For those that take your kids out of school...

[MPHARJ]

I need some assistance, just asking a question, usually we go to WDW in the fall and I have plenty of reasons to give for the educational value of the trip with Epcot etc... This is our first year that we reversed the trips WDW in summer and DL in the fall and I am having trouble coming up with a good answer. I know I could just indicate we are going to CA and all the wonderful places there but I do not want to lie and the children be questioned about places we weren't. Any suggestions? Before any one shutters or comments on taking my kids out of school, I know others do and some never will that is fine and we each do our own thing, however with my job vacations and family time are easier in the fall. TIA for any suggestions!

 

[JustAKid]

Forgive me but...what exactly is your question? Is it what educational value is there at Disneyland for the kids so that you can explain to their teachers why you're taking them out of school?

 

[MPHARJ]

Sorry, yes, they require us to fill out a short paper for the dates and where we are going and the educational value.

 

[Mugglemama]

we're homeschoolers, and typically we try to find something educational about EVERYTHING we do, lol!

when it comes to DLR, there are several things that i think can be educational. the abraham lincoln attraction (great moments with president lincoln) can be extra educational if you first look up info online, or check out a couple of books at the library before your trip, on lincoln, the photographer mathew brady, and the gettysburg address.

you may also want to look up a little something about the california redwoods and the golden gate bridge, before your trip, since the kids will see representations of both while at california adventure. also, familiarize yourself with photos of yosemite falls, because you'll see it on Soarin'!

and while we're on the subject of Soarin', try to fit in some time before your trip to read and learn about amelia earhart and/or the wright brothers, because as you wait in line there are photos and information about them.

look up the swiss alps, as well as show your kids on a globe where they are, and then find the peak that was modeled after the matterhorn!

have they spent any time learning about people from different parts of the world?....ireland, india, hawaii? these cultures and more are represented in the IASW attraction. you can likely even find words and music of the song online in different languages....learn one before you go!

do a mini unit-study of new orleans before your trip....showing your children where it is on an atlas and showing them photos of bourbon street and videos of new orleans style jazz on youtube. learn about mardi gras (and mardi gras beads!), because the kids will totally tie in what they've learned while in new orleans square.

i'm sure i can think of more, lol. so if you want more ideas, let me know! hth!

 

[Leofoenget]

I need some assistance, just asking a question, usually we go to WDW in the fall and I have plenty of reasons to give for the educational value of the trip with Epcot etc... This is our first year that we reversed the trips WDW in summer and DL in the fall and I am having trouble coming up with a good answer. I know I could just indicate we are going to CA and all the wonderful places there but I do not want to lie and the children be questioned about places we weren't. Any suggestions? Before any one shutters or comments on taking my kids out of school, I know others do and some never will that is fine and we each do our own thing, however with my job vacations and family time are easier in the fall. TIA for any suggestions!

are you asking what excuses we use or do you want moral support for doing it? I have said I was taking them to a funeral. As for justification, I try very hard to schedule it around a planned day off anyway so the kids only miss say 1 day. We try to leave after school on a Wednesday, day off Thursday, school day off Friday. I figure 1 day off is no big deal, I can' t really justify more than that, but understand I'm 8 hour drive away and it's easy to get back and forth. The last trip we DID go to a funeral of sorts. We dumped my moms ashes in the ocean, but not before hitting DL and Knotts first

 

[jacs1234]

Sorry, yes, they require us to fill out a short paper for the dates and where we are going and the educational value.

Wow, we don't have to tell the teachers anything. We're taking ours out of school for two weeks so don't feel so bad. And all we're telling the teachers is that we're taking them to Disneyland.

 

[cari12]

I guess it depends on the ages of the children but since ours are 6 and 4, I have no problem taking them out of school. One week is not going to make or break their year. If they were in High School I may think differently. The valuable family time is priceless for us. DH and I both work and I work during the day and he works afternoon shift. This way we do not need daycare but our family time is precious. Also, being in tourist areas in less busy times just makes for a far more enjoyable trip.
Our children, being so young are going to learn so much. It is their first plane ride so they will learn what that is like. We are also going to SeaWorld in San Diego which has orca whales and penguins which the aquarium near us does not have so they will be seeing and learning about those animals.
Disney itself is a lesson in pop culture. It has been around for so long and we have all seen and love the movies, now we get to meet the characters and see where it all began.

 

[keptwoman]

Tell them you are learning about the physics of the Disney rides and the technology involved in creating Animation in the Animation Academy.

