How do you Plan around School Calendar?

[eporter66]

OK - We have so far been able to plan our vacations whenever we want, and still have a few years left, but in the very near future we are going to have to take school into consideration.

Our daughter starts Kindergarten this year, and we have a vacation planned for October. Hopefully she will be adjusted and the week wont throw her off. We have heard from other parents that the schools get tough pretty early on about taking kids out of school.

How do/did you plan your vacations? I honestly have no desire to be in WDW for Spring Break, that just does not seem like a vacation. So - give me your planning tips, thoughts, and ideas. I dont think I am interested in summer vacation either - we have such a short summer, I would rather be here to enjoy it, no need to go to Florida. I guess I am closing my options :)

Thanks

[daisyduck123]

I pull mine out every year. They have missed at least 5 or 6 school days every year for WDW trips. A week missed from elementary school is not going to make or break anybody. I pull myself out as well! ;) :teacher:

Next year though, DD14 will be junior & is signed up for five AP classes. So we will work around vacations. If it weren't for those five classes though, I'd be pulling the kids out again.

[JW2]

We are in the same situation although my guys are now in grade 4 and 2. I don't feel comfortable pulling them out of school for a full week anymore although I know they can handle it. We did last year realizing that it was the last year. Other parents completely disagree and there have been many debates re: pros and cons - I personally think you have to go with whatever is comfortable with your own personal feelings.

Two options we are thinking about - end of August just before school restarts - they are usually bored of summer by then and the nights can be a little cool here. (But I'm with you that summer is so short and beautiful here - I have no desire to go in the middle of summer!!) For us, we are looking at our Thanksgiving which is in October - we have the Monday off and this year, the Friday following that Monday is a PD day (professional development - kids are off) - so they would actually only miss 3 days of school. I know your Thanksgiving is one of the busiest holidays but I wonder if there is another long weekend that isn't so busy and you could bridge it so your child only misses 1 or 2 days on either side of a long weekend - or if you are lucky with your school calendar that like us, there is a PD day near a long weekend? I'm still "iffy" about them even missing 3 days ... probably being over cautious. :rolleyes1

[rcmsfeb04]

Great thread!

My oldest is starting 1st grade this fall so we've scheduled a trip for Feb vacation (last week of Feb.) We've never gone in the peak season and I have already begun to worry that it will be too crowded.

If school break doesn't end up working for us we'll probably do two shorter trips each year when there's a teach conference day (day off for students). They typically are on Fridays so we'd probably pull her out of school on the Wednesday or Thursday before and Monday after the trip. We'll have to wait and see how it goes....

We won't consider going in the summer because we live in New England. I'd rather go down when it's cold here...meaning November to early May.

Thanks for asking the question, I can't wait to read the other members thoughts on this.

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Our two youngest are in high school now and between class and sports schedules it get harder and harder to find time. We usually do a couple of longer weekends a year between sports seasons. That's why we have a trip planned for veterans day week in November. Two days out of school and it gives us five nights at Disney and it is just after the fall sports season ends.

We just took ours out of school for two days a few weeks ago and we got to watch the space shuttle launch as we were standing in front of Cinderella's Castle. How cool is that? It was worth whatever they missed in class those days.

One suggestion that I'd give is to look for those teacher conference/in-service days in the school schedule. Often that creates an opportunity to extend a weekend and not miss a day of class.

HBC

[twinklebug]

DD just started HS this year and I'm hitting the lack of flexibility problem. Long weekends are just too rushed so I won't do those. The school system inserts a ton of professional development days into the school year, arranging them on Tuesdays or Thursdays and although many parents take advantage of these for quick trips I just can't do that to her. So those long weekends become impossible too.

My plan for upcoming year working with the school schedule is to have a longer summer vacation, probably take advantage of christmas break to visit family in the area, and use the Feb. Vacation as it's not too too crowded if you take advantage of the evening EMHs, and go once again after school is out in June. You get used to the heat and/or crowds & learn when to take a break and when to hit what. (TGM was great for teaching me a few tricks even when I thought I was already a pro ;))

Plans change though. I'm willing to roll with it & that is one of the reasons I LOVE DVC.. flexibility. :3dglasses

[allshookup]

I've never taken my kids out for more than 2 1/2 days (Thanksgiving week), but even a couple of days was getting to be too much for them. We seemed to be in a rush to get last minute projects/homework in, the kids were exhausted by the time we got to WDW & then they were trying to make up schoolwork when we got back & they were already wiped. This year I actually got a warning from the high school because I took DD out 2 days & she had already been out sick 1 day in the same semester.

The summer is hot, but we just prefer to go when the kids are rested, not rushing to get things done & having a week or two to rest before heading back to school. We enjoy the summer in WDW anyway, yes it's hot, but we can pack light, kids can swim late & the park hours are longer. :cloud9:

[edk35]

I pull mine out every year. They have missed at least 5 or 6 school days every year for WDW trips. A week missed from elementary school is not going to make or break anybody. I pull myself out as well! ;) :teacher:

Next year though, DD14 will be junior & is signed up for five AP classes. So we will work around vacations. If it weren't for those five classes though, I'd be pulling the kids out again.



5 AP classes Laurie:confused:

:faint:

[edk35]

We are in the same boat as others with high schoolers plus our Sr. daughter is starting college this fall so we will have a NEW schedule to contend with. We have had 2 days off in Jan. to go with a weekend and we usually pull them out 1 or 2 days to go with the days off. Our Jan. trips are some of my faves. They miss the start of a new semester for their 1 or 2 days so it is not that big a deal. Then in Nov. our schools here are off the entire week of Thanksgiving and that helps HOWEVER dd will not have that off. Plus her spring break is not the same as our sons once she is in college. We have never wanted to be at WDW for spring break anyway. I think we have resigned ourselves to summer only trips for a while. It is harder each year with the ages of the kids and their high school sports/activity schedules.

