Poll for DVC owners with school age kids----How many days do they miss per year?

[Tigger031266]

How many days do they miss per year?


:teacher: :teacher: :teacher: :teacher:

[dwelty]

this is an interesting post. We have 2 daughters 5 and 2. This year my daughter will miss 5 day in the fall and 10 days in the spring. She is just in Kindergarten so it will not be much of an issue. We will have to reappraise this every year. We will probably reduce the number of missed days as she gets older and school becomes more involved.
We made the mistake of taking my son out of school for two different weeks his senior year and he almost did not graduate. Never again will we make this mistake. We may have to eventually go during the dreaded summer months in a few years.

[melissac]

We usually go to Disney once a year from 5-7 days missed. Less points and crowds and more fun for the family. The few days we enjoy Disney and our family every year is with the extra home work that needs to be completed.

[Laurabearz]

We like Columbus Week. Which means the kids miss 4 days. Our other trips are during school holidays.

[Granny]

Kids never missed school for Disney. We've always gone in the summer because of that.

dwelty...the summer really isn't that bad. Just something to get used to.

[kerickson]

We have kids 2.5 and 3.5 so haven't had to worry about this yet. But, I already booked our WDW/DCL vacation for Oct 09 (8 days missed) and then realized my DD will be in Kindergarten :eek:
Don't think it will be an issue, but won't be able to take many more long vacations during school months. Once VGC is open, we'll take shorter vacations closer to home...

[tjkraz]

I draw the line at one week per year. Pretty tough stance, eh? ;)

Aside from our Disney trips, our kids usually don't miss school. The work schedules of DW and myself enable us to handle most normal appointments after school or on school vacation days. DS is entering second grade and I only recall him missing 2 or 3 days due to illness thru 4 years of preschool, kindergarten and 1st grade.

This current school year we don't have any trips planned. We're scheduled for the 2nd week of June '09. I will be curious to see how we all do with the heat. Hopefully the crowds won't have fully arrived yet.

I'm tentatively planning October '09 so that we get to MNSSHP while the kids are still young. Depending upon how the June trip goes, this may be the last time we pull the kids out. Schools move so fast these days that we can't just automatically expect kids to adjust to 30 hours worth of lost instruction upon their return.

[adminjedi]

2 years ago we stayed 9 days over Spring Break, so our high school aged kids missed 2 days of class, while our college age kids had to fly home earlier.

We decided that it wasn't in their best interest, and we didn't like cutting our family vacation short. So, we are now going in the summer to allow all the kids to stay the entire 14 days!

[Rock'n Robin]

We went spring break last year and will go again this year. My kids will miss one day. Last year it was the day before, this year it is the first day back. This meant saving hundreds on airfare or I wouldn't have done it. Now I've found out the day we miss is the day musical tickets go on sale, and the musical is "Grease"! So I have to find someone to buy my tickets for me, but I keep telling myself how much I saved on my plane tickets.
Robin M.

[eliza61]

We don't take our kids out of school for vacation. we're lucky that we're on the east coast so kids go back to school later. August is a great month for vacations as far as crowds go.

It's kinda of paid off, my son was awarded a $13,000 scholarship/year for 2 years for never missing any days from school. 26grand can buy a lot of disney vacations. :thumbsup2

[fortheluvofpooh]

our first trip the kids missed 10 days of school, but that was the exception to the rule, we were to go over the summer, then my son was stillborn and we just couldn't muster up the courage to leave the house so soon, so we talked to our school superintendant and he approved our vacation and didn't allow the teacher to send too much work along. (granted DS was only in 2nd grade).
the past 2 trips were 6 days, this upcoming trip it will be 4 days because we planned it to leave on thanksgiving and took advantage of deer day.

[PatsMom]

Up until this year DD has missed usually 5 days of school per year. This year she will get to miss 10. She's a senior in high school, on the honor roll and a National Honor Society Member. She's taken several advanced placement classes. It got harder to miss once she reached high school but with some advance planning. bribes for other's to take and share notes, and some before and after school work when she returned she's always been able to make up what she missed. This year she has only quarter long or semester long classes. So she will miss a week first semester and a week second semester. The extra trip in February (before President's week) is kind of a bonus for working so hard through school.

