Do you tell teacher truth when pulling kids out of school to go to disney?

[Claudine]

Just wondering opinions if you tell teachers you are pulling kids out to go to disney for a week or what? My son is only in Kindergarten but I feel guilty if I lied but I know it is not a valid absence and I will have to lie in absence note anyway. Any opinions? Thanks

[dhickman]

My daughter is also in kidnergarten and we talked to her teacher about it at conferences. We are taking her out for six and a half days. Our teacher had no problems with it (they are only in kidnergarten) and even suggested some ideas of things to do with her. (Although it might help that her teacher is also a Disney fanatic). The other thing to keep in mind is that depending on where you live, K may not even be required. In our state school is not required by law until first grade. I'd rather be honest with the teacher than lie and have my child find out, since chances are very good that your child will be talking about going there in class.

[Sharmaine]

My daughter is in Gr1, and already wrote about her upcoming Disney trip in May in her journal at school.

I'd tell the truth anyway. I'll be asking for some work for my daughter (and son in JK too) so they can keep up with their classes at least to some extent.

[KLL]

Tell the truth. Most teachers I have ever known will work with you. Besides, after a trip to Disney you know your child will talk about it. Many schools have a policy for educational trips - this is most definitely an educational trip. Inform the school before going and then ENJOY your trip!

[ilisa]

Who said it is not a valid absense, you, the teacher or the school district?

[georgiapeach60]

When we go this next Feb. my son will be a Junior in HS and my youngest will be in second grade. I plan on writing notes to the teachers explaining the absence. It will be up to them whether they work with us or not regarding homework. I don't even know if it will be an excused absence or not. It doesn't really matter since circumstances dictated when we go and we will go regardless of what the school may or may not allow.

[elmo]

We are going in May and my DS will miss 8 days of Kindergarten. We told his teacher the truth about the trip and she was very excited for us -- our first trip to Disney. He is going to have to keep a picture journal and share with the class when he gets back and it is considered an excused absence.

[CookieGVB]

I told both my DSs teachers about it ahead of time - the school has a policy of not giving the work missed during that time, but one of the teachers gave me a list of what would be going on at that time (believe me, we xeroxed quite a few pages out of various textbooks, because I refused to pack them!); the other teacher said the younger one could just keep a journal. We went during early December...since it's right before the holidays, the teachers generally didn't plan on introducing too many new things, because everyone's busy with parties, etc., etc., etc. Better to tell them, since your child won't want to (and shouldn't have to) be quiet about their fun trip! :)

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[alasknmom]

Joey has told his teacher we'd be gone for 4 days. (we're going during our spring break so we will be in Disney 8 days and Seattle 3, but only missing 4 days of school).
I am going to bring it up to his teacher at conference next week and if he wants to work w/us, thats cool... if not, we've been planning this for a long time and I made sure to miss the least possible days for a longer trip.

Rachel in Alaska<

[susieeQ]

I am pulling my two kids out of kindergarten for 10 day to go to WDW. I talked to the teacher already and she is fine with it. She wants the kids to keep a journal or scrapbook and tell the class about the trip when they return. Of course, some little souverniers(?sp) for the class would be helpful too. Ex: mickey suckers or stickers...

[going2wdw]

Texas is not a friendly state when it comes to parents deciding what their children can do or miss.

My 9yo DD is in public school and did miss a day of school I called that morning and let them know she wasn't going to be there. Kept it simple :D
She did mention it to her teacher and I didn't ask her not to tell. I'm not comfortable with asking my kids to hide or misrepresent something. When I called I was just hoping not to hear the words why? and I didn't.

My 6yo DD is in a private school and taking her out for vacations is not a problem.

Check the rules with the school district and state. Although some states have strict rules (TX) not all schools adhere to every letter.

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[Tinkerbelle'sMOM]

Tell the truth...I do. It is because my DH and I both work in the health care industry and can rarely get a summer vacation together and the weeks over easter and Christmas are closed weeks. So, what is more important...what the teacher thinks, or the school district for that fact, or having some great family time? I opt for the latter! :)

[jenc]

First of all, my mother always said, "you gotta do what's right for you." So you really need to do what you are most comfortable with!