We even have a hard time coming up with time in the summer because as kids get older....their sports schedules get more involved. Our ds who is in the 9th grade pretty much plays soccer year round so we are not kinda locked into the mid to late July for a vacation. I have really enjoyed the summer trips the past two summers too. We have our third planned this summer.

So my advice....take them out when they are young......because as they get older....it is harder and harder. Once my kids hit middle/high school...I am only willing to pull them out 2 school days per trip.

[JimMIA]

Our DD is in first grade and we routinely pull her out for a week at a time for vacations. We get homework assignments and she does some every day. She understands that she has to have 100% of the homework done before we return home, or there will be no more weeks off from school.

The teachers/school don't like it, but to be honest, we don't think it hurts her at all. It actually hurts her new love of ice skating more than it hurts her academics.

As she gets older, though, that will change. Certainly before she gets to high school academic demands and extracurricular activities will make it impossible.

But for now, we actually intentionally vacation during the school year because the school kids aren't there and every place we go is less crowded. That's not such a big deal for us at WDW, but it's huge in the National Parks we visit.

[Sandisw]

As a teacher and someone who loves to go to WDW every year, I think it is a personal preference, but I think that the effect on your child should be seriously considered when making the decision.

When parents ask me (I teach Kindergarten but have always been in the primary grades), my professional answer is that it is district policy not to do it. But personally, I have no issue, especially when they are young and can handle the time away from school.

However, if you do choose to have your child miss school, then please consider not expecting or demanding that a teacher give you the work that will be missed ahead of time.

It is sometimes impossible to do this and very time consuming. Personally, I don't always get to things that I plan and many times, carry them to the next week.

I am not suggesting that parents should not ask the teacher, but rather be understanding if the teacher prefers to wait, even though it means more work for your child when they get back.

One district I worked for even changed the policy and told parents that work would not be given ahead of time. It even went so far as to say that it was the teacher's decision on whether to let the child even make it up.

Most teachers, especially at the elementary level, always gave students the work when they returned, and gave them extra time to complete it.

So, before you do take children out of school, be sure you know whether there is a policy about making up the missed work and/or tests.

[princessfionasmom]

I too take my kids out of school for our WDW vaca's. DD is in K and DS is in 2nd grade. I will continue to take them out for our vaca's until HS or if it gets to be too much for them then I'll stop. I'm lucky, so far the teachers I have encountered have said that family time is just as important and to have a great time. I'm sure this will change as they get older but as long as their grades aren't affected, we'll keep taking them out.

[daisyduck123]

5 AP classes Laurie:confused:

:faint:

:worship: I know, I know.

[Buckeye Fan]

DH is a teacher, so we've always done the spring break trip, summer, or Christmas. Believe me...I would love to go a week at the end of January, but it's just not in the cards for us. Even if I pulled the kids out, there's no way that DH could go.

If I were going to pull the kids out (because of my kids' ages - 13 and 7), I would tie it to an existing break (e.g., Christmas, Thanksgiving, in service days, etc.). They won't miss a ton of work, and Dis always does GREAT things around holidays! I know it costs more points, and the parks are more crowded, but we've really enjoyed going on spring break. We leave this Friday, and I can't wait!!! :woohoo:

The other thing that will start to impact your trips with school aged children is sports. My son plays hockey and baseball, and this summer, we'll have a two week window where we can travel. We always work around it, as he's getting to the age where it's just not acceptable to leave for a week during the season.

[JennSaint]

Our boys miss 2-3 days of school before President's week. That way we usually have a few days in the parks before they become a madhouse. I don't like them missing more than 3 days just too much work to make up. Most teachers don't like giving work ahead of time and I just don't blame them.

[Disneymom2266]

I love this topic.. there are so many opinions. When our youngest DD was in elementary school, we were lucky to have her in a year round school, so her breaks were three weeks each, with 6 weeks in the summer. We always went in Sept. when she was off for that break. That is how we came to love WDW,without the crowds. Now, since she`s been in high school, we`ve had to plan around school schedule. At our school, if you`re on a sport, you better not miss practice due to vacations,etc. or you won`t play when you get back. So, as they get older, it gets harder and harder to plan. Also, as a parent, you know your own kids better than anyone. Whether they can handle being out of school and making up the work. So, to me, it`s a very subjective decision. Whatever works best for your family.... do it. :flower3:

[Disneymom2266]

oops, I meant oldes DD! :rolleyes1

[JVL1018]

I just pull mine out-they do well in school-if they were struggling I would make do on school vacations.
I never ever ask for work ahead of time, the teacher shouldn't have to do anything extra because I'm making th choice to pull the kids out. District policy is that the kids get zeros for the work they miss. I write a note saying that we will be away, and that while I understand the kids cannot make up work for credit, I would be more than happy to have them do their work anyway.
Most of the time they get the work upon their return-sometimes they get a few things prior to vacation(mostly spelling work)sometimes they have to keep a journal.

Depending on your spring break, that may be a good time to go. We used to always have off the last week of April(now we have off early April around Easter because school testing is rthe end of April @@)and we went to WDW that last week in 2007 and it was fantastic, low crowds, great weather.

We've also gone the week leading up to Labor Day and while it is hot, the crowds have been totally manageable(even with free dining out). We planned the same for this year, but we recently got the schedule and for the first time we are starting prior to Labor Day, so we are pulling the kids out for the first 3 days, which I am not thrilled about but what can you do?

ETA: Mine are still in grammar school, I know there will come a time when they can't be pulled out because the work will be too much to make up, but for now, it;s fine.

[dcfromva]

Our DS has graduated HS, so this is all behind us. :)
After he entered middle school, the most we would do is a day (and it had to be for something really special). In HS, we wouldn't take him out of school at all. Our county has sanctions in place for a very small number of absences (I think it is 3 days per semester). Added to the fact that the pace was quicker and he was involved in sports, etc and it was just too difficult.

What we did do is schedule trips during school holidays. Our county always had a two day break around elections and another two day break at the end of January. It can be busy during these holidays, but nothing like Thanksgiving and Christmas. If we planned for a Friday afternoon flight (WDW is only a 2 hour flight), we could get to the World by 8pm. (Now, with EMH--EPCOT would be open for a few more hours!) Then we would have Sat/Sun/Mon to visit the parks and finish up on Tues by shopping at DTD and catch an evening flight home...