[ChelleinNC]

I draw the line at one week per year. Pretty tough stance, eh? ;)


:laughing: :rotfl:


We like to do one week at Christmas time for the shows/decorations and then one week in June as soon as the kids get out of school.

We used to miss a couple of days leading into Christmas break, but last year found that was when all the projects were due :rolleyes: So this year the kids (DD14 & DS11) will miss 5 days after Thanksgiving (which will give them plenty of time to catch up before Christmas break)

[moredisneyplease]

My boys are only 3 years and 8 months so i havent had to deal with this issue yet. Unfortunately I think I'm going to be one of those mommies who makes her kids go to school and not miss due to a Disney vacation. As much as I love WDW and my DVC I think that I'll probably never pull them out of school for sake of a trip. Of course I say that now, right ;) Check back in a few years! :rotfl:

[Starr W.]

My kids miss 2 days for our Thanksgiving trip. I wouldn't pull them out for a week to go to WDW. Neither would want to miss a week of school, they are
1st and 6th graders.

[atpatt]

So far we've gone twice during spring break in April (which conveniently includes the week of ds8's bday) and in October we will take our second week-before-Columbus-Day trip, which means they miss 4 days, plus we often end up leaving early and staying an extra night or two. They go to a Christian school and for whatever reason we have the Monday before Columbus day off as teacher in-service instead of Columbus Day itself.

Next year we are going in February during Mardi Gras week, which they also have off as winter break (and next year it includes ds4's bday) and in June. Thinking about trying to get in a Thanksgiving 09 trip too which will only mean missing a couple of days.

Ds8 is a super student but I hesitate to keep taking him out for days at a time. We will see how that works out, lol. Ds4 is in k4 and doesn't really count at this point.

[dvcdisney]

During the time that my son was in preschool to grade 3- he usually missed 10-14 days. But now, we have decided to go during holidays and so he will only miss 5-10 days. My daughter is just starting preschool now.

[perpetualplanner]

We drew the line at taking them out of school when the older DS hit 5th grade. Of course, now he's in 7th and he'll be missing 5 days this year. We scheduled a trip to celebrate DH and I finishing (hopefully) the Chicago Marathon and his 13th b-day in Oct. He's really hit his groove in Middle School and doesn't have any trouble with the work so I'm not overly concerned about the make-up work. Both principals have already approved the absences so there aren't any worries but this won't become the norm since our trip next year is already scheduled for July.

[DisDaydreamer]

It has been quite a while, but we would typically have our kids out of school for 3 or 4 days during elementary and middle school. No missed days for high school.

[bookwormde]

We do mostly summer, but if we can find a time when we can get 8 or 10 days with only missing 3 or a maximum of 4 days of school at a less busy time we will do that also. We have a 1000-mile travel distance so that makes a difference.

We like the week after super-bowl when it is not in Florida, the parks are very light Sunday and the beginning of the week and this seam to be a popular weekend to have continuing ed days around in our state

bookwormde

[musical2]

We usually don't take our girls out of school. But this year during MLK holiday week, the school system here had teacher in-service training on Thursday and Friday and since they already had Monday off for MLK day, we took them out for two days (Tuesday and Wednesday) and went to WDW for the week. Moreover, those two days were only half days due to high school testing. Our girls aren't in high school yet, but due to bus scheduling the whole system gets off half day.

[lanand3]

Last spring my 2 youngest were in preschool but my oldest was 4th grade.She missed 5 days of school and she had pretty easy time makng up work. This spring thy will miss one 5 days also.We will go over the weekend and the day we will leave they have a half day so i'm hoping we can get a late afternoon flight so they don't have to miss that morning too.

