Frequently Asked Questions

What products does FunShine Express™ offer?
For prekindergarten children, FunShine Express™ offers a line of monthly early learning activity kits called Fireflies™. These simple, easy to use kits are adaptable for children ages 2 – 5. Each developmentally appropriate kit is filled with our innovative materials such as activity ideas, creative art supplies, music, and more! Activities are included for each area of development five days a week. Tools to include parents and families are also featured in this program, including daily parent participation ideas, a monthly newsletter, and Weekly Family Notes. Practice pages are included as an optional way to reinforce school readiness skills and patterns.

Fireflies™ now also incorporates an on-going assessment and observation system, access to materials to document accountability to state and Head Start agencies, and suggestions for including children of varying ages and stages, even those with special needs.

For infants and toddlers, FunShine Express™ offers a quarterly program called Buttercups™, new for 2008-2009! Each kit includes a Curriculum Guide organized in a weekly format, with open-ended, interactive activities written for various developmental levels. Each quarterly kit features board books, play manipulatives, vocabulary cards, art patterns and supplies, parent newsletters, and more.

For parents and early care providers, FunShine Express™ carries a large line of educational resources, such as art supplies, games, music, resource books, and much more! Call for a catalog or visit our Supply Catalog section on our web site.

What ages are the curriculums designed for?
Fireflies™ offers a blend of child-initiated and teacher-directed activities adaptable for children ages 2 – 5 years. Buttercups™ is designed for infants and toddlers who are age 9 – 24 mos. Each child brings a unique set of developmental skills. These skills do not always fall into place at exactly the same age for all children. Therefore, we feel it is more appropriate to offer activities that can be adapted for children that vary in their levels of development. Many activities in the Fireflies™ Curriculum Guide include adaptations or alternatives for younger children and those with special needs. All activities in the Buttercups™ Curriculum Guide include suggestions for older and younger children.

How long has FunShine Express™ been in business?
FunShine Express has been creating quality early childhood curriculum since January 1995.

When will my kit be shipped?
Fireflies™ activity kits are shipped monthly, approximately three weeks in advance of use. This may vary depending on the time payment is received and also if you are a subscription or automatic shipping customer. Orders are processed and shipped within 2 business days. Average shipping time is 3-5 business days, depending on your location.

Can I order just one month or quarter?
Yes, you may order just one month of Fireflies™ at a time or one quarter of Buttercups™ at a time. There is no further obligation. If you decide you like it, you can order one month at a time, or sign up for Automatic Shipping or a subscription/pre-payment plan.

What is Automatic Shipping and how does it work?
Credit or debit cards are required when signing up for Automatic Shipping. Checks or money orders will not be accepted as payment. Credit or debit cards are automatically charged on the 5th of each preceding month and shipped thereafter. For example, September Fireflies™ kits are charged August 5th and will ship within approximately one week after your card is charged. Subscription discounts do not apply.

Since Buttercups™ is quarterly payments are processed on the 5th of each preceding quarter. For example, fall kits are charged on August 5th, winter kits are charged on November 5th, spring kits are charged on February 5th, and summer kits are charged on May 5th.

What is a Subscription?
A subscription is a prepaid arrangement to receive curriculum for three or more consecutive months. Subscription discounts of 10% to 15% apply. Curriculum kits will automatically be shipped each month approximately 3 weeks in advance of use.

Buttercups™ activity kits can be prepaid. However, no discounts will be given for pre-payment.

I am a Subscription/pre-payment or Automatic Shipping customer. Can I cancel at any time?
Absolutely! Our curriculum is satisfaction guaranteed. To avoid additional charges, cancellations to your order must be made prior to the 20th of the month preceding shipment. For example, a September kit will be shipped in August. Therefore, cancellation must be made by July 20th.

Can I change the number of children I ordered for if I have a Subscription/pre-payment or Automatic Shipping?
Give us a call with the new quantities needed and we will update and adjust your account. To avoid additional charges, changes to your order must be made prior to the 20th of the month preceding shipment. For example, changes to a September kit must be made by July 20th.

What if something is missing or damaged?
We strive to maintain high standards of quality. However, many of the materials included in each kit are hand-counted. We ask you to assist us by inspecting your order as soon as you receive it. If the items have been damaged or items are missing, please contact us immediately. We will replace or ship the materials as soon as possible. All claims for shortages or damaged merchandise must be made within 10 days of receipt.

Will the projects be the same year after year?
FunShine Express™ is on a three-year rotation basis. Some themes and projects may be repeated every fourth year. The content is always rewritten and reworked to include any new art materials and to keep the activities fresh and up to date with current early childhood standards. We change or adapt themes and activities that have not yielded positive customer feedback.

How much cutting is involved for the provider?
There is cutting involved for the provider. For Fireflies™, items to cut include calendar heading and days, alphabet word cards, weather display and pieces, shape, color, and number display pieces, math game pieces, and the weekly family notes. For Buttercups™, providers need to cut the vocabulary cards apart and some of the patterns may require cutting.

How much cutting is involved for the children?
Items the children may cut would be related to the art projects. Our art materials are not pre-cut. We believe practice with scissors is important for children! Cutting is a fine motor skill that requires time and practice to develop. When designing the program, we are careful to ensure the cutting that the children will be doing is simple, without difficult corners or curves. This also allows the children to be creative. Each child’s project should look different!

Are all of the materials for the art/craft projects included?
WWe ask you to supply basic items, such as paint, glue, scissors, crayons, markers, old newspapers, etc. A “Materials List” is in the front of each Curriculum Guide to let you know what you need to gather to complete every activity that month. Click here for a sample of the Materials List. A list of basic supplies to keep on hand can be found in the Program Overview.

