Frequently Asked Questions & Policies
FAQS
Can I purchase Sonlight using an Educational Savings Account (ESA)?
Yes! If you’re making your curriculum purchase using ESA funds, you can now purchase Sonlight through the ESA programs listed here.
Find out more about eligible Educational Savings Account programs.
How do I teach students together?
Shipping
Find all the details of Sonlight's shipping policies here.
Drop-Shipped Items: We special order a few items—such as Rosetta Stone® packages—as needed. You still get all the benefits of ordering through us, but it takes an additional 10 business days for your items to ship.
What is my child's Reading level?
Take advantage of Sonlight's free Reading Assessment here.
What periods of history does each program cover?
Sonlight's Scope and Sequence is an easy way to see what periods of history each program covers.
A, B, B+C, G, W, H, and 500 all cover World History.
D, D+E, E, 100, and 400 Government all cover United States History. (400 includes a semester of Economics.)
F covers the Eastern Hemisphere.
200 covers Church History.
300 covers the 20th Century and can count for either United States or World History.
What's the difference between a History / Bible / Literature and All-Subjects Package?
History / Bible / Literature programs include History, Bible, Readers and Read-Alouds as well as your Instructor's Guide. You add other subjects (such as Math) as needed. These programs come with a 15% discount and range from our Preschool package through the High School modules.
An All-Subjects Package gives you everything you need for one student for one year. This program includes History / Bible / Literature as well as Language Arts, Science, Math, Handwriting (in the younger years), and other resources. These programs come with a 20% discount.
Every Sonlight program is flexible, and you can add consumables and programs if you want to combine students into a single program. You can also build your own All-Subjects Package -- and get the 20% discount -- by choosing a program from each applicable subject for that year.
When will this be back in stock?
Please contact us for Backorder Status of specific products.
My Account
How do I log in? Why don't I need a password?
From any page on our site, please click the account icon on the upper right. This will take you to a page where you can enter your email address, and you will be sent a 6-digit code needed to complete your login. No password needed!
If you need further assistance, please email customer service at main@sonlight.com. For immediate assistance, call 1-800-903-1675 or (303) 730-6292 Mon.-Fri. 7am-5pm Mountain Time.
How do I update my personal information?
If you have ordered but do not have a Sonlight account and want to update your account information, please email main@sonlight.com or call customer relations at 1-800-903-1675 between 7am - 5pm Monday-Friday (Mountain Time) to inform us of your updated information.
If you have a Sonlight account, you can easily update your account information by visiting your account dashboard after signing in to your account. Once your information has been changed, click on the "update" button at the bottom of the page. If you change your email address, you will sign in with the new email once you have updated your account.
To update the email address to which we send your email subscriptions, you will need to click on the "Change Your Subscription" link at the bottom of a recent email we've sent to you or send an email to main@sonlight.com with your new email information. A customer service representative will be happy to manually update your email address.
Once you have made the change to your email address in your profile, the system will send an activation email to the new address you have listed. The purpose of this is to verify that the system can communicate with your email address. Click on the link provided in the email to verify your new address.
Orders
How do I place an order online?
Register for a Sonlight Account.
This assures you that any items you add to your shopping cart will be there permanently. If you don't complete your order all at once, you may come back the next day or weeks later, sign in, and your items will still be there.
Browse our curriculum and add items to your cart from product pages.
Once you have added items to your cart, follow the directions on your screen for completing your order through cart. Your order is completed once you see the order confirmation screen. A few minutes later (or sometimes more) it will show up in your Order History.
When will I be billed?
We will immediately authorize your credit card for your order total, but we will not charge your card until we ship your order, usually within 2-3 business days. If your order happens to include a backordered item, we will charge your credit card for that item separately, when it is shipped to you. It is possible, in this case, to see two or more charges on your statement that add up to the total amount of your order.
How can I review my order history/current orders?
You can track your online order history through Sonlight's website. Simply sign into your Sonlight account. If you are already logged in, you can click the account logo in the upper right hand corner of the website. This will take you to your My Account page. Click the Orders tab. To review your order history, click on an order number. You will be taken to an itemized list. You will also be able to see the current status of the order found under the status column.
I'm having trouble placing an order, what should I do?
If you are experiencing any order issues, please contact our Customer Relations Team. Our office hours are 7am to 5pm Monday through Friday. Any of our representatives would be glad to assist you.