I am a nurse at a hospital and time off during the xmas/new year time is not allowed. We are very limited to time off allowed during "prime time" vacation from Memorial day through Labor day,and we are not notified until May 1st which week we were approved for. So unfortunately we are limited mostly to the school year.I would LOVE to spend a xmas a wdw and not have to take the kids out of school,but that will not happen unless I quit my job,but then there would not be money for wdw at all:eek:

Edited to add my kids do very well at school and have no problem making up the work.Also,they very rarely miss school due to illness.My dd actually had perfect attendance for 3 years in a row until we took her out for vacation.If they were struggling or felt it would be too difficult or had already missed too many days due to illness then we would have to change our plans.

[cckovach]

Our kids are 9 and 12. We took them out for 5 days in October last year. The 9 year old's teacher didn't give us any work to complete on the trip. The 12 year old's teacher gave us work which he did on the flight home.
This year we are taking them out for 5 days in October again. I think that the 9 year old will have no problem. I think the 12 year old will have catch-up problems if he doesn't complete the work each day of the trip. Depending on how the 12 year old does this trip will determine if we go during the school year in 2010 which they are 11 and 14.

Prior to the October trips, we would take them out of school for one day on a long weekend trip.

[simzac]

We don't take our boys out of school for vacations. They may miss a day due to a school function though.

[Laneychris]

2 days at the most, I don't like them to miss too much.

[SLK1]

Vacations are very important to our family, but school comes first. When they are in middle and high school, missing school, more than a day or two, really takes a toll on them - playing "catch up" is really tough. Plus you have to think about how many sick days they might have in addition to missing days because of vacations.

[jenna]

Right now our kids are in elementary school and preschool so I have been taking them out for 5 days per school year. Last year it was September, this year it will be May when we go with our friends. We have also gone over the summer and probably after next year, that's when our vacations will be limited to. Unfortunately, summer is my husband's busiest time for work so it can create a major :headache:. We may have to go during Christmas vacation instead. :santa: Oh what a problem to have!;) :rotfl:

[edk35]

Our kids are now almost 18, almost 15 and 9. Our kids have never missed more than 2 full days of school for any Disney trip (well our first Nov. trip they missed 3 days but my dd was in 6th, ds 3rd and my little guy was 3). Had we started going a lot back when they were little ....I would probably have taken them out 3-4 DAYS MAX PER YEAR. Now my older two don't like to miss more than 1 day. It is a different ball game once they get into the upper elementary, middle and high school. At least where we live.....if you miss a couple of days....YOU HAVE LOTS TO MAKE UP even in 3rd grade. Not only are they making up homework, classwork, but they are not receiving instruction that is maybe necessary for completion of classwork. A lot of lessons are group activities, small group and one on one......so for us.....not too many missed days any more for our trips. Sure I would love to go in off peak times....but we have been able to enjoy going at more crowded times and had wonderful trips. Matter of fact we have gone the past two summers and we are starting to really enjoy them. Sure it is hot but the parks are open later, pools are open later and it is so much more relaxed on the summer trips. We don't do the commando park style of touring anymore either....in the summers. So back on topic......our kids are missing 1 day in Nov. for our trip and about 1 hour of another day. I now know to let my high school aged kids decide this for us. ....because it affects them the most.

[dallasdisneymommy]

I have a 1st grader, a last-year-of-preschooler, and a yet-to-start-schooler, and since school has become a more serious thing for my oldest, we decided we needed to start taking summer trips. So we went in early June this year, and it was so hot and crowded that we quickly changed our minds back to taking them out of school for a week. I'm sure we'll have to evaluate this on a yearly basis, but for now, we are going to continue to enjoy the cooler weather and the lower crowds when we visit, even if it means missing a little bit of school.

[vicki_c]

We only started dealing with this this year (2008) since both kids are in school now.

So we went over MLK day which entailed the kids missing 1 full day and 2 early dismissal days, I think. (our school was closed Monday, had early dismissal Tues-Weds and were off Thurs-Fri for teacher in-service - is that not dumb?). We left the Friday before and stayed a week.

We're going again at Christmas and Christmas Eve is the first day off in our school district. So my kids will be missing 3 days for that - a Friday before, and then Monday-Tuesday). I tried to consider what I think the kids will be doing during the 3 days prior to Christmas break -- I think not much.

