Disney Vacations During School

[jacesmommy]

We'll be taking another trip in September. I'll be pulling my DS(7) from school for a week. We did this last school year too. I personally don't see anything wrong with this. I feel he's only going to be young once. Going during school vacations would just be a nightmare crowd-wise.

Will someone out there tell me it's o.k. to miss a week of school for a memory making family vacation please!!!!

 

[C&G'sMama]

I will tell you it's fine. We do it all the time. Other people will tell you it's not fine. Do what's best for you.

 

[allstar]

I will tell you it's fine. We do it all the time. Other people will tell you it's not fine. Do what's best for you.

This will be our 4th year going to WDW. I have taken my kids (now 10 and 12) out of school each year. I refuse to deal with the crowds and spend the extra money during the school breaks and holidays! When my kids are in high school it may be a different story though.

 

[Nancyg56]

We have taken my DGD out of school for a vacation and it has been fine. I think that my only concern for September is if your child needs that time to adjust to the class schedule, etc. Some kids are okay with it but my DGD would not be comfortable. If this works for your family then go and have a great time!

Just to add, my DH is opposed to taking kids out of school so he suggested a trip for the week between Christmas and New Years. This is the man how gets agitated in long long lines, cannot stand to be crowded out of his personal space and is positive that the little one will somehow get lost if he loses sight of her for one second Not happening.......vacation during school or we go somewhere besides Disney.

 

[dizneechic]

If you have pulled him out before and were OK with it then, why do you need someone to justify it this time and tell you its OK for you to do again?

Everyone has the right to decide what works best for their family and to go with it. The only people you should be concerned with are your DS's teachers and the school administration to make sure they are OK with the time out of school.

 

[brookmey]

As long as your son's school is OK with it and you're OK with it, then it really shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks. You'll get lots of opinions for and against this, but it really comes down to what works for you and your family.

 

[Lavaluma]

I have to say it's okay, we're doing the same thing.
We'll be taking our DS out of school to go in November. Part of me feels it's wrong to let him miss class. Ironically, DH who questions my son relentlessly to make sure he's really sick before letting him stay home from school, thinks it's worth pulling him out to go to WDW.

 

[DisneyCrazyMomma]

I pulled my DS out last year, and am again this year. It works for my family and I have no issues with it. However....




Get ready. LOL

 

[ashleym337]

What we do when we pull our kids out of school (and the oldest is now 15) is I write a note to each teacher and get his homework for the days he'll be missing. He starts it on our way down and finishes on our way back. That way he's not coming back to weeks of homework and he's still caught up with the rest of his class.... works every time

 

[RumpleMom]

You need to check with your school district to see if it is an unexcused absence or not. Sometimes for an unexcused absence the work is not permitted to be made up. This will apply more in the higher grades when a zero is given for a missed assignment.

You have to think about how well your child adjusts to new situations. Will you child have any trouble in a new classroom with a new teacher who is expecting a lot more in first grade? The first few weeks of first grade are review. Also the teacher is doing assessment tests to determine reading group placement. She/he is confirming what the Kindergarten teacher has said about your child's needs for this school year. The teacher is helping the students learn the procedures for the new year. The kids are making new friends. Making new friends at the beginning of the year is very important.

It is often said here that if your child is not struggling in school, then it's fine to take them out for a week. And if they are not a top student then you shouldn't.

As a former first grade teacher, I disagree with the idea that only top students should be taken out of school. I believe family time is very important and it is the family that decides when to take a vacation. Your family knows what is going on in your life and when you need to be together 24/7.

You just have to be completely aware of what your child is missing at school and it isn't just the school work.

 

[solobel]

I want to preface this by saying it doesn't really bother me, even as a teacher. Every school I've worked at, however, has a policy of no homework sent home in cases of a vacatin taken outside of school breaks. It may seem harsh, and I get that. The school administrators felt that it was taking up too much of teacher's preparation time to prepare packets of work for every family who wanted to essentially break the rules. Basically, their feeling was, "Taking a vacation? Catch up on schoolwork on your own time."

