How many of you take your kids out of school for WDW?

[mommykds]

We are going in Oct...My kids are off for 2 days due to the Jewish holiday & 1 day for Columbus Day..we end up with 10 days at Disney & they will only miss 3 days of school (There is also no homework on the jewish holiday week & no tests) so I thought it would be a "good" week to go. My kids are both in the "gifted" program at school. I wouldn't consider it if they were struggling with their assignments. Our district does not allow you to get the work ahead of time or make up lost work...if they miss it they miss it (that's the districts view).

Since my oldest will be in 4th grade next fall & the holidays may not fall close like this year, I think this will be our last trip during school time, but I was just curious to see how many people do it & what grade the child is in.

(I am already planning a late August 2006 trip that DH hasn't heard about yet!)

 

[ktink]

We are planning a trip for the week of Labor Day and our DD who will be in the 4th grade will miss 4 days of school. She does well and her teachers haven't minded this yet. Our school district has a form you fill out for family planned trips and as long as it's approved the child is able to do homework and any tests. It's never posed as a problem before and like you we wouldn't consider it if she were struggling in any way.

 

[tink2]

I am a teacher and took a week off myself and DD out of kindergarten this past December. I will probably do this one more time- when DD is in 2nd grade and DS is in K. As they get older and assignments more difficult to make up, this will end. It is more difficult for DH to take off during our school vacations so for now this is easier for us (as long as the principal and teachers OK it).

 

[Amy&Dan]

My son will be in 5th and my daughter in 3rd next year and we are taking them out for three days. We have done this before and I always just clear it with the teachers and make up the work either before we go or during the trip. I wouldn't do a whole week but I think 2 or 3 days in elementary is okay as long as the school is okay with it. Our school has always been fine. My kids aren't "gifted", just regular, average kids and frankly I don't think that matters. Any kid can make up the work but the experience of being in the classroom is lost whether they are Albert Einstein or Forrest Gump. Once my son hits middle school in two years however, I doubt we would take him out. The sad thing is that in my neck of the woods, elementary schools have a completely different schedule than middle/high schools. That should be really fun to try to plan a vacation when my kids have different schedules!

 

[polly p]

I have been pulling my kids out of school for 8-14 days every other year since they were little. I did this until this year. My oldest is in 9th grade now and cannot miss that much school at one time. My kids too are good students and the teachers have always been great. I feel that though education is a very important part of a child's life, family time is even more important. If your children are little have them miss school. It is too crowded during peak season to really enjoy your family time. I am sad now that we have to travel during school vacations, at least for long trips. She still doesn't mind missing 1-2 days.

 

[oogieboogie]

I took my son out a week each in May and September.

 

[Bride In The Attic]

Oh boy - I have a feeling a 20 page "discussion" is coming!

Yes, we took our DD out for a week last November - she is in 2nd grade. We'll be doing the same thing again this November. Our school district allows up to 5 days excused absence for a family vacation per school year. We work with the teacher well ahead of time to put together a packet to take with us. We set aside some time each day to work on this and read and then we downloaded a great journal from Disney Dollarless that we worked on. Abby took the mask from the Epcot Kidcot stations back to school for show and tell along with her journal. The kids (and teacher) loved it and Abby really enjoyed sharing it. It was really a great age to watch her experience Epcot - many of the things she is currently learning in school came alive right in front of her.

We'll take it on a year by year basis but so far it has worked out just fine for us.

 

[Jazzysmom]

We are taking our daughter out of school for our trip this May, she is in 2nd grade. The school was fine with it and they will let her take whatever homework she will have for the 3 days she will miss with her. Plus I am having her bring a journal with her to write about her experiences to share with the class. They are pretty good about it at our school, and since I'm last on the list to pick vacation time at the bank, we're stuck on the times we can go.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

For the past two years we have taken DD out of school for WDW vacations. She missed 4 days last year and 3 days this year. Teachers have been accomodating, if not down right encouraging, both times. We have not planned another trip for next year yet because:

1) DD will be in 3rd grade and EOG testing begins at that level; DD is bright and a good student, but we want to be sure she'll be OK

2) DS will be in K'garden and we want to be sure he gets off to a good start. He's a good kid and not behind the curve in any way, but -academically speaking -he is not as swift on the uptake as his sister. Again, we want to be sure he gets off to a good start in the classroom.