I guess that falls in the 5-ish day range, and I'm okay with that at this point (ok a little guilty), but I'm sure that will change as they get out of elementary school.

[HayGan]

Last year my boys were in 1st grade and Kindergarten. I took them out for a week in late Sept. to go to WDW. Through that experience we found that taking DS#1 out of school for that length of time is just too tough for him. He is autistic and having to do that much work on vacation was just too much for him and really took away from his enjoyment of being in WDW. The little one does just fine (he so far ahead of other kids his age that he should probably be in 2nd grade this year instead of first.) Anyway, we have decided that for the next few years we will do our big family vacations as soon as the kids get out of school (and I do mean right after they get out as in they leave school at 2pm and we leave for WDW at 7pm.)

In the future, we may consideer taking them out for a day or two around Thanksgiving for a trip. For now, no more taking them out for more than 2 days at a time works best for us & them.

[NDM#1]

We homeschool, so we don't miss any school for our trips. I must confess that our DVC membership helps me stay more motivated as a homeschool mom. It definitely has occured to me that if I put my kids in the school system it would interfere with our DVC plans. I just can't go there . . . Disney is too important!:laughing:

[kid-at-heart]

DD will miss nine days this fall and probably nine again in the spring. My daughter attends a private Montessori school. The Montessori format allows for each child to learn at their own level (no worries about missing lectures as students are taught individually or in small groups). Our child travels with us several times a year; she attends conferences with us (sits in on the seminars), goes to Disney and visits relatives - all during the school year. Our trips add to her education (yes, even when visiting Disney she adds to her knowledge base and when we visit relatives we always stop by local historical places, geological foundations, etc.). She is entering the 5th grade and is testing at 9th grade level - not because she is brilliant (of course I think she is brilliant :thumbsup2 ) but because of the type of education she is receiving. Most of the children in her school are testing above their grade level. I would say that we are lucky in being able to afford to send DD to a Montessori school but in reality we manage our lifestyle so she can attend a private school. We drive old cars, tend not to buy new clothes, grow a lot of our own food, etc in order to pay DD’s schooling. I wish all children had the opportunity to experience a Montessori education.

[loribell]

I didn't vote in the poll because we don't normally take the kids out of school for our trips. However we have gone once over our fall break and took them out of school for 3 extra days, once for a convention I had to attend in September for 4 days, once for a Christmas trip for one day but only because they rescheduled a make up day at the last minute and our airfare was already purchased, and then this year we will be taking them out an extra 4 days for an after Christmas trip so that we can stay for the low crowds.

I would love to be able to go at lower crowd times but I also like to go for a minimum of 2 weeks and I can not do that and take the kids out of school.

[edk35]

We only started dealing with this this year (2008) since both kids are in school now.

So we went over MLK day which entailed the kids missing 1 full day and 2 early dismissal days, I think. (our school was closed Monday, had early dismissal Tues-Weds and were off Thurs-Fri for teacher in-service - is that not dumb?). We left the Friday before and stayed a week.

We're going again at Christmas and Christmas Eve is the first day off in our school district. So my kids will be missing 3 days for that - a Friday before, and then Monday-Tuesday). I tried to consider what I think the kids will be doing during the 3 days prior to Christmas break -- I think not much.

I guess that falls in the 5-ish day range, and I'm okay with that at this point (ok a little guilty), but I'm sure that will change as they get out of elementary school.

Sounds good plus those days leading up to the Christmas break......are lost days especially at the elementary level. When I saw our calendar for this year...I knew right away.. tons of kids would not be in school that Monday and Tuesday. I don't blame you one bit.

[Starr W.]

Sounds good plus those days leading up to the Christmas break......are lost days especially at the elementary level. When I saw our calendar for this year...I knew right away.. tons of kids would not be in school that Monday and Tuesday. I don't blame you one bit.

I figured we would go this year Mon/Tues, but our district gets off on Friday for Xmas. This is truly a first for our district, I thought there was some rule someone made up that we had to go until at least 12/21! I think 2 years ago we went Mon-Tues and the secretaries were shaking their heads at all the vacation forms that came through.