My personal view is this ... be honest. You don't want to set an example for your child that says you can lie when it makes things "easier." Also, a 5-6 year old child is going to want to talk about the trip! How will you feel if you give the teacher an excuse and then he/she learns the real reason? Makes trust a real concern! As a teacher, I was always excited (and jealous!) when my students would be out of school for an exciting trip! We would work together to be sure the child did not fall behind. (I do know that not all teachers are the same about this.) My view was that all experiences benefit a child and this one has such a wealth of things to see and do; what a great source of "background experiences" which are so good for children and truly contribute to learning!!!!

Have fun!!!!

JenC in MD

[Claudine]

Thanks for the advice the truth it is!

[bexareaglecheryl]

There was a very long discussion of this subject about 6 months ago, I believe. If you want more opinions, search for it here. But the truth is, yes you do what's best for you.

I pulled my son out of public school for a week in December for our WDW trip. Before that he had missed only a couple of days of school. Then in January he was sick for an entire week. That triggered our school district to send out the nasty letter and the assistant principal to call me. Now, he has to stay well for the rest of the year.

[welovemickey]

We've gone to Disney every October/November for the past 5 years. Due to the nature of DH's business, this is the only time we are able to go. We have found that some teachers are better about our children missing school than others. I used to feel guilty about taking them out, but I just think about the quality time we spend together and the guilt goes away. Just remember, your kids are only young for a short time - enjoy the time while you can! They'll always be able to catch up on the school work!

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[signingoff]

Tell the truth and don't worry about what the school says. As a 1st grade teacher, I don't encourage my students to miss school, but a family vacation to Disney is a learning experience within itself. A week's worth of academics cannot compare to the lifelong memories they will have. The students will catch back up. Hey even the principal of my school left for a week in Sept. to take a Disney trip.

[tampafan]

As the husband of a middle school teacher, it is always a good idea to be upfront with the teacher. Also, if you child is anything like my 5 year old they will tell teacher when they return anyway.

[coachv]

Texas has a rule that a student has to be in school so many days a semester. Usually if your child misses more than 10 days per semester, the child can be denied credit. Each school has an attendance committee that looks at each case. Check with your school about this. Most schools will work with you on makeup days or will be very understanding when your child misses several day due to illness. Best policy-Always be Honest!!!

[DreadpiratK]

As a former social work (child protective services) I can tell you that you have the right to take your child out of school if you want to, and the teachers opinion really doesn't matter. Of course you want to stay on thier good side :D but unless this seriously and demonstrably interferes with your child's education, they really can't do much about it.

BTW, we Home School, so my kids teacher is going with us! ;)

[SeaSpray]

... No offense to Texas, I just mean as far as school policy goes. We're taking our 2 sons out of school for a week in May and I really don't care how the school or teachers feel about it. Both of my sons are honor roll students, so I don't feel that a week will hurt them. They've both had major health problems this school year and have missed 12-14 days so far. They've maintained their honor roll status and didn't have problem keeping up. If my sons were poor students and struggled in school I might not feel this way, I'd definitely think twice about taking them out of school. But in my situation, I have no problem taking them. My 4th grade son's teacher already knows and has no problem with it. In fact, I changed the dates of our trip so that he won't miss the Massachusetts standardized testing mid-May, and she appreciated that. My other son is in 7th grade and has several teachers. I will wait a couple of weeks from now and send them each a copy of the letter I write telling them of our plans. I'll wait till 6 weeks before our trip. My sons know that school is extremely important, it comes before almost everything else. But this family trip is equally important to us! :)

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[valeriekc]

Here in Kansas, we have a maximum number of days your child can miss school due to family vacation. I plan on pulling my daughter out for the maximum in May. We chose May because they do more review and less new material. At our first teacher conference in October I informed the teacher that she would be gone and that we would like her make-up work to be done before we leave. We have tried to do homework at Disney before and it just hasn't gone well. We'll be starting our homework soon, thanks to a great and understanding teacher.

[dkfogt]

My daughter was in 3rd grade when we took her out of school for a 10 day trip to Disneyworld last March. I told the teacher ahead of time, but I also suggested she come back with something to tell the class. We got the passport at EPCOT and had all of the countries stamp it and they all wrote her name in their native language. A great souvenier and she had a ball showing it off to the class!

[A Mickeyfan]

I live in Lee County FL and have 3 kids (grades 3, 7 & 9)...up until this year I never had a problem telling the schools, the teachers worked with us and they were "excused absence" each time. This year was a different tune...my 9th & 7th grds are in different schools from last years (same school board mind you) and they recieved "unexcused" this last October. We are going again in 3 weeks. They will be missing 2 days. I am not sure what to say to the teachers....the 3rd grader is ok...but the other 2???? Never had to lie before!!!!

