To Pull or Not To Pull??? That is the question

[Terk-1]

My nephews will be in school (1 will be in 1st grade and the other in Pre-K) during our upcoming trip at the end of September. We are now facing the debate of pulling them out to go to WDW. What is your thought?

[DisneyFix]

If you haven't already, you might want to do this poll on the Families board also.

We always take our dd's out of school. Our oldest will be in 2nd grade this fall, and we're taking her out. Our youngest will be in kindergarten. We've taken them out every year since preschool, and we won't do it any other way until they show signs that it's too difficult to keep up in class. Hopefully, that time is still a few years away. Our dd's go to private school, and the teachers are very supportive of their trips to WDW. In fact, I noticed that many of the families take their children out of school for their WDW vacations, which makes me feel better (a little less guilt regarding the work they'll have to make up when we get back to the real world).
If it gets to the point that it's too difficult for them to keep up with the class, then we'll consider the 7-Day Disney cruise, where I don't think it will matter if we vacation when everyone else vacations (peak season), as you can only fit "so many" on a cruise ship, right?!

[Jacket93]

We usually take our children out of school for trips to WDW, But early in the school year when it is mostly review of last years work.

[Disnydad]

We take our two out (now 3rd & 4th grades) all the time. We do however do it when there is a long weekend. Example: Veterans Day or Martin Luther King Day. Cuts down on the days they miss. Also, most years we have been "lucky" and there have been some snow days that happened while we were there.

[ShuisFan584]

If the kids are that young, I would say to take them out of school. They wouldn't be missing much work at that age and the crowds are much lighter around that time.

My family goes in the summer now because I'm a junior and my sister is in eigth grade and we would probably miss a lot of work in school at our age. But when we were younger, my parents took us out of school to go to Disney, one year in September and another in October.

[rbuzzotta]

We have taken our DD out of school every year to go to WDW. She is now in the 4th grade and next year will be in the Middle School. We try to take her out when it is either a long weekend or there is a teachers inservice day or half day during the week.

We feel that she learns alot about other cultures and people when we vacation at WDW. She gets to spend good quality time with us and her 2 younger DD's. I will continue to do this so long as she doesn't fall behind or have difficulty making up the work.

I say, "Go For It" at this young age and then ponder over it in later years.:p

[randyro]

We'll see you there during the last week of September!

Mom, Dad, Son (2nd grader), Son (Kindergarten) and Daughter (Pre-K).

Vacation with the family will have a far more lasting impact than one week of school.

Go for it!

[Poohmom]

Pull em'!

We did with our kids two years in a row, and they had no problems with school! Plan ahead, let the teachers know.

I can't imagine taking them in the hot busy summer or the busy, busy holidays when they're young. Maybe as teenagers... even then I'd have a hard time dealing with the crowds.

Have Fun!!!

[ugadog99]

I am an elementary teacher in Georgia. I have taught K,2,3,4 grades for the last 17 years. I say without hesitation, pull the kids out! In fact, my own two children will miss 2 1/2 days in November. Don't let a teacher fool you, your kids CAN make up the work missed. The teacher just doesn't want to take the time to pull the work prior to the trip or to catch the kids up if needed. Have a great time. They grow up way too fast and Disney is TOO magical to miss.

[sha_lyn]

I'm sorry but I really don't think it teaches kids commitment to school to pull them out to go on a vacation. That is what school vacations are for. It also makes it harder on the kids in other way other than just catching up. I know from when I was in school and from what my Ds has seen in school the kids who do get out of school to go somewhere are picked on by the other students. Don't get me wrong I don't think a day
or too tagging onto a long weekend is wrong but I have ran across may on these boards that take their children out for 2 weeks at a time. I know in our district I would never chance taking them out for that long becasue anything over 15 days during a 1/2 yr requires a hearing to pass on to the next grade and anything over I believe 5 unexcussed absense (sp?) a 1/2 yr or it might be 10 a yr but not broken up into 1/2 yr, is automatic failure.

