Just Wondering.....

[panfan]

I was just thinking about how we will end up vacationing as new DVC members. In the past we have usually ended up at WDW in either mid October or mid May as we find the weather nice at these times and the crowds low. Then i started to think about 'school schedules". My DS is in Kindergarden this year and is finished early--May21. We are doing our first trip Home on may 25!!

My question is--How many of you take your kids out of school to avoid the crowded times?? I was just thinking about another trip this year possibly October of ther first week in Dec and started feeling a bit uneasy about taking my then first grader out of school. Theres just no way to know what he will be doing in that timeframe . (projects or other important things.) How do you handle all of this for those who pull kids from school??

I know from being there enough that there are certainly enough kids out of school for vacation when we go on the 'off' times!!

Thank you for any input!!!

( I just cant see myself going with the rest of the world on Easter week etc.)

 

[Granny]

Joining DVC did not change our vacation scheduling at all, other than changing to a Sunday check in.

I'm sure you'll get differing opinions, but we never take our children out of school for a WDW trip. We always felt that sends the wrong message to kids....duty and obligations are secondary to personal pleasures.

If others do pull their kids out of school, it's their choice and we have no problem with that. But you asked for opinions, and now you have mine.

We go to WDW in the summer....and enjoy the longer park hours, two Fantasmic shows per night, the attractions usually are not being refurbished like they are in the off season, and the FastPass system allows us to enjoy all the rides we really like.

There is no wrong answer here. It's like any other question about raising children....whatever works for you is the right answer.

 

[chris1gill]

We are parents of a second grader & a pre-schooler. The last three years (since kindergarten) we have taken our son out of school. Last year we went early December for two weeks... this year we pulled him out for a week at Thanksgiving & a week in February when we went to Hawaii. Next year we're pulling him out for 2+ weeks to go to Australia. Our school supports families in their desires to vacation... I should say that while he has been absent, we have worked on some pretty fantastic journals & he was able to see a rainforest in person while his class was studying them in text books... That was purely coincidental, but we are also eco tourists, as well as being Disney fanatics My son wants to go to the Galapagos Islands next

I do think however that third grade will be the last time we pull him out for anything more than 4 days or so.... The older grades are much harder than the first few years, so take advantage while you can... Just my three cents worth

 

[chip1]

We do take our son out of school to vacation. He is 9 (3rd grade) and we make it clear that if the grades aren't good, vacations during school will stop! Our favorite time to go to WDW has always been early December, and we usually come home about a week before Christmas. This past Dec. he missed 6 days of school. He was given homework, which was done each morning before we began our day. We do believe, however, that as he gets older, and school becomes more demanding, we will need to decrease the number of days missed. For instance, we have a T-Giving trip planned and he will miss four days in November. That was a part of our consideration in planning. As the previous poster said, it's a personal opinion what you decide to do. Only you know your situation and your children.

Whatever you decide, I wish you many magical vacations!!

 

[mikesmom]

If you continue to go just as soon as school is out, it won't be too bad. We have always gone that week that you are leaving and we have found that although Florida and many of the southern schools are out, the schools up north generally still have class through the first or second week in June. I'm not trying to tell you that it's not crowded at all, but it's much less crowded than farther on in the summer when it seems half the world is out of school and at WDW.

 

[Terry S]

We have a 1st grader and a Kindergardener. We have pulled both of them out the last few years for 2 weeks in the fall and a week in the spring. We have also taken plenty of homework with us as well as a travel journal. I told my husband that from now on we are going to have to schedule our trip so that we only have to take the kids out for 4 days at a time and use both weekends. That is why we bought more points for those darn weekends. Our school gives some odd days off here on there on Fridays for "Teacher Work Days" so I figure if we schedule around those, we can get a 9 day vacation (Friday Night through Sunday) with only taking the kids out for 4 days both in the spring and fall.

 

[zulaya]

We have taken kids out of school. Have a 1st grader and kindergartener this year as well. Our school is supportive of family vacations, but of course, requests that school absences be kept to a minimum

For us, it's more a matter of when work schedules will allow vacation and when we want to go. The school understands that not every parent works the same schedule as a teacher and consequently can't always get time off at the same time school is off.

That being said, I really wish we would go to a year round school schedule - you know 6 weeks on/2 weeks off OR 9 weeks on/3 weeks off. That would be my ideal. But of course the teachers around here don't want to give up their 3 month paid summer vacation so I doubt it will ever happen in my district. No offense to teachers on the boards, just my voicing thoughtful wishing.

 

[Michelemouse]

I am a former teacher and am currently a homeschooling mom. In our family we tend to look at education in the "big picture" sense. Learning takes place everywhere, not just at school. Before we began homeschooling we had no qualms about taking our kids out of school for vacations. We traveled to California, Canada and Walt Disney World. We took a cruise to the Bahamas and spent time in Vermont. All of these journeys have contributed to who my children are and provided valuable educational experiences...simply in the everyday course of the vacation.

