Oh my! I just got this catalog in the mail. It is HUGE! How in the world to decide what to order! LOL!

I know, it grows every year.  I'm the "stateside office" for some friends who are missionaries.  I asked the mom if she wanted me to mail it this year - or send it with a courier and it was so big and heavy, we passed.  I swear it's as big as Chicago's white pages!  LOL!

I love RRC, but I don't like shopping on their site (wish list is improved though).  Then I can barely read the print catalog - but I'm glad they have so much info!  I think of it as THE #1 resource for HS'ers - Christian or secular.

I wish we had a convention near me because I used to love to browse their booth!  I moved to a "no-man's land" for HS conventions 2.5 yrs ago.  I was spoiled in my former city!  They'll ship to you for free anything you order at the show that's not in their booth.  I have to pay state taxes now on their purchases since I live in the same state.

RRC has "scratch and dent" sales nearby and I've yet to make one - I'm determined to, though!  I always send HS'ing friends with a list of stuff I'm looking for!  :-)

JC

I love RRC and am a customer for over six years. However I have a complaint about their catalog. They praise every item and often don't tell the pitfalls or downsides to an item. They also do not tell the difference between one and another similar product.

A few years ago I needed a world map to hang on the wall. I read the world maps section and actually got overwhelmed. I was unable to make a decision as they all sounded great and none stood out from the rest. LOL. I called a HS mom friend on the phone and told her this and we laughed together. She said, "just go to Costco and buy the set of two laminated maps for about $10 and call it a day". I did that and we were just fine. LOL. 

So anyhow my issue is that if you are trying to decide between two or three different programs if you read each one in the RRC catalog you will want them all and probably can't decide which to get.  After that I appreciate other smaller catalogs like Timberdoodle where the family only selects one or two things per category and are stuff they use for their own family. With RRC wanting to carry stock to please all families it can get overwhelming.

With that said, RRC does discount and give free shipping when ordering oer a certain amount. So if you can figure out what you want then use RRC to make the purchase it is easier. LOL. I kknow families who refuse to even look at the catalog lest they feel overwhelmed by too many choices and feel like buying everything under the sun or that seeing all that is available what they are doing IRL is not 'good enough'.

It's so big, and I'm so new, I'm struggling with sensory overload. HOW do I read that thing? LOL

All I want is letters that are like the ones you find in Scrabble! My son loves building sentences, so just one of each letter won't work.

Hi there, Janis.

The catalog is big, and I like getting it.  Funny, though--I usually wind marking a lot of pages, and ordering nothing.  Scrabble letters, huh?  I like to buy board games for their pieces cheaply at thrift stores and yard sales.  I'm sure you could find a Scrabble game or two!  Years ago, I found a now-out-of-print Scrabble-brand sentence building game where you used pre-printed words to build sentences.  I paid a dollar for it, and got lots of educational use out of it.  We've also aquired a couple of sets of poetry magnets from yard sales that my daughter has scattered all over my refrigerator.  I haven't seen them generate much poetry--but they sure seem to inspire some silly sentences!

Of course, you could always make your own "Scrabble" tiles out of cardboard squares, wood squares from the craft store, or even regular tiles--depending on how cool you want them to look. 

Ever the cheap homeschooler,

Dana

Janis - look under the Phonics area.  Typically there are letters for hands-on phonics learning.

Wal-Mart has them even, in the area by scrapbooking or kids' craft supplies.

JC

Hi there I did the samething Dana does.  I have bought several Srabble and Monopoly games just to get the pieces and usually you can find them quite cheaply.  I have used the scrabble pieces for spelling and the money for math and it can be a huge budget saver.

But that said I love the RRC Catalog and it is too overwhelming but I just love to look through it for ideas.

Just another 2 cents on the Rainbow catalog. 

I started going through it last night and I was just thinking what kind of work must be involved to put the thing together?!!   I also agree that the product reivews are usually always positive so you have to do a little more digging if you want to know if it's something that will fit your needs.

Just pick the sections you need and ignore the rest.

I think their prices are worth the work involved in going through the catalog- I do a lot of online comparison shopping and most of the time I end up buying from them because they have the lowest price.

I rip the order form out of the back and jot down my wishlist on that. In the front of the catalog they do list things by subject ''history', 'math' etc. I have trouble with the index.  I look for one thing and get distracted by something I see there.   If I am stuck I just email them for suggestions. Right now I want to try Sequential Spelling with my daughter. I heard you need a white board and markers.  I found them listed on three different pages.  Then which markers the $1 or the $3.50 or the lot? Anyone have this and no what colors you need?

Kathy

I use the catalog for info on curriculum, then go to the Homeschool Review Yahoo Group for actual input about them.

JC