How quickly will you ship my order and what are your shipping policies?
Once placed, orders typically process through our warehouse within 2-3 business days. Should you need your order in a faster time frame, we do have Rush processing and expedited shipping options. To see further details, as well as to see our domestic and international shipping policies, please click here.
What discounts/coupons does Sonlight offer?
Sonlight offers discounts on our History / Bible / Literature (HBL) and All-Subjects Packages (ASP) year round. We are proud to offer a 15% discount off the retail price on the HBL and a 20% discount off the retail price on an ASP.
We send coupons at our discretion and for a variety of reasons. If you receive a coupon, you may apply it to a new order. Simply type the code in the designated coupon box on the checkout page or write it in the appropriate box on the order form found inside your catalog.
If you enter your coupon online and you receive a message that the coupon number is invalid, please put the coupon number and dollar amount in the online order comment box just before pressing the purchase button. We will manually adjust the amount of your order when we verify your coupon. Be aware that the coupon will not show on your automatic email order confirmation, but you will be able to see your discount when you view your personal cart order history.
What do I do if I receive a damaged item?
Please email main@sonlight.com or call customer service at 1-800-903-1675 between 7am - 5pm, Monday-Friday (Mountain time) to inform us of the damaged book or item you received. We ask that you make us aware of a damaged item within 3 months from the date of receipt.
May I change/cancel my order?
We are delighted to have the opportunity to take advantage of technology to serve you very quickly, accurately, economically, and professionally. And, we have established and refined our order processes accordingly.
Consequently, we are unable to cancel or change your order once we receive it without manual interruption to our automated processes and real added cost. Often, in fact, by the time we receive your cancellation/change request, your order has already been shipped.
Therefore, if we do receive a cancellation/change request after your order has been accepted into our order processing system and we are able to physically accommodate your request, we will charge you additional handling fees of 5% (five percent) or $5 minimum, whichever is more.
NOTE: Orders that you refuse for delivery at your door will incur these fees plus additional handling fees of 10% with a $10 minimum. Please view our Service Guarantees page for more information
How do I return items?
If you need to make a return, please use the following steps:
Step 1. Review Sonlight's Return Policy
Love to Learn, Love to TeachTM Guarantee.
Buy any complete Sonlight History / Bible / Literature program or All-Subjects Package, and the Love to Learn, Love to Teach™ Guarantee is yours. Or create your own complete program by combining any History / Bible / Literature with any math, language arts, and science programs (one each per History / Bible / Literature), on one order… you’re still covered.
Take up to one year to actually use the first half of your eligible program(s). Then if you don’t love it ... if you aren’t convinced Sonlight makes homeschooling a pleasure for you and your kids, please return your program—the entire package, used books and all. We’ll give you a full refund of your purchase price.
This unmatched one-year Love to Learn, Love to Teach™ Guarantee includes the following provisions:
One year from date of purchase
Does not include shipping
Materials scheduled after Week 18 must be unused & resalable (as explained in the 6-Month Return Policy)
Review complete details for Sonlight's Love to Learn, Love to TeachTM guarantee here.
6-Month Return Policy
If your order is not covered by the Love to Learn Guarantee, you can return items within 6-months of purchase.
Items must be in unused, resalable condition.
without markings, broken bindings, label stickers, any scuffs or other wear
computer software must be unopened
You will receive a 90% refund (not including shipping).
Return Details
Materials returned outside the above conditions will not receive a refund nor will we return these materials to you.
Refunds will be processed within 10 business days of receipt.
Credit card purchases will be refunded to that same card as per credit card company policies.
Check and e-check refunds will be mailed to you. (Checks take an additional 3-5 business days to make and mail out.)
If you are still paying on your account with a payment plan, your refund will be applied to what you owe and the balance refunded to you. (Refunds for payment plans take an additional 3-5 business days to process.)
Step 2. Start Your Return Online
Select the appropriate order number from your automated returns page. Choose the item(s) you wish to return and follow the prompts from there.
Step 3. Ship It Back to Us
Pack your box:
Use a new box of the right size.
Lay materials flat.
Pack CDs, Binders, and Science Supply Kits on top of books.
Use lots of packing material — not newspaper as the ink can damage items.
Clearly print your name & address on the outside of the box.
Attach the "Return Label" (found in top lefthand corner of your packing slip) to the outside of the box.
Print the Step 2 paperwork and include it at the top of your box.
