D passed driving test today! Big relief for D (she failed it the first time). 
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We can both panic silently together! Hugs!
Yes, waaayyy to quickly!!
Oh no about the tan lines! When is the senior photos? Will she have time to get some sun? I can relate! My senior pics shows my spaghetti strap tan lines! Itās light, but you can see it! lol!
Wow, great schedule! My S would love that later start! How many classes is she taking?
p.s. S26 is supposed to pull together one 5-page writing portfolio (for 1 college) and a 5-10 page writing portfolio for 2 colleges. I told him, work smarter, not harder, do the 5-page for all 3 schools. Is he following my advice? Nope 
So he got 7 pages of his portfolio, I think? but no progress on the common app essay. And heās off to bed for an early start tomorrow. Somebody wine me.
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Tan lines are very much in right now!! My D26 who is never in the sun purposely stalked the UV rating so she could get some silly tan lines. But will all trends it will not age well in the pictures!
There are a couple lotions you can buy that might help they work relatively fast.
5 classes
- Spanish Literature & Culture capstone
- āApplications in Mathā capstone
- Middle Eastern History (humanities capstone class)
- Human Health & Disease (science capstone)
- College Counseling
No APs. At her school, you usually are done with AP classes in 11th grade. 1 or 2 students sometimes opt to take an AP class senior year, but if you do that, youāre committed to having to be on campus daily M-F during all of trimester 3, whereas the capstone classes & the college counseling class all end at end of Trimester 2 around the end of the 1st wk of Feb.
Students who choose to do a senior project do that during Trimester 3 and they have to do a 15-20 min presentation the 1st Saturday in May to present their project at school. Senior project requires you to spend a certain # of hours per week in a setting outside of school under the mentorship of an individual whoās not a school employee. And needs to be on a topic the student is interested in. Every year, the range of topics is pretty cool. Everything from soup to nuts.
At the moment, I donāt know if D26 will choose to do a senior project. Thereās the foot surgery thing to contend with. But maybe if she wants to, she could line something up where she could do a lot of it virtually. Weāll see. Thereās plenty of time for that. I have an idea or 2 for something that she might be interested in doing.
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Is C26 the only one left here without a license?! I canāt even get them as far as the learners permit 
They only turn 17 in October so itās not even like theyāll get to take the āshortcutā that you can do when youāre 18 before they leave for collegeā¦ but Iām not going to fight this battle right now. When essays are done, we can start nagging about the permit test.
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Nope, youāre not alone! S26, no license, no permit yet! Iām with you, once the essays are done, permit test is next!
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So interesting how different high schools are! Ours have APs from 9th - 12th grade and students are required to take 4 years of English, Math, Science, Social Studies/history, and 3-4 years of a foreign language. The rest are electives and a capstone-like project is optional. I love that your high school requires it!
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What is the driving shortcut at 18?
S26 has had his driving permit since January and only now has been motivated to get the behind the wheel training and hours done (I swear itās because heās avoiding the common appā¦ kidding. Maybe). But he has his test scheduled for September 18ā¦ fingers crossed!
In other news, he enjoyed his philosophy program today! Itās a very small group, maybe 12 kids. They sit in a small round table, discussing the dayās topic. The theme of the week is Man vs. Machine. Basically, it delves into what makes us human and where is the line between human and AI? This has also been a topic S26 has explored in his art for a couple of years now.
He took a nap and now heās working on the Common App activities list. And Iām helping him think up more descriptive verbs 
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College Essay Guy has a list for this! 
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Under 18, in CA, you have to do drivers ed then get a provisional permit, then have 50 hrs practice driving including at least 6 with an instructor , and have your permit at least 6 months before you can take the drivers test, then you get a provisional license for a year or till you turn 18, whichever comes first. At 18, you get a (non provisional) permit (donāt need drivers ed to take the permit test) and can take the test for a DL any time you feel ready - no minimum time to hold permit or hours practice and you donāt get a provisional license.
C26 progress to date: about halfway through the drivers ed course.
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You have to hold your driverās permit in our state for a year and a day before you can take your driverās test (in addition to completing the classroom and behind-the-wheel hours, etc.) ā so my three all insisted on getting their permits the very day of their 15th birthdays. I took my twins out for ramen the night before, and they mostly studied for the permit test during dinner. 
My S25 was actually away at camp on his 16th birthday, so his twin got her license a week before he did. Heās still salty, lol.
I swear I have to fight so many other battles ā especially around sleep schedules and just getting things done, for the love ā that Iām grateful driving isnāt one of them!
It does seem to be the norm in our area that you drive as soon as youāre legally allowed.
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Ahh, got it. I think we might have something similar here, too, now that I think about it.
I believe our provisional permits expire after a year and have to be retaken. The earliest you can get one is 15 1/2. Yes, most around here get theirs as soon as they can too. My kidsā¦ no. D19 got hers the summer before senior year though (though she also turned 18 during April of senior year so age wise she was about half a year ahead of C26 at the same schooling stage).
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It is so wild that there are so many differences in the Driverās License process.
S20 did not get his permit until he was 17 (it was by parental force 
)
Got his license after he turned 18 (by force once again) and did not actually start driving until he turned 21 (once again- by force-- lol)
D26 went for the more recognizable plan of permit at 15- license at 16.
(her cousin in South Dakota got a license at 15!!! and I do not think they even did in person drivers ed)
She does not have her own car- but she uses mine when she goes places. So far no issues.
Her top two college choices will not allow her to have a vehicle right away so we are not currently in a hurry to get her her own car until she can have one full time.
Colorado School of Mines- no cars allowed freshman year
University of Limerick- not even sure the process of getting a license and/or car there 
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Nope! My D26 does not have her license ā in fact, my 23 yo does not have one either ā and my 20 yo just got his this year! But we live in a city where many ppl rely on public transportation, walking, Ubers, etc.
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D26 has recovered from her Ireland trip and is starting to finish up her essays for her top choices and to also get going on her summer AP homework assignments.
She doesnāt get her schedule until the end of this week- she knows what core classes she will be taking, but the electives have yet to be set in stone.
Also for her- the big revelation after her Ireland trip: she said she needs think hard about if Ireland will stay as her top choice!!! (the main reason we sent her there over this summer for an extended visit was for her to try it out- glad we did!!!)
She loved Ireland, but she did not like the fact that the plane ride was so rough and long. The thought that she could not easily see her friends and/or family without her or us/them going through that is a huge drawback.
So we will see if this impacts her college list overall.
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our HS does require 4 yr of English, but 9th graders take 2 english classes (honors english language + honors english lit). Senior project is optional. So the kids who choose not to do a project are basically all done with classes & everything in early Feb and they do other things until graduation in mid-May.