Some homeschool parents need to focus on completing the basics during their children's high school years, because that is all they can handle. Other parents are anxious to do it all, and ready for extra credit! If you are comfortable with homeschooling high school and want to learn more, here are some things you can begin to focus on now, during your students early years of high school. Sophomore year is a great time to make sure you understand about high school tests. Now is the time to ask yourself, which test is better for my child, the SAT or the ACT? It's very easy to obtain a sample test for the SAT and ACT on the College Board website www.collegeboard.com.
Have your student take a sample of each test, in your home, and then just compare the scores and see which one your child scored better on. It's as easy as that and nobody but you will ever know the results. Once you've determined which test is best, begin studying for the SAT or ACT. Sophomore year is a good time to start studying, although you don't want to be really intense, or to stress your child out. Usually if parents are ready to go beyond the basics, so are the children. Sophomore year is also a good time for your child to take subject tests, like the SAT subject test or AP subject tests, if those are necessary for your child. Some colleges require them, and it can be difficult to cover them all in senior year, so its much easier to do a couple every year. Sophomore year is a good time to be thinking about college, and college financing. Your child can start writing essays to apply for scholarships, and you can use those essays in your writing plan for the year for English credit. Sophomore year is a good time to get a jump on what kind of colleges you are interested in. If possible, take your Sophomore to a college fair. Visiting colleges is a really good idea during Sophomore year as well. Spend some time reading college catalogs and figuring out all the details about finding a college. Think about what colleges want from homeschooled children, and ask the representatives at the college fairs. Sometimes they'll have real opinions and say, from homeschooled children, we really prefer the ACT instead of the SAT. This is important information to learn.
Lee Binz is a homeschooling expert and the founder of Thehomescholar.com. She successfully homeschooled her two sons and currently helps many parents in homeschooling their kids. She specializes in helping parents homeschool high school.