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

[KaityB]

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!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Once my DD started school (Kinder) we decided that we wouldn't take her out of school more than 1 or 2 days for vacations, including cruises. We did take her out a day for travel before spring break or fall break cruises.

 

[hubbard53]

Yes. My son does not suffer from lack of public education while on vacation for a few days...

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

I took DD out of school for a vacation in 3rd grade. We worked on assignments with her teacher ahead of time. However, I would not have considered it from 6th grade on - it is just too much work to make up.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

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!

Um... have you seen this thread? https://www.disboards.com/threads/whats-educational-about-disney-cruise.3701944/

Lots of debate about taking kids out of school there.

For me, no.

 

[kenthanson]

You bet, I did it last year and I'll do it again. Lady year it was 7 school days we pulled him out for.

 

[iivye]

We've missed 2 days of school for a cruise but never a whole week.

 

[lklgoodman]

We've take our dd out. She missed 5 school days during 3rd and 4th grades and will miss 6 days this year(5th grade). She rarely misses any school due to illness and makes good grades. We haven't had any problems with her school giving us a hard time about it. She always gets her work done. We usually cruise Jan.-March. One year her school had 3 snow days while we were gone, so it worked out well that we were gone then. I don't know if we will continue to take her out of school when she gets to middle school, definitely won't when she gets to high school. It will probably mean the end of family vacations for us then because my dh can't get vacation time off during the summer.

 

[quickcat]

Yes, this year she will be out of school for two weeks in a row. I don’t think anyone’s opinion is right or wrong on this subject, just do what’s best for your child and family.

 

[cheermom2four]

We have on our two 7-day cruises. Our first cruise in 2016 the kids missed 4 days because it was Labor day week. There was no issues with the kids returning and turning in homework/catching up on homework. Our last one though did a doozy on our son. We gave him the option of taking 1 1/2 weeks off since we needed a few days before and after cruise since it was the Med cruise (part of a holiday weekend so basically 6 days of school) and he chose to go. Our youngest it didnt phase at all in the homework department as she was only 1st grade and they gave us a stack to work on during the 8+ hour flight over. Our son on the other hand was a senior in high school. I've decided I would never take a child out of school unless it was no more than one day. She's in 2nd this year and our son isnt going on this upcoming cruise and we are only taking her out the Friday to fly to MCO before the cruise and spring break will be spent on the cruise.

Honestly, its what is your preference, what the school policy is, and what your child is capable of handling in regards of catching up on homework or tests they have missed.

 

[fredandkell]

Depends on you, your kids, etc. Personally as a former high school teacher, I would take my kids out of elementary school for no more than a week, and I would take them out of middle or high school no more than 2 days. It's REALLY hard to make up work in MS/HS with multiple teachers per day. Also what if your kid gets sick later in the year and has to miss a bunch more school?

 

[Soham KB]

Speaking as a 14 year-old, I can say that it depends on the age.

My parents would be fine taking me out in elementary school, but were more hesitant in middle school.
All depends on your child’s age, how they’re doing in school and whether or not you think they’d do okay coming back.

Personally, I say yes, though.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

We took our daughter out last October, she was in her senior year, and I would never do it again. DH was against it, and I should have listened. DD promised she would make up her work and she mostly did but still didn't turn in everything. Her missing a week may have been ok on its own, but she also had a job, and I think the combo of missing school and then returning to school AND her job after the cruise was just way too much. That double whammy was not good.

This same daughter missed a week when she was in first grade, and I wouldn't think twice about missing when kids are in grade school -- but jr high and high school would be a "no go".

 

[Jess_S]

We are taking my son out for 7 school days this year so that we can do SWDAS. He is in Kindergarten. I know that taking kids out of school is really frowned upon in our state because "kids will have a hard time making work up, will fall behind, etc." We will need to see how things go as my son progresses in school, but I think that is really one size fits all advice that isn't necessarily going to apply to the top half (academically) of any class.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

It also depends on your district. What my district allows and yours will be different.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

It definitely depends on your own children, your own school/state, and your children's teachers.

I certainly don't want to go against anyone and what they think is best for their kids, but I do want to add one more item to those that say taking kids out of High School for a week is impossible to make up or such.

My son was in the school Science Fair, which eventually lead to the National Science Fair. Guess when it was? A week in May. So yep, he missed a week of High School and lived to tell the tale. Sure it wasn't for vacation, but it wasn't official school business either. It is basically a club. Lots of other competitions are held by other organizations during the school year as well, and schools from all 50 states participate.

Again, I'm not saying that justifies a vacation or anything, I'm just saying that with the proper preparation and motivation, missing a week of even High School is feasible for some students. Was he snowed under with work and behind for a while? Sure. But it was a great experience and we are so glad he did it.

It also gave him a ton of independence, self motivation and confidence in himself, all the sorts of things he will need when he starts college the year after this.

And for those that don't want to take their kids out of middle or high school, perhaps all the more reason to consider doing it when they are younger, again, depending on your own individual situation.

Best of luck!

 

[lorimay]

I took my kids out of school for a week for a cruise and my daughter has done the same.

Sometimes vacation and family time is as important as school time.

But thats just my choice, everyone has the right to do as they please with their kids.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

Have we? We have!
Is it against school rules? It is!
Has the school district been upset? Yep!
Would we do it again for the right opportunity? We would!

 

[T & R]

Yes. We do it in the fall because the kids get Columbus day or some other teacher in-service day off, so taking a 7 nighter only requires missing 4 days of school. Plus it's almost half the price than taking the same cruise during the summer and airfare is significantly less than during the summer. Luckily our school district allows up to 5 days per school year as an excused absence for family vacations. The kids look forward to their fall cruise as much as they do their spring break. We will continue to do this until they are out of school and hopefully even longer.

 

[bcwife76]

Have we? Yes.
Will we continue to? Yes, until our oldest is out of elementary school (which goes to grade 7 here) so we've got two more years.
Does our district have a problem/policy about vacations? nope