At this point we have had one set of supplemental science books arrive (plus a few board books for the little missy), our Math U See order, our labels (Mabel you rock!), as well as our environmental awareness information.
I would like to take a moment to mention what I am speaking about when I mention environmental awareness. When I was a child/tween I guess, it was the early days of recycling and push for environmental awareness (or it seemed that way to my child mind). At that time there was a small organization called Kids For Saving Earth (KSE for short). It was started by a young boy who went to the hands of God at an early age, but his time on earth was spent well as he lived his passion for taking care of the earth. His young message resonated with me as it was coming from a child to a child. To this day I have always remember the little KSE book I had as a kid and because I loved it so much (I seriously went through two at least from flipping through them so much). So I wanted to see if they were still around. THEY WERE!! And they have kits for different groups, families, and schools. I bought for us the family membership which cost $15 and included a whole selection of materials (activity books, cds, sheet music for their song, and certificates/pledges). There are several types of memberships (the individual is even FREE). Check out the KSE site for more information and to order a membership package of your own!
Everything else is shipped or otherwise soon to be in our hands. Elemental Science, a few other science books, plus our world history and geography (both texts and supplemental books). I have had some great experiences already from both Elemental Science and Christian Book.
Based on my experience with Elemental Science I would suggest if you are in Canada to place an order by phone to get a proper shipping rate. The shipping on the web site was pricy but the books for well priced so I bit the bullet anyways. I was highly impressed when a representative emailed me saying they'd like to SAVE ME MONEY on the shipping, and they arranged a lower shipping cost, as well as THREW IN A STUDENT BOOK FOR FREE!! Within minutes I had a $30 refund to my paypal! I would say that gets an A+++ in the customer service department.
I was even able to order our Canadian Studies curriculum from Northwoods Press yesterday. This is really the piece de resistance of our curriculum choices. The books selections included in the bundle are amazing and very much in line with books I would want in our library to begin with. Seeing as it's shipping from inside Canada (I think Ontario) then it shouldn't be too long of a wait.
I do have another cart waiting for checkout from Christian Book but it is more so books for me, a few things for my own spiritual development so I'll be waiting on that for a while before I can finish it.
I am guessing (hoping, praying, fingers and toes crossed) that a lot of our material arrives next week. Fun mail week COMING UP!!. The latest I should have the most of everything is early August (perhaps the 2nd, but it's not like I'm obsessing on tracking or anything). I can't wait to take pictures of it all to share with you. I am really happy that we chose the direction we did. While I hemmed and hawed over and over again purchasing the Sonlight curriculum I feel that what I have chosen will give us the depth and variance of knowledge that I am looking for.
If you are a homeschooler like I am have you ordered or chosen yet? Please share some of your selections! If you AREN'T a homeschooler do you order books online for yourself? Are you an amazon addict like me?
