As home educators, we want our teens to develop godly character and practical living skills. One of the best training grounds for doing this is getting a driver's license. Here are five key lessons we can help our teens learn during that process:

Driving is not an entitlement.

Contrary to our culture, getting a license is not an experience that automatically happens at age sixteen. It takes time and thoughtful preparation. I started talking with my oldest about the privilege of driving when he was twelve. I explained our specific family requirements for getting a driver's permit: memorize and save.

Memorize James 1 and live it, before taking the driver education class. The idea of linking Bible memory and driving came from author and speaker Joe White. I adapted it for our family. James 1 is filled with many practical applications for living our faith such as perseverance, dealing with temptation, handling anger, obeying God's Word, controlling one's mouth, and caring for those in need. As my teens memorized, we discussed the meaning of the verses and connected them to many areas of life, including driving. God's Word planted inside them gave the Holy Spirit fertile soil to work in. Because my children knew of this requirement in advance, they could memorize James 1 at any time.

Save up your money for driver education, behind-the-wheel training, and your permit. Why do they have to pay? It helps them determine how important driving is for them. It develops skills in working, earning, and saving money for a specific goal. This puts the burden for this expensive privilege of driving in their court. As a single homeschooling mom, I didn't have the resources to pay for driver education and insurance for three teens. They each had a once-a-week neighborhood paper route during their preteen and early teen years. They saved some of that money for driver education. Even if parents can afford to pay these costs for their children, they need to think this through. Car insurance and later owning a car are major expenses. We do our teens a big favor by helping them face this reality from the start.

Driving is a privilege that comes with maturity.

When they get their permits, the privilege of driving is tied to other behavior. Are they completing their homeschool assignments on time, working up to their abilities or just getting by? Are they finishing their chores each day? Are they keeping their word? Some teens do this easily. Others need to grow in maturity. 

Throughout the time they have a their permit, I help them recognize how their behavior now, both positive and negative, affects future driving privileges.

Driving is a privilege that comes with great responsibility.

To get their license, again my children had to memorize and save. This time they memorized James 2-5 or selected Psalms and other Bible passages, and lived them. We spent lots of time discussing the meaning of the verses and applying them to daily life.