Beginning the Journey of Homeschooling High School!

Homeschooling high school--are you nervous or excited? Or a little bit of both?! High school is a rewarding time to be homeschooling, as your children mature and grow and engage you in more complicated conversations. Along with the fun, though, are some important things you should be thinking about as you enter these high school years, and now is the time to start work!

Your child's freshman year is the time to begin learning about high school testing. One of the reasons it is so important to start thinking about this during freshman year is that some tests are best administered to a child immediately after they finish a class. For instance, if they're taking chemistry and you decide you want them to take an AP test in chemistry, they should take the test when they've learned the content.

You also need to decide whether your child should take an SAT, AP, or CLEP subject test. Some colleges only accept certain tests, so it's important to find out which ones will be accepted by the colleges your child will most likely be going to.

And don't forget to register for those tests so they can actually take them, because all of the research in the world isn't going to help you if you don't actually register for the test! To register, all you have to do is call your local public or private high school and say, "I'm a homeschool parent, and would like to know if my homeschooled child can take the SAT or the AP subject test at your high school, and how do I register for that"?

The next thing you want to do during your child's freshman year, if you're feeling pretty confident in where you are, is to think about colleges for a minute. It doesn't hurt to begin looking at colleges with your teenager now. You could identify a primary list of colleges that you might consider. If you've always thought, "probably these four are the ones that we're going to apply to," or "my child has always mentioned an interest in going to Harvard" or something, then you should begin to look at those colleges.

If you do have some colleges in mind, it's a good idea to look into their application requirements now, because if the college your child wants to attend is that one college in a million that requires four years of foreign language or something, you want to know that earlier on in Freshman year. You could also consider a college visit in the spring. Most college visits are done during the spring of Junior year; but it's perfectly fine for you to take your children for college visits in Freshman year or even earlier.

Start now to prepare for college! Waiting too long is one of the "5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School." Learn how to avoid all 5 mistakes in my free e-mail mini-course.

If you'd like some more help homeschooling high school, Lee Binz, The HomeScholar is an expert on creating professional homeschool transcripts that will AMAZE the colleges. You can learn more at www.TotalTranscriptSolution.com.

What Advantages Does A Private High School Offer Students?

If you are thinking of putting your child in a private high school instead of a public one, you should do some research on the features to look for. You will find that most private schools offer some advantages that you cannot get just anywhere, but you need to sift through them to narrow down your search. You should learn about a few of the top benefits that you may find at schools of this type, and then you can decide if they are important to you. You can then look for schools with these features.

One of the most important details of a good high school is small class size. Many public schools are overflowing with kids, as each class might have upwards of 30 or even 35 students. However, many private institutions limit the size to about 15 to 20 kids per class. This is a good thing because it allows each teacher to offer every student more attention, which tends to improve the ability to learn. Therefore, you should keep this in mind when looking for schools for your child.

Another feature to look for is a range of interesting classes. For example, while the typical high school might only offer Spanish and French as foreign languages, private schools often have several other languages to choose from. This is especially important if your child is actually interested in studying a particular language that is not usually offered. Of course, many colleges tend to look at a wide range of classes as a good thing, since they can teach students more varied subjects than usual. If you want your child to have a chance to take unique courses, you should find a high school with several classes to choose from.

In addition, some colleges actually work closely with schools to make sure students are prepared to get an advanced education. This means that teachers are careful to teach skills that can be used in college, along with advanced coursework when appropriate. Also, college counselors may be on-hand to talk to students and give them advice. If you think your child could use some help of this kind, which would likely help prepare him or her for college, you should look into schools offering these features.

A simple visit to the website or campus of a local private high school could give you the answers you are looking for. If you think your child would benefit from and appreciate these advantages, you should start researching. You are sure to find at least one location that offers these benefits.

If you've been thinking about sending your child to a Vero Beach high school, consider the small class sizes, personal attention, and enrichment opportunities found at http://www.steds.org.