Kids out of school for vacation?

[MelXThree]

I have been reading a lot of posts about the grief parents are getting for taking there kids out of school for there WDW vacation. Just thinking....is it the same in Canada?? My son just started kindergarten this year so I am not sure what to expect when I tell his teacher that we are taking 5 days to go to Mexico in Nov. and then 5 days to go to WDW in Jan.

Just looking for a Canadian perspective....

 

[tribus121]

we are taking our DD out of school ( Gr 1 )also in January for a week and because she is doing really well we don't expect any grief . My brother took his son ( 7 )last year before Christmas and all the teacher asked was that he write a daily report .

 

[Debbie]

Here's the most recent thread on this topic for Canadians-click here. For the most part, we tend to be civil.

 

[rjan67]

My only thought would be to give the teacher fair warning. My dh is a teacher and he is often told a couple of days before the child leaves and is asked for the work to be covered when they are gone to be sent with the child. H may not have that ready which leads to more work for him at the time. Sometimes a project (not so much in kindergarten..lol) can be worked around a trip as we try to do that ourselves.

 

[ottawamom]

Your child is in Kindergarten. There shouldn't be any problem taking them out of school at that age. I have up until recently removed my children from school for family vacations. We went to WDW when my oldest was in Grade 9. That was a lot of work (to keep up with the workload). You should be fine taking them out of school until at least grade 7. Grades 7, 8 and beyond depend on what kind of a student they are etc. Don't give it a second thought and have a great time. Do give the teacher fair warning though.

 

[Ham Ham]

 

[Ted in Halifax]

It's Kindergarten ... drink ... drain ... wipe nose .... colour.

I am in the education research field .... I know the trip will introduce more learning opportunities an it removes. In fact, I'm taking my kindergarten (called Primary here) and grade 2 kid out of school for 6 days.

Not concerned one bit ...

Ted

 

[bdoyledimou]

My ex-in-laws are both teachers, and neither of them complain when a child has the opportunity for "non-traditional learning".

Especially in a trip to the world, they learn a number of things.

They learn about money (parents always complaining about how expensive things are)
They learn about geography (we are here, and are going to be there)
They learn about other cultures (as the US does have vast differences in culture to Canada)
They get to see the different seasons if they travel in the winter, and learn that weather is localized.
It also gives their brain a rest and fillls it up with creative imagination.

Epcot itself is a world of educational value....

 

[Luhts]

Hi! I'm the starter of the other thread!
I found everyone was great about it. I think I am the only one who thinks we are going to have a problem with our 9 y/o when we get back. Although, when we took ds out last year for a trip, the principal seemed less than pleased about it. But this year he seemed fine...perhaps it was just the timing, as in he was too overwhelmed with the start of the school year to give a darn!
I am definitely not worried about my 4 y/o...personally I see JK as being no different than preschool or daycare (I'm from BC originally where they don't even have JK), but my concern there is that they are still organizing classes b/c they had too many new registrations at the start of the school year and had to hire a second JK/SK teacher, and with all the red tape and hoops they have to jump thru, they still don't have it all organized so we may be coming home to a new teacher! (sorry, run-on sentence! lol)

I did have to fill out an "extended absense" request form, although I have heard from other Canadian DISers that they did not, so I would check with your school on that one. Apparently there is a 'rule' in Ontario that if the child misses more than 21 days of school, they are required to repeat the year, although at the same time I have also heard that they never hold a child back anymore, so a bit conflicting!

Ham Ham: is that your way of dissing the OP? Are you sure you are Canadian? Didn't your mamma teach you "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." ??

 

[drag n' fly]

I have been reading a lot of posts about the grief parents are getting for taking there kids out of school for there WDW vacation. Just thinking....is it the same in Canada?? My son just started kindergarten this year so I am not sure what to expect when I tell his teacher that we are taking 5 days to go to Mexico in Nov. and then 5 days to go to WDW in Jan.

Just looking for a Canadian perspective....

Op it really depends on the school and the teachers. I had one teacher who was thrilled we were going back again and I have had others who were not quite so happy and made it miserable for my kid coming back (eg: 2 hours of additional homework every night for 9 days in addition to what he already had.) The younger they are the easier it is. I have 3 kids two are in grade 7 and 9 and one in grade 1. It just became impossible for us to miss any more class. Even thought their grades were good they just fell too far behind and spent a whole lot of time catching up afterward. We now only travel when the kids are off school. To maximize flight savings they may miss a couple days before the holiday period begins but nothing else.

