2) Consider Designing Your Own Curriculum — You have many options when it comes to curricula.  The beauty of homeschooling is choice!  Many families decide to homeschool with Partners With Parents so that they can create their own curriculum, tailoring a homeschooling program unique to their child’s interests and aptitudes.  Other parents choose a predesigned curriculum that sets a detailed structure for their child’s school year.  There are a number of excellent “off the shelf” curricula available for purchase.  Just do your research before buying!  A few homeschooling families who work with us choose a middle ground; they use an established curriculum as a framework, and we help them build in customization to suit their circumstances.  For our short-term homeschoolers who are out due to illness or other unforeseen circumstances, our homeschool teachers coordinate with the schools and execute their curricula so that students don’t fall behind.

3) Don’t Forget Socialization — It is undeniable that an important part of school is socialization.  Children must have contact with their peers as they develop intellectually and emotionally.  They must learn how to share, trust, work together, settle differences, develop relationships . . . in essence, become functional members of society.  When homeschooling in and around NYC, there are myriad opportunities for such interaction to take place.  Here, a critical mass of people means that group classes in any subject, both academic and recreational, are likely to be available any day of the week.  Afterschool activities, with further opportunities for interaction, abound.  The only way your children won’t get socialized is if you conduct all lessons in your home and don’t let them out at the end of the school day!

4) Consider Using the World As Your Classroom — Take advantage of the educational opportunities where you live.  Anywhere can be a classroom and anything can be a learning experience.  If you live in NYC, there are literally millions of opportunities to learn.  Spend some time researching what museums, cultural centers, galleries, parks, etc. are available near you.  Don’t be afraid to take a lot of class trips!   There is no doubt that you can find scholarly pursuits that tie in to your child’s curriculum and interests all around you.  Be creative!

5) Join NYCHEA — The New York City Homeschooling Educators Alliance, better known as NYCHEA, is the largest homeschooling group in New York, with over 300 families.   It is an active member-run, volunteer-based, non-profit organization for homeschooling families in NYC.  NYCHEA offers support, information, and connection opportunities for home school families, with hundreds of events and activities annually.

If any part of this process seems daunting, Sharon, our homeschool coordinator, can help you sort it out.  Call us at (212) 928-5014 or e-mail us.

2) Prioritize! With only a little time before the test, you must tailor your efforts to the areas where you are most likely to see improvement.  Don’t get stuck on a particular concept if you are having difficulty with it.  You can always come back to it later.  You want to be able to answer as many different kinds of questions as possible.

3) Improve your vocabulary. At this point you should be hitting those word lists with considerable intensity.   Keep words you don’t know with you at all times (flash cards, iphone apps, etc.).   Learn a new word while you’re in the car, waiting in line at Starbucks, or, dare I say, in the bathroom.  Think how many words you could have learned in the time it took you to send those 863 texts today.

4) Make sure you get enough rest and proper nutrition in the weeks leading up to the test.  You cannot catch up on weeks of sleeplessness in one or two nights.   Determine what snacks to bring to the test (Think banana, nuts, protein bar, not candy bar, soda, chips).  Practice your breathing and relaxation before test.  If the adrenalin rush during the SAT turns to panic, stop what you are doing, start taking deep breaths, and relax your muscles.  This will help you calm down and get the oxygen to your brain that it needs to perform.

5) Get help. If you are clear that you are not going to perform the way that you want to, it is not to late to hire an SAT tutor.  One or two months, while not ideal, is certainly enough time for someone to assess your progress, teach you tips and tricks, and develop a plan to maximize your efforts and your score.  There are hundreds of test prep companies and individual tutors in New York City.  If you don’t know where to start, inquire at school or ask friend who’s been through it.  Of course, we are partial to the talented group of test prep tutors that we’ve assembled at Partners With Parents.

2) Do Your Reps – The brain is a muscle like any other.  Make sure it remains active.  As with exercise, you can’t make up for 4 months of inactivity in one all-night cramming session.  Make “contact” with difficult material and large projects daily or weekly.

3) Build Strength Slowly – Start with the basics.  As you learn the foundation and gain more confidence, add new concepts.  If you get lost, backtrack.  Don’t get daunted by large assignments.  Break them down into manageable parts and spread them out.

4) Get To Know The Equipment – Just as we need to understand how our muscles work to establish a good exercise routine with the proper form, students need to understand how their brains work.  All learners can greatly benefit from asking the following questions: How do I process new information?  What are my strengths and weaknesses?  What unique conditions must be satisfied to bring out my optimal performance?

5) Use A Spotter – When your children are taking on new and difficult challenges make sure they get the support they need.  This could be working with their teacher during a free period, studying with friends, or seeking outside help.  Excellent tutors can help their students learn the skills necessary to operate successfully without them.  Learn more about what to look for in a tutor.

2) Read to your child every day.  Demonstrate for your child how to read with expression.  If a book has pictures, relate the words to the pictures.  Even if you’re tired of a book, “Read it again!”  If you are repeating an old favorite, change the words in silly ways and let your child catch you “messing it up.”

3) Give your child a newspaper clipping or magazine and have them find a letter with a crayon. CIRCLE ALL THE “T”s.  Give them paper and their favorite colored marker and let them experiment with writing or tracing the letters they’ve found.

4) Spend time with letters of the alphabet that can be arranged and rearranged into different words.  Make sure you have duplicates; we don’t live in a world where one “e” suffices.   If your child is past swallowing age, a couple of sets of Scrabble letters should give more than enough variety for early readers.  The large refrigerator magnets will do nicely as well.

5) Take your child to get his or her own library card, and then visit the library regularly. Many libraries have programs for early readers, like story time, as well as afterschool programs for older children.  Books on CD, which most libraries carry, provide a great opportunity for a child to read a book independently and to hear an expert reader’s modeling.

2) Show you care about the class even if you don’t. Sit near the front, avoid distracting classmates, sit up straight, and make eye contact.  Listen for verbal clues, and watch for non-verbal clues.  For those less engaging classes, make sure you get enough sleep; nodding off is a big no-no.

3) Ask Questions and Contribute to the Discussion. These show your teacher that you are grappling with a particular subject and are synthesizing new information.  Make sure you are paying attention to what is being said by classmates so you don’t repeat it.  Reference their contributions in your own words when appropriate.  However, don’t talk just to hear yourself speak or become the obsequious kid that even the teacher avoids calling on after a few days.

4) Make sure everything you submit, by e-mail or on paper, is in pristine condition.  Proofread your work and be certain that it makes sense.  There should never be spelling or grammar mistakes.  And it goes without saying, no juice stains, no creases or folds, and no teeth marks (canine or otherwise).

5) Be on time. There’s no easier way to impress than by being in your seat, ready to learn, when the bell rings.  There are few things more glaring than interrupting your teacher midsentence to do the “walk of shame” from the classroom door to your seat.