Do you pull your small children out of school for holidays/vacations?

[becpee]

x

 

[Canadian Traveler]

My kids are now 17 and 11 but we have taken them 3 times and have always taken them out of school... The next time it is over Christmas so they wont miss any school...

 

[nickey]

When my dd was little I did it 2 times. She was the type who never missed school all through high school and was an honor student. I had her miss like 2 days one week and 2 in the next and made up all the work. She came back to school so excited and came home in tears teacher made her feel terrible that she missed school. Note came home stating please vacation during the summer. Well note went back stating sorry Im not a teacher we dont have summers off . Must go around work schedule in hospital only one pp a week allowed off we dont close for summers, weather etc... Months went by and noticed different notes in dd bag asked dd where is the teacher? she is going to be off rest of the yr having a baby. Well I had to call her at home and tell her off again by stating she should have baby during summer not during school yr. Goes both ways

 

[MomofKatie]

My DD is in 6th grade- we have taken her out of school for 3-5 days nearly every year for vacations (mostly WDW, but once for Washington DC). She has not had any problems keeping up with the class- she gets makeup work when she gets back from the trip.

We didn't take her out this year, since we wanted to see how she did in her first year of middle school. Since she has had no problems transitioning and the homework doesn't seem any more time consuming than in elementary school, we will be taking her out for 4 days in November for a WDW trip.

Everyone has to know their own child and know if they can handle being away from class for a few days, but especially in the elementary years, there shouldn't be a problem with missing a few days now and them. Do check with your school system to see what their policy for absences is- some are stricter than others.

 

[Saphire]

Who pulls their kids out of school for holidays/vacations?

We often traveled during the school year (not school vacations) and pulled our kids out, up until the fifth grade. I think schools are more strict about it now, but 'off season' is a great time to travel with your kids.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Personally, I don't take my kids out of school for trips with the exception of one half day before winter break. All they missed was a party. We plan our vacations during the summer or during breaks. That's just how we do it.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

I have in Elementary school, no more than 2 days. But MS, definitely not. I will keep him out if it is a half day, because they don't do anything on those days.

Our school system has a very strict attendance policy, but even though he is a good student, I don't want to put him at any disadvantage. We have switched our vacation from the week before Christmas to the middle of August. It is much more relaxed with me not worrying about missing school, we can take a longer trip, and FD! And of course the weather is very hot, but last December we took a quick trip and froze our fannies off!

 

[taylor3297]

Months went by and noticed different notes in dd bag asked dd where is the teacher? she is going to be off rest of the yr having a baby. Well I had to call her at home and tell her off again by stating she should have baby during summer not during school yr. Goes both ways

HMM planning and a conceiving a child is a bit harder to plan than a vacation. I hope you really didn't call the teacher at home about that. Totally different situation than a vacation.

Now as to the OP question, yes I have and will take my children out of school for trips, while they are in elementary school. Dd is 7 and ds is 3, and I will be taking her out of school in December for a week. When my kids hit middle school I will not be taking them out of them out of school. I taught middle school math for 17 years and missing a week of new material can be rather difficult to make up, no matter how bright a child may or may not be.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

When my dd was little I did it 2 times. She was the type who never missed school all through high school and was an honor student. I had her miss like 2 days one week and 2 in the next and made up all the work. She came back to school so excited and came home in tears teacher made her feel terrible that she missed school. Note came home stating please vacation during the summer. Well note went back stating sorry Im not a teacher we dont have summers off . Must go around work schedule in hospital only one pp a week allowed off we dont close for summers, weather etc... Months went by and noticed different notes in dd bag asked dd where is the teacher? she is going to be off rest of the yr having a baby. Well I had to call her at home and tell her off again by stating she should have baby during summer not during school yr. Goes both ways

please tell me you didn't really do this!

 

[Bluestars]

I took my kids out for a week several times while they were in elementary school. I didn't do it after 5th grade though.

