Curious...Do you take your kids out of school for cruise??

[jrabbit]

we wish we did it more. Once kids get to middle school - it's NOT the school it's the activities / sports that really begin to interfere with family vacations year round.

So YES - we did, needed to do it more!! My we got my kids homework ahead of time from the teacher(s) - they were NOT amused!!! They did the required work and after a one week vacation, they were usually 3 weeks ahead of the class!!

Public Schools (frequently) get "paid / funded" by the number of butts in the seats, and a student on vacation for a week will have an impact on funding - but Who Cares!! Family time is IMPORTANT.

And my kids have learned a lot by exploring the world. We are Lilly white (I'm getting sick of the "beached white whale" comments while I'm enjoying some time at the beach ) and from a predominately white state, therefore walking around the towns in Caribbean was an eye opener for all of us. Then visit the sugar plantations. More education! And then there are the historical cruises in the Med and Northern Europe - lots of education there. Alaska - learn about glaciers and critters!!!

There's more to life than just book learning. Getting out into the real world helps cement the book learning. Need Both.

 

[MJB03]

We are taking DS (in Kinder) out of school for 6 days in October to do one of the cruises to Bermuda. I expect that we will receive a nasty gram from the school district, but this is a special trip with his only living grandparent so we aren't going to miss it!

 

[cadien]

Like most people are saying, there are so many factors. We do it every year. Our son is only in 2nd grade, so it's a minor thing. And he's not struggling in any area. If that changes, we will have to re-evaluate. Also our school district doesn't mind.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

When our sons were in elementary school we took them out of school every year for 6+ days. Both were mostly A/couple B’s students so it really wasn’t that big a deal. Middle school, like 7th & 8th grades it got a little harder for them to catch up and steer off any impact on grades. We pulled them from public schools at 9th & 7th grades to homeschool. (For reasons that had to do with safety & lack of actual leadership in the district, not related to travel at all.) From then on out it was a non-issue to create our own schedules and work ahead.

It’s up to th parent to make a sound decision on that. Consider your student and all the other factors. If you feel like it’s okay, it is. Even if you pull them & they have some struggle when they get back, it’s not going to kill them or ruin the rest of their lives. You’ll know what the right decision is next time.

 

[darnheather]

In the past both of my children were homeschooled. However, for this next trip yes I will be taking DD out of 6th grade for two weeks. She has a wonderful supportive school who think it's an amazing opportunity and not "just a vacation".

 

[kkayluvsdis]

we wish we did it more. Once kids get to middle school - it's NOT the school it's the activities / sports that really begin to interfere with family vacations year round.

Totally agree with you on this!

We are now on a year round school calendar which is great because we have stretches of time off that are a bit more unique. However, just because school stops for three weeks at a time doesn't mean the activities do!

 

[MSPeeler]

Yes, the week before a Holiday break usually so that we can have a 2 week vacation. In most cases, they are not doing a lot of "work" during that time.

 

[tinytinkmom]

Yup. We’re platinum, and only two of our cruises have been during a school break. Our girls are 14 and 8, and I don’t regret any of the times we’ve taken them out. They’re both great students, and the travel that they’ve experienced has broadened their horizons immeasurably. We’ve done the EBTA the last two years, so they missed over two weeks of school each year... But they got to visit multiple new countries & we incorporated education into the fun!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We are taking DS (in Kinder) out of school for 6 days in October to do one of the cruises to Bermuda. I expect that we will receive a nasty gram from the school district, but this is a special trip with his only living grandparent so we aren't going to miss it!

Is Kindergarten required in your state?

 

[Lardiek]

We have taken 3 cruises in the fall and taken our kids out of elementary school and I have never regretted it. We have our 4th cruise at the end of October and my son is now in middle school and I am starting to regret the timing. He also seems anxious about missing a full week and he is an excellent student. I think this will be our last time missing school. Good-bye cheaper fares!

 

[Shanti]

Hey y'all! Out of curiosity, I wanted to know people's thoughts and experiences with taking kids out of school for a vacation. We have one booked during the 2019 school year, but my husband and I keep debating over whether or not it's a good idea to remove our daughter from school for 1 week. Thank you!

No, I won't take him out of school for more than 1 day for a vacation. He's in middle school. In elementary you have more wiggle room, as long as the child isn't academically slow or behind in school.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Yes, but my kids are still fairly young. this year (K/Gr 2/Gr 4) they will miss three weeks of school. I'm not fussed about it.