 

[jennine]

I guess it depends on the ages of the children but since ours are 6 and 4, I have no problem taking them out of school. One week is not going to make or break their year. If they were in High School I may think differently. The valuable family time is priceless for us. DH and I both work and I work during the day and he works afternoon shift. This way we do not need daycare but our family time is precious. Also, being in tourist areas in less busy times just makes for a far more enjoyable trip.
Our children, being so young are going to learn so much. It is their first plane ride so they will learn what that is like. We are also going to SeaWorld in San Diego which has orca whales and penguins which the aquarium near us does not have so they will be seeing and learning about those animals.
Disney itself is a lesson in pop culture. It has been around for so long and we have all seen and love the movies, now we get to meet the characters and see where it all began.

I completely agree with cari12 about the value of the time being spent soley with your family!

First of all I can't believe you have to explain what educational value a trip has to your school!! I mean they are your kids......where you take them is your business and shouldn't be a concern to them. I would think that as long as you help your kids to catch up in what they miss at school it just should not matter!

I believe that life experiences and the time spent with your family making memories is going to stick with and influence your kids for a lifetime. Because really, when they grow up are they going to remember that awesome time when Mom took them to Disneyland or that week in school when they learned fractions!

Just my two cents

 

[Kittyskyfish]

I agree with the others.

You have no reason to lie. As a parent, you know your children's capabilities and woudn't knowingly take them out of school if they were already struggling. Fill out the paperwork honestly and push back if they give you any problem.

However, that pushing should be toward the administration end. Give your children's teachers as much support as possible by working with your kids on lesson packets for the time away. Teachers don't like to have students coming back a week later 'cold' to the material - plus you have all that travel time that can be used for homework.

 

[NStramler]

My school district is very strict about days off. Illness, doctors appointment or funeral (1 day local and 3 days out of state). If it is not one of these reasons, they are not excused and can not make up any work. Of course I am in California and the schools are not paid if the student is not in school........ illness or not. I do know that I have had friends receive letters from the school after the student missed three days saying they were being reported..... Not fun! Sometimes I wonder why all the changes, not even a sick day..... almost everyone that works does get x amount of sick days a year but not the kids..... and we wonder why there are so many sick kids at school!!!

 

[MegRN]

I can't believe that schools are like that! We have pulled our kids out of school every year to do a trip. My husband is off work during the months of November, December and January but he works like a dog the rest of the year. He does not have days off while he is working. I feel it is important for us to take time for family vacations. We pull our kids out because we do not want to travel with the holiday crowds and we have also found out that if we do our trips during "off" times we can save about 50%. We have never had problems but I don't think they have ever missed more that 4 days of school at a time. I think that it helps that our kids are in private school too.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

We take DD out every year and have not had a problem doing it. I am a little concerned this year, as DD broke her elbow a couple of weeks ago and was out 7 days for that (she had surgery), I was all set to send her back to school tomorrow (they are off for Columbus day today) and both my girls ended up with the flu this weekend. Plus we are taking her out next month for 4 days for our trip. We are already going to be over what we were last year for the entire year and school just started!

 

[firefly87]

We always pull our kids out of school for family vacations. My husband's job is crazy busy from April - Sept, so summer trips are not an option for us. fortunately, we don't get any grief from our kids teachers. It's mostly from the office staff but they are seeing dollars lost when 4 kids get pulled out at one time. I have heard of districts here in CA that charge parents a daily fee for each day that is missed but that is not the case where I live.

When we went in March, the kids missed 4 days but in order to get the classwork ahead of time, we said they'd be out for 5 days. so we filled out the paperwork to get them on Independent Studies. We got their work to take with us AND the school got paid for the days they were out.

Like other posters have said, there seem to be many educational aspects of a Disney trip. I wouldn't lie about it either. Most importantly, don't forget to bring your teachers back a cute Disney goodie!! Our teachers love it when we bring them back the Rice Krispie treats that have the Mickey ears dipped in chocolate!

 

[Leofoenget]

My school district is very strict about days off. Illness, doctors appointment or funeral (1 day local and 3 days out of state). If it is not one of these reasons, they are not excused and can not make up any work. Of course I am in California and the schools are not paid if the student is not in school........ illness or not. I do know that I have had friends receive letters from the school after the student missed three days saying they were being reported..... Not fun! Sometimes I wonder why all the changes, not even a sick day..... almost everyone that works does get x amount of sick days a year but not the kids..... and we wonder why there are so many sick kids at school!!!

Yup I am in CA and have gotten the "letter" for missing 4 days THE WHOLE YEAR. 3 in Nov for a trip to Kansas for Thanksgiving, and 1 in May. I got the letter 3 weeks AFTER school was out in July! It was obviously not a pattern if he missed days in Nov and end of May! It was then that I decided to call him in sick. Yah Yah, I'm bad but it gets silly at some point. I have even done the "wink wink nod nod " deal with the office lady who could care less as long as it's excused.