I don't think it's a big deal as long as the absence will not hurt their grades and the kids are fine with making up all of the work when they get back.

After 5th grade, my ds told me that he didn't want to have to make up a week's worth of work, so we only went during school vacation days.

 

[EMom]

When my dd was little I did it 2 times. She was the type who never missed school all through high school and was an honor student. I had her miss like 2 days one week and 2 in the next and made up all the work. She came back to school so excited and came home in tears teacher made her feel terrible that she missed school. Note came home stating please vacation during the summer. Well note went back stating sorry Im not a teacher we dont have summers off . Must go around work schedule in hospital only one pp a week allowed off we dont close for summers, weather etc... Months went by and noticed different notes in dd bag asked dd where is the teacher? she is going to be off rest of the yr having a baby. Well I had to call her at home and tell her off again by stating she should have baby during summer not during school yr. Goes both ways

I had to LMAO about this. Our district gives students a grade no higher than 70 for any work missed during an unexcused absence and yes, vacation is an unexcused absence. HOWEVER, teachers can use every single one of their days off for vacation. It chaps my hiney. DD's 2nd grade teacher was a first year teacher with only 10 days of leave and she took all 10 days for her wedding showers, wedding, visiting new DH, etc. (He lived out of state.) Fair enough. But my kid missed a math teacher for 2 full weeks. How is THAT perfectly okay but DD taking a few days for vacation a mortal sin?

The parents in our district don't want the teachers to be restricted from being able to take time off to go on vacation, their parents' anniversary party, family reunion, etc. We merely want the SAME consideration.

If a teacher made my child come home in tears because I'd taken her on vacation, I don't think I'd feel very warm and fuzzy toward her either.

 

[dislaney]

I did pull my kids out when they were smaller, but would never do it now as their grades would really take a huge nose dive. We had up to 1 week vacation time with the school's approval so it wasn't against any rules either.

 

[heatherwillmom]

I agree that teachers think it's Ok for them to take off but not the children. Both of my kids make good grades. I have taken them out of school for vacations before, but usually just a few days before a schoold break starts. There are many times when the last few days before break occur that my kids come home & say "we watched movies in school today." My DD is in high school now & DS in middle school. I think they learn just as much being on vacation as watching movies in school. Many of the teachers aren't even there the last few days before a school break, just substitutes. I have an advantage because I am a Primary Care Provider. I can get some of my collegues to write a doctors excuse when needed & I return the favor. We sometimes have to take our vacations when we can take the time, not always when it goes with the schools schedule

 

[tiggerlover]

Personally, I do not believe children should be taken out of school for vacations. Just my opinion.

 

[dollarmite]

Like the OP, I am in Australia, and yes, we have taken our kids out of school for overseas holidays. Schools here aren't as draconian and strict as they appear to be in other countries in regards to absences for travel.

Last year my children were in grades 7 and 4 (primary school). They missed 6 weeks of the last term (November/December) to travel to the US.

They have missed between 1-4 weeks every year since DS2 was in grade 2. It has never impacted their grades or anything else. Teachers and principals are very supportive of our travel plans.

Being so far away from the US/Europe, it's a complete waste of time and money to travel for only a week or two during the school holidays. (Our shorter trips were to the south pacific and New Zealand).

OP, being only in grade 1 next year, I wouldn't hesitate in taking your child out of school for a trip to Disneyland.

 

[Judy from Boise]

I took my DD out of school for a week at least once (sometimes twice) through 9th grade. In 10th grade we had to stop because of the nature of the classes she was taking. What helped this was many years she was in private school, and their philosophy was travel is educational and mind expanding. In fact the school itself took a week winter trip, and a 2 week spring trip each year that was a formal part of their curriculum.

