Homework on VACATION???? I don't think so.

[Disney_Princess123]

What are you/your children going to do for homework at WDW. I'll probably assume I have about 30 things to do... so... I'll probably try and get 10% of it done right after school... 10% of it on the way there... and 10% of it on the way back. Or something like that...

 

[KingdomHearts]

My bff has three kids, and they are going down next November. We were actually talking about this the other day, I had suggested that you request the homework be sent to you about the week before you leave or at least the weekend before you leave. So that you can get it all done the weekend before you go, and not have to worry about it. I guess just send a note in to the teacher on hta monday so it gives her plenty of time to gather the homework, and that is one less thing you have to worry about when the trip gets closer! Hope this helps!

 

[MissMichelle]

We always requested the homework and depending upon how much we usually got it done on the plane and the day after we got back home (We always gave us a recoup day).

 

[Disney_Princess123]

My bff has three kids, and they are going down next November. We were actually talking about this the other day, I had suggested that you request the homework be sent to you about the week before you leave or at least the weekend before you leave. So that you can get it all done the weekend before you go, and not have to worry about it. I guess just send a note in to the teacher on hta monday so it gives her plenty of time to gather the homework, and that is one less thing you have to worry about when the trip gets closer! Hope this helps!

That sure does help- thanks! I could also make hat suggestion to my little sis. She'll be a 2nd grader then, and she'll totally freak if she comes to the fact of a sheet of math homework on vacation! lol. I might be like that, too!

 

[scammermom]

Last fall, my then 2nd grader had some homework. We focused mostly on the math so she wouldn't fall behind in that. We had scheduled 5 days at my MILs in Cocoa so that was some down time to get that done. But we got most of it done.

 

[disneyjunkie]

We only travel when school is out. However, my son ALWAYS has homework during school breaks and it MUST be turned in the first day back.

I try to have him get as much as possible done on the plane. He does a bit each night when we return to the room. What's left is completed the day before he returns to school.

Summer is the only time we get to vacation without worrying about homework.

 

[tink_lover]

We have young kids and when we vacationed this year we did it over spring break. So my DD, who averages about 90 min. of homework a night, had none. Next year, I will have 2 in school. We are struggling about when to return. If we go over spring break again, there will be no homework, just big crowds. We would love to go in October, but would have to deal with the homework. Friends of mine with kids at the same school have gone during a school week and said the homework is a HUGE load they have to bring and do every day. Yikes!! Decisions, Decisions...

 

[Ashley Kees]

We have young kids and when we vacationed this year we did it over spring break. So my DD, who averages about 90 min. of homework a night, had none. Next year, I will have 2 in school. We are struggling about when to return. If we go over spring break again, there will be no homework, just big crowds. We would love to go in October, but would have to deal with the homework. Friends of mine with kids at the same school have gone during a school week and said the homework is a HUGE load they have to bring and do every day. Yikes!! Decisions, Decisions...

It may be easier than you think to do the homework at DW. If you go when it is less crowded, you can come and go as you please, and will (possibly) have less time in transit. Sitting down to do some studying might prove to be a good way to settle down from all the excitement, and make the fun of the parks even more enjoyable. Also, there is always the trip to/from DW that has to be filled up. Going when it is SO crowded may mean no homework, but forget about returning home rested at all.

 

[TomD]

My kids do their homework on at the aiport,on the plane and if need be we set aside some time at night before we go for a swim

 

[guelde96]

We have been to WDW twice and are going a third time in September. I will NEVER go back to WDW when school is out!!!

Our first trip was in April 2004 the week before Easter. No homework. The crowds were HORRIBLE!!!

In 2006 we went the end of Feb. beginning of March. Perfect weather!! Great crowds!! The kids missed about 7 days of school. We went with friends. Kids ages DS-2nd, DD-K, FD-1st.

I Always tell the kids teachers about a month in advance when we are going on vacation. I ask to get the homework a week before we leave. Some teachers are better than others. My daughters teacher had the work ready about 2 weeks before our trip. It was done and turned in 1 week before we left. My sons teacher got the assignments sent home about 2 days before we left. We got most of the work done only having a couple of things left to do when we got home.

I refuse to do homework on vacation. This is time for our family to bond and have fun.

This September my kids will be DS-4th, DD-2nd. We will see how it goes then.

We are traveling with a large party. Ages of the kids will be: 8th, 2-4th,
2-3rd, 2nd, 1st. All of us have taken the kids out of school for vacation. No one seems concerned about doing it again.

I always feel my kids are having a better life experience, and that counts for something.

