Hi.. New Here and have a question already!

[tdmdt luv disney]

I am trying to book a trip to Disney sometime in 2002. My son will be 5 and will be starting Kindergarten in Sept. My thoughts were to go approx Aug 29th and stay till Sept 9. He will only be missing 4 days of school then, due to Labor day and all. I thought it might be less crowded then. A co-worker told me today not to do that because the first few days is when he would be starting to find friends and him not being there could hurt him in the long run. I don't know if this is true or not! Please tell me what you think and is that time of year a good time to go. I will also have a 3 1/2 yr old and a 1 yr old at that time.
Any advice is great advice.

thanks....

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

Hello!

I agree that taking him out for the first few days of school isn't the best idea. It would be better for him to go through the adjustments with the other kids.

August is hot hot hot, but the later in August you go, the less crowded it is. Perhaps just move it up a few days. My family always goes in May, because it is hot but the summer crowds haven't built up yet. Our January trip was the best ever, because it was mild (high 60s and low 70s) and there were no crowds at all.

 

[catwho]

Yes; those first few days of school are sooooo important. What about later in the school year? In kindergarden they really aren't missing *that* much even when they are out a week. We used to always take our kids out of school for a week to do Disney. No choice - the only time my dh can go on vacations is winter. We always let the teachers know well in advance and then a week beforehand we remind them and find out what they want them to do for makeup work. So far the only thing requested of our kids (up through 2nd grade) was that they keep their journals up and to send the class a postcard.

Now we are homeschooling our kids, so Disney is our "big field trip" for the year! LOL!!! I just need to work up my curriculum now!

 

[MinnieGi]

As a former first grade teacher I would strongly suggest to NOT take him away from those first school days. They are so important. He will be missing out on getting to know they people in his class and how things work in his class the everyday routines. I would suggest another time during the school year. I had kids leave to go to Disney during the year, but never at the beginning.

 

[Dr. Happy]

Well, to be very frank, I think you have your priorities confused. Not only will he be missing an important experience, you will be sending a very LOUD message to the school that vacationing is more important than education. Or are you one of those parents that doesn't really support your child's education? If so, by all means, go on your trip!!

 

[welovemickey]

I agree with the above, the first few days of school (especially kindergarten) are so very important. With that said, why not an alternative? For example, one year we took our kids out of school in November during the week of Veteran's Day and Election Day. I think the total number of school days they missed was 5. We go every year and the teachers are wonderful about it. Most of them believe that family time is just as important as education. My kids always have reading assignments and they have to keep a journal. Even when they were in kindergarten they kept journals (although mostly with pictures).

 

[tiggersmomof4]

Go the last week of Oct. and be in WDW for Halloween!! It is the BEST time of year to go!! The weather is great, crowds are light and the MNSSHP is fantastic. The little ones can trick or treat in MK!!

 

[from Canada]

I do agree that the first few days of school are important. However, I would check to see that you kindergarden starts that same day as the rest of the school. At our school, there is staggared entry. The first week is set aside for parent/child/and teacher meeting on one day for about 15-30 min. Then the second week they only go one day with about 5 other children so that way the child and the teacher can get used to each other. And then the third week they start with their regular schedule which is all day alternate days and every other Friday. Even if that wasnt the case, Id go when you have planned. There could be classroom shuffels anyway after the first week, (to adjust classroom population levels). then the child ends up with different friends/teacher anyway. And from personal experience with my own 3 children, YES they make friend at school, but after the first 4 days, (or even the first month) they barely know the other childrens names, let alone have friendships that wont change over the school year. What Im saying is that the child(ren) they play with the first week of school aren't necessarily the ones that they will play with in April. What about the children who change schools in the middle of the school year? Dont you think they meet friends, and learn the class routines? Especially in the younger grades...there are no cliques formed yet and its not a big deal.
Please don't flame me for my opinion.
Have fun, and enjoy your trip....do what you think is best for YOUR family.
Karen

 

[tdmdt luv disney]

Thank You all. I didn't realize what an impact the first few days of school really made. I am new at the mom/school thing. After reading all your posts, I talked to my dh and now think we will go in late Oct. I liked tiggersmomof4's suggestion of trick or treating in MK. I think we will have to do that!!!!!
Thanks again

 

[catwho]