[mom of princessx2]

I am glad to read this because our oldest DD starts K in the fall (actually the first week of Aug) and we are taking her out for a week between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Don't know how the school will respond but heck K isn't even mandatory. I don't think I will do it every year and in the future I will try to coincide it with scheduled days off at least until HS but it is good to know that others do it as well. :thumbsup2

[JennSaint]

I am glad to read this because our oldest DD starts K in the fall (actually the first week of Aug) and we are taking her out for a week between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Don't know how the school will respond but heck K isn't even mandatory. I don't think I will do it every year and in the future I will try to coincide it with scheduled days off at least until HS but it is good to know that others do it as well. :thumbsup2


I see alot of people saying they will keep pulling their kids out until High School. I don't think people realize the big jump from elementary to middle school. Personally I wouldn't consider pulling them for a whole week now (they are both in Middle school). And they are A students. Just too much work to make up which lead to some very stressfull evenings after vacation.

[KiminChicago]

Our school district traditionally had parent-teacher conferences at the end of the first week in October. This worked out great for us as the kids would have a half-day on Wed., no school on Thurs. and Fri. and Columbus Day would be the following Monday. We would grab the earliest conference times on Wed., then head straight to the airport and a little over four days of fun.

Thinking that this would continue to be the pattern, I made our arrangements for October 2009 back in December. We used airline miles so got 4 round-trip tickets for $120, and we're using points I banked from 2008. Anyway, the school district was a little slow in approving the calendar for 2009-2010 and they didn't publish it until the end of January. Wouldn't you know, they decided to move parent-teacher conferences to Thanksgiving week. I'm sure they looked at attendance for that week and decided it was more cost effective since a lot of people travel that week anyway, but there's no way I'm rescheduling our trip for that week.

Fortunately, my kids are both A students, but this will be the first time we're pulling our son out of middle school for a vacation. If the calendar hadn't changed, he would have missed one day of school, now he'll be missing 3 days. I'll probably write a note to all his teachers early in the year, explaining that ordinarily we wouldn't have pulled him out for that many days, but this was beyond my control. It still makes me mad -- how many people do they think are actually going to show up for conferences that week?

[4 DZNY NUTZ]

I see alot of people saying they will keep pulling their kids out until High School. I don't think people realize the big jump from elementary to middle school. Personally I wouldn't consider pulling them for a whole week now (they are both in Middle school). And they are A students. Just too much work to make up which lead to some very stressfull evenings after vacation.

We have done this every year for the last 4 years and I wouldnt change it for the world. My oldest starts high school next year & we have already been told of the "difficulty" of having him miss any high school classes. My boys are both A students & neither one had any issues with making anything up. My philosophy is that they are this young age once & I would regret myself for not ever doing.....enjoy it while it lasts:thumbsup2

[kapeman]

I don't want to comment on the pros or cons of pulling the kids out of school, but I would like to answer the OPs question.

We have recently started facing this dilemma as well, trying to balance a very rigid school calendar with the weather and crowd levels at the parks.

We have a trip scheduled for the week of Columbus Day and our next trip will most likely be in January, the week of MLK day.

After that I have considered a late May trip, hopefully before too many school systems get out, and/or a late August trip before school starts.

For me Spring Break is completely out, especially after hearing some of the reported crowd levels from this year.

Those are pretty much it and it does not leave a lot of choices.

And I never thought I would miss private day care!!! ;)

[Crystal_27]

We are pulling our DD out of Kindergarten for 6 days in September so we can go on a cruise. I have a casual friend who is a teacher at DD's school and she told me that I will be getting a letter from the school about the absence. Apparently our county only allows 10 missed days per school year and then they get DFACS involved. I'm not worried about dealing with DFACS on this issue, but likely we will stop pulling her out of school after next year and just schedule vacations in the early or late summer or schedule them around the teacher work days. :rolleyes:

[Brian Noble]

How do/did you plan your vacations?
We choose to restrict ourselves to times when the kids are out of school. Our general philosophy is that we don't pull them out except for very unique circumstances or things that cannot be done any other time. For better or worse, a trip to WDW doesn't quite rise to that level for us.

[liznboys]

We don't plan to have ours miss school because we're content with going when they have time off...summers mostly. I guess we're lucky that we enjoy WDW in the summer! lol

[cj9200]

Since elementary school, my daughter is in International Baccalaureate program schools and they more than frown on kids missing days. We have dealt with the spring break, summer and long holiday weekends for years. Now she is a freshman in high school and her schedule is three classes a day but each is two hours long. She refuses to miss a day even when she is not feeling well because it is “too much of a hassle” to catch up.

When we go, it is crowded but there are fewer off times at WDW anyway. With planning and getting the parks early we cope. We now do a lot of non park stuff during our stay including the pool, resort hopping and some nice TS dining.

The big question will come up next year when we leave in January for the half marathon. I will probably pull her out early on Friday so we can drive up (4 hours) to pick up our registration materials, eat and get to bed early. Feeling guilty already.

[lisareniff]

With my DD now in middle school I'm finding we can really only miss a day before she starts having to make up tests, etc. I usually tell my friends with kids in the younger elementary grades to take them out while you can because soon enough you won't be able to. Go when the flights are cheaper and the parks are less crowded.

[Purrrrfecta]

We are pulling our DD out of Kindergarten for 6 days in September so we can go on a cruise. I have a casual friend who is a teacher at DD's school and she told me that I will be getting a letter from the school about the absence. Apparently our county only allows 10 missed days per school year and then they get DFACS involved. I'm not worried about dealing with DFACS on this issue, but likely we will stop pulling her out of school after next year and just schedule vacations in the early or late summer or schedule them around the teacher work days. :rolleyes:

Does your school district recognize missing school for an educational enhancement opportunity? In our state students are allowed to do this for up to 10 calender days per year. They are counted as present although they will be out of the classroom. As a parent you have to say how they will be following the core content while they are away etc. etc.
As a teacher I do not mind if the student misses school as long as they are going to be able to keep up when they return. I think for the older grades, however, it becomes a bit more difficult.

