booked and forgot about start of school

[osprey]

We just figured out that our kids will miss the first week of school while on the August 17th Wonder. The debate were having is whether to cancel to make sure they do not miss that first week or to just go anyway. :confused:

What do think?

[ebaynut31]

My own personal opinion is change your vacation if you don't lose money. You didn't say what grades they are in. I took my dd9 out for a week this past october and she was in 3rd grade. I will never, never take her out of school for a week again. We have been going down since 1998 during off season during the school year and now it is too hard to make up. This is going to be a tough decision for you. I'll send lots of pixie dust so you can make the right decision. Good luck!! I live in mass and we don't start school until the wednesday after laborday.

[CindyandBrice]

GO GO GO GO
You are already within the 60 days and would lose your deposit plus.

How old are the kids??? What do they think??? Are they starting a new school???

Besides... that is very early to go back to school.

[Katesdad]

I guess it depends on the age of the kids. Once mine got to fourth grade, we stopped pulling them out for any reason. The first week seems important to me (get books covered, get routines settled in, re-establish freindships, etc.). IMHO if they were past the third grade, I'd either rebook for the week before or look to next year. However, there has been a thread on this subject before where many of the DIS parents disagree with me in this matter and feel that taking their children with them on a vacation during school time is more important and better for the child's development. I guess it's all in how you were raised and how you want to raise yours.

[Mjasp]

The first week of school is tough, as they are making their "clicks" so to speak, after that I would have no problem taking them out of school for vacation. If she wouldn't miss the first day, I say go for it. My 10 yr old DD takes a 7th grade honors math class. The teacher her gave her the work before we left. That was the only work she had. The work from her regular 5th grade class, the teacher said "go have fun". My 1st graders teachers response to me when I asked her if she wanted to give us any work was "I thought you said you were going on vacation" what do you want work for. The only thing she gave us was a booklet called "My Vacation Journal" Which turned out to be a lesson for the 1st grade class when DD brought in Pesos.

We went in May, when basically all the work for the year is already taught. We are going back this May also. DD will have the math regents this year, but its not till after we get back.

So Go and enjoy. Only you know if it is the right thing to do for your children. If they are old enough, why don't you ask them how they feel, if they would feel funny missing school that early in the year.


Joanna

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Do <i><b>not</b></i> pull them out of the first week of school. It's incredibly important. Many of the reasons why have already been mentioned.

[winnyis]

Just my opinion but I say go on the cruise - I pulled my kids out of school last year on the first week for the Magic cruise and am doing it again this year. My husbands vacation schedule is limited due to seniority. I merely wrote a note to each teacher in advance and explained the situation. When we got back she had saved all the work and forms they had missed and they were caught up within a week.

Again,just my opinion.

Ginny

[llachance]

I have never! pulled my daughter out of school to take a vacation. That said, her dad pulled her out for a day before Thanksgiving a couple of years ago because they were going to his sister's wedding. He thought long and hard about asking me. She is in high school now and she would probably not like me much if I took her from friends. That said we are lucky because she has a week in February, a week in April and two weeks at Christmas that we can play with. Next summer she will be in summer school all summer so our cruise will be at Christmas.:Pinkbounc

[prymsu]

normally we take our son out of school when we travel, but I would really have second thoughts about the very first week of school. For one thing the teacher has not had a chance to work with your child, and you have not discussed with the teacher your intentions.

Normally the first week of school is when i contact the teacher and talk to her about any trips we have scheduled that will occur during the school year, and get their blessing. Just my thoughts...

[DiSnEyGrL13]

I say go! Take it from me (even though I don't know how old your kids are) I am 13, and even thought it is the first week, a Disney Cruise is a Disney Cruise! I mean If my parents were gonna take me on another DC, I wouldn't care when it was or what I'd miss back home. You can always catch up on things, but you can never go back and change things. If you cancel the cruise, I think that on the day that you were suppossed to embark, you'll be thinking you made a big mistake.