Our new super. seems to have brought some common sense to our schedule. We had way too many 3 day weeks that the teachers absolutely hated(you can't get much done in any of the grades).

[TheDISneyFamily]

My kids are going to miss a total of 6 days this year - 3 in Oct. and 3 in Dec. Our DVC trips have never been a problem, even with them being in high school.

[CTPinkPrincess]

DD missed 5 days last year (first grade) and shhh..will miss 5 days again this year (second grade). Now, both times are/will be in late May, so one of those days is Field Day...;)

[kristenrice]

We have DD5 who just started Kindergarten and DD3 who is doing preschool 2 days a week. They go to a private, Christian school and we are planning on traveling over the dreaded spring break time!:scared1: We just bought into DVC and our points will allow us to go Su-Th, 2 out of 3 years and stay in a 1BR SV at AKV. The Su-Th works perfect since we're planning on driving. We can leave Fri after the girls get out of school and arrive mid-morning on Sunday. Then, we can depart the following Fri morning and arrive home Saturday evening. This way, the kids shouldn't HAVE to miss any school. The 4 trips we took when I was a kid were all over Spring Break and we didn't think anything of it. We didn't want to buy into DVC and PLAN on taking the kids out of school. If it turns out that they are excellent students and can handle missing a few days, then we might vacation in February or November. I think the most I am willing to consider is missing 3 days and going the week of Thanksgiving. We'd have to travel home the day after Thanksgiving so I think that will price us right out of flying. I love the flexibility of DVC and cannot wait to close on our contract!

[janni518]

This was tough. We took the kids out this past year for Disney but that was unusual and we tried to make sure their attendance was great the rest of the year.

Unfortunately my son has a chronic lung condition that causes him to sometime be hospitalized when he gets a simple cold and so he often misses school because of that.He actually came home from our last Disney trip with raging pneumonia and a huge lung abscess poor kid. It's just wrong to be sick in the happiest place on earth. :confused3

We will be going during easter week this year so that atendance won't be an issue.

[crisi]

While my kids have been in elementary school, we'd pull them for three days over conferences - they'd have Thur and Fri off already. This is the last year for that and then we will be summer folk when the kids are out of school.

[SleepyatDVC]

My kids are in 2nd and 4th grades right now. I voted less than 5 days.

I usually have no problem tacking on 1-3 days onto a school holiday if necessary due to itinerary (a cruise) or cheaper airfare. Up to 2 vacations a year. I try to limit it to under 4 days total.

Last school year, they missed 1 day for an out of town family wedding (took Friday off when they already had the Thursday off) and 2 days for Disney after Spring break. DH flew down on a Friday evening after work to join us and we all flew back on Tuesday after the break when airfare dropped dramatically.

I try not to take them out too many days because inevitably, they will get sick too and miss some school. I think between the scheduled off days and the actual sick days, they missed just about 5 days last year.

The year before, they missed 2-3 days after Easter/Passover because we were on a 12 night cruise. The same year, they also unexpectantly missed 2 extra days because our Sunday afternoon flight home from Disney during President's Week got CANCELED while we were at the airport and we had to fly back on a Tuesday early morning flight.

This school year, we have another Easter cruise planned for 2009 and they will miss one day of school because the Monday flights home from Miami were so much less money. So far, that is the only day they will miss for vacation. Being sick is another matter...

[daisyduck123]

The most my kids ever missed was 11 or 12 days during the 2005-2006 school year. DD (was in 8th grade), DS ( was in 3rd grade). I also pulled myself out... :teacher:
We still pull them out every year, but not as much, since DD is in high school now.

[aprince&princess]

This year my kids will miss 1 and 1/2 days in Oct. and 1 day in Jan.

They are off Thurs, Friday and Monday for Yom Kippur, a teacher day and Colombus Day. Our original plan was to leave Wed after school and not miss any days, but then the airline changed our flight to midday on Tues. So we added an extra night at SSR and figured the day and a half would be ok. Last year they missed Thurs & Friday before Columbus Day and catching up on the work wasn't so bad.

