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For those who purchase from Rainbow Resource Catalog..


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I buy a lot of history books from RR. We use Biblioplan and RR usually beats Amazon on price. I buy our math workbooks from them (Singapore and Horizons), I think I got Life of Fred there, and I buy some art supplies from them, like pads of watercolor paper. I have purchased handwriting books and spelling books from them in the past. I think I got most of our Classical Kids CDs there (eg Beethoven Lives Upstairs) and our Jim Weiss CDs too.

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They do have the best prices on art supplies! I ordered stuff from them for my co-op kids. They had the best prices, hands down. I got sets of 12 oil pastels for $1.80 each. I couldn't believe it!

 

I will also buy "living" books from them; they do have great prices. I am trying to think what I've purchased from them - it seems like I can always find something, but I don't have anything that I buy very year because they haven't necessarily carried my curriculum choices. We're doing mostly CM now so there isn't a particular packaged thing that we get, except math, and they don't carry what we're using right now (MUS) or what I plan to use next (Teaching Textbooks).

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I usually sit and decide what items we're going to need and compare prices between RR and amazon. This year we ordered from amazon because I wasn't buying enough from RR to get free shipping (I bought ahead a couple years ago to make a larger order) and the price difference wasn't worth the shipping.

 

When I do order, I think ahead to birthdays and Christmas and get some games and similar things. My younger son has really enjoyed the learning placemats they have.

 

Being able to order things that are downloadable has reduced what I buy in paper (like my history and science curriculum - I think RR sells a paper copy, but I order the digital version from Pandia and then just print what I need).

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I usually buy as much as I can of my next year's curriculum used from homeschoolclassifieds.com. Once I've done that, I order the rest of it from Rainbow. I just put in my order and am expecting it any day! Yay!

This year I ordered:

 

A Reason for Handwriting

Some Progeny Press Lit guides

Megawords

Editor In Chief

BJU Bible 5 worktext

Saxon 8/7 tests/ worksheets

Some fiction books

An Australia coloring book & workbook

Story Elements

Story of the World Middle Ages Activity

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They have some great games, dice, cards and fun manipulatives.

 

One thing that I have bought there that I have never seen anywhere else, is the wipe off, white board style magnets that are maybe 1"x4". I write on them with a Vis a Vis marker, and we use them for memorization on a magnetic board.

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Rainbow Resource was a god send when we lived overseas. They ship almost anywhere in the world and you can pretty much one stop shop (very important when you are going to be paying exorbitant shipping no matter where you buy from...although I always thought even overseas shipping from Rainbow Resource was reasonable.)

 

I"m actually expecting a package from them tomorrow (provided the snow doesn't slow the UPS man...again...sigh) We are getting new math books, some logic books to try out, Saxon Grammar and Writing 7, a bunch of miscellaneous books for our science program that I didn't want to bother with getting from the library each time we needed them and some replacement books for some in our collection that have seen a lot of wear and tear over the years. Oh and some centimeter cubes for the 4yo's math program because it was the only manipulative needed that we didn't already have.

 

ETA: Yes we generally make a purchase from Rainbow Resource every year, sometimes more than once in a year. As for the overwhelming volume of the catalog, I always warn people that RR is like the Walmart of homeschool suppliers. It's not like the little boutique homeschool stores with the magazine like catalogs. It helps to have an idea of what you want to look for and then just look over that section of the catalog. Or go online and do a search (though I do find their search engine to be a little quirky) The index and table of contents in the RR catalog should be your best friend.

Edited by prairie rose
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Or go online and do a search (though I do find their search engine to be a little quirky) The index and table of contents in the RR catalog should be your best friend.

 

This is what I do, too. But I agree there search engine can be quirky, and I have had to search a couple of times to get what I want. I usually have an idea of what I want to look at or buy, before I go online. Once I have narrowed my shopping list to my definites, then I start comparison shopping. I search between RR, Barnes and Noble (I have an Educator card), and Amazon. Sometimes for trickier items, I'll Google it, and maybe even go to the publishers site. I have gotten my Saxon from them, Apologia, and my Mastering Mathematics for my younger ones. I just got back from Mardels to finish looking at the stuff on my "maybe" list. Now that I am more definitive in what I want, I'll start comparison shopping tonight in preparation for our tax return.

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One thing that I have bought there that I have never seen anywhere else, is the wipe off, white board style magnets that are maybe 1"x4". I write on them with a Vis a Vis marker, and we use them for memorization on a magnetic board.

 

 

Could you post a link to these? This sounds like something I could really use. :001_smile:

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Just curious, what do you buy? There are so many neat things in there, but it is sooooo BIG.

 

Is there anything that you purchase yearly?

 

I love the pocket covers that you can put on an 8x11 sheet and use dry erase markers on. I will be getting a few of those.:)

 

I haven't purchased from them before, but I noticed that FIAR now has their booklists through RR, instead of hosting it on their own website.

 

How much do you have to buy to qualify for free shipping? And, can you post a link to these pocket covers? That sounds like something we could use around here!

 

I've been buying FIAR books a few at a time, and I've been comparing between Amazon and RR. I have a $20 GC for B&N right now, so I will likely buy a couple from them, even though they are slightly more expensive than RR.

 

We can never afford a huge purchase, so I am always making little purchases throughout the year. That's why I like Amazon, because for most things, it's free shipping for $25+

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My husband's response to this would be (something like): what DOESN'T she buy from Rainbow Resource! :lol: Their prices are almost always the cheapest, so I buy lots of our readers, art supplies, Horizons math - yep, pretty much everything but the kitchen sink! So thankful for RR!!!

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Here is the link to the pocket covers:

 

http://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?sid=1297262906-774767&subject=1&category=9055

 

I haven't purchased from them before, but I noticed that FIAR now has their booklists through RR, instead of hosting it on their own website.

 

How much do you have to buy to qualify for free shipping? And, can you post a link to these pocket covers? That sounds like something we could use around here!

 

I've been buying FIAR books a few at a time, and I've been comparing between Amazon and RR. I have a $20 GC for B&N right now, so I will likely buy a couple from them, even though they are slightly more expensive than RR.

 

We can never afford a huge purchase, so I am always making little purchases throughout the year. That's why I like Amazon, because for most things, it's free shipping for $25+

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We bought some curriculum, but now I usually go used.

Lots of paint--it's heavy, and if you can get the 150 minimum, no fee shipping, it's totally a bargain. Other art supplies, too, and construction paper.

 

I combine with a friend of mine when I have a lower order.

 

Oh, and books--sometimes you just want new, y'know?

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