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Launching into adulthood is an exciting milestone for teens and their parents, and homeschooling families have even more flexibility to explore options through hands-on experiences before high school graduation.
However, navigating this critical transition can feel intimidating or overwhelming when considering diverse paths such as college, military service, missions, apprenticeships, trade school, online education, entrepreneurship, and maybe even joining the family business. Then there’s the relationship adjustment from “teacher-student” to “parent-adult child” to prepare for—ready or not, it’s coming!
The good news is that you also have more practical resources and inspiring mentors to help you and your teen thrive as you head toward this significant transition.
Below you’ll find three “life launch” mentors to assure you that it is possible to not only embrace the home stretch of your homeschooling journey with your launching teen, but to enjoy it!
On the Podcast: Lead by Example
The Colorado Homeschool Podcast host Kashia Davis sits down with renowned homeschool dad, pastor, and Math-U-See creator Steve Demme for a conversation brimming with encouragement and actionable advice.
Steve shares how he prepared his sons for launching into adulthood with Deuteronomy 6 as his guide: “Deuteronomy 6, I really believe, is where it starts — and that’s for every parent,” Steve says. “That was my vision. I wanted to teach them the word of God, and I wanted to model it in front of them, while I’m with them, when I walk by the way, et cetera.”
The result? Steve’s sons are now an integral part of the family business, Demme Learning, while he focuses on his next season of mentorship: leading the Building Faith and Family ministry and podcast. Steve continues to encourage homeschooling parents to focus on the real heart of home education, building faithful families.
Listen to the podcast “Building Faithful Families: Practical Homeschool Guidance with Steve Demme” on the Colorado Homeschool Podcast.
On the Blog: Graduating to What?
As you focus on reaching the heart of your teen in the home stretch of homeschooling, it’s important not to carry the weight of the significant decisions ahead on your own. In her post on the CHEC Blog, Author Shari McMinn shares how she and her husband, now homeschooling veterans of 28 years, put their hopes for the outcome of their homeschooling in the Lord’s hands.
“We started simply with a vision to follow the Lord’s lead to raise and educate what would eventually become 11 children, including a number of unique learners,” Shari writes. “Not knowing where He would lead us, we trusted Him for how they would graduate from homeschool and enter into adulthood.”
You can also be assured that your influence doesn’t end after graduation, Shari points out. “It is the beginning of your mentorship and ‘pray without ceasing’ for the rest of their lives,” she says. “It doesn’t matter what they are graduating to, but that they have the promise of a hopeful future as the Lord continues to hold them in the palm of His hand.”
Read the rest of Shari’s insights on the CHEC Blog.
Conference Session: Entrepreneurial Skills to Launch into Adulthood
Even if your teen doesn’t see entrepreneurship on the horizon, Kickstart Curriculum creator Daniel Craig explains that the basics of entrepreneurship – responsibility, initiative, and ownership – are essential for any young person just getting started in life.
“For [my parents], homeschooling had less to do with schooling and more to do with work ethic, good communication skills, and my desire to love, fear, and serve the Lord,” Daniel shared in a past CHEC Blog post. “With this approach, they gave me the foundation for successful entrepreneurship – long before entrepreneurship was even a consideration in my mind.”
Now a homeschooling dad of four children, director at Generations, and speaker for the Life Launch Teen Track at the upcoming Rocky Mountain Homeschool Conference, Daniel teaches parents how to help their students launch into life with a clear vision through powerful mentoring relationships and real-life application.
“As I transitioned from homeschooling to adulthood, I grew to understand that unto whom much is given, of him much will be required – and I had been given much,” Daniel says. “When we understand that an entrepreneur is ‘a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, usually with considerable initiative and risk,’ we must conclude that with all the advantages and opportunities we’ve been given, homeschoolers of all people should be the most entrepreneurially-minded.”
Daniel will be leading four sessions for the Life Launch Teen Track at the Rocky Mountain Homeschool Conference on June 12-14, 2025.
Meet Your Mentors: Come to the Life Launch Teen Track
You can meet Steve Demme, Daniel Craig, and many more mentors at the upcoming Rocky Mountain Homeschool Conference’s Life Launch Teen Track, which is especially designed to help you and your teen thrive as you move forward. From career exploration to mentorship to spiritual maturity, these special workshops will help your teen discover God’s vision for their life and prepare to step boldly into it. For more information and registration details, visit the Rocky Mountain Homeschool Conference website.
Looking for more Life Launch resources?
- Podcast: Surviving and Thriving – Interview with Apologia’s Rachael Carman
- CHEC Blog: Homeschooling With the End in Mind
- CHEC.org: How to Homeschool High School in Colorado
Are you overwhelmed by the task at hand in preparing your homeschooling teen for the future? What questions do you have about helping your teen launch into adulthood with confidence and vision? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
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