Insure your package when you ship it to Sonlight. If your package is lost or damaged in transit, we cannot give you a refund or return the items to you.
International customers: Please write a clear description of the goods being returned [i.e. Textbooks-Educational Materials]. State on the commercial invoice US Goods Returned and include HTS# 9801.00.10
DO NOT SEND CREDIT CARD / PAYMENT INFORMATION. We likely have your accurate billing information in our system. If we don't, contact us or we will can contact you directly.
We are unable to process exchanges or new orders with your return.
Returning Rosetta Stone
Please get your deactivation ticket number below before you proceed.
Rosetta Stone® Deactivation within the 30-day guarantee
Rosetta Stone® requires that you deactivate your language program before we can refund your purchase. To deactivate:
Find the Activation ID Card(s) in your Rosetta Stone box.
Call Rosetta Stone to deactivate your program: 1-800-788-0822 x1702
Rosetta Stone will provide you with an 8-digit deactivation ticket number.
Send us your 8-digit deactivation ticket number with your return.
Choosing
Where can I find samples?
We believe that our Instructor Guides are the best on the market! To get a feel for how Sonlight would work with your family, we provide a three week sample for History / Bible / Literature, Language Arts, and Science.Download your three week samples.
What subjects have placement tests?
Placement tests are designed to assist you in determining which level your student is closest to for Language Arts, Reading, and Math. We recommend you have your child take the necessary assessment to ensure you purchase the best materials for your student. Currently, we offer Language Arts and Reading assessments for grades K-4 and offer math placement tests for each of the math programs we carry: Math U See, Singapore, Saxon, and Horizons.
Technical Help
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Cookies
What are cookies?
Short answer: Cookies remember stuff for you on websites.
A cookie is information from a webpage that your computer keeps. When you return to that site, the cookie helps the webpage get you what you need. For instance, if you leave sonlight.com after logging into your account you'll still be logged in when you return.
Are cookies bad?
No. They're merely text. You can delete them at any time. Cookies cannot be used to spread viruses. They cannot be used to access your computer. However, any personal information that you give to a site, including credit card information, will most likely be stored in a cookie. So cookies can be a threat to privacy. But remember: A cookie will only contain information that you give to a website.
Sonlight Cookies
Sonlight.com uses cookies to enable you to login to your account. We also use cookies for promotional codes and a few other features that make your browsing experience better.
3rd Party Cookies
As an added security measure, all credit card transactions are handled by a secure, outside resource so your credit card information will never be compromised while on Sonlight's site. But this does mean that you need to allow 3rd party cookies. If you're not sure how to do that, please click here to learn how to enable cookies for your browser:
More information about the cookies we use can be found here.
If you have trouble logging in to your Sonlight Account, please contact us.
How to Enable Javascript
Our website uses javascript to provide many convenient features for you. It also powers our shopping cart. You must have javascript enabled to purchase from our website.
Please use the following to turn javascript back on while visiting sonlight.com.
Internet Explorer
- Select Internet Options from the Tools menu.
- Click the Security tab.
- Click Custom Level in Security Level for this Zone.
- Scroll down to Scripting, near the bottom of the list.
- Under Active Scripting, choose Enable.
- Click OK to leave Security Settings. Click OK to leave Internet Options.
Firefox
- Select Options from the Tools menu.
- Click the Content icon at the top.
- Check the checkbox titled "Enable Javascript".
- Click OK to apply the settings and close the Options window.
If your browser is not listed here, try googling "enable javascript in {your browser name}"
Products
What makes Sonlight Instructor Guides so unique?
Our Instructor Guides act as a launching point for your Sonlight journey. By using these guides you do not need to worry that you are unable to teach your kids because you lack expertise. As you explore History / Bible / Literature, Language Arts, and Science, the guides break down what you will be reading every day, give notes to provide context or perspective, and will provide discussion questions so that you can check your student's comprehension. The guide is designed to be flexible so that you can follow the schedule rigidly or loosely so that you can set up your school to work best for your family.
How do I put together my Instructor Guide?
The first time you receive a box from Sonlight, it can be both exciting and overwhelming! Remember, there is no "right" or "wrong" way to organize your Instructor's Guide. But here's what we recommend as a starting point:
At the front, place your covers, intro materials, and maps.
Behind the first tab, place the first week's schedule and notes for History, Language Arts, and Science (check the bottom of the page to be certain you have the right pages for each week).
Repeat through week 36.
