10th grade

What Grade is Your Child in Next Year?

What grade is your child in next year? Are you ready? If you need to plan for the coming year, I have a book that's a perfect fit, no matter what grade!

Homeschooling Middle School with Powerful Purpose: How to Successfully Navigate 6th through 8th Grade

Middle school is a time when homeschool parents often get frightened and quit. But now is no time to panic! Middle school can be the sweetest, most rewarding time to homeschool! Learn strategies for gently guiding your preteen through the physical, intellectual, and social changes that come with this age. You will be able to reconnect with your child and be encouraged and energized to prepare them for high school and beyond.

How to Homeschool 9th and 10th Grade: Simple Steps for Starting Strong

If starting to homeschool high school makes you nervous, this book will help you homeschool with confidence. Get a great start homeschooling high school! Learn what you need to cover in freshman and sophomore year! These are exciting years in your child's life!

Junior Year is the Key to Homeschool Success: How to Unlock the Gate to Graduation and Beyond

This book covers the important tasks of junior year, including taking the PSAT, preparing for college admission tests, attending college fairs, choosing a college, finding merit scholarships, and getting a jump on senior year. Have you “fumbled the ball” in previous years? There is still time to catch up and be ready for college applications during senior year! Have you kept good records all along and given your child a college prep education? There are still plenty of other tasks that need to be done!

Senior Year Step-by-Step: Simple Instructions for Busy Homeschool Parents

Does the thought of homeschooling senior year of high school seem scary to you? It doesn't have to be! You can do it, just take it one step at a time! This book covers homeschool records, forms and deadlines, college application essays, college interviews, planning a graduation ceremony, how to save money and get those scholarships, preparing for college life, and more! Get the encouragement, tips, and tricks you need to get through senior year.

Heading to College

Are your kids headed to college? You don't need a book, you need to know what to buy for them to take to college! Here is a list of things that will likely be needed during the year: College Packing List. Some items may be restricted by your university, so check their policy before buying electrical equipment such as microwaves, refrigerators, and toaster ovens.



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Right now is the time.  No more putting it off.  Call the local high school (public or private) and ask them how to register your homeschooled student for the PSAT.  The test is in October, but you need to register as soon as possible.

The PSAT in 10th grade is "for fun."  It's an opportunity for sophomores to try the PSAT for the first time, when it really don't matter for anything.

The PSAT in 11th grade is "for profit" because the junior year PSAT is the only year it counts for the National Merit Scholarship.  If you have a particularly smart 11th grader, they may score high enough to get the National Merit Scholarship.  Otherwise, the PSAT is just great practice for the SAT in the spring.  Either way, it's a great opportunity. It can estimate your score on the SAT, and help you figure out which colleges might be a good fit in the future.

I don't usually recommend the PSAT in 9th grade.  At that age, most kids don't have the amount of math they need to score well.  Since they can't do well, I worry that kids will develop a test phobia, from being forced to take a test they when they are expected to do poorly.  Unless kids have completed geometry, taking the test in 9th grade may do more harm than good.

If you want to learn more about the PSAT, this article will help: Take the PSAT for Fun and Profit

Allison asked:

I had a question about the PSAT.  My daughter is in 10th grade this year and she is at or above grade level in all her subjects, except math.  We are trying to decide if taking the PSAT this year is necessary.  Thanks for your help with this.

If a 10th grader isn't good at math, then taking the PSAT may not be "for fun" at all, but just "for frustration."  Taking the PSAT in 10th grade is just for fun, in order to make the PSAT and SAT the following year easier.  My concern with taking the PSAT in 10th grade without enough math could make it more difficult for her to do well the following year.  She may feel incapable, or that the PSAT is too hard, because of her experience of taking it before she is ready.  So I guess if it were me, I wouldn't give the PSAT to a 10th grader who might be frustrated with the test, either because their math or their English is below the level of the PSAT.  You don't want her to be turned off by the test, and there is no reason to give it if it will make the situation worse.  So I guess my vote is a "no" on the PSAT in 10th grade for your daughter.  You know best, of course, but I'd be tempted to avoid the frustration.  If she is taking geometry this year, then she should be in a good place with her math to take the PSAT in 11th grade.  She's really not behind in ANY way, I just wouldn't want to push the test a year early if it were me.



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The PSAT is great practice for the SAT!  Don't  study before taking it in 10th grade, so that you have a good idea of where you are starting from.  The PSAT does NOT have a hand written essay, it's just a "fill in the bubble" test.  Taking it without practicing can tell you what your "worst possible" score would be  the following year.  It may be helpful to practice for the PSAT after taking it in 10th grade, depending on your situation.  For example, if your student's score on the "fun" PSAT (sophomore year) makes them a definite candidate for the National Merit Scholarship, then by all means have them study for the "profit" portion of the PSAT their junior year!

Here is the book I recommend for PSAT practice.



If you haven't already, make sure you read my article on taking the PSAT for fun and profit, in my article archives.  You can take it and post it on your blog or website if you think it will help your readers as well!  If you aren't on my email newsletter mailing list, make sure you sign up here.