We are going for Christmas and New Years and decided to come home on Jan 5th which we thought would be less crazy and the flights were cheaper. And then we are gone 13 days with only 1 missed school day.

The kids are now a 5th grader and a 9th grader. When my DS was 7th grade they missed 5 days that included early dismissal for teacher conferences and there was so much work to make up that it really stressed out my DS. So we decided that we would only do a day or two here and there.

[njmeisje]

We don't believe in taking our girls out of school for a vacation. School is too important.

[JVL1018]

Usually 1 week(5 school days).

This year will be 10 school days(1 week inOct., 1 week in June), which I HATE doing, but they changed our April break to the first week of April.
For years it has been the last week of April-so we were going to go to HH then.
First week of April is a no go for my husband for work. So we're going the first week of June and pulling the kids out.
He's an accountant and I swear with clients and reports and deadlines he has about 4 or 5 weeks a year where he can take off, no exaggeration. It's absolutely ridiculous.

We always do 2 trips out of our APs. We're buying them for our upcoming October trip and I wanted to do late August next year, so I don't have to take the kids out.
No can do for DH.
Early August? No.September? No. October anytime before the 18th? No.
AUGH!
I am hoping somehow he can get August so the kids miss no school..or the week when the kids have off for Yom Kippur in September so they miss 4 days instead of 5.

Thankfully both my kids do wonderfully in school and are fine when they get back, but I'd still like 1 week to be my absolute limit.

[maciec]

7 here for us. Usually 5 for Disney and 2 for a winter trip to Maine. This year it will be 5 to Mexico and we will use the other 2 for a trip to DC in May.

Our school district only allows 7 missed days for vacation.

[drag n' fly]

It is 2. The last 2 days before Christmas break so they do not miss much anyways. We do not want our kids to miss anymore school so we bought DVC and will travel when they have holidays from now on.:goodvibes

[bobbiwoz]

We're the DGP's and our oldest DGC will miss 10 days because of the DVC vacations we have planned! I know this won't continue, she's in Kindergarten this year.

Bobbi:goodvibes

PS. I'm in "education" and never took my own DSs out of school for vacations. If DS/DDiL say it's OK to book a school vacation, I'll do it.

[RLRDA]

Our two oldest are in 6th and 4th grade which are both elementary grades in our city. I voted '<5' although we'd take them out for 5 days max (i.e. a school week). For our upcoming trip in just about 3 weeks :thumbsup2 our schools have 2 days off for religious holidays so they'll only be missing 3 days.

After this year we will start visiting in August. We've gone to Orlando twice in August and haven't found it as unbearable as some might think. In late August the crowds thin out, actually.

[vicki_c]

PS. I'm in "education" and never took my own DSs out of school for vacations. If DS/DDiL say it's OK to book a school vacation, I'll do it.

Oh yeah, see how it is when you're the grandma? :rotfl:

[patsal]

I voted 0, but there was that one time that we had to leave a day earlier than we wanted because no other flights had 4 seats left!

[bobbiwoz]

Oh yeah, see how it is when you're the grandma? :rotfl:

Yes, being the DGM is totally different!!! I am so glad that it's happening!!!

Bobbi:goodvibes

[mrsR123]

DH and I are both teachers; we can take only two personal days per year or three if we roll one over from a previous year. The only time we pulled our kids was for two days in December '05.

I, on the other hand have use all my days for three years to participate in the Half Marathon in January. :thumbsup2

[Moeluv4u7]

"0" days here- This will be our first trip next year but even in the past, we have never taken vacation anywhere while the kids are in school- Between studies that all 5 have and really shouldn't have to deal w/ the stress of "catch up", they are all also in sports and other activities that would be missed - even for a vacation- Our kids get exemplary grades so it isn't a worry of grades "dropping" per se but the idea that it is "okay" to miss school when you feel like it- No judgement on anyone else- I think it is way cool that you are able to with kudos from your school districts - our district is quite strict and the kids can only have 3 unexcused absences- the unexcused includes any time they miss w/o a doctors note- Well, there goes that because I am not taking a sick day at work and dragging my 24 hr virus having, vomiting kid to a doctor to pay copay and be told to give fluids and send to school tomorrow- No thanks! The school board and I already go round and round on this one- Best thing about it again, is the fact that our kids grades are great- otherwise I bet they'd have Social services on us for the no doctor notes days that they miss-
Wishing we could be there!