Put in your book notes behind the next tab.
Place everything else behind the last tab.
Done!
For an even more in-depth video on assembling your IG, click here.
Why doesn't Sonlight use tests?
We at Sonlight want your children to learn, but, even more important, we want them to have fun learning. And we want them to learn how to learn--how to find information and solve problems--so they're well equipped for adulthood.
Because homeschool parents are in daily, personal, one-on-one contact with their students (unlike the relationship that exists between most classroom teachers and their students), we expect that, in general, rather than using quizzes, tests and gradable worksheets, homeschool parents will evaluate the progress of their students through other means.
When you're reading a book, you'll likely discuss it with your son or daughter: "Why do you think he wanted to do that?" "What does ____ mean?" Our Instructor Guides will include discussion questions that will help you start conversations. If your child is able to answer your questions, you know exactly how much s/he understands--or how much s/he fails to understand. And you and your child enjoy a mutually satisfying conversation to boot!
We also offer opportunities for your student to show their written work as they complete the Student Activity sheets for Language Arts and Science. We are convinced our tools will give you all the information you need and your children all the practice they require.
How can I purchase old activity sheets?
We update our Instructor's Guides every year, sometimes with major updates, other times with minor ones. If you can, we recommend that you purchase an additional set of activity sheets for science and language arts during the curriculum year when you purchase your guide.
However, we do understand sometimes this is not an option. So we are able to offer the last two years of activity sheets for sale; presently our warehouse holds sheets from .
To order, add the current set of activity sheets into your shopping cart, then leave a comment in the comment box on the second page of checkout and let us know which year you need. Once we receive your order, we should be able to make the year on the activity sheet change manually.
Other
What religion does Sonlight Curriculum uphold?
Sonlight Curriculum is a Protestant, Evangelical Christian company, and everything we produce is written through this worldview. Our beliefs would line up most closely with the Reformer's view.
We do, however, sell books by people from other perspectives than our own.
It is our opinion that students should learn different perspectives on important issues. We also prefer to use books from authoritative voices from these perspectives when possible. For example, we would rather carry a book on Catholicism written by a Catholic defending his own view than one written by a Protestant telling what the Catholic view is.
Our study guides include copious notes and commentary to encourage critical thinking and questioning on each topic. The information in the books is never simply accepted at "face value." We want students to interact with their texts, evaluate what they read, and decide on their own where they stand on various issues.
Is Sonlight approved for homeschooling in my state?
The best way to find out if Sonlight is approved for homeschool in your state is to call your State Board of Education. We strongly urge our customers to invest the time necessary to become familiar with the laws concerning home education in their community. Information on this subject can be found on sites like hslda.org, and also by contacting your local homeschool support group.
Don't know how to find a good group? Check out homeschool.com and Sonlight Connections.
Have a different question? We're always happy to help!
Try searching at top of this page to get instant answers to your questions by typing them into the box.
If you still have questions, please contact us. We have a fantastic customer service team who can help you with your order and Advisors who are able to assist you with choosing and using Sonlight.
Policies
What is your privacy policy?
You can find our privacy policy here.
What are your terms of use?
You can find our terms of use here.
What is your copyright policy?
You can find our copyright policy here.
What is your return policy?
You can read our return policies here.
What are your terms of service?
Orders usually ship within 2-3 BUSINESS DAYS from the time we receive your order. RUSH service and 2-day or Next-day delivery are available. (See the shipping policy chart for pricing or call 303-730-6292.)
Prices for packages and individual items are subject to change without notice. Visit our website for accurate pricing. Price increases up to 10% above your calculated order total will not delay shipment of your order. However, we expect you to pay the difference upon receipt of shipment. If the difference between your calculation and ours is greater than 10%, we will contact you to acquire approval before shipment.
If you return any materials, we transmit the appropriate credit to your credit card issuer, or if you paid via check, we will mail the refund check to you usually within 10 BUSINESS DAYS. Note: Due to credit card agency policies, we are unable to grant requests to process credit card refunds to new or different sources; for instance, we cannot apply credit to a different card from the one you used when you placed your order.
International customers: Duties and Taxes. The customer is responsible for all duties and taxes. Duties and taxes are not included in the shipping cost. If you refuse to pay duties and taxes and the package is returned to us you will not receive a refund for your shipping costs and will be charged a 10% package refusal fee.
What are your terms of sale?
You can find our terms of sale here.