Sharon L

[sha_lyn]

the teracher might not be able to tell you what to do but when you enroll your child in a public scholl system you agree to follow its rules. If you take your child out over the allowed number of days they have every right to not promote a child, and it the dasy missed do not meet their requirements to be excussed they can mark them as unexcussed. Many systems do not require ( or want) teachers to give assignments for unexcussed days.
Because the policies vary so much from system to sysrem it is best to make yourself aware of the policies before planning a vacation.

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[Beverly Lynn]

you do what you need to do. I have no qualms about taking my child out of school when she is in it. sometimes you don't have a choice. since everyone is off for the summer (kids) its not always feasible for the parents at the time and then with the heat and crowds and cost it might have to be at another time. maybe that year round school with 3 weeks off at a time isn't such a bad idea after all.............this way you can take vacations at different times of the year and not be crowded in the summer......

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[Jimmac]

IMHO, I don't recommend setting a poor example for your child by making up a story to explain the absence. Plus as was already pointed out children love to talk about their Disney experiences to their friends and classmates. Something that they obviously inherit from their parents. :)

[cruella devil]

I would suggest being upfront with your childs teacher unless you think your child will come back from the trip and not mention anything about her trip to WDW and how she met Mickey Mouse. I find that hard to believe. Honesty is the best policy......

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[Morgana]

I am taking both my dd (1st grade) and DS (K) out of school for a week in August. We are from the south so our schools start back early. They will begin classes on August 6th. We will be going to WDW on August 20th thru 26th. If I do have a problem with either of my childrens teacher, not liking the fact that I am taking my children on their very first WDW trip, then I will have to take care of that when the time comes. If it means moving my children to private schools or home schooling them I will. School is important, but so is Family. I feel that both my children will learn more from their experiences at WDW than they would in that one week of school. Spending Quality time with both of their parents will teach them far more about family values and what it means to have a loving family who does things together than any week at school will ever do. So basically what I am saying is be honest and take a stand for what is important for you and your family. I know I will. :) Even if I step on a few toes in the process. :) But I am hoping everyone at our school will understand. So I agree with doing what is good for you.

[anne60]

the only thing i would add to this is...there are 15-20 other kids in the class besides your child, so maybe we should not expect teachers to go out of their way to help. i mean, it's nice when they do, but if each family expected it....that would eat up a lot of time that should be focused on the class. also, know your teacher. my son's fourth grade teacher was very difficult to deal with. he had his tonsils out and missed ten days of school, and she certainly was NOT helpful. I can only imagine what she would have been like had he missed for a vacation!!!!

[mormol]

tell the truth. besides, is kindergarten mandatory in Texas for its not in New YOrk. My dd goes to a private kindergarten and we pulled her out for 3 days. Her teachers were just excited for her! I think going up to all the characters and getting autographs and stuff has really helped build up her confidence (one of the skills they are working on in her kindergarten) so it was great for her!
If you are pulling an older kid I would imagine they would be required to bring some work with them as well.

[Betsyfun]

Having 4 kids and having done Disney many times during offical school times, my recommendation is to TELL THE TEACHER, THE COUNSELORS, WHOMEVER CAN HELP YOU!..:)

I have one child in high school and twins in elementary and one to young to attend. First verify that there is NOT any standardized testing going on or very important school things and then set your dates. We contact the school and all officals about 3 weeks prior to our leaving. More times than not my children's teachers have allowed the kids to work ahead and acutally COMPLETE the work they will be missing BEFORE we even get on the plane! This has been wonderful, because we were not stressing during the vacation. Ususally the kids took their tests before they left! Thanks for the many teachers that have made building special memories with our family easy!

PS....I usually have the kids keep a daily journal and suggest to them to pick a word of the day at Disney and write a fictional story using the word several times! The kids are always excited to share their journal with their teacher and class when they return. Once the teacher even read one of them outloud during a quiet time .(While everyone in the class munched on Mickey Mouse suckers that my daughter wanted to bring back for everyone)

MAKE IT FUN..TELL THE SCHOOL...AND CREATE MEMORIES WITH YOUR KIDS!!!!

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Betsyfun

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[aimeesmom2]

At my childrens school they allow a certain amount of days absence a year for family vacation.. They just ask that you write a note to the office within 2 weeks prior and that the child has to get their work ahead of time and have it finished before leaving.. This way their work does not get interupted...

I really dont see any reason to lie to the school or the teacher...

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