[Sammie]

We choose to restrict ourselves to times when the kids are out of school. Our general philosophy is that we don't pull them out except for very unique circumstances or things that cannot be done any other time. For better or worse, a trip to WDW doesn't quite rise to that level for us.

This was our plan also.

[DVC-Don]

We took our kids to WDW every third week of January till the oldest got into middle school. It just got too complicated dealing with 5 or 6 teachers then versus 1 in elementary.

[Teachckg]

I am a teacher in Middle School. Therefore I have to work around the schedule also. We have done Christmas, will be doing summer, and then next January I will be taking off a week!!! I am a little hesitant but the Monday is Martin Luther King, Tuesday and Wednesday are teacher insevice days (no kids), then I will only miss Thursday and Friday with students. I feel like you need to find weeks like this to work with occasionally but also be open to summer and spring break.....

Speaking as a middle school teacher (math teacher), it is extremely difficult for students to miss an entire week of school. From my experience I have seen students really struggle. Espcecially with math-- they need that direct instruction. When they return, it often takes weeks to get caught up because unfortunately math builds on itself so they truly need to understand what we did while they were away. From experience I would say two days tops out of school.

[dressthechild]

I am a teacher (kindergarten) and have pulled myself and my girls out of school for 3 days when they were 5 and 7. They are now 10 and I will no longer be taking them out of school for trips. There are important tests given starting in grade 3 that they prepare for all year. It can be hard for kids to catch up when a new skill/concept is being introduced and they miss the first few lessons. I do not teach at my daughter's school. We have a policy that states that if our students miss school due to a vacation, we are under no obligation to give them work ahead of time, homework during the trip, or to catch them up on our own time when they return. I personally do not mind if my students miss school for a vacation. Teachers in upper grades feel very differently.

[anna08]

I'm sure the requirements are different now, but my favorite memories of childhood include the ones where my parents pulled us out of school for a week. My dad worked so hard, it really was the only time we had good concentrated family time together. They did it about once per year and I never had less than a 3.9 GPA and got into a great college & med school. I loved seeing my dad act like a kid at WDW!! :)

[brandip22]

I will hopefully begin teaching in the Fall. So, while I have typically gone during the school year, no more for me. Our plan for next year is to go as soon as I'm done at school. the last day for students is about May 22nd. So, I'm thinking about a week more for teachers, if that much. We are planning on going about Memorial Day and the week after- probably 8 or 9 days. More points, more crowds, but it'll be OK. A little longer stay and we'll take it easy with longer days in the parks with breaks, of course!

[TXdeVille]

I'm glad I saw this thread. Even though as a child, I would miss school, mostly at elementary level, to attend horse shows across the country, I was a strong student and it wasn't such a big deal. Made great memories though. I had the pleasure of going to the same school that most of the gymnastic Olympic team through Karolyi's Gym attended. They missed school all the time.

However, my kids are older (middle school and high school) and I have a problem taking them out for longer than a day or two as well. We typically travel during the allotted vacation breaks in the school schedule but I also have to consider the small number of employees that work on my team and we have to share and staff accordingly.

Now, for 2011, I am trying to plan a reunion with my sister and her family that we get to see once every few years. I'm gonna shoot for a Grand Villa and if the kids are out an extra day or so, who cares. It's a family reunion. Besides DD will be a senior. Consider it a senior skip day! :thumbsup2 Those are the times when it's worth it IMHO. I wouldn't do Spring Break either....

[kikiq]

When my DDs were younger, we went during the summer. We took them out of school once for a DCL cruise in December. My oldest was in 10th grade and told us that she would not miss anymore school until she finished college. It was just too hard to make up AP/IB/college level classes.

When they were younger, we worked with their teachers if we missed any days. But as they got into high school, between sports and classes, they had no interest in missing school or their sports. BUT we live only 30 minutes from DLR so they get their dose on a regular basis.

[Silly Little Pixie]

DH and I are having this discussion right now, as part of our should-we-buy-DVC-or-not talks. Currently our kids (and myself) are on a year round schedule, which is fantastic. We've been able to go at a wonderful time, low crowds, no humidity! BUT- the school district is probably only staying on this schedule for 09-10, then going to "modified traditional". DD would only have another year after next before HS anyway, so eventually we have to deal with the HS schedule. Do we really want to go in the summer? (I hate humidity and get very cranky.) What are the crowds like the first week of June? That *might* be doable for me. DH says NO to spring break week... which leaves the first week of January available, since this new schedule has a 3 week break at Christmas, the regular 2 weeks and a full third week in January. That might be a good time for us. Long weekends are really out for us, because airfare is so expensive for us West Coasters. I want a whole week there to be able to relax and not have to race around!

As a teacher, I generally don't have a problem with kids missing school, as long as they already do well. But I do teach elementary school, and it's easier to give them the one-on-one to catch up than it is for HS or MS teachers. I know the days my DD has missed of MS this year just when she was sick... boy, it was hard to get all the make up work from all her teachers. I can't imagine trying to do that with AP classes in HS.

So I guess we are stuck with whatever time the school lets us have! :headache:

[AnnaS]

OK - We have so far been able to plan our vacations whenever we want, and still have a few years left, but in the very near future we are going to have to take school into consideration.




We only went when the kids were off from school. Ours were a bit older when we bought. I would not even consider taking them out at that age.

But we will soon be the ones who can start planning and going whenever we want since my youngest is 16. Once she starts driving and I am confident and comfortable, my dh and I can plan our vacations alone, lol. I doubt my sons (in their 20s and working F/T) will be coming anywhere with us anymore for a while (unless they have a few friends come along or a family reunion). My dd will still vacation with us for a few more years (bringing a friend along of course) - if and when that happens - it will be planned according to her schedule.