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

When my dd was little I did it 2 times. She was the type who never missed school all through high school and was an honor student. I had her miss like 2 days one week and 2 in the next and made up all the work. She came back to school so excited and came home in tears teacher made her feel terrible that she missed school. Note came home stating please vacation during the summer. Well note went back stating sorry Im not a teacher we dont have summers off . Must go around work schedule in hospital only one pp a week allowed off we dont close for summers, weather etc... Months went by and noticed different notes in dd bag asked dd where is the teacher? she is going to be off rest of the yr having a baby. Well I had to call her at home and tell her off again by stating she should have baby during summer not during school yr. Goes both ways

I really hope you are joking about this bolded statement. Getting pregnant and taking a vacation are two different things. How do you know that the principal didn't make the teacher send home the note about missing school?

Anyway, my dad is a teacher so I can count on my one hand the number of times in his 35 year career that he has taken time off from school for vacation. Once was when my twin and I performed at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. He may be a teacher, but he is also my dad and we both wanted him there for that once-in-a-lifetime experience.

 

[Patricia]

I have taken my children out of school many times for family vacations, mostly to WDW. My oldest was out a week every year in November as I taught in public school and she attended Catholic school and our vacations did not match. Then she entered HS and we had to stop. Way too much work in HS to miss. My youngest misses 3 days every Jan. as we travel to WDW for vacation/competition for his sister. He enters HS in Sept. so that has to stop now too. It is really a personal decision. I have had teacher support us, and I have had teachers not support us. The school's policy is no work ahead of time, but we have always taken books with us and arrived back at school with all work to hand in. Just called a friend to see what was assigned. As a teacher, I see the great value in family time and the precious gift that time is to all of us. Enjoy!!

 

[PatsGirl]

I often took my kids out of school for vacations, especially WDW, to avoid the crowds and lines and to take advantage of value season. The rule was they had to maintain good grades and be up to date with all their homework and projects and bring any additional work for the airplane ride and down time. My son ruined his vacation opportunities in 8th grade when he failed to pass in a large science project, lied to me that he was up to date on his work, and I got the phone call from the teacher admonishing me for taking him out of school when he was already three weeks behind on the project That was the last time I took him out of school and he had to watch is sister and I go to WDW every year without him throughout high school.

DD has maintained straight A's in every class and I continue to take her out of school. We just got back from WDW a few days ago. Her teachers gave her a packet to do and it took about 4 hours and she had to read a book as well. She completed everything between the airplane ride, pool time, and a few nights of reading before bed. No big deal.

If she continues to do well, I'll continue to take her out of school. If she doesn't keep up, well then like her brother, she'll have to watch me fly away without her

 

[aprilgail2]

I had to LMAO about this. Our district gives students a grade no higher than 70 for any work missed during an unexcused absence and yes, vacation is an unexcused absence. HOWEVER, teachers can use every single one of their days off for vacation. It chaps my hiney. DD's 2nd grade teacher was a first year teacher with only 10 days of leave and she took all 10 days for her wedding showers, wedding, visiting new DH, etc. (He lived out of state.) Fair enough. But my kid missed a math teacher for 2 full weeks. How is THAT perfectly okay but DD taking a few days for vacation a mortal sin?

The parents in our district don't want the teachers to be restricted from being able to take time off to go on vacation, their parents' anniversary party, family reunion, etc. We merely want the SAME consideration.

If a teacher made my child come home in tears because I'd taken her on vacation, I don't think I'd feel very warm and fuzzy toward her either.

I agree!
In our district there is no such thing as only getting a 70 if you hand in work from a vacation though thank goodness! They have no problem with taking our child out of school for vacations etc. If a child misses 30 days of school (excused or unexcused) the district has the option to hold that child back a grade. But that all depends on the child- my daughter missed 36 days one year but didn't get held back (all but 5 were due to illnesses).
My neighbors son is a teacher and he is always taking 4 day weekend to take long weekend getaways out of state and there is no problem with that...they can't tell the teacher when they can use their personal days and sick time either.
Right now I am away for a long weekend at great wolf, daughter is missing 2 days of school....teacher emailed me regarding a class party and said "hope you are all having a blast at great wolf"....no problems there!