Missing school Disneyland worksheet?

[AuntieKels]

I don't have a specific worksheet. We *do* have the book "The Great Disneyland Scavenger Hunt." There's some easy, medium, and hard questions that could bring up some educational fun. Some of the questions are simple math ("How many skeletons are there on the first beach in Pirates of the Caribbean?") and geography ("What flags are hanging in front of the Matterhorn?").

I've taken my kiddo out of school a few times for Disneyland vacations; her teachers have always encouraged "mindful learning"--that is, teaching her on the go with basic information she'll need for life that she wouldn't necessarily get at home. We spent some time on concepts like telling time via Fast Pass return clocks (some are analog, and others are digital), and more geography (we fly from Oregon, so we pull up the Google maps and see where the plane flies; also fun to see where the Soarin' Over The World locations are). Some counting for money ("we need to pay $14, so how can we count to 14 with these numbers?").

I'd love to see some worksheets, though! Two of our grandson's love "paperwork" things, and something like that would be awesome!

That sounds great! Thank you!

 

[AuntieKels]

Actually, no one answered the question.

Yes. Thank you.

 

[ddwlms]

I'm sorry you're offended but you asked a question and we all answered sincerely.

Actually, it seemed to me that she asked a question, and got a lot of responses that sounded like "Let me tell you why I think your question is not valid, (oh, and I have no answer to your actual question)." She never once asked what anyone's opinion was regarding taking school work with her.

I was actually surprised at the responses because I thought instead of answering the actual question there was going to be a lot of negative opinion on missing school for Disneyland.

 

[NannyBeBe]

I work as a volunteer in a Kindergarten classroom. The children are learning the names and sounds of the letters and learning to write the letters and numbers. At the end of each day, you could have your little one write the name of one of the characters he or she saw that day and tell you the name and sound of each letter. Then have him or her draw a picture of her favorite thing that day, thus helping with motor skills.

 

[AuntieKels]

Actually, it seemed to me that she asked a question, and got a lot of responses that sounded like "Let me tell you why I think your question is not valid, (oh, and I have no answer to your actual question)." She never once asked what anyone's opinion was regarding taking school work with her.

I was actually surprised at the responses because I thought instead of answering the actual question there was going to be a lot of negative opinion on missing school for Disneyland.

Exactly. Thank you.

I was actually surprised I didn't get flamed for taking her out of school too

 

[AuntieKels]

I work as a volunteer in a Kindergarten classroom. The children are learning the names and sounds of the letters and learning to write the letters and numbers. At the end of each day, you could have your little one write the name of one of the characters he or she saw that day and tell you the name and sound of each letter. Then have him or her draw a picture of her favorite thing that day, thus helping with motor skills.

That's a great idea! Thank you!

 

[GeneralTso]

Sounds like you know exactly what to do. So do that.

I also expected flames for taking your kid out of school. Guess what--it's no big deal. I did it a lot while my daughter was school age. No issues, ever. She's an intelligent full functioning adult with a fantastic job and did great in school. She also had great Disney vacations while growing up among other places we visited DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR. I would do it again and was a choice I made happily.

 

[2 Pinks]

Sounds like you know exactly what to do. So do that.

I also expected flames for taking your kid out of school. Guess what--it's no big deal. I did it a lot while my daughter was school age. No issues, ever. She's an intelligent full functioning adult with a fantastic job and did great in school. She also had great Disney vacations while growing up among other places we visited DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR. I would do it again and was a choice I made happily.

We pulled my girls, who at the time were kindergarten and 2nd grade, for a family trip to Disney World which included my parents and my grandparents. We all debated whether we should go when originally planned (early December) or wait until summer so the girls wouldn't miss school. Well we went and had an amazing time, lots of great memories. My grandmother unexpectedly passed away the following February. If we had waited until summer, we would have missed out on having her on the trip and all those great memories. Since then, I have never had a problem pulling the girls out of school for family trips. They are both in high school now and will be missing the first full week. And I am perfectly fine with it!

 

[avalon451]

Actually, it seemed to me that she asked a question, and got a lot of responses that sounded like "Let me tell you why I think your question is not valid, (oh, and I have no answer to your actual question)." She never once asked what anyone's opinion was regarding taking school work with her.