[nickspace]

5

[LORNA ANN]

We work in the catering /hospitality industry so for us to take school holidays is almost impossible, so we have to take DS out of school every year & have done so since he was 5, now 16 & he appears to be doing ok cant see any permenant damage infact he has probably benefited from some quality family time which we do not always have time for at home as we are all busy with work,social life & studies..oh yes & DS no. 2 who is just coming up for the terrible 2's & can be pretty demanding of all our time. I'm pretty sure he will be coming out of school for future vacations.!!!!

[jpolak]

Less than 5. DW & I are both teachers and and it is almost impossible for us to get away while school is in session.

[gracelrm]

Another pair of teachers here so we usually go to WDW during the summer or fall break and have only ever missed school once. In 2004, we really wanted to do the MVMCP and so we took off the last day before Christmas Break in order to make the last party. I'm so glad we did, but all the kids were in elementary school then. With one in high, middle & elem. now - I don't think we'll ever be able to do this again. Our school system has a policy that teachers can't use a personal day prior to or right after a planned break in the school calendar. DD HS also will not allow students to miss for approved trips prior to or following a planned break without taking zeros for their work. So we tend to go during the summer and just deal with the heat and crowds. DH & I are about 8 years from retiring - we'll get to reap the benefits of low crowds and hopefully spoil the grandkids too!

[Sheribo]

We go to Disney twice a year. Once in the fall to do the parks so the kids (19, 16,14) miss 5 days and once in the spring over March Break so they don't miss anything. That's why we bought DVC so we'd always have a great place to relax during spring break. There is so much to do at the resorts that we don't go to the parks and our home resort - SSR - never seems crowded. We just wanted a place to get away from the snow that was high quality and relaxing.

[Starr W.]

"0" days here- This will be our first trip next year but even in the past, we have never taken vacation anywhere while the kids are in school- Between studies that all 5 have and really shouldn't have to deal w/ the stress of "catch up", they are all also in sports and other activities that would be missed - even for a vacation- Our kids get exemplary grades so it isn't a worry of grades "dropping" per se but the idea that it is "okay" to miss school when you feel like it- No judgement on anyone else- I think it is way cool that you are able to with kudos from your school districts - our district is quite strict and the kids can only have 3 unexcused absences- the unexcused includes any time they miss w/o a doctors note- Well, there goes that because I am not taking a sick day at work and dragging my 24 hr virus having, vomiting kid to a doctor to pay copay and be told to give fluids and send to school tomorrow- No thanks! The school board and I already go round and round on this one- Best thing about it again, is the fact that our kids grades are great- otherwise I bet they'd have Social services on us for the no doctor notes days that they miss-
Wishing we could be there!

Boy your district is tough. We only require a doctor's note if the kid misses more than 5 days. A parent's note is all that is required for less an excused absence for illness.

[OlderMan]

My DD's have a "job." It is going to school. They have fixed "vacation" time from school and--like this year--it can be impacted by hurricanes/tropical storms.

Any trips to WDW can be during school breaks and/or summer vacation. (Obviously, this does not apply to one-day school-sponsored field trips to EPCOT, Seaworld, etc.)

JMHO!

[loribell]

Some of your districts are incredibly strict. Our kids can miss a maximum of 9 days per semester without a doctors note. Of course they don't miss that but they can if it is needed. They also have nothing to say about before or after a break. If there is testing scheduled at that time then they will make arrangements for our kids to take them in advance. I guess they agree that family time is just as important. As long as they have no problem doing there work there is no reason they can't miss.