[disney09/2001]

We are doing this in September with our DD who is in 2nd grade. She has made straight A's all through 1st grade and I am sure will have no problem catching up on the work. We are celebrating a special occasion on this trip and that's what made us choose September.

In your case pre-k is not mandatory so you should have no problem with taking that child out of school. As far as the first grader, if he/she did well in Kindergarten I wouldn't worry about taking them out of school either. They will probably just be reviewing at the beginning of school. I would let the school know ASAP to know how they feel about taking kids out of school. Every school is different when it comes to this!!

GOOD LUCK IN MAKING THIS TOUGH DECISION!!!!

[lisapooh]

As early as possible as the first weeks of school are basically review.
Also make sure your district doesn't have a absentee rule. In ours if a child misses more than 5 days the parents are called in for a conference and they can be referred to HRS. Be sure any notes for absences are turned in pronto and you keep a copy in case the teacher misplaces it. And don't give it to a sub! Some are great. Others I wouldn't give a plug nickle for. And I am a sub. I take notes and staple them to the notes for the teacher and staple that to the subfolder but not all do.

[poohlover]

I say pull them now while they are young. It gets much harder as they get older.

2 yrs ago we pulled our kids for a fall trip, our oldest was in 8th grade, one in 6th, 3rd and 1st. My 8th grader was given a lot of work to do to keep up with the classes, but just not being in class for discussions made it difficult for her. And she's a very good student.

We went in Feb. during our winter break. She said there was no way she could miss a week of school and keep the grades she wants! Plus when they get older the get involved in sports and other things that take up LOTS of time. It makes it harder to get away at all.

Go now and enjoy!

[Disneydays]

I agree with the majority of responders here. I see no problem taking them out of school when they are younger. Most teachers are great about it and even give "educational" assignments such as keeping a journal, etc.
It does get harder when they are older. You know your child best and will be able to determine if an absence from school will be too difficult to overcome.
My mom raised me with the philosophy that you never know what tomorrow may bring...limit any potential regret..and enjoy your family to the fullest every day....
(not always easy tho)...I will be pulling my dd's out next December...they will be in 7th and 8th grade....bet there will be lots of homework in the hotel at nite!!!!

:bounce:

[candykisses]

My boys will be in 9th & 2nd grade this year. We will be at WDW this year from Nov 2-12. My little one will not have a problem with making up work as he will be given a packet ahead of time. And during that time he will only miss 2 full days and the rest half days due to parent conferences.

My older son may not receive his work ahead of time. We will call the voice mail system our school has for assignments and he will also check with select friends for assignments. We will copy his text books, so that he doesn't have to carry them to WDW.

Going in the summer for us is generally out of the question since my husband is paralyzed and has a hard time regulating body tempature.

Next year we may have to go in Aug because of the workload in 10th grade but we'll see.

[EAJ1071]

All I have to say is you all are very lucky.....as any abscence that last more than 2 consecutive school days here must have a valid excuse.....which is one of two things..........physicians documentation and death of a immediate family member and/or grandparents (and believe it or not hey can request proof) anything else is unexcused. And 4 or more unexcused in a semester is considered truancy and can result in the parent spending some time in the detention center for failure to send a child to school.....and I am referring to the jail not the room in the school......and believe it or not is does happen......so needless to say a lot of people around here plan on four or five day weekends which we have like three or four of per school year in adition to holidays and breaks........Liz

[LisaT]

I think it depends when in the school year and for how long the trip will be. Generally, I think anything more than a week is excessive.

Meet the teacher ASAP and get lesson plans ahead and plan ahead! Find out if any testing will be held while your chld could be away or shortly after returning.

I would not want to remove my child later in the school year when testing and evaluations are heavy and very important (not only for my child, but for the school!) Testing scores in my area affect how much funding they will get in the NEXT year!

