Leaving Tomorrow - Happy & Sad

[eporter66]

We are leaving tomorrow morning on a 7am flight for our annual trip to WDW We love going in the fall, and have booked the Not So Scary Halloween Party, I get to spend a day watching the PGA Golf tournament. We also have friends who we will get to spend a day or two with, and we are leaving some fairly cool weather for 70 & 80 degree days!!! But most of all, we love the F&W festival at EPCOT!!!!

I am sad because this is a trip that we must savor every moment. I believe this may be our last trip down during the fall for awhile. Our daughter is in 2nd grade, and although the teacher was very accomodating about her being out for a week (gave us all her assignments), I am not sure how much longer we will be able to take her out of school. We have discussed going around Thanksgiving, but October has been so great with awesome weather, lower crowds - which translates to more time for rides and enjoying WDW.

Any suggestions from those with school aged kids - what do you do? I just cant see going down during the school breaks, so there must be some clever planning that can be done to avoid the big crowds.

Looking forward to a great trip!!

Thanks for your suggestions
Eric

 

[bobbiwoz]

Enjoy this trip! There are many people have found accomodating teachers, and you may be lucky too! When I was raising our DS's we never took them out of school for vacations. DH only got 2 weeks of vacation, one in the summer and one between Christmas and New Years. We managed, we took weekend vacations, but alas, not to Disney, too far!

Bobbi

 

[duckygirl]

While our oldest two were still in elementary school, we would only take 5 day trips that included a weekend. They only missed 2 or 3 days of school. Now that they are older, we are unfortunately tied to the school calendar. We are going after Christmas and Spring Break this year.

Enjoy the elementary years. Just take shorter (and perhaps more frequent) trips!

 

[DMKEDM]

It kind of depends on how your child "does" school...I started taking my DS to Disney when he was an infant...our trips were far less frequent in those pre-DVC and much-less-money'ed days, but until he hit his third year of high school, I always pulled him out school (our trip his first year of high school he came back, "played catch-up" and informed me that he was never going to be willing to miss school to go to Disney again--it was just too much stress/work that first year of high school--we didn't do a trip his sophomore year of high school)...

Now my DS "does" school...he's always been an honor student at competitive schools (he's almost finished; this is his last year of law school)...so his "work ethic" was such that as long as he was willing, I had no problem pulling him out of school.

For other kids, tho, it can be an issue. Lots of very good kids are better at (and more interested in) other things and pulling them out of school is not only bad for their academic performance, it also teaches them the "wrong" lesson...

For those kinds of kids, there's really no choice except school vacations...late August--if your school starts post Labor Day; late May/early June (if your school gets out in May; and fall break (if your school gives you a fall break) are probably the least busy of the school holiday times--and they're pretty busy, just not as busy as spring break or summer vacation or winter break...

If you have a "middlin' kid"--one who's good at school but not super motivated, maybe the right answer is to do an occasional October trip--every third year? Or something like that?

Good luck!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Our kids had no issues being taken out of school for Disney until they reached about 8th grade. From there on, we did not take them out during school. We did, however, use the fall October teacher's conference break to take a couple of 5 day trips. Here our schools usually have off Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this 3rd week of October for Teacher's conventions. We were always able to take advantage of that for Disney.

 

[Olaf]

I used to stress about the "pulling out of school" thing too. My son is now in high school, and it's no longer possible--period. In hindsight, elementary school isn't an issue. Their elementary school grades don't mean anything. Just do it. I wish I'd done it more. Their childhood goes by so fast.

 

[allshookup]

We tried pulling the kids of out of school for a couple of days & it ended up being so damn stressful, trying to "catch up" & then don't you know my son got mono soon after our trip & missed a lot more school. I really felt guilty then!

Unfortunately going during school break means huge crowds & ridiculous airfare prices. We have gone the week between Christmas & NY, and have found pretty decent airfare if we left at odd ours, and came back a day late, but you really have to work around the crowds.

