There have been many changes this year in the Schoolhouse Store. Months ago the Store got a wonderful new look and feel. Then just this month we finished a huge project of re-categorizing all our products to help our customers pinpoint just the right item to fit their needs. Like anything else that undergoes change, it may take some time to get used to those changes, but we are sure that once you have learned the new categories you will find it easier to find just what you are looking for.

We would like to help familiarize you with how our new categories are laid out. If you take a look at the Site Map (which you can find at the bottom of the top left header), you will see the long list of categories we now have. If you saw this on the side bar, you would probably be overwhelmed by the choices and endless scrolling. So to make your search selection less daunting and a bit easier, we have created main categories, which you see on the left sidebar, sub-categories, and even some sub-sub-categories. This may all seem confusing, but it really will help you find just the right item you are looking for.

For example: Let’s say you are looking for a book on ancient Egypt. You know this is a history subject, so you click Subjects on the sidebar.

This will take you to all the subjects, and you will see all the different basic subjects.

Now you can refine your search by subject by clicking History/Social Studies. Another page will open to further refine your search. 

Then you click Ancient History and a list of items comes up for you to look through to find the perfect product to fit your needs.

But say you really love E-Books and would like to find something you can purchase right away to use. We have placed all E-Books in their own category. To find what you are looking for, you follow the same pinpointing process as you did to find a physical item, except you start by clicking E-Books on the sidebar.

Find the basic subject you are looking for, in our example that would be E-History/Social Studies, and click on it.

Then find E-Ancient History and you will see all the E-Books available for Ancient History.

If you are in an E-category but would like to see what the Schoolhouse Store has to offer for physical items in the same category, you will notice at the top of the category page you are in the text with a link to take you to the physical items in that category.

It works in reverse if you are in a category for physical items and you would like to see what E-products are available.

There are other search features that you may find useful when looking through the Schoolhouse Store. There is a “Filter Results by” feature that can be used in two different ways. If you are in a specific category, you can choose to show only the products by your favorite vendor by selecting the vendor’s name from the dropdown menu beside “Filter Results by.”

If you have done a search from the “Companies” dropdown menu in the Store front header, you can refine your category choice using “Filter Results by" .

 As you can see, once you have become familiar with all the new categories and what can be found in those categories, your search for the perfect product will be easy as pie. If you are still having trouble finding something in particular, you can use the “Contact us” page to request assistance and someone will help you.

Hi, my name is Toni Riggs and I am one of the Store Assistants.  I have been working for TOS since June 2007 and have been in the store since February 2008.  I live in San Diego with my husband and our two kitties, Pepper and Malakai.  We don’t have any kids yet, but Malakai gives me plenty of practice as I have to put him in time out from time to time!  When we do have children, we plan to homeschool so I am spying for ideas as I work around the store. Some might say I tend to plan too far in advance but I just like to feel be prepared.    I love being married and have a heart for working with engaged and newlywed couples.  

When I’m not in the store I am usually taking or editing photos.   I love capturing God’s beauty in a way that might be inspiring to others!   In my spare time I enjoy going to the beach, the Wild Animal Park, and watching sports.   I recently started making cards and want to learn how to make petite cakes. 

I add a lot of the new products to the store, so you’ll see me in here asking questions about curriculum or suggesting new products I think look interesting.  I would love to hear about what you’ve tried and what works best in your homeschool!  By the way, be sure to check out our new July module HERE and let us know what summer fun ideas your family enjoyed most!

Hello, everyone. My name is Virginia Donahue, but most folks just call me Ginny. Along with Angela Quigley, Cheryl Duran, and Toni Riggs, I will be sharing in making posts to be sure you have all the information about the latest happenings at the Schoolhouse Store. But first I’ll tell you a bit about myself. Some folks may already know me as proversmomof3 from my Proverbs 22:6 Academy blog or from my products in the store under my blog’s name. For those of you who have no clue to what I’m talking about, here is my bio in a nutshell. I am a transplant Yankee living in the south. In October I will be married to my very best friend for 25 years and we have three awesome children. Our oldest son is 23, his brother is 15 and his sister is 12. We have been a homeschool family going on six years. How we came to homeschool is a story for another time, but we have never regretted our decision. I absolutely love everything about homeschooling and am so glad that God put it into our hearts to travel this road. When I’m not working on one project or another, I enjoy doing crafts of all kinds, especially paper quilling. I play guitar, write music and poetry (if have you enjoyed Splish’s Scavenger Hunts this summer, you’ll see my hand in that), and love to work on the computer.
I am a Store Assistant but I wear many hats here at TOS. I just celebrated my one year anniversary working for TOS and I totally love my job.

Even though I love to craft, I am artistically challenged. My children, on the other hand, have their father’s genes and they really enjoy artistic endeavors. If you are like me, you can use a little help (or in my case, a lot of help) in instructing your children to appreciate art and in developing their talents. That’s why this week’s Focus on Art Sale is a must see. With savings on such products from Artistic Pursuits, Barker Creek, Brandenburg Studies, CPR Publishing, Geo Deo, GlueArts, and others you’re sure to find something to help you teach your children. Swing by the Schoolhouse Store and see all that is being offered.

Click HERE for all the details.

Hi Everyone! My name is Angela Quigley and I am the Director of the Schoolhouse Store for TOS Magazine. I am so excited to introduce myself and to also let you know of some really great changes with our blog. Amy Saleik launched the blog back in November 08 (can you believe it has been that long?) and has done a wonderful job of keeping you all updated with the many promotional and featured items in the Schoolhouse Store. Amy has moved on to bigger and better things within TOS . . . soooooo, we have put together a team of store staffers that are going to hopefully keep you informed and amused.

I’d like to share a bit about myself. I am married to a wonderful man who happens to be the Associate Pastor at our church. We have 2 daughters who I will call Sis and Little Bit. Sis is 10 going on 16 and Little Bit is 6. Sis asked me yesterday, “Mom, when I start driving, will you teach me or dad?” Oh dear, I really dread those days. Ha! Anyway, we have 2 Westies, Sugar and Mello. Sugar is a princess “I get what I want” dog and Mello is an “I’m afraid of my shadow” kind of dog. They are so fun and keep me laughing. Well, most days anyway.

Kansas City is where we call home and one thing I have learned over the years is to “Never Say Never”!

I hope you enjoy today’s Midweek Markdown from Alphabet Alley! The Two by Two Matching game is a really great game and at 20% off and free shipping in the US, how can you go wrong? I just had a thought . . . that would be a great gift idea for my neighbor’s little one.

Be sure to tune in as the other store staffers (I won’t spoil the surprise.) introduce themselves in the next few days. This is going to be so fun!!!!

• Lots of information about NEW products!
• Individual focus on your favorite "Tried & True" products!
• Mid-Week Markdown products announced here on Wednesdays!
• Interviews with your favorite homeschool companies!
• Random FREE giveaways!