I give his teacher every consideration of time to give us lesson plans ahead of time. I either make him do them ahead of vacation or during. He would rather not do them during vacation, so he does the extra effort. I did have him keep a journal of our trip, so he is working on his writing, spelling, etc. I have him keep a bank book to keep track of spending, so he practices math.
This year, Epcot is going to be a little of a science trip!
You might even ask a teacher if their child can write a report on the trip?

Yes, I think the younger children are, the easier it is to pull them out, but I also think that the lower grades are foundation years. THis is when young students develop a work ethic in dedication to their schoolwork and social structure!

Good luck
Lisa

[sleepingbeauty1212]

My Dh and I are taking our neice and nephew next sept. 1-11 and we are having their mother pull them out of school, my neice will be in 2nd grade and nephew in 4th. The memories will last forever( sounds good doesn't it)

[Poly Pal]

Sorry, I would not pull my children out of school to go on vacation. In my book, that teaches putting pleasure before work - not very responsible IMO. Would you leave your job to go to Disney if you did not have the vacation time? I don't think so. School is my children's work.

Happy vacation memories can be made anytime during the year. As for those of you who think a trip to Disney World is a wonderful cultural experience for your children, it is - but it is all American culture. Yes, a trip to Disney can be full of learning experiences. But while there will always be another day at Disney World, you only get so many days of school.

[thinkerbell]

I'm a teacher and I also say TAKE THEM TO DISNEY!! A few days out of school is NOT going to make or break their whole year. We have always let our son take "Tom Sawyer Days" with his grandpa to go fishing. I see absolutely nothing wrong with it. I do value work and I do think it is very important in life but it isn't the MOST important. Staying out of your job without vacation days and staying out of school a few days is two different things. If I stay out of my job for a few days without vacation days I will lose my job. In most cases staying out of school for a few days will not make me repeat unless I am not doing well to begin with. My daughter is 20 with a part-time job. We have let her miss days of school before but she would never think of taking off of her job unless it is scheduled vacation or if she was sick (which hasn't happened in the four years that she has been working). I think as children grow they can see the difference in the two. :D :D

[imgoingtodisney]

My son will be getting his perfect attendance award for 3rd grade tomorrow. He'll be missing 4 days in Oct so we made an extra effort to have him in school every day this year. Last year I asked him if he wanted to go to Canobie Lake Amusement park or have perfect attendance - well of course he picked the amusement park. When asked the same question this year he wants the perfect attendance. Way to go!!!!

[georgiapeach60]

Our first trip we went in the summer and didn't have to worry about it. This next time we are going in Feb. My youngest will be in 2nd grade and my middle son will be a junior in HS. We are going with my BIL's family. He is in pool repair and maintanance. He absolutely cannot go in the summer, it is his busiest time of year. I will let you know if in the end I feel it was a mistake to take them out. We have never done it before. They are both strong students and realize that there may be more work that they will have to do because of it so I hope it will work out all right.

[Tony M]

Pull'em out.
Not to miss the crowds, but to Learn about the world. Not just WDW, but anywhere the family can be together and learn about life outside the structure of school and your everyday surroundings would be beneficial.
HAVE FUN

[diskids2]

I used to feel very strongly about saying "Yes, pull them out." :) Now I feel that if the child is able to catch up and the teacher is willing to work with you it is ok. If the child normally has trouble keeping up with work or the teacher is really against it, I would probably keep my kids in school.

[kecall]

Unless you have major concerns about their adjusting socially or that they will be struggling in school, I say PULL them OUT!!! We have done this every September to go to Nags Head and have never had a problem. Granted, my daughter has schoolwork to take with her so she can keep up, but it's always been a great time....One suggestion...I always buy a little something for each of my daughter's classmates so when she returns, it's very easy for her to step right back into her friendships (considering that school has just gotten started and kids are just getting to know each other.) It doesn't have to be anything big...maybe a Disney pencil (which you could even buy before you leave home!):earsboy:

[Terk-1]

