When You Don’t Know What’s Next: Preparing Your High Schooler for the Next Season

Episode Title: When You Don’t Know What’s Next: Preparing Your High Schooler for the Next Season

Host: Lisa Nehring
Brought to you by: CTC Math — the stress-free, self-paced homeschool math program for every learner.

Episode Summary

What happens when your high schooler doesn’t know what’s next—and honestly, neither do you? In this episode, Lisa Nehring shares heartfelt wisdom drawn from her own experience of transition: selling her family home after 22 years and entering a new season of life. Just as a home must be prepared before it’s ready for new owners, our teens can prepare for their future—even when the destination isn’t clear yet.

Lisa helps parents shift from being “taskmasters” to “project managers,” guiding the big picture of high school with intention and peace. She breaks down four key skill areas every teen needs before graduation—academic foundations, digital fluency, financial and career readiness, and social-emotional intelligence—along with four types of transcripts that align with their goals: trades and tech, college prep, honors/dual degree, and entrepreneurship.

This episode will help you stop stressing about predicting the future and start preparing your teen to be ready when opportunity comes.

Key Takeaways

• You don’t need to know what’s next to start preparing for it.

• Shift from being a taskmaster (focused on daily assignments) to a project manager (focused on the big picture).

• The four categories of preparation:

  1. Core Academic Foundations — communication, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration.

  2. Tech & Digital Skills — AI tools, coding, digital literacy, and research.

  3. Financial & Career Readiness — budgeting, entrepreneurship, professionalism.

  4. Social & Emotional Intelligence — leadership, resilience, and cultural literacy.

• Three main pathways (plus one bonus!): trades and tech, college prep, dual degree, and entrepreneurship.

• Preparation over prediction is the key to confident homeschooling through high school.

Resources Mentioned

• 🧮 CTC Math – Try it Free

• 📄 Taming the Transcript — a parent-friendly guide to building a professional homeschool transcript.

• 🏫 Homeschool High School Transcript Template — fillable, professional, and easy to use.

Encouragement for Parents

Even if your teen doesn’t have all the answers about their future, you can still prepare them for success. Take one small step at a time. High school doesn’t have to feel overwhelming—it’s truly not that hard.