Kids out of school for vacation?

[MelXThree]

I have been reading a lot of posts about the grief parents are getting for taking there kids out of school for there WDW vacation. Just thinking....is it the same in Canada?? :confused3 My son just started kindergarten this year so I am not sure what to expect when I tell his teacher that we are taking 5 days to go to Mexico in Nov. and then 5 days to go to WDW in Jan.:scared1:

Just looking for a Canadian perspective....:goodvibes

[tribus121]

we are taking our DD out of school ( Gr 1 )also in January for a week and because she is doing really well we don't expect any grief . My brother took his son ( 7 )last year before Christmas and all the teacher asked was that he write a daily report .:thumbsup2

[Debbie]

Here's the most recent thread on this topic for Canadians-click here (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1936490). For the most part, we tend to be civil. :thumbsup2

[rjan67]

My only thought would be to give the teacher fair warning. My dh is a teacher and he is often told a couple of days before the child leaves and is asked for the work to be covered when they are gone to be sent with the child. H may not have that ready which leads to more work for him at the time. Sometimes a project (not so much in kindergarten..lol) can be worked around a trip as we try to do that ourselves.

[ottawamom]

Your child is in Kindergarten. There shouldn't be any problem taking them out of school at that age. I have up until recently removed my children from school for family vacations. We went to WDW when my oldest was in Grade 9. That was a lot of work (to keep up with the workload). You should be fine taking them out of school until at least grade 7. Grades 7, 8 and beyond depend on what kind of a student they are etc. Don't give it a second thought and have a great time. Do give the teacher fair warning though.

[Ham Ham]

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee242/horonto/not_this_stuff_again.jpg

[Ted in Halifax]

It's Kindergarten ... drink ... drain ... wipe nose .... colour.

I am in the education research field .... I know the trip will introduce more learning opportunities an it removes. In fact, I'm taking my kindergarten (called Primary here) and grade 2 kid out of school for 6 days.

Not concerned one bit ...

Ted

[bdoyledimou]

My ex-in-laws are both teachers, and neither of them complain when a child has the opportunity for "non-traditional learning".

Especially in a trip to the world, they learn a number of things.

They learn about money (parents always complaining about how expensive things are)
They learn about geography (we are here, and are going to be there)
They learn about other cultures (as the US does have vast differences in culture to Canada)
They get to see the different seasons if they travel in the winter, and learn that weather is localized.
It also gives their brain a rest and fillls it up with creative imagination.

Epcot itself is a world of educational value....

[Luhts]

Hi! I'm the starter of the other thread! :wave2:
I found everyone was great about it. I think I am the only one who thinks we are going to have a problem with our 9 y/o when we get back. Although, when we took ds out last year for a trip, the principal seemed less than pleased about it. But this year he seemed fine...perhaps it was just the timing, as in he was too overwhelmed with the start of the school year to give a darn! :rotfl2:
I am definitely not worried about my 4 y/o...personally I see JK as being no different than preschool or daycare (I'm from BC originally where they don't even have JK), but my concern there is that they are still organizing classes b/c they had too many new registrations at the start of the school year and had to hire a second JK/SK teacher, and with all the red tape and hoops they have to jump thru, they still don't have it all organized so we may be coming home to a new teacher! (sorry, run-on sentence! lol)

I did have to fill out an "extended absense" request form, although I have heard from other Canadian DISers that they did not, so I would check with your school on that one. Apparently there is a 'rule' in Ontario that if the child misses more than 21 days of school, they are required to repeat the year, although at the same time I have also heard that they never hold a child back anymore, so a bit conflicting!

Ham Ham: is that your way of dissing the OP? Are you sure you are Canadian?:laughing: Didn't your mamma teach you "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." ??

[drag n' fly]

I have been reading a lot of posts about the grief parents are getting for taking there kids out of school for there WDW vacation. Just thinking....is it the same in Canada?? :confused3 My son just started kindergarten this year so I am not sure what to expect when I tell his teacher that we are taking 5 days to go to Mexico in Nov. and then 5 days to go to WDW in Jan.:scared1:

Just looking for a Canadian perspective....:goodvibes

Op it really depends on the school and the teachers. I had one teacher who was thrilled we were going back again and I have had others who were not quite so happy and made it miserable for my kid coming back (eg: 2 hours of additional homework every night for 9 days in addition to what he already had.) The younger they are the easier it is. I have 3 kids two are in grade 7 and 9 and one in grade 1. It just became impossible for us to miss any more class. Even thought their grades were good they just fell too far behind and spent a whole lot of time catching up afterward. We now only travel when the kids are off school. To maximize flight savings they may miss a couple days before the holiday period begins but nothing else.:thumbsup2

[snickerboo]

Totally different here, from my experience. My kids' teachers have never cared. Dd had missed for Disney trips, dance competitions, etc. I think those things are very educational and provide experiences the school cannot. The way I see it, I know parents who let their kids saty home for the sniffles or let them skip school to have a special day with mom. I never do that so, even with my dd missing for Disney or dance, she probably doesn't miss more than the other kids.

