Frequently Asked Questions

My Account

Forgot password/can't login?
How do I update my information?
What is the Rewards program?

Choosing

How does SmoothCourse help me choose curriculum?
Where can I find samples?
What subjects have placement tests?

Orders

How do I place an order online?
How can I review my order history/current orders?
I'm having trouble placing an order, what should I do?
How quickly will you ship my order and what are your shipping policies?
How do I sign up for a payment plan?
What discounts/coupons does Sonlight offer?
What do I do if I receive a damaged item?
May I change/cancel my order?
How do I return items?

Technical Help

Upgrade Your Web Browser
Cookies
How to Enable Javascript

Products

What makes Sonlight Instructor Guides so unique?
Why doesn't Sonlight use tests?
How do I put together my Instructor Guide?
How can I purchase old activity sheets?

Other

What religion does Sonlight Curriculum uphold?
Is Sonlight approved for homeschooling in my state?
Why isn't Sonlight Curriculum accredited?

My Account

Forgot password/can't login?

If your email has not changed from the last time you logged in, go to the password request page.

We will email you a temporary password. Be sure to check your SPAM folder if you do not receive the email within 1-2 minutes.

If you do not receive the password or your email has changed, 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.

For other technical issues, see our Technical FAQs here.

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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 clicking Add/Edit 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.

If you have a Sonlight Forums account, you will need to update your email address on the forums as well. It is important that your email address in your Sonlight account matches your email address on the Sonlight Forums, otherwise, your badges and forum access cannot update properly. To change you email address on the Sonlight Forums, click Edit Email and Password from your User CP while logged in.

Once you have made the change to your email address in your profile, the Forum 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 re-activate your forum account.

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What is the Rewards program?

Did you know Sonlight has awarded over $100,000 worth of Rewards Points to those who have referred their friends to Sonlight. You can enjoy these rewards too!

Sonlight has always grown through word of mouth. When you talk about a favorite book or Sonlight experience, you encourage others to explore Sonlight as well. Thank you! We love that.

The Sonlight^® Rewards Program is our way of saying thanks for sharing your enthusiasm about Sonlight. Details here.

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Choosing

How does SmoothCourse help me choose curriculum?

Sonlight sells all subjects for K-12. All-Subjects Packages contain all subjects for the year and receive a 20% discount. Sonlight recognizes every student and family is different, therefore, we have not made it possible to build your own All-Subjects Package.

SmoothCourse^™ helps you select each subject: History / Bible / Literature, Language Arts, Science, Math, and Handwriting (with level A-C packages) or Spelling (with level D-F packages). Have students close in age? SmoothCourse will show you which packages can work with a range of ages too. Once you have added all subjects, you will see the 20% discount applied in the shopping cart. Click here to start your step-by-step process to ordering curriculum.

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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.

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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, Horizons, and Teaching Textbooks.

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Orders

How do I place an order online?

1. 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.
2. Browse our curriculum and add items to your cart from product pages.
   Already have our print catalog? You may save time if you Order by Item Number.
3. 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.

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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 "Hi, (your name)" in the upper right hand corner of the website. This will take you to your My Account page. Click the Orders tab, and then on the "Load Orders" button. 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. Should you need to make a payment update, please click in the "update: button.

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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.

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How quickly will you ship my order and what are your shipping policies?

Once placed, orders typically process through our warehouse within 3-5 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.

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How do I sign up for a payment plan?

Payment Plans are a great way for you to get the best curriculum for your children and fit your budget. Payment plans are available on orders over $799 or with an All-Subjects Package. If you qualify, you will be able apply for a payment plan on the last step of checkout before you enter your credit card information. For complete details on the payment plans, please click here.

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What discounts/coupons does Sonlight offer?

Sonlight offers discounts on our History / Bible / Literature (HBL) and All-Subjects Packages (FPG) year round. We are proud to offer a 10% discount off the retail price on the HBL and a 20% discount off the retail price on a FPG.

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 about missionaries?

In an effort to provide continuing support to missionaries in the field, an anonymous donor has agreed to work with Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd. to share some of the cost of our products and services. Qualified missionaries have the opportunity to receive Sonlight's homeschool curriculum at a great discount!

Find out more about Sonlight's Missionary Subsidy.

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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.

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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.

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How do I return items?

If you need to make a return, please use the following steps (click a step to view it):

Are you returning Rosetta Stone? Please get your deactivation ticket number below before you proceed.

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Technical Help

Upgrade Your Web Browser

Recommended Browsers for Windows

• Firefox
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• Internet Explorer

Recommended Browsers for Mac

• Safari
• Firefox
• Chrome

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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.

The Sonlight^® Forums use cookies to tell you things like which posts are new.

3^rd 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:

• Internet Explorer
• Firefox
• Safari
• Chrome

If you have trouble logging in to your Sonlight Account, please click here to delete your sonlight.com cookies. You will be logged out of your account and brought to the login screen. Much like rebooting your computer when something isn't working, deleting your Sonlight.com cookies will allow your computer to access your account with a clean slate.

Finally, the Sonlight⊃ Forums use cookies to tell you things like which posts are new.

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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

1. Select Internet Options from the Tools menu.
2. Click the Security tab.
3. Click Custom Level in Security Level for this Zone.
4. Scroll down to Scripting, near the bottom of the list.
5. Under Active Scripting, choose Enable.
6. Click OK to leave Security Settings. Click OK to leave Internet Options.

Firefox

1. Select Options from the Tools menu.
2. Click the Content icon at the top.
3. Check the checkbox titled "Enable Javascript".
4. 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}"

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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.

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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.

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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:

1. At the front, place your covers, intro materials, and maps.
2. 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).
3. Repeat through week 36.
4. Put in your book notes behind the next tab.
5. Place everything else behind the last tab.
6. Done!

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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 2014 and 2015.

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.

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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.

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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, ncll.org, and also by contacting your local homeschool support group.

Don't know how to find a good group? Check out homeschool.com.

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Why isn't Sonlight Curriculum accredited?

The core reason we are not accredited is because we are not only a US company, but an international one as well. Because of this, accreditation would not be an easy process for us. Requirements for accreditation not only vary from state to state, but also from country to country.

There are many forms of accreditation. You will discover that some homeschool/correspondence programs are accredited, but what does that actually mean? The only accreditation that has national acceptance is the Department of Secondary and Elementary Education, a division of the Federal Government. Accreditation from a Christian School Accrediting Agency, even one that is endorsed by state, does not have national acceptance. The few correspondence type schools that do have the DESE accreditation are usually related to a state university.

In a desire to serve our clients, and not an accrediting agency, Sonlight has chosen not to seek accreditation. We do recommend, beginning in 8th grade, that you request information from colleges in which your child may be interested in, with regards to their acceptance policy. This way, you can plan your student's high school curriculum accordingly to meet the entrance requirements, and create transcripts. Many, many colleges are not only accepting home education students with a parent-generated transcript, but they are actively seeking them out, even offering scholarships for homeschooled students!

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Have a different question? We're always happy to help!

Click here to go to the top of the 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.