 

[snickerboo]

Totally different here, from my experience. My kids' teachers have never cared. Dd had missed for Disney trips, dance competitions, etc. I think those things are very educational and provide experiences the school cannot. The way I see it, I know parents who let their kids saty home for the sniffles or let them skip school to have a special day with mom. I never do that so, even with my dd missing for Disney or dance, she probably doesn't miss more than the other kids.

 

[drag n' fly]

It's Kindergarten ... drink ... drain ... wipe nose .... colour.

I am in the education research field .... I know the trip will introduce more learning opportunities an it removes. In fact, I'm taking my kindergarten (called Primary here) and grade 2 kid out of school for 6 days.

Not concerned one bit ...

Ted

Ted with all due respect we are Canadians. I do not want to Americanize this thread and would like to see it kept civil. You are in the education research field. However your remark was completely uncalled for. You have managed in one sentence to insult and undermine the efforts of every single Kindergarten teacher in this country. The incredible amount of time and effort that goes into planning a developmentally appropriate program for Kindergarten children is a huge undertaking. Being in education research you should already know that....then again you may want to broaden your research horizons and educate yourself on the job descriptions of Kindergarten teachers.

 

[Luhts]

Oh, dragonfly! I did not take offense to Ted's remark...I'm afraid it is you that is opening up this can of worms. Please don't turn this into a discussion of the importance of Kindergarten.

 

[Lollipop's Mom]

My daughter missed 53 days of school last year (6th grade) for assorted things. We did take a 2 week vacation in January, and then had to go to LA for a week in March.
She is involved in the film industry and regularly misses the odd afternoon or day for auditions/filming. Then of course there are sick days too.
She still finished with straight A's and did fine. This year I am pulling her for 2 weeks in January and 4 days in March. I am not concerned. The teachers have always been very supportive of her.
I also never bring work on vacation for her - I am probably in the minority here, but if she has work sent home, she gets it done all in one sitting before we leave - usually 2 solid hours and she is done.

 

[MelXThree]

WOW, thanks for all the replies. I was just reading on the US thread that the schools don't get paid if the kids don't come, ect, ect. and was just curious to see if it was the same way here in Canada (new to this school thing)

Thanks for pointing out the other thread, I did not see it before

 

[drag n' fly]

Oh, dragonfly! I did not take offense to Ted's remark...I'm afraid it is you that is opening up this can of worms. Please don't turn this into a discussion of the importance of Kindergarten.

Yes I did take it personally. I have been an Early Childhood Educator for 24years and now work in the public elementary school system. The comment had nothing to do with the topic of the thread and was completely unnecessary. Sorry if you were offended when I expressed my concern over his narrow minded remark

 

[Ham Ham]

Hi! I'm the starter of the other thread!
Ham Ham: is that your way of dissing the OP? Are you sure you are Canadian? Didn't your mamma teach you "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." ??

Far from dissing the OP, I was trying to inject a little levity to this subject.

The thread of "should I take my kids out of school to go to Disney" evokes a wide range of opinion from parents, educators, lurkers and trolls.
I was hoping my post would generate a few chuckles as I've used it before in similar threads and it has always been met the spirit in which it was posted. FYI I cleaned up the language in the image.

My views on taking children out of school for a family vacation is the following.
It is a personal family decision and primarily should focus on how the absence will impact the child.
My children have much better study habits and marks than I ever did so I wouldn't have a problem taking them out for a week.

Also, Luhts feel free to take a shot at me but please leave my mother out of this or challenge my citizenship.

(please note I'm trying to be little humorous with my posts)

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Oh my! For a minute there I thought I was on the transportation board! I think that as Canadians we should strive to be a little bit more kind and understanding! I just thought this thread looked interesting as it is an issue that I myself am dealing with. I did not expect to find myself in the midst of an all out war!

 

[drag n' fly]

Oh my! For a minute there I thought I was on the transportation board! I think that as Canadians we should strive to be a little bit more kind and understanding! I just thought this thread looked interesting as it is an issue that I myself am dealing with. I did not expect to find myself in the midst of an all out war!

this is nothing. Go hang out on the Community Board....now that's war

 

[yxe dad]

I'll try and get this back on track,

I'm pulling my boys(9&11) out of school from Feb 6th-13th and their school break starts on the 14 for a week. We will be in Disney World from the 7th-18th and their teachers already know about the trip. My boys have done quite well in school in the past, and as long as they continue to do so I will pull them out for holidays. If they start to have problems or can't handle the work when they get home I will stop taking them when school is on. The reason I need to take them out of school is not to save money, but more that my work is busy during school breaks. I'm a Chef at a popular restaurant and when a school break is on sales usually jump 30% and I'm needed to be at the restaurant.