We usually just ended up going in mid August when FL schools start going back & crowds aren't too bad. Yes it's hotter than hades, but if you avoid the mid-day heat it's bearable. We always sleep in & go to the park with evening EMH much later in the day & that works for us. It is so nice not worrying about getting homework done before we go, rushing back to school exhausted, etc.

 

[JimMIA]

You're going to get answers all over the ballpark because there are so many factors involved. A lot has to do with school policy, and also the individual teachers' policies which may change from year to year.

And a lot depends on the kid -- some do fine missing a week of school, others don't. Our DD is an honor student with a good work ethic, so she handles the added pressure pretty well -- and it helps that her teachers have been accommodating with giving work to take with us and being reasonable on making up tests.

In addition, as the kids get older extracurricular activities come into play. For example, on our May trips the last two years, we had to schedule between figure skating competitions so we'd have time for her to get the timing back before the next competition. If the kids are involved in competitive team sports, sometimes the coaches will veto missing practice or games.

 

[Winksst]

Homeschool!!!!

I'm only half kidding. We do and it makes things like this easier...or did make things earsier 'til last year when my daughter (12) started doing competitive cheerleading. Then we were tied to the school schedule too, kinda. We still did our fall trips.

I will say when I hear what parents put up with in public school as far as when they can pull *their* child out of school, it makes me even more grateful that we made this choice. I know parents who have kids who play club hockey and their kids get unexcused absences for game travel--with their parents!! I always thought that an unexcused absence was playing hooky, when the parents didn't know where the kid was, not just being out of school for something other than illness, and in our district after 2 days you have to have a dr.'s note!! I just realized in the last year that kids who are in public school no longer belong to the family, but to the schools.

I'm donning my flame retardant suit now.

 

[hpygrll]

We always go the first week in June (right after school is out) and it doesn't seem that busy to us. My husband and I were there last week without the kids and it seemed way busier than June...just depends on when you go.

Jenny

 

[HayGan]

We still take ours out and will likely do so every year until high school. We have done it every year. It varies by school but the amount of work that is given in elementary and middle school can usually be handled while in transit and a little bit each day. Unless we are doing a rope drop, the kids do a couple pages in the morning and the a couple in the evening. We have them do as much in the beginning as possible so that they aren't rushing to get it all done at the end.

In elementary, most of the assignments were give a presentation on your trip. We have made posters with pics of animals on the savannah as well as stories from around the world in Epcot.

Don't even get me started on the "permission" to take my kids out issue

 

[SSDonut]

We go from the Thursday before Thanksgiving through the Saturday after Thanksgiving--take the kids out of school for 2 days (the Thursday and Friday before their weeklong break).

The crowds are not bad at all for the first 4 or 5 days, the weather is usually perfect, and the Christmas decorations go up while we're there. Also, we get a nice long vacation (9 nights) which always makes the travel time more worthwhile.

This really has worked well for us.

Good luck--you'll work something out!

 

[disfanforlife]

I believe it really does depend on many factors: some districts do not allow it (fortunately ours does ) what kind of students your kids are, and the teachers. Luck is on our side in all three. Our kids are good students, the teachers don't mind, and the district allows it. We have taken our kids out of school every year for the past 5 years from between 3 - 7 days. Our oldest is a HS senior this year so it is still possible to do this for HS students too. We are going in November again this year and they will be missing 4 days.

 

[MErnst]

When my oldest was in elementary school, I had no problem pulling him out for a week. He's now a Senior in HS and my youngest is in 3rd grade. We planned our most recent trip end of Aug and crowds weren't bad at all....just had to deal with the heat. Actually this year, we had to deal with Hurricane Irene....one of the last planes out of Philly Saturday before she hit. Anyway, we just bought into DVC and next year my oldest will be in college and I have no issue pulling my 4th grader out of school for a few days. We are planning a trip beginning of Dec next year. He's a good student and I will gather work for him to do on the plane, etc. Every child is different and as is every teacher. I think you need to see what works best for your situation.

 

[quentina]

I take mine out and have each year. Our district allows 10 vacation days per year, with principle approval.

