Bob and I went on a hot date to pick up Nathan, Luke, and my friend Lynnea's oldest daughter Helena from Civil Air Patrol tonight. You may be thinking, "But don't you have a 16 year old son? Shouldn't he be getting his driver's license, so you don't have to do all this running around?" Why yes, we do! And yes, he should!
A few years ago, when 16 year olds we knew didn't not immediately get their licenses, I just couldn't understand it. What could possibly take so long? Just make it a priority! Ha--NOW I understand. It is really, really hard to fit in a ton of extra driving time. There. That's really and honestly the truth.
Nathan registered for the online class late this summer, and he started doing all the modules. That counts as the "classroom" portion of driver's ed. He's done 4 of the 7 modules, so he's coming along there, but the program times the pages, so each page stays up these arbitrary (long) times, like 15 or 30 minutes, depending on how long they think it will take you to read and absorb whatever concept is there. But it's not exactly rocket science, especially if you in fact already have your learner's permit, as Nathan does, so he will read the page, then go off and do something else while waiting for the time to be done, and then forget to go back for awhile. So it has taken awhile to get this far.
Once he finishes that, then we can send in the printed off pages showing he completed each module, along with proof that we homeschool and some other forms that either Bob or I will fill out, and the DMV will send back something that says he or I can be an approved driving instructor for Nathan. Then we will have to do about 12 hours of formal in-the-car driving, like the kind I did in the car with the little "student driver" sign on the top. I'm looking ahead, and I'm just not seeing where this kind of time is going to fit in! It doesn't seem like much, but each session is supposed to consist of 50 minutes of him observing me driving, and then 50 minutes of him driving (at least 50 miles). Umm . . . I don't have 100 minutes to toodle around town right now, much less times 7!! But I most likely have more time than Bob would.
Along with this formal driving training, Nathan has to drive 45 hours with us, including 15 hours of nighttime driving. You can start that as soon as you get your permit, which Nathan got back in February, so we are doing well in that area, especially since we drove to Ohio as well as to White Sulphur Springs a few times this summer.
This is really once again an area where the oldest kid is at a complete disadvantage. We should have had Nathan doing the computer coursework as soon as he got his permit--or even before! Then we could have done the formal part during the summer, as well as worked on his 45 hours of practice. I predict that Luke will get his license in a quicker manner, simply because we will know what we are doing! Nathan technically could get his license mid-November--as soon as he has held his permit for 9 months--but he won't be anywhere near done with all the requirements. I am hoping he gets it before basketball season ends in March, since he is going to coach Caleb and Jonathan's team, as well as ref games for the house league he used to play for! It would be lovely if he could get himself there!
1 comment:
Ahhh, the joys of permits and licenses. In Colorado, they make it very difficult (and expensive) to get a permit prior to the age of 15-1/2. At 15-1/2, it takes a class and then you can get your permit. You have to hold the permit for an entire year and get 50 hours of driving time in that year with a parent (10 hours of that has to be night driving). After that, they still can't drive anyone under the age of 18 who is not related for 6 months. Sound confusing? YES IT IS!!
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