Feeling Guilty for taking 2nd grader out of school for Vacation

[Lisadaa2]

My trip is planned for the week following Thanksgiving. We chose that week because of low crowds, it's cheaper, and we get to see all the Christmas decorations. Now I am feeling guily for taking my son out of school for a week. He will be in the second grade and he is an excellent student. I just don't want him to have a tough time catching up and I don't want the teacher mad at us. Does anyone else feel this way? Do you take your kids to WDW during school? I feel like this may be our only chance to go at this time because as he gets older we definately won't be able to pull him out. Any thoughts?

 

[Mrs. Charming]

My trip is planned for the week following Thanksgiving. We chose that week because of low crowds, it's cheaper, and we get to see all the Christmas decorations. Now I am feeling guily for taking my son out of school for a week. He will be in the second grade and he is an excellent student. I just don't want him to have a tough time catching up and I don't want the teacher mad at us. Does anyone else feel this way? Do you take your kids to WDW during school? I feel like this may be our only chance to go at this time because as he gets older we definately won't be able to pull him out. Any thoughts?

Oh just go and enjoy it. Just talk to his teacher at the beginning of the year, tell her what your plans are. Get his homework before you go, and enjoy yourself. A week out of 2nd grade isn't going to set him up for failure for life. They're only kids once.

 

[mommy4]

I've taken my kids out of school for the last 2 years and plan to do it again this year as well. Mine will be in K, 2nd, and 4th. We can only go during the school year because of my DH's vacation schedule. I used to feel guitly (I am a teacher, staying home right now with kids), but now I realize that 1 week is not going to hurt them as long as they are doing well and I can help them catch up. The pp was correct, they are only young once- enjoy it while you can!

 

[3princesses+aprince]

The guilty thought has crossed my mind once and only once. My kids are even older than your son and I am still taking them out of school for a total of 7 days! The schools seem to want to run our lives as it is, don't worry about if a teacher is mad at you. Some care and some don't, but my big thing is "LIFE IS TOO SHORT" to worry about what anyone else in this world thinks. Go and have a wonderful time, your son will remember it forever. He certainly will not remember that week in 2nd grade when he's 20!

I'm sure you'll get both opinions here and that is ok, because everyone thinks about things differently. You really need to do what you want to do!

 

[doclegler]

I totally agree with the other poster's. Kids can learn SO much on vacation!! And when you think back years from now, you won't remember school days, but you WILL remember that trip!
Good luck and have a great time.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

My trip is planned for the week following Thanksgiving. We chose that week because of low crowds, it's cheaper, and we get to see all the Christmas decorations. Now I am feeling guily for taking my son out of school for a week. He will be in the second grade and he is an excellent student. I just don't want him to have a tough time catching up and I don't want the teacher mad at us. Does anyone else feel this way? Do you take your kids to WDW during school? I feel like this may be our only chance to go at this time because as he gets older we definately won't be able to pull him out. Any thoughts?

My only advice is to check your school's policy (my DD's school makes it virtually impossible for her to be pulled out for a whole week at a time). Also, check the policy regarding make up work. Our school refuses to give school work prior to the trip. They have the exact number of days that they missed to make up the classroom/homework that they missed. So we pulled out DD for 3 days in October. She had 3 days when she returned to make up all her missed work. We told the teacher and principal at the beginning of the year and sent a letter reminding them the week before.

 

[Riviera510]

I'm planning on taking my kids out of school for the week after TDay this year as well.

I will have 1 in 2nd grade and 2 in K.

I'm not feeling guilty as I know this is a one time trip. We probably wont be back to Disney for 5+ years.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

omg! I read the title of this thread really fast and I thought it said 'Vatican" instead of Vacation!

I guess I'd better get to church on Sunday!

Maria

 

[mjkacmom]

Second grade - go for it! My kids were taken out up until middle school - my dd13 would've never been able to catch up, and no one takes kids out for vacation here after elementary.

 

[bear_mom]

We have pulled our kids out of school for the last three years. There have been no problems with them catching up, nor with getting the work done when we got back. So far, none of the teachers have given work ahead of time. Several of them have requested that dds write in a journal while we have been down there each day (which turns into a neat treasure to go back and re-read later). They have missed between 5 and 6 days each time. We are also planning a trip for December this year, oldest dd will be in junior high so this might be a big change for her. I have heard from others that it shouldn't be that hard for her to catch up though.

Emily

 

[woodkins]

I pulled my second grade dd out twice this year for Disney trips. She missed 4 days at the end of Sept and 4 days in early Dec. She did fine and had no trouble catching up. Go for it.

