How do you feel about taking kids out of school for a Disney trip?

[dislal]

I am taking my three kids out of school next month. I have one in elementary, one in MS and one in HS, I talked to 90% of their teachers and they have no problems, my kids are all straight A students so I know they will not have any problems making up work.

We live about 20 to 30 minutes from the airport and a lot of the kids in my school have parents who are flight attendents, pilots, or air trafic controllers, and every week one of the kids come home and tell me this kid or that kid is on vacation this week.

With that being said I think this is the last year we will be taking the kids out of school.

 

[3boymthr]

We did it in May. Do I regret it not a second. Would I do it again, in a heart beat, even though my oldest is heading into HS. My kids were Kindergarten, Third and Seventh. Do note though that my kids miss very little school for illness.

It was actually easier for the 7th grader than the 3rd grader. His teachers were great. Gave him his assignments ahead of time so he could be a little ahead before we left and then the rest just before we left. He got half done in the car on the way down and the other half on the way back. He had to do two makeup quizzes when he got back. Really no problems. None with the school either. (ETA - this is a kid with ADHD so you don't have to have a stellar scholar to take them out.)

Middle DS on the other hand got 56 pages day before we left and another 150 when we got back (okay, my first thought was OMG they do nothing but worksheets all day no wonder he doesn't like her. ).

Youngest DS got a bunch of sheets did them all in the car on the way down, but we forgot to hand them in when we got back for a month . Never heard a peep out of his teacher.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

We do, in fact we leave on Friday.

DH works on the road 45-50 weeks a year, so we take vacation when we can. Dec is a slow month so that's when we go.
The school has been really good about it. Some teachers are more flexible with work then others but we do what we can. We also try to find something educational to do when we are at WDW.

 

[puffkin]

DS is 3 so we haven't had to deal with it yet, but we just returned from DW where we took DN9. She had no issues with her school district...she did her homework on the way down and back. ONly thing she had to do was study some vocab works before school on Monday.

I coach youth field hockey and tons of my girls miss practice and school for vacations. None seem to have a problem with the teachers at the school. I don't mind with practice as long as they let me know in advance so I can plan on them not being there for games/tournaments. I will definitely be taking my son out once he is school age.

 

[tazdev3225]

I didn't when my kids were younger. I did take DGS when he was in 2nd grade as he only missed 3 half days and 1 full day. His mom had also kept him from us for 3 months so I had court ordered approval. Last year he was in
4th grade and he missed 1 day as it was a very long weekend. That being said he will not go anymore if it means missing school and my younger grandkids will only go on school vacation. Philadelphia has a very strict truancy policy and 3 unexcused absences means a trip to court. Vacations are not excused. I will not put my kids through that.

 

[C.Ann]

Good grades, elementary school - no problem.. Beyond that - even with good grades, it could be tricky..

 

[Judy from Boise]

I have taken my DD out of school for a weeks vacation every year except 10th and 11th. She will graduate in May, so far she hasn't missed a single day of her senior year. If she stays healthy, I may take her out for a 4 day weekend to Portland, so we can find housing for her when she starts college this summer.

She was in private school for about half of the time, and that certainly made it easier.

 

[Freyja]

I´ve had no problem with taking my kids out of school to go on holidays. However, I won´t be taking them out once they start highschool.

 

[tae1218]

I don't have a problem with. We have taken our DD out of school several times for WDW trips. I always let the teacher know our plans very far in advance.

But now that I am teaching, we don't plan trips during the school year. Boy do I miss those May trips to WDW.

 

[Aisling]

If the children are doing well in school, and the teachers say it's ok and give you the work for you to catch them up, I say do it. If the teacher thinks they'll have a hard time catching up, then don't. The main thing is to get the teacher(s) advice. Good luck with your decision.

 

[daisyduck123]

I have no problem with it. In fact, I've done it myself EVERY YEAR (kids missed anywhere from 6-12 school days each year for WDW trips) until this year.

DD15 is a Junior this year, taking 5 AP classes...so we just can't pull her for that length of time anymore.

And btw...I have no problem pulling myself out as well

Go & have fun. Your kids will never remember that one week in school, but they will definitely have great memories of their WDW trip.

