Homeschooling High School for Working Parents

By request: Here are tips for homeschooling high school for working parents.

Homeschooling High School for Working Parents

More and more families are homeschooling and more and more of these families have working parents. (Let’s be clear, all parents work, but we are talking in this post about those who are working for a paycheck.)

The first thing you need to know is that it is possible for working moms (and working parents) to homeschool high school. Parents often feel nervous about tackling these years because they are so important to what happens next in their teens’ lives:

• Teens who are college-bound need a good transcript
• Career-bound teens need transcript with good life preparation

With that in mind, let me start with a story. I have served as a mental health counselor for many years, so my five kids survived homeschooling high school with a working mom. They all made it through high school graduation and college graduation (three of them with graduate degrees). All are gainfully employed.

So, homeschooling high school for working parents can work! In fact, we believe that homeschooling high school can be the best years yet!

Here are some tips to help you and your teens have a successful homeschool experience:

You can homeschool high school, even as a working mom and/or dad! Your teens can love and thrive as homeschoolers. However, in order to truly be happy and successful in homeschooling the teen years, there are some things that you and your teens must face. Here they are.

Model a good attitude

Homeschooling high school is not always a working mom’s first choice. While many working parents fell into homeschooling because of covid or other circumstances, it can still be awesome for the whole family. Most importantly, the success of the venture rides on the attitudes modeled by we parents for our teens.

• The number one thing is to take on a growth mindset. A growth mindset allows you and your teens to accept the present circumstances and make the best of them. In other words, a growth mindset builds resilience. Here are some resources to help build a growth mindset.
• The second thing to model for your teens is an attitude of gratitude. That may sound cheesy but truly, it is good for us and our families when we are showing thankfulness for whatever we can find to be thankful for. Research has shown that people who practice gratefulness can be healthier physically and emotionally.

Do a little research

These days, there is plenty of information on homeschooling high school. You can do this! Try not to overwhelm yourself but spend a few hours reading information that is available. If you have friends who are homeschooling, talk to them, too.

Here are some resources for your homeschool research:

• Our free mini-course to get you started if you are feeling intimidated by homeschooling high school
• Our blog series, Authoritative Guides to:
  • How to Homeschool High School
  • Transitioning to Homeschooling High School (for families who are starting homeschooling after being in a traditional school setting)
  • Planning Homeschool High School
  • Electives
  • Literature
  • Writing Requirements
  • Career Exploration
  • Financial Literacy
  • Transcripts
  • Special Needs
• Also, parents college-bound teens can benefit from reading BJ’s Homeschool’s Homeschooling High School with College in Mind.
• Parents with career-bound teens will be so encouraged with these interviews on Homeschool Highschool Podcast:
  • Helping Non-College-Bound Teens Find Success
  • Careers That Don’t Require College
  • How to Enjoy Being the Mom of a Just-Average Teen
• Parents with military-bound teens will benefit from these interviews on Homeschool Highschool Podcast
  • What Military Recruiters Are Looking for in Homeschoolers
  • Preparing Teens for Military Careers

Okay, now, take a deep breath and take the next step…

Define your goals

Goal setting for homeschool high school is something for you and your teens to do together (after all, you do not want to be one of those heavy equipment parents). Write these goals down and keep a copy for you and for your teens.

You will not be clear on all your goals, so stay flexible but here are some areas to discuss. What do you want life to look like when your teens complete their last day of high school?

• Career and/or college preparation
• Academics
• Extracurriculars
• Service/volunteering
• Life skills
• Soft skills
• Character and integrity skills

You probably will not find time for everything in homeschool high school, but you can do a lot if you create a goal-driven high school setting.

Know your roles

As a parent of homeschooling teens, your job is different than you may think! You really do not need to be actively teaching your teens all their subjects. Instead, your roles are:

• Resource manager: You get courses and curriculum together for your teens.
• Relationship investor: It is your relationship with your teens that will sustain the ups and downs of the adolescent years. (This is a top secret of success!)
• Prayer support person: No one prays like a parent. (This is the top secret of success!)

Your teens’ jobs include:

• Learning to become an independent learner
• Investing in interests and skills
• Learning the skills for living healthily

Find support systems

Humans tend to function better if they have some measure of community. Working parents are often limited in how much they can be involved, but you will find something that fits. Here are some ideas:

• Local homeschool support groups, homeschool co-ops or umbrella schools
• Digital groups, such as:
  • 7SistersHomeschool Facebook Group
    • You’ll love the practical tips for homeschool working moms in this interview with our group’s beloved moderator, Stacey Lane Clendaniel
  • Working While Homeschooling Facebook Group
    • Also check out this interview about being a homeschool working mom with the group’s founder, Julie Mendez
  • It’s Not That Hard to Homeschool High School Facebook Group
  • Blue Collar Homeschooling Facebook Group
  • Simply Homeschool Facebook Group
  • College Discussions for Homeschoolers Facebook Group

Even podcasts provide support. Here are some of our favorites:

• Homeschool Highschool Podcast
• Homeschooling with Technology
• Life Skills 101
• Homeschool Sanity

Here are some ideas when you cannot find other homeschool families

Choose curriculum creatively

Remember, there’s not ONE right way to homeschool! So choose what works for your family and ditch things that do not work when you try them. Homeschooling working parents often find that these options work well:

• Textbooks and ebooks for independent learners
• Online courses (self-paced or live)
  • 7Sisters is adding self-paced courses, we will keep you posted
  • Outschool.com
  • Study.com (Hey, they listed us in their favorite homeschool blogs!)
  • Khan Academy
  • Music in Our Homeschool
• Online academies such as
  • FundaFunda Academy
  • True North Academy
  • Dreaming Spires Home Learning (Charlotte Mason approach)
  • Blue Star Virtual Learning (virtual learning emphasis, rather than homeschool emphasis)
  • Stanford University’s Online High School (for select, high-performing students)
• Dual enrollment courses for teens who are ready for college classes. (Here are some pros and cons of college classes during high school.)
• Here are some posts and downloads to help you choose curriculum:
  • How to Choose Curriculum post
  • How to Choose Curriculum download

Create a calendar and syllabi for you and your teens

There is not ONE right way to organize your homeschool. However, you and your teens need an organizational style that fits your personalities.

• Our best suggestion for creating schedules is to check out our post on teaching teens time management. It has so many tips and digital resource suggestions (from homeschool graduates, themselves).
  • Your teens will move through their curriculum more successfully if they have a syllabus for each core course. Many of  7SistersHomeschool’s texts have a free suggested syllabus that you can adapt to your needs.
  • We also have a download on how to create a syllabus and post that tell you how to create and use a syllabus.

Have regular one-on-ones

Many of us working parents have regular one-on-ones with our bosses. This helps build relationships and efficiency in the organization. Just like work, one-on-ones with your teens on a regular (scheduled) basis is a key to homeschool high school success.

Here are more tips on keeping your teens on track.

Schedule positives

Homeschool working families need time to relax and to laugh.

• Put something positive on the schedule that you and your teens can enjoy (academic or not)
• Try to make sure you have laughed each day. Model finding laughter for your teens. (This can help protect mental health.)

Hold onto realistic expectations

Remember, there’s not ONE right way to homeschool high school. Also, there’s NO Pinterest-perfect homeschool high school! Keep your expectations realistic, not “Pinterestic”. Also, check out this episode with Sabrina (sharing the things she has learned about homeschooling high school): If I Could Talk to My Younger Self.

Last of all, here’s some advice for moms of new homeschoolers.

Homeschooling high school and working parents…it’s not easy but you CAN do it!

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