Help, I am quarantined! What should I do with my kid in high school?

If your child is in high school, you have options.  Is your kid a senior?  Get ready for the SAT with Up Your Score or SAT practice tests.  Consider enrolling your child in an online SAT prep course.

What about other high school students?  They should prepare for the PSAT teens take as a Junior in high school.  Concentrate on core subjects: Math, English, History, and Science.  This is an opportunity to review their coursework.  Start with Math.  You may be able to find a copy of their current math book, if they did not bring their text home.  First give your teen an assessment, such as this Algebra 2 exam from Virginia.  (The answers are at the end of the test.). Want a harder assessment?  Use a NY Regents Exam.  (My examples are in Algebra 2; there are Algebra 1 and Geometry for both Virginia and New York.). Once the kid completes the test, have her review material she missed.  Your child may simply want to complete the course.  Math from a textbook trumps math workbooks.

How should you handle English?  I teach a Brit Lit Co-op class.  We use Stobaugh as a guide.  We like to compare classics with films.  I use reading guides for some of our books.  Decide if you want American, British, or World Literature.  Each series includes many classics.  Stobaugh books are available used on Amazon and eBay.  Your teen is in quarantine!  Pause their device and let them read instead.  Many classic books are free on Amazon.  My Brit Lit writes papers about the books we read.  If your kid needs to brush up his writing, try Writing Better Essays in 20 Minutes a Day.

Stobaugh has American, British, and World History sets, too.  Teach the same history period as English.  Create timelines. 

Science is my subject.  What science subject does your teen take?  If the kid brought home the textbook, complete the course work.  Apologia Science offers material in Physical Science, General Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.  Each textbook includes experiments and tests.  Amazon and eBay sell many used copies of Apologia textbooks.

My advice is to spend four hours each day on core subjects.   If classes do not resume until fall, your child may be among the few prepared next year.