[drag n' fly]

It's Kindergarten ... drink ... drain ... wipe nose .... colour.

I am in the education research field .... I know the trip will introduce more learning opportunities an it removes. In fact, I'm taking my kindergarten (called Primary here) and grade 2 kid out of school for 6 days.

Not concerned one bit ...

Ted


Ted with all due respect we are Canadians. I do not want to Americanize this thread and would like to see it kept civil. You are in the education research field. However your remark was completely uncalled for. You have managed in one sentence to insult and undermine the efforts of every single Kindergarten teacher in this country. The incredible amount of time and effort that goes into planning a developmentally appropriate program for Kindergarten children is a huge undertaking. Being in education research you should already know that....then again you may want to broaden your research horizons and educate yourself on the job descriptions of Kindergarten teachers.:sad2:

[Luhts]

Oh, dragonfly! I did not take offense to Ted's remark...I'm afraid it is you that is opening up this can of worms. Please don't turn this into a discussion of the importance of Kindergarten. :(

[Lollipop's Mom]

My daughter missed 53 days of school last year (6th grade) for assorted things. We did take a 2 week vacation in January, and then had to go to LA for a week in March.
She is involved in the film industry and regularly misses the odd afternoon or day for auditions/filming. Then of course there are sick days too.
She still finished with straight A's and did fine. This year I am pulling her for 2 weeks in January and 4 days in March. I am not concerned. The teachers have always been very supportive of her.
I also never bring work on vacation for her - I am probably in the minority here, but if she has work sent home, she gets it done all in one sitting before we leave - usually 2 solid hours and she is done.

[MelXThree]

WOW, thanks for all the replies. I was just reading on the US thread that the schools don't get paid if the kids don't come, ect, ect. and was just curious to see if it was the same way here in Canada (new to this school thing)

Thanks for pointing out the other thread, I did not see it before :)

[drag n' fly]

Oh, dragonfly! I did not take offense to Ted's remark...I'm afraid it is you that is opening up this can of worms. Please don't turn this into a discussion of the importance of Kindergarten. :(

Yes I did take it personally. I have been an Early Childhood Educator for 24years and now work in the public elementary school system. The comment had nothing to do with the topic of the thread and was completely unnecessary. Sorry if you were offended when I expressed my concern over his narrow minded remark:upsidedow

[Ham Ham]

Hi! I'm the starter of the other thread! :wave2:
Ham Ham: is that your way of dissing the OP? Are you sure you are Canadian?:laughing: Didn't your mamma teach you "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." ??

Far from dissing the OP, I was trying to inject a little levity to this subject.:rotfl:

The thread of "should I take my kids out of school to go to Disney" evokes a wide range of opinion from parents, educators, lurkers and trolls.
I was hoping my post would generate a few chuckles as I've used it before in similar threads and it has always been met the spirit in which it was posted. FYI I cleaned up the language in the image.

My views on taking children out of school for a family vacation is the following.
It is a personal family decision and primarily should focus on how the absence will impact the child.
My children have much better study habits and marks than I ever did so I wouldn't have a problem taking them out for a week.

Also, Luhts feel free to take a shot at me but please leave my mother out of this or challenge my citizenship. :thumbsup2

(please note I'm trying to be little humorous with my posts)

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee242/horonto/3dflagsdotcom_canad_2fawl.gif

[Northern Disney Girl]

Oh my! :eek: For a minute there I thought I was on the transportation board! :confused3 I think that as Canadians we should strive to be a little bit more kind and understanding! I just thought this thread looked interesting as it is an issue that I myself am dealing with. I did not expect to find myself in the midst of an all out war! :scared1:

[drag n' fly]