I was actually surprised at the responses because I thought instead of answering the actual question there was going to be a lot of negative opinion on missing school for Disneyland.

As the person who made the first non-answer reply, I’d like to apologize to the OP for sounding like I was giving unsolicited parenting advice. When I saw it I thought hmmmm... and noticed nobody had replied to it for a bit, so I cautiously put my thoughts out there. I could have answered your question with a polite “No, I haven’t come across any Kindergarten worksheet activities for this kind of situation ...”
I do appreciate your concern about helping her realize the importance of school attendance. Personally I think I did that TOO well with my three daughters, now aged 17, 21 and 24. If they said they felt sick in the morning, unless they were feverish or barfing, I made them get up and get dressed, and eat breakfast, to get an idea if they were really sick or just sleepy. All 3 have now had trouble gauging if they are too sick to go to school or work, and will sometimes go even if they don’t feel well, because they feel guilty for missing unless it’s “absolutely necessary.” I’ve sort of had to retrain them to admit when they aren’t well, and convince them that they shouldn’t feel bad for taking care of themselves. Also, when they were older, we did journaling or other types of learning activities with them when we had to pull them out of school. I guess I was just offering my unsolicited opinion that Kindy might be a bit young to need homework on a trip. But hey, you are the parent and know best for your kids! I see what you mean about DLR being an already familiar place to them, and looking for something different and fun to do.
Also, I’d argue with anybody who has a problem with pulling kids for trips. I believe they learn so much from the different experiences and getting out of their comfort zones when they travel with their families. What a great treat for developing brains!

 

[cinder-ellah]

I've heard stories about kids being sent with an educational Disneyland worksheet/scavenger hunt when they've missed school to head to the parks. I think I even remember Michael Bowling mention sending his students with one in the past. Does anyone have something like this? Our Kindergartner will miss a couple days this winter when we head down to Disneyland this year. Thanks!

The Disneyland Resort Hotels have offered a "Disneyland Scavenger Hunt" printout out at Guest Services in their Hotels. Wishing you a wonderful time !

 

[AuntieKels]

The Disneyland Resort Hotels have offered a "Disneyland Scavenger Hunt" printout out at Guest Services in their Hotels. Wishing you a wonderful time !

They are!? That’s cool! Thanks!

 

[Lauren in NC]

You may want to check with your child's teacher. When my son missed a few days of K last year, the teacher told me what letter/number they were working on that week, so we spent time in the park looking for that letter and things that start with that letter (it was M, so VERY easy). Back at the hotel and on the car ride home, he drew pictures of the things he found, and then presented them to the class when we got back. This year, in first grade, they're going to be doing Civics and Symbols (Statue of Liberty, White House, etc) so we're going to make a point of doing the flag retreat and Great Moments with Lincoln and then write a 2 or 3 sentence report for the class.

 

[AuntieKels]

As the person who made the first non-answer reply, I’d like to apologize to the OP for sounding like I was giving unsolicited parenting advice. When I saw it I thought hmmmm... and noticed nobody had replied to it for a bit, so I cautiously put my thoughts out there. I could have answered your question with a polite “No, I haven’t come across any Kindergarten worksheet activities for this kind of situation ...”
I do appreciate your concern about helping her realize the importance of school attendance. Personally I think I did that TOO well with my three daughters, now aged 17, 21 and 24. If they said they felt sick in the morning, unless they were feverish or barfing, I made them get up and get dressed, and eat breakfast, to get an idea if they were really sick or just sleepy. All 3 have now had trouble gauging if they are too sick to go to school or work, and will sometimes go even if they don’t feel well, because they feel guilty for missing unless it’s “absolutely necessary.” I’ve sort of had to retrain them to admit when they aren’t well, and convince them that they shouldn’t feel bad for taking care of themselves. Also, when they were older, we did journaling or other types of learning activities with them when we had to pull them out of school. I guess I was just offering my unsolicited opinion that Kindy might be a bit young to need homework on a trip. But hey, you are the parent and know best for your kids! I see what you mean about DLR being an already familiar place to them, and looking for something different and fun to do.
Also, I’d argue with anybody who has a problem with pulling kids for trips. I believe they learn so much from the different experiences and getting out of their comfort zones when they travel with their families. What a great treat for developing brains!