I really appreciate all of your input on this topic. I know it is a tough one for those with families. We are planning on informing their teachers ahead of time and try to obtain the work before we leave that they may miss. With a 3-hour plane ride back and forth to WDW, this will give them time to work on what they missed and have it ready for when they return. Thanks again all! :earsboy: :earsboy: :earsboy: :earsgirl: :earsgirl: :earsgirl: :wave:

[catwho]

We have 2 in school now and we take them out every year. With my dh's work schedule he can't take a summer vacation due to hurricane season. Besides we like it better at WDW during the winter and the rates are better. We always give the teachers plenty of advance notice that we are going on vacation so that they can decide what work needs to be made up. So far the teachers have been very understanding and the only work they have had to do was to send their classes postcards and to keep a daily journal. No make up work or tests.

The nice thing is that we treat all family vacations as learning adventures. Where else can a kid get so close to a gorilla that they can put their hand up to the wall seperating them? Or come nose to nose with a hippopotamus? Because of the way that we "do" Disney, our kids get to travel to Asia, Africa, Morrocco, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Norway, France, England, China, and study American History. They can also delve into their imaginations and learn about fantasy. My dh, being the engineer that he is, gives annual lessons in the dynamics of a roller coaster and why you don't fall out. This past trip he was telling the girls while in line and everyone around him was silent as they listened to his explaination.

Our kids have learned about their bodies, ecology, animal preservation, history of communication (which my youngest dd still talks about), space, and how fossil fuels come to be and they didn't sit through boring lectures to do it either. They have eaten foods from cultures that they had only read about in books (and found that it is tasty!) Seen people of all ethnic backgrounds, and not just the cast members either! WE were sitting on the monorail next to a woman from India and my oldest daughter asked me why she was wearing different clothes and why she had a dot on her forehead. The woman was kind enough to answer all my daughter's questions and even bestowed a blessing on her! (Which mom found tres cool!)

I could go on and on about what experiences my children have gained from a trip to an "amusement park" and I would be more than happy to if anyone wants to know how they can make their next trip to WDW a learning experience that a missed week of school could *never* make up for!
:earsgirl:

[susy]

I will be homeschooling my DS-no problem!

[pooh2001]

I am pulling the kids I thought for 6 days before Thanksgiving.
I was a bit worried - then I looked at the school calendar.

They will miss Wed, Thur, & Fri of the week before.
The Monday before Thanksgiving, they have off for Veterans Day.
The Tues & Wed before Thanksgiving they are dismissed at 11 AM for
parent/teacher conferences.
Not much school work will be done the 2 days just before Thanksgiving.

So the kids only will really miss 3 days. I will ask for the work for them to do.
I will miss the parent/teacher conference !
Oh well.


I don't feel so bad about them missing school. I bet other people will pull their
kids Thanksgiving week.

My kids go to private school - grades 1 & 4.

So- please check the school calendar - your kids may not miss as many days as you
originally thought ! :rolleyes:

[disneefamily]

I would never pull my daughter out of school to go to WDW!!!
It just happens that she is at a year round school, so there is no summer vacation.
Her vacation time is March, July and November. We live on the west coast and are not loaded so we can only go every other year to WDW. Always in November!!
Really, don't worry about it until the last couple years of high school. If you work with the teachers, and have a plan, the child can learn a lot at WDW!!

[mickeys#1fan]

We go through this debate every year when vacation planning.
Up until now, I've never supported this, but the other parents are
right on. At you kids' young ages, not too much harm can be done.
We've always asked for homework and class assignments in
advance of our trips. Our dd's teachers have always been accom-
odating.

Our debate is usually go at Thanksgiving, or go at Christmas.
Thanksgiving involves more days off for our dd, but crowds are
significantly thinner around that time, right up until Christmas.
It can make the trip much more enjoyable when you have the run
of the place - shorter lines, fewer logjams when getting around,
better parade viewing, etc.

Take them out and have a good time!