Oh my! :eek: For a minute there I thought I was on the transportation board! :confused3 I think that as Canadians we should strive to be a little bit more kind and understanding! I just thought this thread looked interesting as it is an issue that I myself am dealing with. I did not expect to find myself in the midst of an all out war! :scared1:

:rotfl: this is nothing. Go hang out on the Community Board....now that's war:rotfl2:

[yxe dad]

I'll try and get this back on track,

I'm pulling my boys(9&11) out of school from Feb 6th-13th and their school break starts on the 14 for a week. We will be in Disney World from the 7th-18th and their teachers already know about the trip. My boys have done quite well in school in the past, and as long as they continue to do so I will pull them out for holidays. If they start to have problems or can't handle the work when they get home I will stop taking them when school is on. The reason I need to take them out of school is not to save money, but more that my work is busy during school breaks. I'm a Chef at a popular restaurant and when a school break is on sales usually jump 30% and I'm needed to be at the restaurant.

[Sheribo]

I take my kids out of school for a week each year but it's getting harder. It's not just the work that they must catch up on, it's the classroom time to learn HOW to do the work they missed. When they were younger, I had no problem teaching them how to do their missed assignments but now, well let's just say that algebra and biology are a bit more than I can handle. I would never expect the teacher to give my child one on one lessons at lunch or after school. I do know of someone who sent their child back to school with a note saying that little Johnny would be staying in at lunch all week to catch up on his work. He ended up in the office being supervised by the secretary and didn't get much work done.

All in all, it's a personal decision. You know your child best and as long as he/she's able to keep the grades up without asking for special treatment, I say go for it.

[ahalla]

I have never had a problem taking my ds out of school for a family vacation. Last school year, he missed 2 weeks in December for a Disney trip, then in March, we had the influenza virus attack out home at which time, he missed another 2 weeks! I still wasn't concerned as he has always been, for the most part, a straight A student. He will be missing another 2 weeks this December to visit the mouse! Now having said that, next year we are again planning to take him out of school for 2 weeks for a Disney vacation, but this time he will be starting grade 9 (late October trip)! I am starting to get concerned, but with my husbands job, he can't get the school holidays off! Christmas is a big no, no, summer well, he isn't that far up the totem pole and the same with March break. So what to do, as he gets older? We as a family, want to make family vacations a priority, so we wait and see. As far as jk is concerned, legally in Canada, a child is not required to attend school until the age of 6, so it won't be an issue.

[disney0210]

DD6 is in grade 1 and I am pulling her out for two weeks in October. I went to the teacher on the first week of school and asked if she usually gives students extra work, and she said all she wanted for DD6 to do is to write a journal. There were no problems at all, she just told me to remind her closer to the date.

As for making the decision to travel when we knew she was going to miss school, I think the younger the children are the easier it is. My reasoning is that there is nothing taught in Grade 1 for two weeks that I cannot teach my child. I am sure that will change as the Grade goes up though but until then we will go when DH and I are allowed time off at work...

[grantclaire]

I agree, it is a personal decision. You have to know your kids. We do not take them out of school for vacations. My DD13 does not want to miss any school! My DS 9 would love to but cannot afford to. I take vacation at Xmass and March break and to be honest I like to go away at those times if we can. Its your vacation, Have fun!

[Luhts]

The comment had nothing to do with the topic of the thread and was completely unnecessary. Sorry if you were offended when I expressed my concern over his narrow minded remark:upsidedow

Ofcourse it had something to do with the topic...he was saying he was of the opinion that the child would be fine missing a week or two of Kindergarten. How could you take it personally when he didn't attack anything you had previously posted? We are all entitled to our opinions and I get defensive (even for others) when their opinions are slandered.

Ham Ham, sorry I didn't take your joke in the way it was intended. As I said, I get defensive, even for others, when I think they are being attacked.
I'm sure you have a very nice mama! :hug:

I'm actually quite suprised at the way this thread has gone, since none of this happened on my other thread!

I have heard that theory regarding the school not getting paid for a student who misses too many days during the year, but ofcourse I don't know the 'facts' on that. But the wording used in discussion with our principal was that they were not allowed to have more than 21 days of unexcused absenses. So I would think ones that were for illness, for example, would not be included in that. :confused3

I think I have come to the decision that I won't be taking my kids out for vacations anymore, at least not more than a couple of days.
This time of the year, it seems, is not a good one either. I had thought it would be alright b/c ds couldn't have gotten behind in his school work yet, but there is so much going on at the school still, they are still adjusting schedules and such, and my kindergartener will be returning from vacation to a new teacher! I've had to write a letter to the music teacher and the intramural (sp.?) teacher b/c things will be going on in these areas while we are away and I don't want ds to miss out. It's all just too much!