Some people take their kids out and some don't. We usually have the year's calendar (public and private) before school starts. If they have any half days, three/four days off - you can always add a day or two to pull them out and get a week out of it.

It does get tough because no only do you need to worry about school but if they get involved in any kind of sports, there is a commitment there too and when they are a bit older might not be able to take off either.

Good luck with whatever you decide and enjoy all the planning.

[Crystal_27]

Does your school district recognize missing school for an educational enhancement opportunity? In our state students are allowed to do this for up to 10 calender days per year. They are counted as present although they will be out of the classroom. As a parent you have to say how they will be following the core content while they are away etc. etc.
As a teacher I do not mind if the student misses school as long as they are going to be able to keep up when they return. I think for the older grades, however, it becomes a bit more difficult.

I'm sure if she's missing days for something that is school-endorsed, they would, of course, allow the absence. However, for vacation, it's just very frowned upon. My teacher friend even suggested that I take her to the Urgent Care the night before we leave and make up flu-like symptoms and ask for a note for the next several days because the school is so strict on absences. I don't know that I'm willing to go to that extreme, but it must be bad if a teacher is recommending that route to me.

[edk35]

When my DDs were younger, we went during the summer. We took them out of school once for a DCL cruise in December. My oldest was in 10th grade and told us that she would not miss anymore school until she finished college. It was just too hard to make up AP/IB/college level classes.

When they were younger, we worked with their teachers if we missed any days. But as they got into high school, between sports and classes, they had no interest in missing school or their sports. BUT we live only 30 minutes from DLR so they get their dose on a regular basis.



My two older kids feel the exact same way. Their dance/sports/AP classes have a huge impact on how we vacation.

[dvcdisney]

We used to go in May and Sep/Oct. These were excellent time to go. The weather was nice and the crowds were okay.

Now that my son is a little older we have decided to go during the holidays. So we take the week before or week after Spring Break and so we can still go for 2 weeks but he only misses one week of school. And reluctantly, we go during the summer break for 2 weeks where he doesn't miss any school.

We miss going during the better seasons, but we don't want him to miss too much and now that my daughter is starting kindergarten this fall, we feel a little better about our decision.

Also, we miss less sports, dance, swimming, skating etc if we go during holidays since most are not scheduled during Spring Break.

[gtrist4life]

IMO It really depends on the child and what kind of student they are, and what grade they are in.

Our experience was when DD (now in college) was able to miss in elementary school and high school, she did fine; but we did not miss an entire week. Usually 2-3 days around a weekend.

Our DS (now in 8th grade) missed in elementary school with no problems, but now that he's hitting the higher grades, we're not taking him out anymore and have done summer/spring break trips the past couple of years. We did take him out 2 days around a Columbus Day 2007, but he had to step up upon returning to catch up.

Good luck, Peace

[MinnieGi]

Our kids usually get taken out for 2 or at the most 3 days for our WDW trips, but we generally use vacation times that wrap around a school vacation period or inservice days. This past year we did a 10 day trip over T-day week (which the kids had off school anyway and just missed 2 days of the next week. Another year we combined a week in Feb. that had a holiday and inservice day and they missed 3 days. This coming year they will miss the 3 days before winter vacation, however not much actual classwork goes on those days anyway, at least in elementary school!

[ParrotBill]

We've had to make the change from pre-school to school time... so now we focus on extending long weekends and using Summers.

This means we need to bank and borrow more often, or perhaps buy more points sometime... our points don't go far enough anymore in the busier seasons.

We banked from last year so we are going over Memorial day (2 days off from school so our daughter misses 3 days of school for a 7 day vacation.) We will also go 2 weeks in August.

One very frustrating thing is our district does not post the calendar for the year until Late July or August! So we have to guess about when school starts... and can't make plans for rest of year as far ahead as we would like.

When do your districts post their calendars for each school year?

[edk35]

We've had to make the change from pre-school to school time... so now we focus on extending long weekends and using Summers.

This means we need to bank and borrow more often, or perhaps buy more points sometime... our points don't go far enough anymore in the busier seasons.

We banked from last year so we are going over Memorial day (2 days off from school so our daughter misses 3 days of school for a 7 day vacation.) We will also go 2 weeks in August.

One very frustrating thing is our district does not post the calendar for the year until Late July or August! So we have to guess about when school starts... and can't make plans for rest of year as far ahead as we would like.

When do your districts post their calendars for each school year?

Ours comes out before Christmas usually early Dec. for the following school year.

[Brian Noble]

When do your districts post their calendars for each school year?
In Michigan, school calendars are partly mandated by the state/county, and partly determined as part of the collective bargaining process.

So, we know when summer vacaction *ends* (the day after Labor Day), and we know when the holdays over Xmas/New Years and Spring Break happen. However, we don't know when summer vacation *starts*, if/when mid-winter break happens (usually late Feb/early Mar sometime), or odd days here and there until the contract is settled. Luckily, they seem to bargain for a few years at a time, so mostly we can plan ahead.

[OurDogCisco]

It is hard at first but you get use to planning around vacations...

Each year gets harder in planning though. At first you are dealing with the school schedule then, you are dealing with sports and other activities schedules. My oldest will be in Junior high and since I live in CA it is really hard to justify pulling your child out of school for a week. My dd wouldn't want to anyways. She loves school and hates being behind. The last time we pulled her out was in 2nd grade and that was the last time. WDW vacations are not relaxing and rushing around to do homework, etc... and then, going to the parks everyday was tough on her.

Anyways... our school district has the entire week of Thanksgiving off so, we always vacation then, even though most of our family doesn't like it. However, my dh is CPA so we cannot vacation from Jan 1 to April 15th. So, we are limited to Thanksgiving week, Christmas and Summer. Summer now is a problem as she is on the swim team and it doesn't end until mid July. So, we have another 3 week window that we can vacation. This year I was able to figure out there is no swim meets during 4th of July so, we are going to WDW then. I'm using TGM to help me out. However, owning DVC doesn't mean you have tour commando style anymore. We know we are going back.