I hope we are able to take the kids out and go again next year, but it will probably be without much advamce notice.

 

[simba928]

I am in 9th grade and my brother is in 3rd. For the past several years, my parents have taken me out of school for 3 days in January (we have monday and friday off that week) to go to Florida.

 

[mommykds]

Sounds like alot of you have teachers & schools who are very accommodating which is great. I totally agree that Disney (espcially Epcot) can provide for some good learning experiences away from school.

Our districts new policy is that there is "ample time for family vacations during school breaks & the summer" so that if a student is out for a vacation it is considered unexcused & they are not allowed to make up the work...some moms I know who take their kids out have called in each day of vacation to say their kids were sick to avoid this new policy. I just couldn't do that..#1 they'd probably get sick! #2 I can't teach them to lie. I just don't get this new policy..it irks me.

 

[sleepyone]

My daughter is in 2nd grade and we will take her in May. I plan on sending a letter to the teacher 3 weeks in advance to give the teacher time to put together a folder. I followed links to a great letter to the teacher but, I can't find it again. If/when I do, I'll post it here.

 

[sters]

I take them out, but have to schedule in time to do some homework while on vacation. My kids are still in the early elementary grades.

 

[sleepyone]

Here's the link: http://www.themouseforless.com/downloads/kids/SE.shtml

 

[PolyHereWeCome]

OP- We leave in 5 days for WDW, and we've received only huge well wishes and support from the teachers, who know that we are going to celebrate my big 4-0!!!

Our twins are in 2nd grade and will be missing 3 days of school (7 days in WDW, but one day's Good Friday and another is a no school teacher professional day, plus the weekend).

Homeworks are pretty easy at this point. The teachers gave them all of the sheets/assignments a week early, and both kids completed them already. So no homework to make up, and in class work should be easy to complete when they return.

 

[NJDisneymom]

Very interesting thread. I had a huge blow-up with an aquaintance about how I could consider Disney the least bit educational. My dd is only in kindergarten and we only do Disney every few years. I have no problem taking her out for this trip and depending on her ability/progress in school I will probably do it one more time when she is in 2nd grade. I think after that I might consider only doing summer break vacations or other times when their is no school. We are in NJ so the infamous "jersey week" comes to mind, LOL!!!

 

[Brendita]

Have always taken my DS out of school for vacation.
With my job can't take a summer vacation.
Summer is are busy season.
We always do Disney.
Do the home work on the plane.
Have been doing this since 1st grade.
Will be in th 6th grade next trip with no problems yet.

 

[the kabuki]

Have 3 kids-grades 6, 2, and preschool. Have taken them out for the past 2 years, and will continue to do so as long as their grades are good and I feel they can handle the make-up. Up to this point it hasn't been a problem at all. School allows students as many days to make up as their were gone for.

 

[pavil]

I have 3 young children 7,5 1/2 and 4. We have told their teachers that we will be gone 7 school days and would like any classwork or homework so we can either do it ahead of time or while we are down there. Everyone has been very nice about it. It seems some parents are having problems with getting an ok from the school. In all honesty is missing a week in second or fourth grade gonna be a black mark on their records? We find that family time is the most important of all and if a school can't work with you then perhaps it is time to look at new schools.

 

[NickandLivvysmom]

I agree with the above post...My son is a fourth grader and does very well in school. He has always had bad allergies so in the fall and spring he misses several days for that reason. I still take him out of school for vacation and tell the teachers the real reason. I will not lie about taking him out of school for a chance to spend 9 days (5 are spring break) - with his family, seeing new things and enjoying being a kid! I try to make everyhting a learning expierence. THis year DS is in charge of showing us what to do when we get to the airport.... Tickets, luggage, gate, etc....He'll never learn that stuff in school!