Sonlight Curriculum Makes the Grade

Sonlight Curriculum catalog’s tagline says “lifestyle” to me: “literature-rich homeschooling — education beyond textbooks.” Lifestyle in the true sense of the word: not merely aspirational as many catalogs purport to be. Homeschooling is, indeed, a lifestyle, and the people behind the Sonlight Curriculum catalog “get it” because they live it. This is one of the subjects that earns Sonlight Curriculum a place on the honor roll.

Sonlight Curriculum seems called to a higher mission. Homeschooling is hard work, and clearly isn’t for everyone. This catalog, in addition to being a vehicle to sell the educational resources, is much more. As a true magalog,
it acts as an encourager, an instructor and a facilitator to creative and independent thinking for its customers.

Front Cover

The cover looks and feels more like a magazine than like a catalog. Few catalog covers boast headlines referring people to articles on why not to purchase their products. This one does, and not necessarily for the purpose of pulling off a clever promotional gimmick. Sonlight wants its customers to make educated decisions about which resources to invest in. The catalog dedicates eight pages and 27 detailed reasons why customers shouldn’t use its products, and another 12 pages to articles about why they should.

The true-to-real-life front cover photo of a relaxed dad reading to his daughter with their cat snuggled on the chair with them is very effective. They’re both in comfy sweats and look as if this reading ritual (with one of Sonlight Curriculum’s recommended books) is one of the best parts of their day. This scene is very true to the Sonlight brand, no doubt leading customers to relate to it. At the same time, non-customers might be inclined to look at it and
say, “I want that!”

It’s all part of Sonlight’s brand promises
(family time together, kids who love to learn,
books your children want to read). This also is carried out through the catalog, where actual customer photos are integrated on many
spreads. These photos show the brand promises being lived out. They’re fun and add a real human interest to a copy-heavy offering.