I just booked yesterday, May 5, 2013. This will be Freshman year for my oldest. I asked him his thoughts, he said fine, so, I booked. I think this will be a trial period to see if it is difficult to catch up. He is a great, A student, things come easy to him.

My daughter is 9 and developmentally delayed. Too be honest, I don't think she will ever get out of the special ed class. They provide work for her with no issues.

My youngest is an average student. Again, work provided, we complete.

We seem to do the work at the airport and on the plane. Quick and easy.

 

[mac_tlc]

We took our kids out of school every year -- usually in December. When it was just my DD and she was in elementary school, it was sometimes 6-7 days. Most of the time it was for 4-5 school days.

My DD is married now and almost certified as a teacher -- I told her she will be a captive to that schedule for the next 30 years.

My DS is a senior in high school this year and we are going 12/10-12/14. Who knows what next year holds and I wouldn't miss our annual Christmas trip for anything.

Every situation is unique, but I never had a teacher that had a strong objection -- most wanted to go with us.

I am a firm believer that education occurs in a lot more places than a classroom. I don't think taking them out of school is teaching them the "wrong" thing, in fact I believe it shows that tradition and family are equally important -- these memories will be with them forever and the kids talk about them frequently -- I have never heard them talk about what they did on December 8th in any grade --- OK, I'm off the soapbox...

mac_tlc

 

[dianeschlicht]

You're going to get answers all over the ballpark because there are so many factors involved. A lot has to do with school policy, and also the individual teachers' policies which may change from year to year.

And a lot depends on the kid -- some do fine missing a week of school, others don't. Our DD is an honor student with a good work ethic, so she handles the added pressure pretty well -- and it helps that her teachers have been accommodating with giving work to take with us and being reasonable on making up tests.

In addition, as the kids get older extracurricular activities come into play. For example, on our May trips the last two years, we had to schedule between figure skating competitions so we'd have time for her to get the timing back before the next competition. If the kids are involved in competitive team sports, sometimes the coaches will veto missing practice or games.

You are absolutely correct about every child being different.

Oh, and CONGRATULATIONS for being the only one here to spell the word ACCOMMODATING correctly!

 

[PrincessYessenia]

Speaking as a person who was taken out of school for trips my entire life...

In reference to high school grades and trips, I took a 10 night Disney cruise during my senior year of high school. I got straight a's in every class every year of high school...the cruise didn't change that. I also took a 7 night Disney cruise every other year of high school, judging by my grades it was obviously never an issue. I graduated in the top 3 of my class out of a large senior class and I got into my first choice state university...vacations during the school year won't necessarily ruin someone. Just depends on the child's work ethic. I LOVE school and I did great considering everyone's situation IS different, though

 

[DenLo]

We just came back from WDW. My DSIL and family joined us for a long weekend so we could all go to MNSSHP. We also did the Haunted Carriage Ride with our two nieces while there. The youngest niece is only in 2nd grade and she didn't have any homework for some reason (she usually does when in school), so I'm a little confused by that. However DNiece11 who is in 6th grade (middle school) had a lot of homework. She's in Advancement Placement for Math and Science and it's taking her longer to complete her assignments. She didn't get the work done on the plane because her little sister needed her attention and the excitement of going to WDW was great. So that meant taking off part of Saturday afternoon to do homework. She did it but it wasn't fun for her or mom. She's not an A plus student and has to work to get her B+ and A- grades, so we'll see how it affected her tests as she had do make up tests/quizzes when she returned to school. DSIL says they won't be taking her out of school again because it really was stressing DNiece11 out.

 

[Kidanifan08]

We just got back from 8 nights at WDW last night. Our son is in a private kindergarten, but will start 1st grade in the public schools in 2012. We are a little hesitant to pull him from school for a vacation, even in first grade! We are in a competitive school district, which he will likely be in for his entire educational career, until college, so we hate to put him at any kind of disadvantage. We definitely don't want to do Disney during Spring Break or Christmas week, so we will likely go the first week of June most years, depending on his extra-curricular activities. Otherwise, we will sweat it out in July or early August.

We do plan to take him again in early December at least one more time. We will accept any consequences. This is totally crazy!!