We like to take 4 weeks to vacation every year but I see that going away as my oldest starts high school. We just want to enjoy the time we have with them now.

However, going during breaks is not that bad. We just came back from going over Thanksgiving back. We have gone at Christmas & Summers. It isn't as bad as you think. You just have to have a different mind set.

[OurDogCisco]

We've had to make the change from pre-school to school time... so now we focus on extending long weekends and using Summers.

This means we need to bank and borrow more often, or perhaps buy more points sometime... our points don't go far enough anymore in the busier seasons.

We banked from last year so we are going over Memorial day (2 days off from school so our daughter misses 3 days of school for a 7 day vacation.) We will also go 2 weeks in August.

One very frustrating thing is our district does not post the calendar for the year until Late July or August! So we have to guess about when school starts... and can't make plans for rest of year as far ahead as we would like.

When do your districts post their calendars for each school year?

Our school district use to be like that until I pointed out that you need to have the schedule out sooner if you don't want kids missing school. So, now ours come out in April/May 2009 for the 2010 to 2011 school year. Yes.. .it is part of the bargaining agreement but in all the time we've gone to school the schedule has never changed. I really had to send a lot of e-mails to the board to point this out. There is no reason they can't have the schedule out sooner. It is silly and stupid for them not too. So, I wouldn't fall for the bargaining agreement pitch.

[jodifla]

In our school calendar, there's almost always one week with two days off already...So we just take the other 3 days off to get a whole week.

Sometimes its in the fall around the Jewish holidays, other times it's around MLK day.

[DisneyMomOfThree]

I have 3 kids and two different school schedules. My youngest two are in year around and my oldest is on a traditional calendar. We have pulled my oldest DS out every year (he is currently in 5th grade) around a time where he has at least one day off, preferably more. He is a straight A student with one of the higher GPA's in his class. However, this year I pulled him out for four days the first week of Sept. BIG MISTAKE:sad2:, he had tests the following week and he had only been in school two weeks before we vacationed. We were unsure of the teachers, how they taught and how their tests were going to be structured.

I don't pull out the other two if I can help it. My middle DS has a speech delay and school is harder for him. Thank God he is in the year around.

If I didn't pull him out our family would never be able to vacation together. The only weeks my kids have off together is Thanksgiving, Christmas and July 4th week. Not the weeks to vacation.

[katmittens]

My son is now 24 and will be graduating from law school in May :woohoo::woohoo: and my daughter is finishing her junior year in college and will be student teaching next year. I always took them out of school in Sept or Oct from Kindergarten thru High School with no problems. We drive to WDW and they did take homework with them and did it in the car on the way down or back. They were both good students and never fell behind, and always had great teachers who understood we were Disney crazy.

When my son entered college we changed our trips to X.mas week once and mostly summer or Winter break after Xmas (the week after New Year) then only my daughter missed school. WIth both of them in college and law school we went the first week of Jan. and also spring break if they had them together, or else in the summer. We also had to fit in DD's boyfriend college schedule, plus husband's work schedule since it is hard to go at certain times or if something important is coming up, but he is pretty flexible. Thank goodness I don't work anymore, because I don't think we could handle another schedule. Oh wait I have to make sure our cat sitter is home from college also:laughing::laughing:

Just have a good time whenever you go. It does all work out even as they older. We know one thing we try our hardest to get there and we love our time together there.
Good Luck.

[Brian Noble]

I wouldn't fall for the bargaining agreement pitch.
In our district (and, as far as I know, all other Michigan schools), it's not just a story, unfortunately. It's really the truth, and the calendar does change from year to year.

Luckily, our district and the teachers' union gets along relatively well, so there are usually not long delays in getting the calendar.

[OurDogCisco]

In our district (and, as far as I know, all other Michigan schools), it's not just a story, unfortunately. It's really the truth, and the calendar does change from year to year.

Luckily, our district and the teachers' union gets along relatively well, so there are usually not long delays in getting the calendar. I think, you misunderstood me. I was telling the other poster if the district comes back and says they cannot put out the schedule sooner then, they need to take action. I'm serious when I say I got my school district to put out the school calendar in a timely manner. I personally do not think there is any reason they should not. I doubt your calendar changes by much but a few days. People here thought our calendar changed by a week but I pointed out that we always start school the 2 Mondays before Labor Day weekend. So, depending on when Labor day weekend started it looked like we started and ended school at different times of the year but we really didn't. I truely believe most school calendars follow a pattern. I'm sure yours has built in snow days, etc... I was just pointing out that I really wouldn't take that as an excuse as to why the calendar couldn't come out earlier. If schools/teahers want parents not to miss school then, they need to work with them. The school district is doing nothing for themselves by holding back on the calendar.

[Anal Annie]

We pretty much plan around the school calendar (we were able to go once over MLK when a "professional day" fell on the Tues. after MLK and now also around DS's summer swim team which goes thru the end of July. We took DS out for a week once when he was in 1st grade and I hated doing it. We didn't have a lot of choice as DH was the best man in a "destination wedding" and we didn't pick the date. But then we didn't have a summer vacation because we went on this trip in May and it was such a LONG summer w/o going anywhere. So basically, we are now down to planning our trips during the first 3 weeks in August. Our school always starts back the week before Labor Day and gets out in mid-June unless there are too many snow days...then they tack on more so I would just never plan before the last week of June to be safe. Now, he's in middle school and I have found them to be a little stricter with the absences.

Our school calendar is published about a year out and there are a few days that bounce around that affect things like long weekends and our spring break bounces between the week before Easter and the week AFTER Easter. So that's important to know for sure.

