Monday, December 31, 2018

Homeschooling the Teen Years - Picture IDs


Before you start navigating the winding road of first jobs, SATs, driver's training and the like, that is life with teenagers, save yourself headaches and hassle by getting them picture identification cards.

Whether it is a passport (expensive), a military ID (if you happen to be a military family), a driver's permit (if they are old enough), or simply a plain old identification card from the Department of Motor Vehicles (inexpensive) procuring an official photo identification card will make life so much easier.

It is possible to get a job, and even take the SAT without one - but it's tricky.  And since every time you turn around someone is going to be asking to see your teens' photo IDs anyway, they might as well get one as soon as possible.  Then, instead of explaining over and over again that they don't have IDs because they are too young too drive, and they're homeschoolers, so no, they don't even have school IDs, they can just pull them out and move through the line with the rest of their peers.

It's great to be homeschooler, especially when you're prepared.

6 comments:

Blessings! said...

Thanks for sharing this. I've been reading your blog posts for years and appreciate your ideas and thoughts here. Our son is 13 (Dec. 2018) and I hand't even thought of the photo ID thing, thanks. *smile* Have a wonderful new year. Sincerely, Mommy of two growing blessings & so much more!

Phyllis said...

You are so right! I think of you guys every so often and wonder how you are doing. Miss ya!

An Almost Unschooling Mom said...

Phyllis - I have missed you too. I'm not sure how I got totally swept away from this world - I've reconnected with some in facebook, but have missed our connection here :)

Ticia said...

I ran into that when getting my daughter's ears pierced, she needed a photo ID. Thankfully I was able to make a printed one from Homeschool Buyer's Coop....

Anonymous said...

You're back!!!!!!

Kendra said...

I just discovered today that you'd been posting again.. and then I stumbled on this post and chuckled. Because, darn right! We're living overseas still and my now 18 year old "levelled" up as far as the local library is concerned and had to move from a Children's card to an adult card. Never in my life have I seen such chaos.

The women was appalled he had no school ID, in horror he wasn't on FB {his choice}, alarmed he didn't even dabble with Instagram, she reached the point of shock when she learned he didn't have a mobile phone. He does, but he never uses it and it's a pay as you go, not something he'd be getting a bill in the mail for.

So she ran off to ask her supervisor, whom we are on a first name basis with and have been since Mr 18 has been Mr 5. She, of course, approved the level up instantly and with a smile about how time had flown by.

Ms First Librarian, however, decided to stand here and give me a 10 minute lecture about my faulty parenting skills and how I was robbing my child of so many things and that I was clearly not well educated myself and should thus return to the first floor and get my child a photographic ID at once. It took a lot not to be snippy.

Especially since we'd COME from the First Floor, and had said paperwork in our hands, but it held complications for a child who didn't go to the public schools and was born in another country. We did work it all out in the end, and he's now the proud holder of photographic ID, but I came home and after grumping and moaning about the rude staff member I sat down and whipped up school ids for my kids.. you know, complete with barcodes. ;)