[LIZZY]

I teach 4th grade and have had children pulled out for Disney world. My personal feeling is that if the child has no trouble returning to school and catching up, there should be no problem. I feel that often times our children can gain more from a week alone with parents than any teacher can give them in a classroom. If you consider the kids and always put them first, it will take care of itself. Have a great time.

[pentex]

We do same as Jacket93, pull them out in early part of school year when review is on. Or we do when we know it's a slow week which one usually can predict after a couple of years in the same school.

I have no problem taking my kids out. They do well in school. If they were struggling at all, I wouldn't do it.

I also take some work down with us and give them about 1/2 day (sometimes more) work to keep them thinking.

[mom42860]

Go and have a great time! We are pulling DD 12 (7th grade) and DS 9 (5th grade) for a week in Sept. We have never done this before but due to DH job we cannot go in winter and felt this was the best time to get our $ worth. I was concerned about doing it the 1st week or 2 because DD will be going to a new school (but in same town). We worked around schedules to go the 3rd week- she will be there for orientation and learning new rules, etc. but not miss too much because of review. Your children are very young they will catch right up.

[Jacksmom99]

For younger children, if they do well in school, I would pull them out. Family time and vacations are very important too!!!!! As children get older, school work requires more attention to class discussions, so it may be more difficult for older students to miss classes. One thing that should be noted is the extra work required of the teacher to develop alternative assignments for the students being taken out for vacation. Sometimes it's not just as simple as copying some pages out of a book and answering questions. Maybe a little thank you gift from Disney would be in order for your children's teachers?? Just MHO:D

If I wasn't a teacher we would pull our DS out for vacations but would probably plan them around long weekends. Actually, that's what I'm doing with my personal days next year.:bounce:

[Cindy6457]

Before I say anything else-----Pull them out. I am a Para-Educator for Special Education and even though they will be missing a lot of information during their time away (everyday is jam packed during these years), you can work with their teacher. Let their teacher know when you will be going and request some work sheets and grab some crayons, don't teach your child during vacation, play with them. Find out what part of the alphabet they will be working on and make a game of finding things that begin with that letter or sound. These are great items for your child to take back for show and tell. I could go on and on. Have a great time!

[LKS]

I don't do it and won't do it, but have no real problem if other people do. My mother was a teacher and we only one time took that half-day before Thanksgiving off to go on what she considered a very educational trip to Williamsburg, VA. She still feels strongly about this. I know my kids would be fine, but I will still plan all of our vacations around the school calendar. My kids are very proud of their perfect attendance and would rather go to school sick than mess it up. I have to KEEP them home when necessary. Anyway, we can have all these great experiences outside of the school year! It's not an either/or proposition for us.

[WDW2002]

I think a lot of it depends on the child and also the age/grade the child is in. If the child does well in school and is in elementry school, missing a few days would be "no biggie." As the child gets older and into middle school and high school, even missing ONE DAY can have a big impact, regardless if the child is a good student or not. Under NO circumstances should a struggling child be pulled out of school for any other reason then illness.

Now that said, I think there are somethings that are more important then school. Family time is very important. With my work schedule there is very limited time I can take off (usually only the last week of the month) as much as I would prefer to not take my kids out of school, it is virtually impossible to not.

Like the many others have said, talk to the teacher ahead of time and get the work that they will be missing. You child can do this work on the way down, during the evening (esp. if the parks close early), etc. My girls wouldn't think of getting out of their school work, in fact my oldest had to "beg" her teacher for her work. The teacher knew how important family time is and wanted us to have a good time w/o worrying about missed school work.

Christa

[karibear]

For our first trip to WDW we took our kids out of school (7th and 8th grade) a few days early for Fall Break. We discussed it with the principal before we made our plans, and he was all for it. He said he considered it a very 'education oriented' trip :-) and his only objection was that he was not going along! With a principal like that is it any wonder our kids-who are now in college-still say Jr. High was the best time of their school 'lives'?