I'm not necessarily supporting that, but I had to uphold my school's policies. I, personally feel that one week per year of school, in elementary school, is not that bad and not that difficult for most kids to catch up. High school is a completely different story, when they've got exams and things that count toward getting into college.

I say, have fun when they're young enough to still get away with it. Heck, I wish I could take a week off during the school year to go! As it is, I pretty much have no choice but to go during summer or Christmas break or March break. Still fun, but either very hot or very expensive.

 

[twinmom319]

As for us, we took the girls out once and are probably not going to do it again. As some of the PP said, it has to do more with knowing our children. Missing a week of the academics is not a problem for our kids - but transitioning back into the routine of school is. Coming back from the constant stimulation of WDW to the routine of school triggered a rough period in school for them and I don't want to go through that again!

You need to know your kids, talk with your teachers, and ultimately do what's best for you and your family.

 

[kkmcan]

We've done it once for a week and we won't do it again. Our dd is now in high school and it would be difficult to get her caught up.

Our ds has a hard enough time keeping up while he is in school, let alone not being there. He doesn't want to do the work while on vacation or on the way to our vacation and definitely not on the way home from vacation when he's exhausted. So it doesn't work for us. It makes it kind of a nightmare trying to get him to work while there's the excitement of the trip so if we must take our kids out of school for anything the max would be 2 days now.

You know what your kids can handle so decide based on that.

 

[C&G'sMama]

This will be our 4th year going to WDW. I have taken my kids (now 10 and 12) out of school each year. I refuse to deal with the crowds and spend the extra money during the school breaks and holidays! When my kids are in high school it may be a different story though.

That's us too. We've been pulling DD out every year since pre-k and she just
finished 5th grade. We too will see what High School brings. We already have a week's vaction planned for next October and the kids will miss 6 days of school.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Sure..go ahead. We did it kindergarten through 8th grade..No problems..no issues.

 

[brockash]

We do it every year in Sept. too. We have no issues with it, and will continue to do so, until we can't anymore.

 

[luvmesometigger]

You will get a lot of opinions about pulling kids out of school. Me?? I pull mine out. We went last year right before Christmas and I pulled my son out for a week from 5th grade. He made up all of his work and was just fine.

Then, my husband had a heart attack in January (at 45 years old). He had to have a cardiac cath and now has a stent. If I hadn't insisted that he go to the ER (his pain was atypical) he would have died. All I could think about in the hospital was that I was so glad I pulled my son out of school to take a vacation with his father. If we had lost him, my kids would have that memory with their father.

OK enough of the mush. We are going again April 2012 with a friend (staying at Shades of Green) and I am pulling my son out of 6th grade and my ODD out of kindergarten for a week. This will be 2 weeks after Easter so I am hoping most of the Spring break/Easter crowds will be gone. Plus, it is my sons birthday that week.

Life is too short. As long as you are ok with pulling them out, go for it.

 

[RMulieri]

Depends on the school and your kids.If you school is strict, then you will need to be willing to accept any and ALL consequences that come with it.Same thing with your kids.IF they are good students, catch up easily etc, then by all means it is fine.But if they are struggling etc.Then again you and they have to accept the consequences.We have taken our daughter out, and will again this year.OFF seasonal times is when my husband and I can both manage to get vacation time granted off together.Our daughter is only going into 2nd grade and our current school system is pretty lenient thru about 5th grade.After 5th grade the penalties are alot stricter so we will have to decide what we will do.

 

[jacesmommy]

If you have pulled him out before and were OK with it then, why do you need someone to justify it this time and tell you its OK for you to do again?

I know, I know. You're right. But I get flack from all over the place and it makes me feel like I'm doing the wrong thing. But I'm his mother and what I decide goes! Ha!

I feel better about it now after reading all of these posts!!!

 

[collegejunkie]

of course it's fine! my parents pulled all my siblings and me out all the time, even through high school. have fun!!