 

[4forMe]

My trip is planned for the week following Thanksgiving. We chose that week because of low crowds, it's cheaper, and we get to see all the Christmas decorations. Now I am feeling guily for taking my son out of school for a week. He will be in the second grade and he is an excellent student. I just don't want him to have a tough time catching up and I don't want the teacher mad at us. Does anyone else feel this way? Do you take your kids to WDW during school? I feel like this may be our only chance to go at this time because as he gets older we definately won't be able to pull him out. Any thoughts?

Don't feel guilty! I was in your exact position three years ago with my oldest DS. We went the exact same time of the year. We had a wonderful trip!

If your child is an excellent student, it should not be hard to make up the work. We told my son's teacher the week before and she had everything ready for him when we left. He had to do the week's worth of work in addition to a daily journal. He did a lot of it on the plane. Then he did the journal entries at the end of the day or in the morning before we left for the park. I taught him the correct use of an apostrophe as that was one of the lessons he missed, and he aced the test the following week.

Make sure you check your school district's policy regarding taking kids out for vacations. Our policy has become much more strict since that trip 3 years ago.

The time of year you picked to go is excellent! All the Christmas decorations are up, crowds are much lower, and the weather is usually pleasant.

Have a wonderful trip!

 

[kkc_mom]

I didnt worry much about taking the kids out of school the last time we went but they were all in elementary then. I just booked a trip for May 9-14th so we will be taking the kids out of school. My kiddos are now in K,3rd and 7th grade. THey all are straight A students(high A's) and I still was'nt very concerned about the elementary kiddos but was concerned about my middle schooler. I called the school and the attendance secretary told me not to worry.. My 7th grader could make up the work and she should go and enjoy this time with her family! (Of course we are in a military community and the schools are more accustomed to families having to vacation during the school year to get around deployments and moving.) At least I dont have that worry...now I just have to worry about keeping my mouth shut so we can surprise the kids!

 

[laughinplace199]

My kids are currently in 5th & 3rd, and I pull them out every year.

The school will not give any work in advance, so the kids know they've got to make up all of the work when they get back, but they don't mind. They know that spending time with Mickey is worth it!

 

[ginnymack]

I am doing the same thing! I decided to make my dd "pay" for it though! This summer we will be working on our Disney notebook. I think it is a way for me to keep her skills current over the summer, teach her new things and prepare for the trip all at once!

She will be reading and writing a book report on a Kids Bio on Walt.

She will be reseaching all Epcot countries (locating on a map, flags, language, etc)

She will be choosing a few Disney stories to re-tell an illustrate on her own.

We will be practicing out map reading skills using park maps - I will make a little quiz for her.

We did a GAD volunteer oportunity -she will be journaling her experince with our canned food drive as well as creating graphs showing the amt of food we collected each day.

I think I will also have some sort of writing assignment for each park - history, attractions, as well as what she is looking forward to.

During our trip, she will be journaling, reading maps, and practicing telling time - we will record times that we did attrations (or will do attractions based on Ride Max) and then have her draw that time on the face of a clock.

Anyway, I plan to present all of her work - which will then also be a wonderful keepsake - to her teacher to show that she really did work for an earn the trip! (And of course, she will be keeping up with all of the class work she will miss as well!)

HTH stop a little mommy guilt!

 

[badblackpug]

I have to 2nd the PPs. Please check with your school's attendance policies. Some schools have become very strict about missed days and the number of days and the number of days in a row a child can miss. Also, some schools do not allow for make up work and require your child to take a zero for the work missed.

 

[mousebymarriage]

I just took my kids out for a Disney Vacation Feb 6th-13th. We drove so they also missed school on the 5th and the teachers were fine with it. We always let the teachers know ahead of time and then remind the teachers in writing 2 weeks prior to the trip (we also inform the principal in writing about a month before the trip). Both kids are excellent students and do not get in any trouble at school. My kids are in 3rd grade(DS8) and in 8th grade (DD13).

 

[Lisadaa2]

Thank you all! I do feel a little better. We don't get to go to WDW every year so it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. My kids will be at such great ages so I am really looking forward to it! I know the school handbook says that they strongly discourage vacations and that they are considered unexcused absences. I will be calling the school to find out the rest of their policies.

 

[krcit]

Don't feel bad. Go and have a blast. I'm sorry that I didn't do it again before my oldest started middle school and now that she is in high school, there is no way I would take her out. She hates to miss any school because it's such a pain to make up the work. Go while your kids are in elementary school and have a great time

 

[brockash]

Oh just go and enjoy it. Just talk to his teacher at the beginning of the year, tell her what your plans are. Get his homework before you go, and enjoy yourself. A week out of 2nd grade isn't going to set him up for failure for life. They're only kids once.

ITA. My kiddos miss a week of school every year for Disney. My ds was in 2nd grade last time and will be in 3rd this Sept. when we go. I don't feel bad at all. I give the teacher about a 2 week written notice and explain that we'd be happy to do all of the work beforehand or after whichever is easier for her. We've never had a problem. Have fun!