I just have to comment on Dr. Happy's comment. We took our dd's out of school every year to do Disney. We don't have any choice if we want to do a Family Vacation. My dh works in insurance claims and can't take vacation time during Hurricane Season. (Although the past few years have been slow, we just can't take a chance and make plans you never know when one will come up) We have always worked with the teachers about our vacation plans in advance. Not *once* has a teacher ever begrudged us taking our children out of school (except that they couldn't go with us ) In fact both our oldest dd's Kindy and 2nd grade teachers (she had the same teacher for kindy and 1st) told us that she got more of an education at Disney than if she had stayed in the class for a week. And it is true. We homeschool now, so it isn't much of an issue. The things our kids have learned in the time we have been at Disney are remarkable and has *stayed with them*! They say if you do something you retain 90% of it where as if you are told something you retain only 10% of it. Well, our kids have *done* education at Disney. They understand cyntrifical force (even if their mother can't spell it at the moment) not only because we have talked to them about it, but because they've experienced it on Rock n Rollercoaster. My kids have learned about ecology, science, different cultures, animals, animation, plant life, and so much more. They have talked with people from all over the world and eaten foods that they couldn't at home. Their lives are richer and fuller than if they had stayed at home and done math facts another day.

Please don't judge those of us that take our kids out of school. Most of us do care about our children's education greatly and feel that we are enriching them by taking them to Disney instead of neglecting their education. I would think most parents who plan a mid-school year vacation take the missed days seriously and work with their children's teachers to assure that even though they miss class days they don't miss education. Education is an every day activity whether children are in school or not and Disney has a lot to offer in terms of learning!

 

[tiggersmomof4]

Wear your lime green ribbon and maybe I'll see you there!!! If you have any questions--I'd be happy to help! Happy planning!

 

[sha_lyn]

A few yrs ago we were in the process of buying a home and the planned closing date was the friday after school started(it got pushedback to nov). Our DD was also due at around the same time. I talk to several teachers and parents about what we should do about school for DS who was entering 3rd grade. Everyone agreed if at all possible to send him to the new school from day one. It took a lot of work to keep it going for 2 1/2 months but we were glad for his sake we did. My aunt and uncle are both teachers and both agreed that even in early grades (aunt taught kindergarten and preschool for a few yrs) that DS would have been labeled the new kid for the rest of his school days if we moved him to the new school after the yr began.

 

[Coll0610]

I agree with not taking your child out for the first few days of kindergarten. You may want to check and see if he will have days off in October that you could plan your trip around. For example, I was able to check the school calendars for the last couple years on the school's website and I saw that they always got Columbus Day off and another day that week. I was able to plan our trip that week and DS only missed 3 days. We got really lucky, because his teacher was on jury duty that week so they just did some review work. He didn't miss anything new.

 

[susy]

I would take the kids the second week in DEC (before the winter break starts). Let his teacher know ahead of time and I'm sure he won't have too much to make up. The reasons I suggest this time:least crowded tme of year, no heat, hurricane seson is definitely OVER (we were cutting it close last week), it is value season at the resorts -maybe you have enough time to save for the Contemporary), adn everything will be decorated for christmas. I like the October idea, but the weather is still yucky at that time (hot, sticky ,rainy).

 

[ksdave]

We took our kids out of the last three days of school this year (third week in May) to go to WDW and USF/IOA. Their teachers and principal knew far in advance and had no problem with it. The kids didn't mind missing the end of year events (Talent show, class party, etc.) because they got to go to FL! As an added bonus, they were both picked at USF to go on Slimetime Live and all their school friends back in Kansas saw them on TV. They came back to school this fall as stars
By the way, they both had straight A's.

 

[Barb D]

Dr. Happy, your judgmental comment was entirely uncalled for. There are lots of parents who care very deeply about their children's educations, but for whatever reason take their kids out of school for short periods of time. Education takes place in many situations outside the classroom setting.

Catwho, we homeschool too, and WDW provides plenty of educational opportunities. I count EPCOT and AK as school days. I counted MGM this time, too, since we went on the animation and backlot tours. (I can't justify MK as a school day, though!)

BTW, my kids go to a two-day-a-week school for homeschoolers this year. We took them out the third week in September for WDW. By that time they had the school routine down pretty well, but it was early enough in the year that they didn't miss anything too crucial. The teachers gave us the choice whether to make up the assignments or not. We did.

 

[ellyn2000]

We love to go at Thanksgiving (leaving 11/17 for WDW this year) and it's a great time to go on many levels. One of the best is that our school system has started having 3 days off for Thanksgiving, so the kids only miss 2 days. We leave the Saturday before Thanksgiving and return home the Saturday after. I've always discussed it with teachers in advance and they have always been most supportive. Most of them have told me that it is so important to a child to have special times with family and see different things that there was no way that a teacher couldn't be supportive. After spending day after day trying to help children who have no parental involvement at all, they appreciate seeing a family plan and have an exciting adventure. I wouldn't feel comfortable taking mine out of school for more than 2 or 3 days at the most, however. Even in K-5, they can miss alot. And it's the child that has to catch up, not Mom & Dad.