[Ham Ham]

Ham Ham, sorry I didn't take your joke in the way it was intended. As I said, I get defensive, even for others, when I think they are being attacked.
I'm sure you have a very nice mama! :hug:

My mama and I thank you.

U da bomb!:cheer2:

[drag n' fly]

Ofcourse it had something to do with the topic...he was saying he was of the opinion that the child would be fine missing a week or two of Kindergarten. How could you take it personally when he didn't attack anything you had previously posted? We are all entitled to our opinions and I get defensive (even for others) when their opinions are slandered.

Ham Ham, sorry I didn't take your joke in the way it was intended. As I said, I get defensive, even for others, when I think they are being attacked.
I'm sure you have a very nice mama! :hug:

I'm actually quite suprised at the way this thread has gone, since none of this happened on my other thread!

I have heard that theory regarding the school not getting paid for a student who misses too many days during the year, but ofcourse I don't know the 'facts' on that. But the wording used in discussion with our principal was that they were not allowed to have more than 21 days of unexcused absenses. So I would think ones that were for illness, for example, would not be included in that. :confused3

I think I have come to the decision that I won't be taking my kids out for vacations anymore, at least not more than a couple of days.
This time of the year, it seems, is not a good one either. I had thought it would be alright b/c ds couldn't have gotten behind in his school work yet, but there is so much going on at the school still, they are still adjusting schedules and such, and my kindergartener will be returning from vacation to a new teacher! I've had to write a letter to the music teacher and the intramural (sp.?) teacher b/c things will be going on in these areas while we are away and I don't want ds to miss out. It's all just too much!

It's Kindergarten ... drink ... drain ... wipe nose .... colour.

Yup that's relevant.

I could care less when people take their kids out....for how long.......the benefits of kindergarten....how good their marks are....their is rationalization for every view point including my own. It bothered me to see kindergarten referred in such a manner especially from a "education researcher".

Why are you even concerned that I was offended:confused3 Is it because you want to defend him from being slandered:rotfl:?
Like you said we are all entitled to our opinions including myself and I am entitled to the same freedoms as Ted "the education researcher"!:rolleyes1

This puppy is so dead:bored:

[MelXThree]

Wow guys, I just wanted to know if people have had problems with the school. I have already decided to take my son out for our two vacations this year. I think kindergarden IS important but in a diffrent way than grade school, so please no fighting.:)

[declansdad]

Your child is in Kindergarten. There shouldn't be any problem taking them out of school at that age. I have up until recently removed my children from school for family vacations. We went to WDW when my oldest was in Grade 9. That was a lot of work (to keep up with the workload). You should be fine taking them out of school until at least grade 7. Grades 7, 8 and beyond depend on what kind of a student they are etc. Don't give it a second thought and have a great time. Do give the teacher fair warning though.


Taking a child out of school has little to do with their age or grade level. It depends on the abilities of the child. You will find children of all grade levels that will be able to take the time off and some that will not.

If you decide to take a child out of school for a vacation, simple accept the consequences and don't add to the teachers workload. Each family has a different situation and that has to be taken into consideration.

And please lets not fool ourselves int to saying that WDW is an educational vacation. Can you learn things at WDW, yes you can. How many people will make it one, very few.

[Sheribo]

Your child is in Kindergarten. There shouldn't be any problem taking them out of school at that age. I have up until recently removed my children from school for family vacations. We went to WDW when my oldest was in Grade 9. That was a lot of work (to keep up with the workload). You should be fine taking them out of school until at least grade 7. Grades 7, 8 and beyond depend on what kind of a student they are etc. Don't give it a second thought and have a great time. Do give the teacher fair warning though.

My thoughts exactly. As they get older, it gets tougher so enjoy it while you can.

Another Ottawa mom!

[Luhts]

Why are you even concerned that I was offended:confused3 Is it because you want to defend him from being slandered?
Like you said we are all entitled to our opinions including myself and I am entitled to the same freedoms as Ted "the education researcher"!

This puppy is so dead:bored:

That is exactly why I felt I needed to say something. He stated his opinion and you attacked him. There is a difference btwn stating your opinion and berrating someone else for theirs.

I will let this go now, I promise. :rolleyes1