[OurDogCisco]

Some schools consider no shows for the 1st day of school as you don't want to enroll. I'd make sure you have the blessing of the school first if possible. Personally, I wouldn't take my kid out of school for the 1st week. Other weeks I'd probably wouldn't have a problem. But before you make your decision I would find out what it will cost you in changing flights, etc... It might not be worth the money to change the cruise to another week. Just a thought. Good luck with your decision!

[hydster]

but not the first week of school. I have taken my kids out the first week of school (last year we were in Disneyland on 9-11 and that was the 1st week of school) but we had something called SEP's with our kids and teachers about 2 weeks before school started so we warned them we would be gone and they were fine with it. My kids are going into 3rd and 2nd grade and I think the education they will get on the cruise will FAR surpass anything they get in school as far as showing them different places and such. My daughter had to do a report on what we did and things she saw that were different for her and she did it in front of the class and they all loved it. She brought pictures with her of her and the characters and I think she learned quite a bit on the trip. I dont know how old your kids are but I dont think I would cancel my trip because of it. Kids are very resilient and they can catch back up. My kids teachers already know about the November cruise we are going on this year and they have assured me that they will send homework or an assignment with them while we are gone. Our school teachers realize it is unrealistic to expect that all vacations will fall during the summer months and for us to go in December when school was out was almost 10,000.00 and going a month earlier was only 4,000.00. Pure economics (which I am going to teach my kids about as a result of this trip) sometimes tells you when you can and cannot take a vacation as well as work!
I would definitely check with your child's teacher at the least and the teacher and the school at the most to see what to do about it all. I know here in Utah if your child has X number of unexcused absences (meaning not sick or attending a funeral or something) they CAN throw the book at the parents! I would make sure all is well before you go if you can! If not I always say it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission! LOL
:p

Heidi

[AliPom]

I was going to take my nephew with me and then we realized that he would have to miss the first week of grade 6 at his existing school.
If the decision would have been to let him go, I was going to contact his principal and request a meeting with his teacher, and request week 1's work assignments and books to work with him during the summer on his lessons.
But after tossing it around for 2 weeks, and although he is a gifted student at the top of his class with established friendships, his dad felt that the first week was too important for him to miss. It is a difficult decision; even when the child is a good student and has a network of friends.

Take into consideration:
1) your child's learning abilities;
2) study habits; and
3) confidence level in joining classmates 1 week late (I think that if I were a shy child I would not want to miss the first week).

If you do opt to go, maybe you can get lessons/books in advance.

I don't know if you will be penalized $ if you reschedule your cruise to another sailing date, although the rescheduled cruise rates may be different than the rates under your current booking. If you haven't done so already, maybe it would be worth your while to make a telephone call and inquire about that.

Good Luck, I know how tough this decision is!

[osprey]

First of all, thanks for all the answers and advice.

I have two daughters age 13 and 11. They are both strait 'A' students, national athletic champs, and honor roll students. But, one of them is changing schools this year. School registration/orientation will take place just before the cruise so we will have the opportunity to talk with the teachers. We are under the 60 day window so everything including the airline tickets have been paid for. To complicate the issues, we're all going out of country for the next three weeks so the decision to make changes or cancel the trip would have to made this week. The jury is still out on that one ..... the kids voted and no doubt you know how that went.

[mcnuss]

I, too, take my DD8 out of school for vacations and will do so again this year for 2 days for our cruise in November. But I don't think I could bring myself to do it for the first week. I think there is too much routine and expectation setting done during that time, and they will suffer. Last year, we took DD out for one week at the end of Sept. to go to France and I regretted it. The teacher was wonderful about it and all agreed that she got more from the trip than she would have in school, but it was clear when we returned that she got kind of discombobulated and out of the routines and had a hard time re-adjusting.