What is the “Music and Movement” CD?
A CD is available to complement the activities in each Fireflies™ kit. The music CD is free with subscriptions and automatic shipping commitments of 9 months or more. Or, it can be purchased for $10.00. This year’s CD features 36 songs that correspond to each monthly theme. Click here for a sample.

What is the Fireflies™ Sample Kit?
The Fireflies™ Sample is a 4-week activity kit for four children. The themes in the Sample Kit are “All About Me,” “Cookies and Milk,” and “Our Beautiful Earth.” The Sample Kit includes nearly everything that is in a regular monthly kit, with the exception of Starter Pack items, which you will receive with your first regular monthly order. Also, only samples of some of the full-color items are included. For example, you will receive one set of Word Cards instead of three. Our goal is to give you a good idea of what the materials in a regular monthly activity kit would look like and how they would be used. Sample Kits do, however, include materials for 12 creative art projects, 4 enrichment sheets, 3 alphabet sheets, 1 number sheet, a book of the month, calendar headings and numbers, learning center materials, math game and pieces, and samples of the monthly pieces for the color, shape, and number displays. Click here to order a sample kit.

Who writes the curriculum?
Beth Strube is our Curriculum Director. She has a Master’s Degree in Education and licensed child care experience. Robin Rivinius, Kelley Jilek, and Dawn Olson are the Curriculum Coordinators. Robin has a Bachelor’s Degree in Child Development and Family Science and is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education. She has teaching experience in licensed family child care environments and NAEYC accredited centers, as well as after-school programs. Kelley has a Bachelor’s Degree in Home Economics and teaching experience with preschool and school age children in home and classroom settings. Dawn holds a Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood/Elementary Education with Title I credentials in Reading and Math and is nearing completion of a Master's Degree in Education. Her experiences prior to joining FunShine Express™ include operating a child care, co-teaching with Head Start teachers, as well as teaching in a K-4 combination classroom. Robin, Dawn, and Kelley write and assist with the development of curriculum materials.

What is a Starter Pack?
The Starter Pack is included with all September orders or with your initial order for the curriculum year. You will receive only one Starter Pack per year. Additional Starter Packs can be purchased for $5.00 each. Kits for 14 children and larger automatically receive two Starter Packs. Fireflies™ Starter Pack

What is a Teacher Pack?
For Fireflies™ you will receive a Teacher Pack each month and with Buttercups™ you will receive a Teacher Pack each quarter. Fireflies™ kits for 14 children and larger automatically receive 2 Teacher Packs. Additional packs can be purchased with a kit for $12 each. Individual Teacher Packs can be purchased for $24, plus shipping and handling.

Buttercups™ activity kits always come with just one teacher pack. Additional teacher packs can be purchased with a kit for $24.00 each.

Fireflies™ Teacher Pack, Buttercups™ Teacher Pack.

Can Practice Pages, Enrichment Sheets, Curriculum Guides, or art projects be purchased separately?
These items are not sold separately.

How do I place an order?
You may place your order by phone, fax, or Internet if using a credit or debit card. You may also send in a check or money order with a completed order form. Order forms can be found in the front of every Curriculum Guide or they can be printed from our web site. Prepayment is required. Kits will not be shipped until payment is received.

How is the kit packaged?
Each Fireflies™ or Buttercups™ kit contains pre-packaged materials in clear plastic resealable bags. Each packet is individually labeled and cross-referenced with page numbers from the Curriculum Guide.

Why aren’t the projects packaged in order? Why isn’t the Curriculum Guide on top?
We try to package the materials in a manner that will ensure that they will arrive to you free from damage. Packets containing just paper products are placed at the bottom of the box because they are the heaviest. Our goal is to prevent delicate art materials from being damaged or crushed in the boxes during shipping.

Why can’t I order for an odd number of children?
Our kits are packaged only in even numbers as we have found this to be the most cost effective. We want to keep the cost of our kits as low as possible.

How long does the program take to complete each day?
Our Fireflies™ program is flexible. We suggest that you look through the activity suggestions given for each day in the Curriculum Guide. Then, decide which of the ideas would work best for the children in your group (judging from their interests, ages, developmental level and skills, etc.). The length of time the program takes depends on which activities you choose to implement. If your environment is organized in centers, many of the activities can be introduced and then be available to the children all day (some even several days!). If your environment is not organized in centers, it will probably work best to implement the activities with small groups of children. Many factors affect the length of time our program takes! Introduce activities that you believe are appropriate for the children in your care. Monitor the children’s interest levels and offer new materials or a new activity when their interest begins to fade. See pgs. 6-9 of the Fireflies™ Program Overview for more information.

Buttercups™ is also designed to be very flexible. Repetition is important for children this age, and their day is very much dictated by their sleeping and eating patterns. For these reasons, Buttercups™ incorporates ideas to use during daily routines, such as diaper changes and meal times, plus many activity ideas to use with one or two children at a time. How long our program takes to implement each day is greatly determined by your daily schedule and each child’s daily routine.

Do I have to order a Curriculum Kit in order to purchase the Monthly Christian Supplement?
No, the Christian Supplement can be purchased independently from an activity kit. The Bible Story corresponds with a monthly theme so it can easily supplement our kit or can be used independently. Click here to purchase a Christian Supplement.

How do I gain access to the downloadable extras you offer?
Our customer only web site is www.funshineextras.com. A Fireflies™ monthly kit must be purchased to gain complete access to the site. Customers can find their access code on page iii of the Curriculum Guide each month.