 

[debster812]

DS is 12, and in the 7th grade. We've been going to Florida (Disney and/or Ft Myers) every winter since he was in Kindergarten. Over the course of those years he's missed anywhere from 2 days to a full week of school for our trips. Last year in 6th grade he missed a week of school for a trip to WDW, but it was a trip we took to celebrate my dad being cancer free, and my parents took the entire family. From here on out, his time out of school will likely be only 2-3 days. Our schools system generally has a day or a day and a half off prior to our vacation week, so we use those to our advantage.

This year, we leave on a Weds, and he'll go to school for a half day, he'll miss Thursday, and Friday is a planned half day, so he'll only miss 2 full days.

 

[PrincessBelle39]

In September, we went to WDW and on a DCL cruise for a month. My girls were in Grade 1 and kindergarten. They just slotted back in when they got back - no problems at all. I wouldn't hesitate for a vacation. I think that the family time and educational value of travelling to a different environment is invaluable. I missed 3 months in Grade 5 when I was in primary school to travel to the UK. Again, when I returned, it was like I hadn't been away. I learnt so much and had a wonderful time making memories with my grandmother.

 

[jazzielady]

As a teacher, I have not problem with it in any grade level. Go to disney when it suits your vacation time.

 

[aprilgail2]

There have been some crazy threads around here about bizarre consequences in some districts like outright failing a child for missed days or summoning parents to court. This is not the case in my district, and frankly, I think a week of second grade is eminently missable, but you would do well to check out your school rules.

.

I am amazed at some of those schools! My daughter missed over 30 days one year and there was no problem- I take her out most years for vacation and will continue to do so for the next 3 years- after that I retire and can go on vacations whenever she is off....
Do it while you can- you neverknow what the future will hold- enjoy life to the fullest while you know what you have and can enjoy it!

 

[happygirl]

I think it all really depends on the child. If the child is struggling to keep up then no I wouldn't. If the child is doing well then I say go and have fun

 

[golfgal]

I am taking my three kids out of school next month. I have one in elementary, one in MS and one in HS, I talked to 90% of their teachers and they have no problems, my kids are all straight A students so I know they will not have any problems making up work.

We live about 20 to 30 minutes from the airport and a lot of the kids in my school have parents who are flight attendents, pilots, or air trafic controllers, and every week one of the kids come home and tell me this kid or that kid is on vacation this week.

With that being said I think this is the last year we will be taking the kids out of school.

Our teacher's wouldn't have a problem with taking the kids out for a week of school but my KIDS would. They would NOT want to have to try to make up all of the homework. In our district it is up to the teacher's discretion if they give out homework in advance for situations like these. Most teachers will not give it out in advance because either they don't have it ready yet or they don't want the assignments to get out before hand (meaning kids going on vacations giving copies to their friends).

In early elementary grades, I wouldn't have a problem with taking them out for a vacation but once they hit middle school there is just too much homework to make up.

 

[mjkacmom]

Our teacher's wouldn't have a problem with taking the kids out for a week of school but my KIDS would. They would NOT want to have to try to make up all of the homework. In our district it is up to the teacher's discretion if they give out homework in advance for situations like these. Most teachers will not give it out in advance because either they don't have it ready yet or they don't want the assignments to get out before hand (meaning kids going on vacations giving copies to their friends).

In early elementary grades, I wouldn't have a problem with taking them out for a vacation but once they hit middle school there is just too much homework to make up.

And homework is just the tip of the iceburg! Think about all of the classwork they miss! Ds11 is only in the 6th grade, and was out last week for 2 days with a stomach bug, and he vows to never get sick again, because it took too long to make up the classwork at home.

 

[mjkacmom]

In September, we went to WDW and on a DCL cruise for a month. My girls were in Grade 1 and kindergarten. They just slotted back in when they got back - no problems at all. I wouldn't hesitate for a vacation. I think that the family time and educational value of travelling to a different environment is invaluable. I missed 3 months in Grade 5 when I was in primary school to travel to the UK. Again, when I returned, it was like I hadn't been away. I learnt so much and had a wonderful time making memories with my grandmother.

There is no way you can compare taking out a 1st grader vs. a high schooler! And if my children missed 3 months of school, there is no way they would be promoted to the next grade, unless they attended school at the other location.

 

[-Hope-]

In the interest of full disclosure I'll say up front that I'm a former public school teacher who now homeschools my elementary/middle school age kids.

School is a TOOL, not the whole toolbox for education. Nothing happens within a classroom in a week, no matter what age the child is, that will matter in the long run. A magical family vacation will stay with them forever. Go. Have fun.