[motherhen17404]

We are taking our DS10 out of school for our Sept. cruise. He will have been in school for 2 weeks at the time of our cruise. We went to his school and talked to the Dean of Students and she said that he would learn more being with his parents on the cruise then he would ever learn in school. My feeling is that our trip is our family time. I know school is very important, but so is our family. I never want my son to look back on his childhood and regret not being able to spend time with his family. Just my 2 cents worth!

[padisneyfan]

I'm sure glad that I don't have to make the decision and that my DS's are in college so I can go away without them. Good Luck with whatever you decide.



motherhen17404 I see that you are also from York. You are the only other person I have seen post from York.

[jwolfe]

Hi, just a little added advice on my end :D . You have to do what is right for your family. However, being a teacher, I can say that it is usually difficult on children to miss that amount of time. The first week is an important week to miss with the general "feel" of the class coming together. That being said, I would much rather one of my student's miss the first week than farther into the year. In my opinion the first week is more social than academic. Especially with the ages of your children. Just talk to your children's teachers explain the situation and all will be well. They will probably give you a packet of work, etc to do while you are gone. The world won't stop with one missed week. Have a good trip!:cool:

[goofyfamily41]

I'd say go on your trip. Being an elementary principal and my wife a kindergarten teacher we both feel that quality family time is important. Let the school know what dates your child will be gone and if any registration/updates need to be completed, do that before you leave. Be prepared to make up any work upon return and accept that they might be marked down for some work missed that can't be made up.
Parents are the first and most important teacher of their children - enjoy your trip but take time out for the educational aspects you can bring to your child during this time.

[trishy]

Funny you should ask that. My dd9 was to start 5th grade on July 8, but we were on the 7/6 cruise. When we got back (late Saturday night), she was having a hard time sleeping. All day Sunday her stomach gave her problems. She had a nightmare Sunday night. Turns out she was really nervous about walking into class after all of the kids had already been in for a week. She got over it really quick. She did make a mountain out of a mole hill, but it was sad to see her anxiety over what I considered to be a small issue. She missed very little work since school had only just begun anyway. Most of it was passing out classroom policies, books, schedules, expectations, etc. The real work started the second week. I think you're doing the right thing by letting them vote. Get a feel for how they'll handle starting later than their friends - whether they care or not. The $$ issue is a big consideration - whether or not you even have the option of changing the date. Family vacations are such an important part of learning, too. Kids rebound pretty quickly.

[PiperG]

Goofyfamily41,

Your post was very comforting for us. We will be taking DS5 out of school in Jan '03 for a Magic cruise. We know that kindergarden is a very important year for him. However, the family time we spend on our vacations (especially our Disney vacation last year) is always so incredible, that we felt one week out of the whole school year was fine.

I know people are on both sides of the fence. Utilimtately it ends up that parents need to make individual decisions based on their own family dynamics and thier child's personalty and adaptability.

Thanks for your feedback.

[mcnuss]

PiperG -- I would not hesitate to pull my kindergarten aged child out of school for a week. I know kindergarten is important, but there are no actual lessons or projects at that grade level. I pulled my DD out twice that year figuring that once she got into "real" school (don't get me wrong, I know kindergarten is real, but I think you know what I mean), I would have less flexibility. I am soooooo glad we did it bc I do believe that it's harder now. (She will be in 3rd grade this year.) This year I won't pull her out for more than 2 days running and when she does miss school, she does a travel journal. When she was littler, it was mostly pictures, but on our trip to France last year, she wrote a travelogue that the school published in the newsletter. I would say without hesitation that she more than made up academically for the 6 days of school she missed with that exercise. The only difficulty was that it was at the end of Sept. and she had not really settled into a routine yet, so when she got back, she was kind of scattered for a while. But as we all know, time flies and she was settled in no time.

[my3kids]

I do take my children out of school for vacations occasionally, but I wouldn't do it the first week of school. I think it would be tough to miss those first days.