 

[teacher31]

It does depend on the policy at your school/district. Some do not require teachers to give the work beforehand because it can be extremely difficult to figure out where you'll be when the child is absent. Case in point - the above poster who said to get it early to get it done the week before going. What's the point? Math is taught in logical sequences and if you get the work done a week ahead, the child will be wondering what is going on for the week that they are in school before vacation. I suggest getting it afterwards. The teacher can then decide what is imperative and often the work is less.

 

[DisneyDad in PA]

We went to WDW September last year. Great crowds, great time. However we had to take the kids out of school. They each had to do a journal on top of their homework. There was alot of homework, I think they were actualy ahead of the other kids when they returned. We got some of the homework done before we left and finished the rest the day before they went back to school. A little bit of a pain but not too bad.

My son, in fourth grade, had to do a 5 minute oral presentation on his trip as well as turn in a journal. This actually was fun but time consuming. We would sit down at the end of everyday and use some journal sheets we printed off from another website (the mouse for less) and highlight each day's events. It ended up we had a nice keepsake after the trip.

 

[Disney_Princess123]

Homework......... Eeeeeek....... I thought the word VACATION came from vacation! Someone get me a dictionary!!!

 

[DW Dad]

My Son is in first grade we asked his teacher for all his homework for the week he would miss. She was great with putting it all together for us, and we actually did get it all finished while in Disney.

He usually has 1 page of Math, and 1 page for spelling, and we usually just did it when we were all just relaxing in our room in between park visits, or at the end of the night if it was early enough. Surprisingly he didn't even give us a hard time about it this year.

 

[Disney_Princess123]

My teacher wasn't very good about giving me the homework. We gave her months to put it together, and after all that, I did the homework when I got back. It was hard to enjoy the trip because I knew a week from then I would be stumbling over math. I would rather be stressed before vacation then have it weigh down on my shoulders DURING vacation.

 

[flowerpower]

I had requested homework prior to a quick vacation in December and did not recieve any. There is a homework hotline for her subjects and she was able to do a couple of tasks, but she had to catch up on most of it when we returned.

I had my reasons for keeping her out of school for the three days (trip was with my mom who is terminally ill) , but I don't know that I would do it again. Even with a letter to her teachers and the principal, she was marked for three days of unexcused absences and she was stressed while making up the work.

Overall, the trip was worth the aggravation. We had a wonderful, magical time. JUst be aware that you may not get the work.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

It does depend on the policy at your school/district. Some do not require teachers to give the work beforehand because it can be extremely difficult to figure out where you'll be when the child is absent. Case in point - the above poster who said to get it early to get it done the week before going. What's the point? Math is taught in logical sequences and if you get the work done a week ahead, the child will be wondering what is going on for the week that they are in school before vacation. I suggest getting it afterwards. The teacher can then decide what is imperative and often the work is less.

I agree. The schools around us leave it up to the individual teacher if they will in fact send home work before a child goes on vacation, but they don't have to at all-no matter how much notice a parent gives and I totally understand.

About 50% of my kids teachers will give them work and we do take it with us. They do it on the plane and they do some each evening once our day is over. My kids are in middle school and high school and there is no way it is feasible for them to crunch it all out in a day after we get back and if they don't turn everything in the day they return to school, they get big fat zero's. For the classes that they were not give work for, they normally will have one week to catch up and are still expected to stay current with the assignments given each day too. It's a pain, but we accept that it is the price we pay for taking them out of school. It definitely was much easier when they were younger!

 

[EpcotLove]

I would request all homework a week beforehand and try to get it done with your other work before you leave. You will be much happier that way.

 

[solferino]

When we went last year DD did quite a bit of it in the airport and on the plane ride down. Then she journaled with illustrations before bed. No biggie- I understand that doing homework, especially while on vacation is no fun, but just because you're going way during the school year (and no biggie, IMO) doesn't mean you're exempt from doing the work.

 

[ortholablady]

My son is a freshman in High School. After dealing with the crowds during school vacations I decided to get annual passes and take shorter trips during off times. The High School policy is that teachers are not obligated to give homework ahead of time for vacations. We do have something called parent connect where some teachers do have homework posted ahead of time. My son will do what he can at home before we leave. He has also done some in the car on the way to the airport and some in the car on the way home from the airport. When he gets back to school he also stays after to make up any tests he may have missed. He never does any homwwork in WDW. I'm very lucky that he is a responsible kid and even with the days off from school he is still a high honor roll student. I probably wouldn't let him miss school if he didn't do so well. He'll miss about 10 days total for this year but when he can do that and have a 96.3 average I figure he's earned the days off.