This is just my opinion, but there is absolutely nothing that a First grader will miss in a week that will harm his educational potential. It is harder to decide when the discussion turns to Middle or High School students as that work load is much heaver and has a much quicker pace.

Hope this helps.

 

[llane]

We took our kindergartner out for 5 days in early dec last year.
We will take her and my preschooler our this thanksgiving for two days, which will give us a full week at wdw. I had no problems taking her our of school but felt bad about it when she got sick and missed three more days a few weeks later. We will try to coordinate a few extra days with planned school off days if we can. I don't think I could take them out for two or more weeks, but than we've never gone anywhere that we would need that much time.

My DH works a lot of hours and this family time is very important to us. It's what works for us, I think the key is finding what is right for your family. We are just learning the way since our children are still very young and are just starting out in the schools. What we do when they are older has yet to be seen.

 

[kgkmom]

We took our daughter out of school for 5 days last October. We gave her teachers lots of notice, and made sure they knew that we expected her to have 'vacation assignments'. As it turned out, neither teacher gave her much work at all. She's in the 4th grade this year, so I expected some extra homework, but only a few extra work dittos. Each teacher/school is different.

My advice is, give the teachers plenty of notice (we gave them 2-3 weeks), let them know that you don't expect a 'free ride' for your child, and work with them.

I agree that the full week out of school is most likely at an end for my DD, so we'll probably do more end of summer trips and long weekends, where she'll only miss one or two days of school instead of the full week.

Whatever you decide, Enjoy!

 

[chrispoponak]

You should have no qualms about taking your children out of school for a vacation...afterall they are YOUR children...It just really peeves me when the school acts with authority over your life and tells you when you can and cannot take vacation...the poster above is correct...there is nothing that your child is going to miss in the 1st grade that will limit him/her. As a recent HS (1998) and soon to be college graduate, I would even say that it is ok to miss school for two weeks during time in HS or college.

One thing that really gets my goat is that my old school gave out a "student/parent handbook" that said that family vacations were to be taken during the summer and/or on school holidays. But, in NJ, the teacher's unions have no problems whatsoever scheduling their annual conference and giving everyone a week off...in the middle of November...this is something that should be done in the summer...hence your "NJ week" in early November!

 

[wdwnut]

hi: it does get harder to take the kids out of school as they get older. our youngest is in high school now, and we've been going to wdw for about 16 years now. some teachers/schools will object, even if the child in question has otherwise good attendance and grades. it is harder to schedule trips when they are actively involved in school sports-the coaches have a harder time than the school system it seems. it is fairly easy to take them out of school up until about middle school; you just have to make sure the week(s) you are going aren't the same as the test weeks in school.

 

[chrispoponak]

The school shouldn't have the authority to object to your personal family plans. I can rember being in 2nd grade and giving my teacher a note from my mom saying that we were going on a short trip. I was going to miss 3 days of school. I distinctly remember (even though it was 16 years ago) my teacher rolling her eyes and sighing...

You are correct about activities and sports though. If your HS-aged kid is heavily involved in something...forget about vacations at that time. I was in a highly competitive marcing band in high school. Our director urged parents NOT to schedule DOCTORS APPOINTMENTS during competition season unless it was an emergency. So, you can imagine what such a person would say about vacations during his/her "season."

My main point is that the school should in no way have any authority to dictate how you plan your famil vacations.

 

[lenshanem]

This is what is so sad. Kids get so little time in today's world anyway to spend really good family quality time and then parents have to worry about being looked down upon for wanting to concentrate on the family for a week?!?

I think if your child is doing good in school then go for it and worry about your family instead of the school system's handbook.

I bet they could learn so much more in that week then sitting in a class with thirty other students. I know my oldest still talks about things she saw in Epcot and that was last November.

Life is too short and they grow up too fast.

That being said I plan on planning around the school calendar for the next few years at least. My oldest will be in Kindergarten next Fall, but she is already struggling with her letters so I don't see us being able to leave for a full week. I might have a whole different outlook once she catches up.

This is a personal decision in my opinion and I wouldn't let others sway your decision. If your child can handle a week off, then the family time would be better spent.

 

[Cruelladeville]

I agree 100% that vacations can be a huge learning experience for a child. That being said, which part of those learning experiences can't be learned in the summer or other scheduled holidays? I agree with Granny's post above that taking kids out of school on a regular basis gives a very clear message that school isn't important as vacations--sometimes it's not, but that is what you have to weigh as the parent. But, hey, if a set of rolled eyes and a sigh is going to bother you, then maybe you need to rethink when you take your vacation