That said, my understanding from teachers around here is that until a child actually starts, they can't be counted absent, so you wouldn't have the issue of too many absences to contend with. Their first day back would be their start date, so they wouldn't start the year with already a week of days missed. But, that probably varies from state to state and likely even county to county.

[Debbie H]

I say go. We took ours out from time to time and they didn't mind it in the least. One is now a attorney, one is in college and the other is in a boarding prep school. It didn't damage them or harm them in any way. Kids are resilent, it sounds like it is more a parental problem than a child problem.

[osprey]

We made our decision.

We're going on the cruise. The kids would be brokenharted and the family group we are to meet up with on the ship would have been disapointed if we didn't show up.

Altho the first few days are important several teachers have told us that they are mostly filled with orientation and social activity. One teacher told us she spends that first few classes covering previous lesson work to get the kids thinking again and to see if anyone isn't prepared. We think that they can make up for the first few days.

See all of you on the cruise.

[aprilgail2]

I would never think twice about taking the kids out of school for vacation, going while everyone else is on vacation also is NOT my idea of fun....BUT....I would not take them out the frist week of school....that is the week when everyone is nervous and making new friends etc...to miss that would be hard...we took my godson out of school up until 9th gade when he died for vacations and I can honestly say it was NEVER regretted....you never know what tomorrow holds for anyone, enjoy the time with the kids while you can!!! No regrets.....

[grandmalinda]

First, I vote YES, take your children and miss the 1st week of school.
I was fortunate that my parents loved to travel and had the time to do so. They weren't wealthy but thought travel was as educational as school, sometimes more. Of course, a Disney cruise isn't exactly education. Each year, we took the entire summer to travel around the U.S. or in numerous foreign countries. My brother and I bought all our school clothes somewhere else than home. We also missed the entire MONTH of school and began sometime in Oct. My parents figured not much got done the 1st month. In the 50's, I'll agree. We didn't suffer from missing that month although we had to hit the road running when we got back.
Unfortunately, my daughter doesn't agree so the only time I can take my 2 granddaughters is July 27th! Maybe you can make a deal with your kids to review their last year's work, ie. fractions, spelling, reading while on the cruise. I know that will be tough but you can fit it in and make it fun. They won't miss a week of school.

[Trinity]

My dad (osprey), is a little confused.

My sister will only miss the first 2 days of school (one day is just and "get to know everyone" day and the second day is just a "meet your teachers day). I will only miss the first day. I'm going into 8th grade and I know the school and teachers pretty well, I hope lol.

Don't worry about us!;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)

*Kelly*:smooth: :crazy:

[IrishCowboy]

You probably won't be 'splitting the atom' during those first few days.;)

[4crusinransiers]

Were sailing Aug 31, our kids will miss the first 3 days of school.
They are 9 and 11. We work weekends, every weekend and take
Wed and Thur off and have for 10 years. So occasionally we take them out of school to spend family time or to go away on OUR weekends. Otherwise we would not get time as a family. Our school is very understanding, Family is more important than school.
We asked our kids if they would mind missing the first 3 days before we booked, no problem. BTW both are A,B students.

[westjones]

You know what, 20 years from now the memories of your vacation will be something that all of you will enjoy remembering. The first week of school. Can't say that I remember a single one of them.

Go, enjoy, make magical memories. My DD has been homeschooled all along, but this year she has decided she was to try school, so she is starting 3rd grade at school next month....BUT we are taking her out in September for our annual trip on the DCL.

This will be her third birthday on the cruise (shared with her twin sister, who is still going to be homeschooling). We want to do it every year, we all enjoy it so much and we have decided to make it a tradition!

Have fun, don't worry. Even six months from now none of this will make any difference, but you will still be enjoying the memories of your vacation.

DJ

[Debbie H]

padisneyfan and motherhen17404

Greetings from down the road!