We recently ended up planning a quickie trip down over Memorial Day weekend as a surprise to celebrate DS's birthday which is that week. To get the best deal on the airfare to make a 4 night trip affordable, I had to book us down on Fri. afternoon so he will miss 1/2 day and back home on Tues. so he will miss a full day for a total of 1 1/2 days. I felt REALLY conflicted & guilty on what to do about him missing school as the absence policy clearly says vacations are unexcused. I didn't feel right calling him in sick but so I ultimately ended up writing a long letter to his principal explaining probably more than he needed to know and asked for an excused absence so he can make up the missed work. I am hoping that he won't miss a lot since it's over a holiday weekend and only a couple weeks before school lets out. But still, I didn't want him to get punished and not be allowed to make up whatever he misses and I am too honest to call him in sick. So anyway, the absence was approved and now we can go away without feeling guilty. But I doubt I could get by with making the same request every year and I really wouldn't do it for more than just a day or two!!!

[kim_d]

My 6yo is in K and attends year round school. He has trackout breaks (which are between 3 and 5 weeeks) in September, December/January, March and June/July. So we can fairly easily plan around his schedule and still get to Disney at non-peak times. That said we did pull him out for 6 days in January and he will miss a few days again in January 2010 for the marathon weekend.

[wideeyedwonder]

We have heard from other parents that the schools get tough pretty early on about taking kids out of school.

We are the type of evil parents that take our kids out of school for vacations. The schools in California get funding due to attendance, so, besides the academic reasons, the schools also have a monetary incentive to reduce unexcused absences.

Because of this, we always:

1. Get homework in advance from the teachers. In some cases this is not possible (teacher workload, etc.), and in those cases, we make up work after the vacation.

2. We make sure to call the absence as an excused absence (sickness), to make sure that the school still gets funding. This creates some problems, as I then have to explain to my kids why we are lying to the school, but I think we are handling the questions effectively.

Our kids do great academically, and we supplement their education at school with further education at home, so we don't really have a problem with taking them out of school once or twice a quarter for a family vacation.

[Brian Noble]

I think, you misunderstood me....The school district is doing nothing for themselves by holding back on the calendar.
No, I understand you completely. But, different districts may not work exactly as yours does. Our district isn't just "holding back" on the calendar, they really don't have it until the contract is renegotiated. Typically, it will be negotiated for a three year term, so they'll publish all three years, all at once, as soon as the new contract is approved. Here is the current state of our calendar for 09-10 (http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/aaps.about/district_calendars):

NOTE on the 2009-10 District Calendar: Many dates on the District Calendar are negotiated as a part of the AAPS teacher contract; the teachers' current contract expires June 30, 2009, so we do not have a full calendar yet for the 2009-10 school year. We do know that the first day of school, as mandated by State Law, will be Tuesday, September 8, and in accordance with the Washtenaw County School District Common Calendar, Winter Break will run from December 19 - January 3, and Spring Break 2010, will run from April 3 - 11. As soon as the teacher contract has been settled, we will add the dates for the 2009-10 District Calendar to the Google Calendar below.

Edited to add: when we don't have the calendar "early enough" to plan around timeshares, we often will make bookings that we know we can cancel where we *think* the break will be, and then we move it when we have to. I hold off on making any reservations with a non-trivial penalty to change/cancel (e.g. airfare) until I know for sure.

[OurDogCisco]

No, I understand you completely. But, different districts may not work exactly as yours does. Our district isn't just "holding back" on the calendar, they really don't have it until the contract is renegotiated. Typically, it will be negotiated for a three year term, so they'll publish all three years, all at once, as soon as the new contract is approved. Here is the current state of our calendar for 09-10 (http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/aaps.about/district_calendars):



Edited to add: when we don't have the calendar "early enough" to plan around timeshares, we often will make bookings that we know we can cancel where we *think* the break will be, and then we move it when we have to. I hold off on making any reservations with a non-trivial penalty to change/cancel (e.g. airfare) until I know for sure.

Your school must get different holidays than ours. Do you get any other week long vacations that aren't listed in your message? I don't plan trips around 3 days weekends. We get one week at Thanksgiving, 2 weeks at Christmas/New years, one at presidents' week and one at spring break (which has always been the week before Easter Sunday). So, these weeks generally won't change. The days that change can be the teacher in service days but those are only one dayers. So, since I don't take my kids out of school unless it is a full week off from school it is very easy to figure out what days we'll have off. And, from looking at your message it would be easy for you to figure your Winter Break and Spring Break. So, your school is accomadating in notifying parents ahead of time. ;)

P.S. I'm very active on my school board and you can change things you just have to persistent. Parents can presuade a lot more than you think!

[Anal Annie]

Your school must get different holidays than ours. Do you get any other week long vacations that aren't listed in your message? I don't plan trips around 3 days weekends. We get one week at Thanksgiving, 2 weeks at Christmas/New years, one at presidents' week and one at spring break (which has always been the week before Easter Sunday). So, these weeks generally won't change. The days that change can be the teacher in service days but those are only one dayers. So, since I don't take my kids out of school unless it is a full week off from school it is very easy to figure out what days we'll have off. And, from looking at your message it would be easy for you to figure your Winter Break and Spring Break. So, your school is accomadating in notifying parents ahead of time. ;)

P.S. I'm very active on my school board and you can change things you just have to persistent. Parents can presuade a lot more than you think!

WOW!! Your school district is very generous and predictable - could I persuade you to come work in Maryland for awhile!? :rotfl: Our kids only get the Th & F at T-giving (this past year they made Wed a 1/2 day for the first time). We only get one week between Xmas and NY and one week at Easter which changes depending somehow on when Easter is (sometimes it's before & sometimes it's after). Oh, and they will throw in either Good Friday if it's after or Easter Monday if it's before. We get President's Day and ONLY President's day.

[dgaston]

In our family DH is the HS teacher. My best tip -- TourGuideMike. We have visited WDW for 5 Christmas to NYE weeks, and lots of February or April vacation weeks. And we have gone in the summer time. We drink a lot of water and visit air-conditioned attractions, rest/swim in the pm, return for the later summer closings.

DH has been willing to take personal days for F & W, so we have been able to attend a few weekends as a couple.

This September, he's taking all 3 days so we can have a mini family reunion, and celebrate both his 62nd and his brother's 60 birthday.

I am looking forward to his retirement (he says either January or June 2010), so we can begin to explore less crowded times.

