In SC, they can get their permit at 15. My oldest was in no hurry. He got his permit at 16. He took his driving test the day before his permit would expire, and he skipped right over restricted to an unrestricted license because he was 17. DS19 is a little more distractible , but I think he’ll be ready to get his permit .
Right now not a whole lot officially planned for S19. He will go on a 50 miler (a 50 mile backpacking hike over 1 week) with scouts and will have HS running club for XC 3x per week. That’s all that is officially on the books. He may do drivers ed, I’ve not actually mapped that one out yet. It’s a bit of a sensitive thing as while he could get his permit now (eligible at 15 1/2 if they pass the written test, can get it earlier if enrolled in drivers ed), his brother S17 does not yet have his license. I expect S19 to be the better driver (S17 scares me to death right now) but boy, I’d love that one to get his first and avoid drama. Not that there is an extra car yet anyway lol. So, I’m not pushing it. He was for a while but has backed off. There is a CS class he wants to take but he’s yet to give me the info on it so who knows.
Sadly, no family summer trip this year, S17 and S19 just got back from Ireland last month on a school trip and that was the summer vacation budget. We may be doing come college tours for S17 in late summer and S19 may or may not come along.
I do expect S19 and I (and H) will do a few races over the summer but I’ve not registered us for anything yet. Need to map that one out too! If I can tie one in to the college road trip, that would be good, we did that over spring break so at least he had something too. No academic camps etc. In almost all cases I don’t see the benefit for the crazy expense and would rather my kids had a summer. He will have homework for AP World , that’s enough.
Thanks for the suggestion @carolinamom2boys .
Here you can’t get your permit until 16, classroom driver ed is required and the earliest you can take it is 15 years, 9 months. That is late fall for my S. They can get their license at 16 1/2. S wants his license now and can’t stand that he is still over a year away.
As for vacation, we are just doing a week at the beach this summer.
S17 got permit at 15 after required 30 hrs classroom (on-line is ok) but has no interest in driving and still does not have the license. If S19 waits till later, we don’t need to spend money on classroom and lessons so we will wait.
S19 applied for youth corps. If accepted, he can earn up to $1600 for 8 weeks doing trail maintenance, etc, so he is psyched about it. I hope he gets it. There is competition and 30% chance. Youth corps and junior rangers are the only “real” jobs available for 15 yr olds.
I hope he can plan his Eagle service project planned out as well as well as working on some merit badges.
Wow, I think Illinois has one of the more stringent drivers ed programs around - 30 hours in-classroom instruction, 8 hours behind the wheel, 50 hours of driving before you can get your license. Signing up D19 for the later part of the summer as she will be on s 5-day service trip and then counselor at a week-long leadership camp a couple of weeks later. She also is supposed to working on the requirements for her GS Gold Award as I really want that completed before Dec. of her junior year so it doesn’t interfere with college visits and testing among other things! And no vaca for us either obviously because of all the above and summer is my busy time at work. Maybe some day… Sounds like everyone else also has some reasonable summer plans, can’t believe we are finishing up their first year of HS already, where the heck did the time go???
@payn4ward and @ILMom13579 As a mom whose DS16 just earned his Eagle, you are extremely smart to get it done. DS16 was a little slow going as he was a late swimmer which held him up from progressing quicker. We are also pushing DS19 to get things done as Jr and Sr year do get extremely busy . Also @payn4ward , just a little warning , watch the deadline for being able to apply for ES scholarships . They changed the deadline from Dec 31 to Oct 31 this year . DS missed the deadline by 14 days. He will not be able to apply for his Freshman year of college, but is able to apply for next year.
That is very good info on the scholarship date change, S19 needs to get on track for Eagle and really map it out or he could miss that date. Im also going to make sure the leaders know about that date change so they can ensure the group is on track.
@carolinamom2boys Once an eagle always an eagle, Congratulations!
It takes determination to push through. S17 dropped off scouting after 7th grade. S19 earned Life a while ago and still has several MBs to earn, but I know they can do service projects ahead. Our troop has quite a few of scouts coming through within last few months from 18th birthday. It is such a joy when they make it. I have known many scouts from preschool years so it is great to see them grow and mature into young men. Just scheduled board of review for S17’s best friend. His dad was our cubscout den leader and scout master. I’ll be emotional when he becomes an Eagle.
Here in PA, you get your learner’s permit at 16 and have to complete 65 hours of adult-supervised driving over at least six months. DD kind of started school early; her birthday is October and she’s younger than everyone else (14 now). She won’t be 16 until junior year, so no driving alone until March of her junior year.
I am FINE with this. 
Ok now I’m annoyed. S19 is 2 MB’s away from Life and in checking with him he has done both, just not filled out paperwork and sat for board of review. We discussed that might be good to do for last COH of the year. Argh. He’s and early bday so will not have senior year to work on it.
I wish GS had as many scholarship opportunities after completion of the Gold Award as there are for BS Eagle’s. Just doesn’t seem like it’s given nearly as much weight even though they are supposed to be very comparable awards. But it is a very nice accomplishment both for boys and girls and quite a feat these days given how much other stuff young people have on their plates! D19 was also just offered a p/t job working at the home of some day traders - she jumped at the chance because she burns through money faster than anyone I know - it will be nice to have her burn through her OWN money instead of mine!
I feel your pain @eandesmom . Same boat here with DS19. He has a November birthday , but you have time. Don’t panic yet.
@eandesmom Yup, tiime for your S19 to email/call Advancement Chair and Scout Master to schedule SMC and BOR in time for COH. That was what I did last May (or was it August?) Basically nagging him till S contacted adult leaders to get little things completed and signed off within couple weeks of COH. #:-S
@carolinamom2boys and @payn4ward really glad this came up now so thanks as I’ve been meaning to check in with him and forgetting as S17 is taking up more time with college searching right now. You are right, there is time. He can definitely get it done and agreed he needs to just do it. He’s a September bday so…needs to be on top of it starting now.
My son19 is going to Dartmouth for a soccer camp and will be playing an informal high school soccer summer league.
I need to find him something academic to do and/or some sort of community service that interests him. He’s a typical teenage boy who’d rather sleep in a bit, hang out with some buddies and have fun all summer.That’s fine and all,but he also thinks he wants to try to get into some more selective colleges for engineering down the road,so I think he should do something sort of productive with his time.
Let’s see…summer…yikes, it really is right around the corner. S19 is doing driver’s ed, a squash camp at Stanford, a filmmaking camp at our local university and maybe a Concordia German camp. Still deciding if he wants to do it alone since his friend has decided not to go. I love hearing about your children’s plans…thanks for sharing!
@ILMom13579 our requirements are similar, 40 hours instead of 50 but otherwise the same. 1st 6 mo after licensing you may only drive siblings or people over 18. 2nd 6 mo you may have 1 under 18 in the car who is a non sibling. Driving curfew until 18 as well.
D’19 won’t be 15 until the end of July. We are planning to volunteer at the food bank this summer and she may take an art class.
S19 will be 15 on Wednesday. No temps in Ohio until 15 and a half. I think he’ll do some volunteer work around Marching Band camp and summer reading.
I’m a little nervous about summer as every other family member will be working leaving S19 home alone. While he is perfectly happy with and I’m not worried about his safety or even really him getting up to any trouble.
The thing is he spends most of his time teaching himself things and he doesn’t get nearly enough time to just pursue his own interests during the school year so I might just leave him to his own devices. I might try to see if I can bring him to work with me a few days and have him job shadow our IT guy. I suspect he could be genuinely helpful so it could turn in to a win win.