 

[Lori74]

I have 2 adult children and one in high school. I have taken them out of school and will continue with my youngest. I have given them each the choice if they felt they could handle catching up and they always have. If i were to ask my 2 eldest if they made good choices i believe they would say yes. Life is a balancing act. My husband and i work nights, weekends, and holidays. We chose to go when the opportunity was there. We created memories and my childrens studies did not suffer. Ive lost a lot of people in my life way too soon, i make every moment count. Tomorrow may not come.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

We do. But echoing what others have said, as classes become more difficult and activities start accumulating it may come to an end. My kids are 9, 7 and 10 months (4th and 2nd grade) so the difficult part comes when my older kids may not be available as much as they get older but I don't want my 10 month old daughter to miss out on experiences my sons have had. So we will do this as long as possible for them to all have the same opportunities .

Anyway, with that said, as long as they are doing well in school and won't fall behind we will continue to miss about 5 days of school per year. Our school requires us to request an independent study program if they are gone 5 or more days which we will do in November when we do 5 nights at WDW followed by a 3 night DCL cruise.

This is such a case by case scenario. Strangers can't answer for you. It ultimately comes down to each individual family/kid. Good luck. I'm sure you'll do what's in the best interest for your family!

 

[DietCokeMommy]

We plan to do a cruise in 2020 that we’ll take my son out of kindergarten for. We really want to do a southern Caribbean cruise B2B with the repo back to PC, assuming they still do that (as they have the last few years). There’s only one opportunity per year to do this. And kindergarten is not required in our state. So while the school will drown in it, it’s only kinder and it’s not like they can get us on truancy when it’s not required.

After that I won’t rule it out, but it won’t be likely. It’ll be easier to take family vacations on school breaks instead of having to find care for the kids.

 

[aggiedog]

Yes, we have, but...

Most people answering here have young children. I pulled my 2 second graders out for a 2 week trip to China without any qualms. Missing time in elementary school is not a big deal academically. Doing the seemingly endless worksheets during the trip was a drag, but that was the requirement - turn the missed work in when you get back. For a longer trip, I might have disenrolled them, as some of my friends have done with young kids.

Missing a day in junior high, however, is like a week of elementary. Missing a day of high school is like a week of junior high. Once the kids get older, taking them out, even for vacation, can seem like a punishment to them. The actual missed lectures (hard to get a week of AP calculus on your own, Kahn Academy included), the time taken to do the make up work, along with the regular load of work once they're home, all can be onerous. My dds took 2-3 AP classes and 2-3 honors classes every year. My high schoolers didn't want to miss school.

And that doesn't even include extracurricular activities. Some kids will be dropped from a team, or at least benched, for missing certain games/tournaments. Sometimes it's a one shot event - District or State Debate for example. If you miss it, there's no making it up.

Some school districts make it harder than others, so what one family does may not work for another.

We did pull our then 10th graders out the last 2 days of finals for a DCL Baltic cruise. The very next sailing a week later would have cost 50% more. We were able to work with the school for them to take the finals they missed when they got back. It helps that one dd was 1st in her class and the other in the top 10.

Valedictorian dd missed 2 days every December of all 4 years of HS because she danced in a private ballet company that required dress rehearsals for the Nutcracker for 3 days straight 2 hours from our house. For her, it was worth missing those two days to not have to spend 4 hours in the car every night and still try to fit in school. Kids make choices as they get older. They can decide what is "worth it" for missing. They were unexcused absences, but again, she was well liked, not a slacker, and it was never an issue.

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

Hey y'all! Out of curiosity, I wanted to know people's thoughts and experiences with taking kids out of school for a vacation. We have one booked during the 2019 school year, but my husband and I keep debating over whether or not it's a good idea to remove our daughter from school for 1 week. Thank you!

We homeschool because we cruise so much (among other reasons why). We only have one life to live and don’t want to be tethered to someone else’s schedule. We plan our homeschool breaks around our cruises. We probably do 4-5 a year for a week or more at a time during the cheaper off season weeks. There is so much learning that can take place at ports and at sea that we would be foolish not to take those opportunities. We love it!

 

[aggiedog]

Good for you for successfully arranging your life to fit your choices, but for many people homeschooling is not an option. The question was whether to take a child out of traditional schooling.

 

[Chandra C]

I have taken mine out of school for a couple of days for a 3 night cruise a couple years ago. Now ds is in 7th grade and he is about to miss a full week of school when we go on a 4 night cruise. He does make good grades, and is pretty self motivated. I’ve told him to ask for his assignments ahead of time and to be working on them so he isn’t overwhelmed later. You know your child better than anyone and you’ll have to determine if it would be a good move. For me it is a resounding yes, as the cruise probably costs twice as much during his summer break.

 

[Sun_soakin]

Yep! We have 4 kids and have taken them out for up to 1 week each fall until this year since my oldest is now in HS. My kids are excellent students and rarely miss for health issues. I have no regrets!