By: twainausten
Confident Homeschool Mom Podcast, Homeschool High School, Real Homeschool Mama Challenges

Finding Joy in Homeschool High School (with Mary Hanna Wilson)

If the words “homeschool high school” make your stomach drop a little, you are not alone. Transcripts. Credits. College applications. The nagging fear that you’ll somehow mess up the years that “count the most.” Finding joy in homeschool high school can feel impossible when all that pressure takes over — but it’s the thing that made you start homeschooling in the first place.

Meet Mary Hanna Wilson

So I sat down with my friend Mary Hanna Wilson — homeschool mom, book-lover, and the woman behind the Mary Hanna Wilson blog and Celebrate a Book — to talk about how to actually find joy in homeschool high school. Not despite the pressure, but by rethinking what these years are supposed to feel like in the first place.

Mary believes creativity, laughter, and fun are the backbone of a homeschool that actually works — even (especially) in high school. She’s the kind of mom who will tell you the truth: your kids are doing better than you think they are, and there’s room for real joy in these years if you let yourself find it.

“Sometimes we need to step back and really look at our kids. Look at all the ways they’re flourishing, their smiles, and realize they’re not overwhelmed — that overwhelm is just happening to you. Your kids are good. Let the journey happen.” — Mary Hanna Wilson

That line alone is worth sitting with for a minute. So much of the anxiety we carry into the high school years isn’t actually coming from our kids — it’s coming from us. From the comparison, the “what if I ruin this,” the fear that we’re not enough to get them where they need to go.

Finding Joy in Homeschool High School Starts With a Reset

Before we dive in: if you’re feeling more overwhelmed than joyful right now, start here. This free Deschool Your Homeschool Checklist will help you reset, reconnect with why you started, and rediscover the joy in your homeschool.

Grab the free Deschool Your Homeschool Checklist →

Use this Deschool your Homeschool Checklist to simplify your homeschool
Mockup of the free Deschool Your Homeschool Checklist, a printable resource to help homeschool moms reset, reconnect, and rediscover joy in their homeschool.

Finding Joy in Homeschool High School: What It Actually Looks Like

This was a real conversation between two homeschool moms about what it actually feels like to walk your kid through their last years at home — and where the joy shows up if you’re paying attention. Here’s where we went:

Being you in your homeschool. Not the Pinterest version. Not someone else’s curriculum, someone else’s schedule, someone else’s idea of what a “good” homeschool looks like. Yours.

Early years vs. high school — they’re genuinely different games. What worked when they were seven doesn’t automatically work at fifteen, and that’s okay. You’re allowed to change how you homeschool as your kids grow.

The teenage brain is doing something remarkable, not something broken. Mary and I talk about what’s actually happening neurologically during adolescence — and why understanding it can completely change how you respond to the eye-rolls, the moodiness, and the sudden need for independence.

The Bigger-Picture Benefits

How book clubs became a joy-bringer in Mary’s homeschool — and how that grew into thriving live book clubs for kids on Outschool. A great reminder that the things you love can become part of your homeschool, not separate from it.

Why games belong in a high schooler’s education. Yes, even at this age. We talk about how play still has a place, and why that matters more than you’d think.

Why the high school years are actually a gift — for your teen and for you. Not a countdown to the finish line, but a real season of personal growth for the whole family.

The long game. What homeschooling through high school sets your kids up for, long after graduation day.

Using the Enneagram to actually understand your people. How knowing your own number — and your kids’ — can defuse conflict before it starts and help you parent (and teach) each child the way they need, not the way the parenting book says to.

Fitting in exercise, rest, and the “important things” during the busiest homeschool season. Because burnout is real, and self-care isn’t optional — it’s part of how you sustain this.

What Mary Wants You to Know

If you take nothing else from this episode, take this:

  • Homeschooling is a journey, not a formula. If you’re just starting out, give yourself permission to not have it figured out yet.
  • It’s okay to change your mind. What worked this year doesn’t have to be what you do next year. Adjusting course isn’t failure — it’s parenting.
  • The relationship is the point. Somewhere along the way, most homeschool moms realize the academics were never really the main thing. It’s the relationship with your kids that homeschooling protects and builds. The learning is important — but it’s secondary.

If you’re deep in the high school years right now, wondering if you’re doing enough, let this be your reminder: finding joy in homeschool high school isn’t a bonus you earn after the transcript is done — it’s allowed right now. You’re allowed to enjoy this. You’re allowed to laugh through it. And your teenager is probably doing better than the anxious voice in your head is telling you.

Want to Keep Exploring This? Watch: Navigating Homeschool High School

If Mary’s episode got you thinking about mindset, this next piece picks up where the practical questions start — tailoring your teen’s education to who they actually are, and what life after homeschool high school can look like, dual enrollment included.

In this video, I share personal stories and practical advice from our own homeschool high school journey — including how to explore alternative pathways to post-secondary education, like dual enrollment, without losing sight of what makes your homeschool yours.

A few questions worth sitting with as you watch:

  • Are you considering homeschooling through high school? Why or why not?
  • How will you know which direction your child is heading after high school?
  • What does success actually look like in your homeschool?
  • What’s your intention for your teen’s education?

As John Holt put it: “We have to trust the child as a learner, as someone who wants to learn, who is curious, who wants to get on in the world, who wants to find out.”

If this resonates, I’d love to hear your answers — drop a comment below, and I’ll cover more of your high-school questions in an upcoming live Q&A.

Connect with Mary

Books & Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Want More Support for the High School Years?

Mindset Shifts for Homeschool Moms: Thriving Through the High School Years

If this conversation resonated with you, this resource was built for exactly this season — helping you shift out of fear and into confidence as you homeschool your teen. $12.99 $10.99

Shop now →

Mindset Shifts for Homeschool Moms: Thriving Through the High School Years

Mindset Shifts for Homeschool Moms: Thriving Through the High School Years

Confidently Homeschool Through the High School Years

Original price was: $12.99.Current price is: $10.99.
Shop now

People also ask…

Sigbrit coaching

Book your free Aligned Homeschool Reset Session

I help homeschool moms trust themselves, edit expectations, and make intentional choices that create a more confident, connected, and present homeschool life.

Book your Reset Session with Teresa

Latest episodes

Subscribe to the Confident Homeschool Mom podcast

YouTube
Apple
Audible
Spotify

This post was originally published on January 31, 2022, and updated on July 11, 2026 with fresh insights.

Call to Adventure by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3470-call-to-adventure
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/