I was declined an account with Scholastic just because my son is not "school age" yet (he's 4 yrs old and in preschool) and their "rule" for homeschoolers is that the kids have to be "school age" (kindergarten and up) and there has to be more than one school age child per homeschool.  They also said that if my son was school age, they still would need to verify that I was a homeschooler.  How can I verify this if I'm not covered under a church school yet?  This is frustrating!! I was hoping to get good dollar deals from the teacher's store on their website, but I feel like they do not really support homeschoolers.  Is it just me or am I missing something?

Did you call to register or register online.  I had no trouble registering online. Though my oldest may have been 5 when I did so.  :-/

Oops, I just noticed that they are requiring verification now.  Sorry.  It looks like they have very few items included in the dollar sale this year though. 

That's odd.  I'd call them again.  They have the "Honeybee" for toddlers and "Firefly" for Pre-K, so I'd call again and ask them how you're supposed to benefit from those specific catalogs.

Can you order through your local HS group or playgroup?

I registered with them when my son was 4, but if they're making you have proof, that's just odd.  They've *never* asked for proof when I've gone to the local warehouse's "teacher-only" sales.

Was this for the *book clubs* or the *teacher store* (I see you have TS listed, but want to make sure)?  That may make a difference.  If you get in through the book clubs, your login will work for the teacher store once you're in.

Try this link and request some catalogs - especially the ones listed above.

teacher.scholastic.com/clubs/

Direct link to registration page:

tinyurl.com/SBC-Registration

If that doesn't work, here's the direct link to the SBC registration page.  It does say that the teacher store is for "U.S. Educators Only"...so that tips me off to think you just need to join the book clubs, set up an ID, log in, then wah lah, you're at the teacher store (that's how it works for me).

For the "homesschool" choice on the registration page, it doesn't say anything about proof, but when you click through, it says "enter school information".  Just make up a name for your school "Main Street Academy" or something, with your address.  I put in a "new" school under my info (used a different email and my PO box) and even though I chose "home school", there was no additional info - I just acted like I was a normal school, which, in my state, I am - a private school.  On the profile set-up, there's a choice for "PreK".

Sooooo, long story short, do it online, and don't speak to anyone.  :-)!

JC

..who seriously needs to cut back on SBC this year!

For the book clubs, you have to order a minimum of $20, or order through the mail, or you'll be charged the $3.50 service fee.  The $20 minimum is also to get "bonus" bonus points.  So see if anyone else wants to join in your orders.  I do them for our HS co-op.

That's exactly what I did online - registered and chose PreK... it was taking 2 weeks and they had not shipped my items so I had to call and find out what the holdup was.  They said they needed verification that I was a homeschool teacher. *sighs*

I am not a part of a HS group yet... I'm in the middle of nowhere but will try my best to find a local group soon.

Thanks for the tips.  Will give them a call back as soon as I can.

They send out the catalogs in batches.  I haven't rec'd any for February yet.  I rec'd the January ones over the holiday break (my mail lady was so pleased they were in the held mail! LOL!).  So you requested them between mailing cycles.  I'll try and remember to post again, or PM you, when my February ones show up.  That might be a better indicator if you'll receive them.

Oh, and you can't order online or with a CC for your first few orders.  You have to establish "credit" with them before they'll let you.  So you'll want to order through the mail anyway, and enclose a check for payment.  After a couple of orders, you should be able to order online - which is sooo nice.

Do you have your online account set up?...you should, since registration asks for a login ID & PW.  If you do, I can send  you the codes to the catalogs and you can try placing an order.  The main thing you need are just the codes.

JC

Oh, great to hear that.  Thanks! Yes, I've got an online account set up - hope they didn't cancel it (since they cancelled my order) - will check and make sure.  If still good, then I'll keep you in mind! I'm too broke to order anything that isn't in Dollar Deals right now.  :/  Thanks again.

My order was just cancelled!

I got an email today (with eleven questions about our school, such as principal's name, school district, number of teachers, number of students and number of grade levels) and I responded with the information they requested.  I was almost immediately emailed a cancellation of my order.  No explanation.  :o(

Cindy

Update:  I emailed asking for an explanation and got an email back saying that my status was still being reviewed, but that 3 of the items I ordered are out of stock and that's why they were cancelled.  So I may still be getting the other items.

Cindy, was that from the $1 sale?  That's weird because I had *no* problems getting mine.  They took awhile to get here, but I expected that.  I've been ordering from SBC for six years - both individual and group orders.  It's really a shame that they seem to be weeding out HS'ers!!!  If they truly are, we should all start a boycott!  ;-)

JC

Yes, that was from the $1 sale.  But, as I noted, the ones that were cancelled were because they were sold out.  I'm still hopeful that I'll get the others.  I'll let you know here what happens.

I ordered mine on Jan 9th (15 books) and my account still says processing.  I am going to be upset if they cancel my order, too

I recieved my order last Tues.  Can't remember what day I ordered.

When I set up my account, my oldest was school age -- and since we attended a park day, I called myself a "homeschool group" and said I had 5 "Students" (we are not a "official" group in any way -- just a gathering of local famlies who use a variety of methods for complaince with state law.)

Only a couple times has anybody else in the "group" ordered any books-- though I did try to do actual group orders the first few years through the book clubs.  Now I pretty much only shop the sales myself.

Sorry you're having trouble.

I have some of the February catalogs now.  Here are the catalog codes:

• Honeybee (Toddler-4):  B67100
• Lucky (2nd-3rd):  L6710A
• Arrow (4th-6th):  A6710T
• Tab (7th+):  T6710T

I'll update this post as I receive more.  But this way you'll know the February ones are being mailed out.  I'll receive duplicates in my January order's box.  I wish they wouldn't waste so much for paper and mailing!  Ugh.  At least now they combine one big order into just a one or two boxes.  It used to be separate boxes for each order, or even partial order.  Sometimes I order from 7 catalogs and that was a huge pain!

i set up my scholastic account 2 months ago and had no problems.  We have gotten our December and January orders already.  I don't understand why they are giving you such a hard time.  i did not have to verify anything.  I even have homeschoolers from other states order off my account and I just mail them the books when they come in.

I've never had any problems until this year's Dollar Sale. I recieved notice that my order was canceled because my school wasn't verified. I wanted to fuss, but wrote a polite note back. My verification was simply answering some questions. I have no idea why I didn't have to do that before. Maybe it's a new policy or so many homeschoolers ordered $1 books they could't keep up. :)

They said my ordered will be processed with what is still in stock. Hopefully, we won't have any issues in the future. They have some wonderful resources.