[susy]

dear kari bear (and others),
deb has some great educational activity ideas on her website. Your kids could really "wow" their principal and teachers with some special projects and journal entires from their vacation. Epcot and Animal Kingdom alone are just oozing with all kinds of learning experiences!!!!!!

[*Robin*]

I haven't read all the responses, so please forgive me if you've heard it a million times...

PULL!! It's an amazing trip...it's something they will remember forever, and off season makes it worth every minute! :)

[Cherch]

:) Definitely pull them out of school. Thoses kids will get more out of 1 week with the family
then they would from 1 month at school. You won't be able to measure the impact of the
vacation on their test scores. But the stronger bonds that will be built from a family vacation
will have a lifetime effect on them. We have been taking our kids out of school for the last 9 years without and worries about it. Also we tell them that they can't miss a lot of time during the school year. 4 kids 4,5,10,13.

[Planogirl]

Are strict schools like ours so rare? Our district states that under no circumstances will a vacation be an excused absence and more than a few unexcused days is grounds for suspension. I don't think that I'll be pulling my son out. We'll just have to have these educational family trips during breaks.

[EPCOTLADY]

we always take our out too. they are in 3rd and 5th grade this year. we will be there the end of sept. i always get nervous taking them out, but it usually works out well.

[Dizzy]

We always pull them out during the school year. My daughter will be going into 2nd grade and my son will be in Preschool. We notify the teacher months in advance and remind her often. I would say about 75% of her class last year were taken out for a family vacation to Disney World. Also, where we're from, vacation absenses are counted as regular absenses but their not counted toward an amount of missing time to fail. But, my children are young. When they get to the older grades and high school then that may be a different story. When my daughter was in 1st grade, she had enough homework to work on that took up time on the flight to and from WDW. Plus, I see it as a good time to be sitting still with your child looking at her work as she is doing it and being able to review. You've got so much time on that flight to use the time constructively.

[PoohMoma]

We pull our kids out of school the very last week before Christmas vacation. That week is still not really busy at WDW and it is usually a slow week at school, parties, Christmas crafts, etc. My kids don't mind missing the parties because they are at WDW!!
Plus they have all Christmas vacation to make up missed work. I always prearrange this with teachers.
My kids are still young and I'm sure in the years to come they may have exams that week, but for now that's my best week to pull them out!

[Mom B]

Sorry, but it seems in our area that school vacations are not
designed for the students and their families...they are designed
so the teachers and their families can go on vacation! All that is
fine for them, but scheduled school vacations do NOT fit in well
with our work schedules. It's hard enough to schedule vacations
around our work schedules; if we couldn't take the kids out on
the rare occasions (every 4 or 5 years) that we do our Disney
trips, we'd never get there at all!:mad:

[gillyflower]

This seems to be a hot topic! (have to put in my 2cents ! ) I agree with the majority of posts here, and we are planning on taking our 6th & 7th graders out of school in Nov.for their 1st WDW trip. We did, however, first look at the school calendar. We made sure it wasn't the at the end of a term. They already have Mon. off for Veteran's Day, so only 4 days missed. We did try to work around the school schedule somewhat. And if they were in highschool and we couldn't find a time when they could miss school without difficulty, we wouldn't take them out.
And I do think you can teach your children responsibility and still have a vacation during school: They will be sure to get assignments ahead of time. They will make up the work. They will be giving advance notice for their absences. They have parental permission :)
There was a post that asked if you would go to Disney if you did not have vacation time...yes, you would, if you were my husband who doesn't get ANY paid vacation(or sick) days. He works in construction, and the summer is too busy to take off work, so we have planned ahead to miss a week's pay to have a family trip. And I am betting that the memories from our week in Disney (can't wait!!!!) will outweigh a missed week of school or paycheck.

[Mickey0330]

GO FOR IT!!!!! If your children do well in school, then talk to the teacher early & tell her what you are planning so she can give you some work. We've done it every year (son is in 3rd grade) and he has had no problem. The kids benefit so much by the trip and all the great family time.

Unless your child is behind, go for it.