books for him to read (uh...not true - it's just that he reads them too fast for me to keep up)! However, each day that I said this, his response was, "Yeah right, Mommy....sure."

So when the "package man" brought us a huge white box, the kids were excited to see what it held. Sure enough, they ripped out the books and poured over as many as they could. My son had to admit that all the new books did looked "pretty neat!" Then he wanted to read them all NOW! I had to tape the box up again so that he wouldn't read them all ahead of the school year! Sheesh - what a problem to have, huh??

SO excited to begin our first Sonlight year!
Andrea C.

My Brain Has Been Otherwise Occupied

2009-07-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

Last week was ~~Taxmas Time~~ like Christmas at our house. New books arrived daily from the UPS man, or the Fed Ex guy or the Spee-Dee delivery truck because of our annual curriculum buying spree. We watched the tracking numbers online and followed the packages from their destinations to our doorstep. The longest leg of the journey seemed to be "On truck for delivery".

History suggested that we'd be the last drop off of the day, so we'd sit with our noses pressed to the windows perking up at every diesel sound for blocks. All day, not accomplishing much but waiting.
Because, you know, if you step in the shower, there will be a delivery needing a signature. Or, if you run to the gas station, you'll find a note on your door return stating delivery confirmation was needed........

This year, our biggest order arrived at 8AM! We had hardly finished breakfast when we heard the truck out front. (As evidenced by the uneaten bagel in the midst of packing material.) In the past, I have been know to hog all the box opening fun for myself, wanting to make sure everything that was supposed to be there was, was my excuse This year I thought I'd let the kids have the fun IF they would follow
a few simple rules. No books were to leave the living room. I let
them empty all the boxes and paw through all the new books while I finished my breakfast.

Then and only then did I get out the packing slip and sit down to separate the books into their appropriate piles. The older boys helped me sort...

...while I shooed the little boys into the bedroom to watch TV.
Hey, I've come along way with my BDD (Box Dominance Disorder) and plus...they ASKED me to tape the boxes shut. Honest!

Soooo, that is where I've been. My creative energy has been channeled into turning the massive piles of books into a meaningful year of learning for 5 children. And I am trying to get a head start on all their reading...
...but as you can see, I'm already behind...

Kari B.

"Mommy, this is the Best Day EVER!"

2009-07-16T05:46:00.000-07:00

Need I say more? :)

When the FedEx man arrived with our first shipment of Sonlight books, I'm sure he was taken aback by my two eager helpers. Liam grabbed the 4 lb box and ran it to the school room. Emily immediately went for the other box, which unfortunately weighed 55 lbs!

Emily pushing a large Sonlight box

Undeterred, the two of them insisted on pushing it from the doorstep to the floor of the schoolroom all by themselves, then danced with glee until I got the boxes open. Liam was especially impressed that the boxes could be recycled until he saw the castle print inside; then he begged me to keep them! Not only were the boxes cool to play in, but they had awesome books and maps inside!

My son was just beside himself over the science books, asking me over and over again if they were his and if he could keep them in his room!

And my daughter was so excited with her new Bible that she sat down to read it immediately.

To see more of our first box day pictures, feel free to look around the gallery.

Thanks for letting us share our story; we can't wait to start school!

Amy S. of Covington, GA

Tape the Box Back Up

2009-07-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

My family went over to the M. house for a cookout & play time. When I walked into my friend's kitchen, there were two Sonlight boxes stacked on the floor. Since I hadn't yet ordered for next year, I said, "O, did you get an order in?"

She said, "Yes, and you can look at them, if you want."

I quickly picked up a box and put it on the table (I love books) and then had to ask for some scissors. She said, "I had to tape it back up after I looked at them or I knew I'd just want to sit down and read them all. And, if the kids saw them, I knew we'd not get anything done!"

We love Sonlight! We are 4 year Sonlighters (I just ordered our 3rd Core for this year!) I have 4 kids: 8, 5, 4 & 2 who will all get a taste of Sonlight throughout the year.

--
Nate & Jill W. of Hugoton, KS