[Lora]

Had to vote "zero". My girls take their teacher on vacation with them every year...or rather, I take my students. The freedom to take vacations whenever we wanted was definitely not one of my reasons to homeschool, but it certainly is a benefit I've appreciated.

[tigger813]

DD missed a total of 3 full days last Dec (a snow day happened while we were away and there were 2 -1/2 days for conferences).
This year she will miss 3 for our October trip (day after we get back is a day off for Yom Kippur) and she will miss one day in April. We will come back from Disney the Monday after the week long vacation. Already warned her teacher about October (she wishes she could go) and mentioned that she will miss a day in April as well.

[ticofan]

My kids miss at least four weeks (20 days) of regular school days. However since we home school, we make those days up during the summer when the rest of you are at Disney World. We love the first two weeks in December -- wonderful weather, Christmas decorations, and low crowds. Then we like October for Mickey's Not Very Scary. We round off the public school year by going again in May. Our vacations are usually 10-11 days, Sunday 'til Thursday. That way we save points.

Oh, and sometimes we even do home school in Disney!

My kids are way ahead compared to their public school counterparts. Even though we vacation a lot -- they still get in at least 180 days a year. One of their downsides to home school is that if they are sick or on vacation, those days don't count as school -- so they really never miss any days.

[Tinkerbellcrafter]

I used to be really nervous about taking my daughter out but we give fair warning to her teachers and she has just started 3rd grade. We have always brought work with us and we do it on the plane and in the room. The most she has missed for WDW trips is 5 day for the first week of December...not much going on at that time in school at younger grades. This year will probably be the last that we take her out for so many days, though since standardized testing begins in math in NYS. My DH doesn't quite agree with this! :-)

[Starr W.]

Some of your districts are incredibly strict. Our kids can miss a maximum of 9 days per semester without a doctors note. Of course they don't miss that but they can if it is needed. They also have nothing to say about before or after a break. If there is testing scheduled at that time then they will make arrangements for our kids to take them in advance. I guess they agree that family time is just as important. As long as they have no problem doing there work there is no reason they can't miss.


Our district lets us know when the state tests are scheduled over a year in advance(when they find out from Columbus, those pinheads like to move it around). It's about the only time they don't want you to miss school and since it's usually at the end of April/beg of May, I'll work around it.

We took the kids out at noon last Jan(4 day MLK weekend) and I could barely get into the office with the number of parents waiting for their kids.

[goalie5hole]

We got a nasty letter from the principal the last time we took our children out. We gave them advanced notice and even asked for school work to bring with us and he refused. My wife works in a pediatric dentist office and the parents will always make the appointments during school hours rather than have their children miss after school sports.

[glindamood]

We used to take ours out for five days each fall but once they went to college, their trips stopped and we cruised during college breaks.

[wilma-bride]

My children are 5, 14 and 15. On average, they only miss 1 week of school per year but that is only because we are in the UK and obviously have to take longer vacations. It is so expensive for us to fly in the summer as well that we don't really have a choice but to take them out of school. Once the two girls have left home, though, and there are only the 3 of us travelling, we probably will visit during summer vacation and not take the little one out of school.

[*KeepMovingForward*]

My kids miss 5-6 days per school year due to our Disney vacations. They are high schoolers and never had problems because of the vacations.

[threegoofys]

We like to go during January when lines are short and weather is pretty nice. Our daughter misses about 5days in a school year for a Disney trip.

[dzorn]

We try to limit it to 5 days max. Though we did you 6 last year for our cruise.

Denise in MI

[stopher1]

Another one who voted zero - not because we don't go to WDW during the school year - we DO - we just happen to bring both the teacher and principal with us, since our kids are home educated. Each year when we return, they have to write reports about their trip and what new things they learned while there. Like other field trips to the museums, zoos or some other interesting locale, it just augments their education and adds to their well rounded state.

[NJ&SSR]

Being from NJ we are lucky that the kids have a short week of school in Nov. (yes, the infamous Jersey Week) so that is when we go. They only miss 3 days. When they get older (they are only 5 and 7 now) we probalby will not take them out at all, and just go in the summer or spring break.