 

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

Mugglemama.....those are WONDERFUL suggestions!!! I'm sure they are very helpful to the OP.

 

[spidey_99]

I just took my daughters (4 and 6) out on Friday and I don't know if the school asked why or not. And I actually don't care all that much. I live in CA and they are crazy strict about tardiness and the like and it gets to a point where I'm just like: who cares?!?

As many have stated above, this is wonderful, valuable family time and some school missed isn't going to hurt anyone. I would MUCH rather my daughters be 18 and sitting in the high school gym on the day they give out the awards for perfect attendance and them not get an award at all but have many wonderful family memories to take with them into adulthood. And to be honest, I think it's good to show kids that sometimes it's ok to break the rules and not become sheeple and zombies. That's a darn good lesson for the real world as well, no?

Sorry- but the whole idea of a school wanting some sort of justification for why you take your kids out just gets my dander up. Could be totally valid and a good idea actually (i.e. they don't count it as a missed day if you can prove educational value...pretty cool idea) so I should just shut up

That said: if anyone is debating taking kids out for surprises and family time, I say: do it and damn the consequences! You only live once and the memories made will be priceless!

Spidey

 

[Mugglemama]

Mugglemama.....those are WONDERFUL suggestions!!! I'm sure they are very helpful to the OP.

thanks! i hope the OP can use some of them to fend off her school admin, lol!

i agree with everyone...it's so annoying how schools act like they "own" your kid! ugh! we used to pull my daughter out of school early on many fridays when she was younger because we had AP's and went to Disneyland almost every friday. they never asked why back then, but ever since we moved to idaho, the school's that any of my kid's attended would call and demand a reason for an absence! attendance ladies are like the gestapo!!!

homeschooling = no more attendance ladies, woohoo!!

this is a little OT, because it doesn't have anything to do with disneyland, but colleges are getting the same way! my oldest is away at college this year, and has been sick with the flu all weekend, but spent the morning running around campus (in 30-something degree weather) trying to get some kind of clearance for the absences she'll incur today because she is sicker than a dog. apparently, at the university she attends, the professors can FAIL the students if they miss more than 3 days of class!! can you believe that?!! regardless of the fact that all her work gets done, and she's PAYING thousands of dollars to be there, they actually have the authority to fail her for absences, even if they are illness related!! makes me SO MAD. grrrr.

 

[Husker Mickey]

We have gone to DL for the last 3 years in the fall. We will pull my high schooler tomorrow at lunch to drive 4 hours to the airport and we will be in the parks Wed. - Sat. She will be out of classes 1/2 day Tuesday, Wednesday, and 1/2 day Thursday. It is parent teachers conferences and we have emailed all of her teachers notifying them that we will not be able to meet, but know it is very important to touch base. Almost all teachers have replied and one teacher is having our daughter and her friend (who is going with us) do an assignment at DL and the Annaheim area. She is their Spanish teacher and she has asked them to get a map of the area and mark all the Spanish related names of streets and of the area (valleys. . . .) FYI there are DL brochures at city hall? that are in different languages. They will get one of those, along with the area map and do a presentation to the class when they return.
We make no excuses. My husband does not get a summer vacation because of lack of seniority. We take fall vacations.

 

[LuLusApple]

Ugh school excuses! I think if I had to fill out a form on educational value I would pull out my hair!
I have always pulled my kids out and will continue to. Family time is very important and lacking in todays society. School starts at 7:30 am here, gets put at 2:10 add homework and sports and I never see my kids except to yell at them to clean their rooms. For years and years and years this is it.
10 years ago we started going to DL regularly several times a year, pulling the kids out of school. I was diagnosed with cancer and too bad if the school wanted a stupid doctors note everytime, I was going to spend time with my kids. It was the best thing we ever did as far as spending time as a family. Last year DH died of cancer, he was just 39. DD13 watched him suffer for 6 months.
So this year I have pulled DD13 out several times. DS23 lives in San Diego and is in the Navy, these are the only times we get to see him too.
So I tell the school that based on all of this garbage that has gone on in the last years, I am and will take DD13 out.
I tell them we are going to Disneyland and spending family time, can I please have her homework. If they don't like it and want to prosecute me, throw me in the pokey then I will take her out and homeschool her, and they won't get a $ from her anymore. I am the parent, I don't need the school acting like they are in control of my kids; and I sure as heck don't need the stress.
Can you tell I have had some issues with the school? Lol

Even with taking her out several times a year, she is in all Honors classes and maintains her grades. So I don't feel bad. But I would still take her out if she was getting bad grades, just get her a tutor! Lol
anyway best of luck to all you school rebels out there!
I think we each have to do what is best for our family and situation.