[Brian Noble]

Do you get any other week long vacations that aren't listed in your message?
Yes, there is one more---the mid-winter break, which is usually in late February and/or early March. Normally it coincides with the University's "spring" break, but once in a blue moon they don't line up. And, until the calendar is published, it's not a "sure thing".

from looking at your message it would be easy for you to figure your Winter Break and Spring Break. So, your school is accomadating in notifying parents ahead of time.
Absolutely, I have no complaints---they tell us what they know as soon as they know it. But, there are some things they don't (and can't) know right now---so even though I personally know and hang out with our princpal, it doesn't matter. She doesn't know any more than I do, because state law dictates that all other scheduling matters are subject to the collective bargaining agreement betwee the various districts and the union. And, that was my point. Sometimes, when a school district can't tell you when a vacation will fall, it is genuinely because they do not know for sure yet, it's not just because they are being obstinate.

[dopeygirl76]

Since we go twice a year - I try to plan our trip s around in-service days for the teachers so that DD only misses part of a week. For our trip at the end of this month they have no school on the 27th and 28th so she only misses three days instead of 5. That said I am not opposed to pulling her out now or in the future. DH must request his vacation in Oct for the following year and although he has three weeks he must choose 1 week in each four month block. At this point in our lives family vacations are a priority. We will reevaluate every few years based on school and the impact missing has on the girls.

[OurDogCisco]

WOW!! Your school district is very generous and predictable - could I persuade you to come work in Maryland for awhile!? :rotfl: Our kids only get the Th & F at T-giving (this past year they made Wed a 1/2 day for the first time). We only get one week between Xmas and NY and one week at Easter which changes depending somehow on when Easter is (sometimes it's before & sometimes it's after). Oh, and they will throw in either Good Friday if it's after or Easter Monday if it's before. We get President's Day and ONLY President's day. However... our summers are VERY VERY short. They are around 10 weeks. I'd rather have a longer summer and get rid of all these holidays. But that is just me because cannot travel between Jan 1 and April 15th.. I didn't negotiate the school calendar just when it was published.

[OurDogCisco]

Yes, there is one more---the mid-winter break, which is usually in late February and/or early March. Normally it coincides with the University's "spring" break, but once in a blue moon they don't line up. And, until the calendar is published, it's not a "sure thing".


Absolutely, I have no complaints---they tell us what they know as soon as they know it. But, there are some things they don't (and can't) know right now---so even though I personally know and hang out with our princpal, it doesn't matter. She doesn't know any more than I do, because state law dictates that all other scheduling matters are subject to the collective bargaining agreement betwee the various districts and the union. And, that was my point. Sometimes, when a school district can't tell you when a vacation will fall, it is genuinely because they do not know for sure yet, it's not just because they are being obstinate. As a parent, I had to demand more because my dh works as a CPA and cannot take vacation between Jan 1 and April 15th. Prior to starting school vacations was an important part of our lives. So, I need to know when school ends and when it starts and when all the holidays are. The school schedule is a bargaining unit for our teachers as well but in reality it doesn't need to be. You still need to go to school X amount of days per year as dictated by state law. I don't expect every inservice day to stay the same but I do expect the major holidays to. Otherwise, they just need post the schedule at least 15 months in advance. You can easily show them how much money they lose by not posting the schedule. Our school loses about $50 per day for everyday a child is absent that includes illnesses. So, our school district it was in their best interest to publish the school schedule early. This has nothing to do with the principal it is the school district. In fact, in February our school loss $12,000 for absences. They claim most were due to vacations but I'm not sure. I don't know what happen. I'm very careful and check the calendar frequently. As you can probably guess I own a lot of timeshares.

Another thing not everyone can vacation when school is out. Look at the above poster who needs to put in vacations request the year before in October. Some people have seasonal type jobs and cannot vacation in the winter or summer. I think, it is in the best interest of the school to post the schedule early. Otherwise, I personally think they have no say when someone misses school because they couldn't post a schedule in a timely manner. But that just me...

[mfd25wife]

DD is in HS and cheers so we go year round to some degree. However, we have been planning our vacations for the middle of June for several years. It's usually earlier than most kids are out of school (according to the CM's at Disney) and about 3weeks after school ends for us. I can never take off the first week of our fiscal month so we have to plan well. Camps are usually scheduled July-August. This year was close because they added a week to school due to ice and our first camp is the Monday-Thursday of the week we are leaving on Saturday.

It is crazy to plan because DH bids on vacations in Oct of the previous year.

[TiggerD]

Our grandson will be in 1st grade come September and we found out that school starts earlier than most years, so he will have two weeks in school so my son and his wife just booked their trip for September to be there the same time we are and in the same resort. We are so excited to have all of us together for another Magical trip. I think taking them out early in the school year is ok. We did it when our DS was young and no problem.

[DVCAmy]

We take our kids out of school for vacations as my parents did with us. I don't want to vacation when everyone else is on vacation so that works best for us. I don't ever expect a teacher to give us work to do for makeup but I always give them plenty of notice and let them know that if there is work they would like done we will make sure the kids do it. We view school as very important but not more important than family and this is what works for us. I do understand the school's perspective on this but they don't get to decide for our family. With that said our kids almost never miss another day during the year for illness or anything else and school is easy for them.

Amy

[FOTM_Ring_Bearer]

We usually vacation during the summer. We have gone the week of Thanksgiving and the week of Christmas. We can't do Thanksgiving anymore because oldest DD is in college and does not get off the entire week. The other two DD's get the whole week at Thanksgiving due to parent teacher conferences.

We took them out early for Christmas break in 1999. The oldest DD was in 6th grade and the school system sent us a letter. The elementary school told us to have a great time.

Once they get in middle school, it's really hard to miss days. And high school is even worse, especially ap classes.

[tidefan]

We go either Spring Break or Early Summer. Luckily for us, Spring Break usually falls in mid-March, so we miss most of the craziness around Easter. Also, School is out here in Alabama in late May, so a late May or early June trip is good on the points...