Books, Frogs, and Castle Boxes!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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

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!

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!!

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)

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!

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!

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