May 12, 2026

Senior Summer Checklist with CJ

25 minutes

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Senior Summer Checklist with CJ.

Do you have a rising senior on the horizon? If so, you probably feel the pressure of this eventful time. That’s why we asked our friend, CJ from Homeschool Through High School, to join us. She is walking the walk with her own homeschooling high schoolers.

CJ’s story

CJ has been homeschooling for a long time. She says she never thought she would get this far, but at the time of our interview, she had three high schoolers: a ninth grader, a tenth grader, and a rising senior.

CJ has found that:

Homeschooling high school is an adventure and a blessing.

As she has been facing having a senior in the fall, she developed an unusual checklist for that summer of senior year. There is so much to do during senior year. However, we want to remember important things beyond academics. With that in mind, CJ has developed a checklist that is a little unconventional.

First, you want to make sure that:

You are up to date with your transcripts and testing scores

Your teen has at least started the process for colleges, trade school- … gap year, missionary work, whatever we’re gonna do next

However, CJ’s checklist is different. It includes things for your senior to pursue the summer before their senior year starts, along with family goals

CJ’s checklist for senior summer

These activities and goals will help your senior and your family be well prepared for that final year of homeschooling high school.

Just relax and have fun

Including some reasonable level of video games

Reading non-school-related books

Go swimming

Watch the sun setting, noting the different colors in the sky

Sleep in … can we just have them sleep in and be?

If they want to cook pancakes every day for lunch, so be it

Just let them be because this journey is going to go by so fast. Society has us throwing them out into the real world. And as homeschoolers, we don’t need to do that. There is going to be a shift, but they need time just to relax and be teens.

Why is this important?

A healthy life cannot only be serious. If we are always telling our rising seniors, “Oh my goodness, we gotta get the transcript read,” or “We’ve gotta go visit 14 colleges,” they may not have time or energy for personal growth and energy restoration.

Teens (and adults) need some fun to be healthy.

More on the senior summer checklist

Ready for more ideas?

Prepare them for “the question”!

CJ tells the story of attending a gathering, where her 11th-grader was bombarded with the question, “What are you gonna do after you graduate?”

There was so much pressure! She learned then to prep them with an answer that they feel confident with, even if that answer is, “I’m just gonna enjoy my junior year, my senior year, and I know everything is going to fall into place. I’m just gonna have fun right now.”

Take “the photo” on the first day of senior year

Senior photos are important as gifts for grandparents and friends. It takes stress off the senior year to get it done on the first day of school, on his last day of high school.

Cover the life skills necessary for after graduation

What do you want your kids to learn that is not in a textbook?

Learn to hold their head high

When CJ’s teens leave home for anything, such as a youth group, shopping at the mall, or hanging out with friends, she wants them to remember their character and their faith

Remember their last name, and make sure they represent well

And teens need to know that some of the ways that we carry ourselves, the things we do to honor our family heritage and tradition

Go back-to-school shopping

Remember this year’s back-to-school shopping because the next stage could be moving out, college dorm, trips around the world for traveling, or missionary work

Plan simple family activities

Think about simple day trips or pajama nights with all the siblings. Create memories of the family having fun together.

Find a mentor, if possible

It is good for teens to have someone outside the family to bounce some ideas off. It does not have to be anything structured. It might be someone they can play basketball with or go out for a hamburger.

Encourage volunteering

Volunteering is good for our teens for many reasons. It’s great for the teen and the community. It’s great for your mind and soul. God created us to serve others, and it’s a blessing. (Also, it looks good on scholarship applications. )

Encourage your senior if they’d like to, to write a letter to their future selves

Then, they can read it on graduation day. They can see how they grew over their senior year, or they can just read the letter for fun.

Moms, remember:

Senior year is not an ending. It is a beginning!

Connect with CJ at Homeschooling Through High School on YouTube.

Keep reading and listening

CJ’s Tips for Homeschooling High School

How to Homeschool High School When You Don’t Know Everything

An Authoritative Guide to Homeschooling High School

Thanks to Seth Tillman for editing.

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May 12, 2026

Senior Summer Checklist with CJ

25 minutes

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Senior Summer Checklist with CJ.

Senior Summer Checklist with CJ

CJ’s story

CJ has found that:

Homeschooling high school is an adventure and a blessing.

First, you want to make sure that:

You are up to date with your transcripts and testing scores

Your teen has at least started the process for colleges, trade school- … gap year, missionary work, whatever we’re gonna do next

However, CJ’s checklist is different. It includes things for your senior to pursue the summer before their senior year starts, along with family goals

CJ’s checklist for senior summer

These activities and goals will help your senior and your family be well prepared for that final year of homeschooling high school.

Just relax and have fun

Including some reasonable level of video games

Reading non-school-related books

Go swimming

Watch the sun setting, noting the different colors in the sky

Sleep in … can we just have them sleep in and be?

If they want to cook pancakes every day for lunch, so be it

Why is this important?

Teens (and adults) need some fun to be healthy.