[tezb]

In our state...Calif. if you are on a vacation during the school year, you ARE considered absent..actually it is called an unexcused absense that stays on your school record. Don't really know what that means but they use it to try and deter families from taking vacations during the school year. Someone mentioned that they didn't think they would be marked absent but I think they probably would be considered absent if they are not there for the first few days of school. An absense is an absence and I'm sure they still have to report who is not there.

We were up against this before but my teen boys did NOT want to be pulled out of school. They said it's not worth all the work/classes they miss. I was surprised...guess I raised them that way as I was always taught that school was more important. I'm starting to think differently now but it's hard to change what you've already instilled in your kids.

Anyway, everyone has a different take on this...so Enjoy your trip.

[padisneyfan]

Hi Debbie,

Just up in Hanover last Friday. My husband works up there at Sheridan Press and my DS bought a car from someone in Hanover and he picked it up last Friday.

Are you related to Glenda Harden?


Nancy

[Ironmike]

I think that you should take your children out. I am in the Army and with all the deployments that I am doing anytime that I can have a week alone with my family I try to take it. The first week of school is normally not much to speak of. Here in Indiana it is normally a short week just three days. If your kids can handle the attention, they probably will the stars for the first day they come back, having to miss school to go on a Disney cruise. I know that my many of my kids teachers take time out during the school year as well to take vacations. I don't believe you have to have a certain amount of school days just quality days.

[Karel]

Not to be rude, but I'm still trying to figure out how you could NOT know when the first day of school was going to be. I had it marked on the calendar since the last day of school year. ;)

Is it September YET?

Our school finally wised up and sent out next years school calendar with the last report cards of the school year. Makes vacation planning a whole bunch easier.

[osprey]

Karel - We have three major trips planed out of country including China, Korea, and Belgium. When the Disney trip came up we had to make adjustments in the trip schedules to allow for other family members from all over the US to join us on the cruise. Somewhere in the date negotiations, and they were lengthy, we missed the start of school. Remember that these trips are booked over a year in advance and this year our school district moved up the first day of school.

My daughter Kelly ( Trinity ) pointed out that she will only miss one day and my other daughter Rachel will miss two days. However, she forgot to include travel time so it will actually be 2 and 3.

As I said earlier, we made our decision. We are going on the cruise and they will just have to make up for anything that they miss. They are both strait 'A' students and quick learners.

Thanks again to all. I do appreciate all the responses.

[Minnie's Guy]

SEE YOU THERE! Glad your decision has been made -
sounds like your daughters won't have a problem
adjusting. We will probably have more of a problem
adjusting - cooking our own meals, making our own
beds, serving ourselves (ha!ha!ha!ha!)
We are getting so anxious! Our schools start the
day after we return (driving from PA) - that will also
be an adjustment for everyone.

[Fawn]

We're taking our 16 year old out of school the first week back after Christmas. His teachers will be told this at the beginning of the year, and he knows he must keep his grades up.

We thought long and hard about this, but finals are mid-January, and the first week back is usually all review. Since he's an honor roll student, he feels ...and we agree...that he'll be fine. Any notes will be copied from friends.

The other kids are either in college (not back yet), on leave or homeschooled, so no problem, thank Goodness.

This is a very personal decision for every family AND every child!

[disneydeb]

go on the trip like your daughters my daughter is also a straight a student i have been taking her out of school twice a year once in spring and once in autumn to go wdw since she was 7 yrs old, believe me when they are straight a students even if they are a natural like my kid, they need that time to relax just like adults, school is tough between classes, teachers, peers, sports, and fashions, my daughter is now almost 19 and going into her 2nd year of college, we still go twice a year and she still gets straight a, i'll tell you the one thing i never would do again i think she was in the 3rd grade and i asked for some homework to go with her from the teacher, and the teacher gave her 35 pages, which i made sure she did , the teacher said oh i'm surprized she did it all, what a witch, even my mom had said, the kids on vacation, she didnt need to do all that, well regardless i never asked for homework for my daughter again, mom's always right, and she never had any trouble making up the work.so tell your girls to have fun, because the'll be busy when they get back.