Thanks for the reply @avalon451. I totally don’t plan on “doing school” or creating more school work for her. I was just thinking a scavenger hunt or something like that could be fun to work on together and maybe I would call it her Disney homework.

I realize now that the title of my thread may be where the problem steamed from. If I didn’t include the missing school part then I probably wouldn’t have had so many replies about pulling out a student or if kindergarteners need homework.

Anyway, I appreciate you sincerity! I take responsibility for my part in this too.

 

[Nikefutbolero]

School worksheets at Disneyland? It's a great way to take the fun out of being in the park. Homework will take the fun out of anything.

 

[EmJ]

School worksheets at Disneyland? It's a great way to take the fun out of being in the park. Homework will take the fun out of anything.

Depends on the kid In middle and high school, I took summer school for fun and because it freed up my schedule for more electives during the year (I'm fun at parties, haha). I would have been totally down with a vacation scavenger hunt!

 

[michellelars]

I don’t mean to derail, but I am going to be pulling my kindergartener out for two days in a couple weeks and I’m a little nervous about it. What did you tell the teacher and/or office when you excused the absences? We planned it on a weekend so he would miss minimal days, but he is going to miss Friday and Monday and I don’t want to have an issue with the school or his teacher. I was planning on just calling him out sick, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be telling all his friends (and probably his teacher) about Disneyland when he returns.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

I don’t mean to derail, but I am going to be pulling my kindergartener out for two days in a couple weeks and I’m a little nervous about it.

I wouldn’t worry- I usually just email my son’s teacher and explain we’re going to Disney. Every time our teachers have always been like ‘that’s awesome, have fun!’ I think if their attendance is pretty consistent the rest of the time there’s not much to worry about. I usually take my son out for four days right before Christmas break and I just make sure we try to avoid missing any days leading up to it for any reason other than illness. Last year he missed a testing day but since I told her in advance she just had him do it early and it wasn’t a big deal.

ETA: as for the office, I just call the automated message and say he’ll be absent for such and such dates and don’t even give a reason haha. As long as I communicate with the teacher I don’t feel the office needs an explanation.

 

[Lauren in NC]

I don’t mean to derail, but I am going to be pulling my kindergartener out for two days in a couple weeks and I’m a little nervous about it. What did you tell the teacher and/or office when you excused the absences? We planned it on a weekend so he would miss minimal days, but he is going to miss Friday and Monday and I don’t want to have an issue with the school or his teacher. I was planning on just calling him out sick, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be telling all his friends (and probably his teacher) about Disneyland when he returns.

I usually tell the teacher about a month ahead of time (and then ask when they want the email reminder!) and tell the front office about a week beforehand. I just say he'll be absent due to a family vacation. I usually bring back a gift for the teacher (chocolate usually) and, if food gifts are allowed, lollipops for his classmates.

 

[bardays]

oh wow. I have pulled my son from school every single time we have gone to Disneyland. Less crowded that way!! Only once did a teacher give work sheets. but what you are asking about sounds fun. I'm tempted to ask about the sheets at DLH and my son is 17 now!

 

[lalasmama]

I don’t mean to derail, but I am going to be pulling my kindergartener out for two days in a couple weeks and I’m a little nervous about it. What did you tell the teacher and/or office when you excused the absences? We planned it on a weekend so he would miss minimal days, but he is going to miss Friday and Monday and I don’t want to have an issue with the school or his teacher. I was planning on just calling him out sick, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be telling all his friends (and probably his teacher) about Disneyland when he returns.

I was completely honest. "We're heading to Disneyland for a few days, so Suzy will be missing Friday and Monday." Our schools only needed a parent to say, "It's excused," for it to be excused. In our district, you have several unexcused absences before they school starts fussing.... For what it's worth, I've taken my daughter out for a full week in 2nd grade to go to Disneyland. I forgot to even tell them until they called to let me know she didn't show up for class, haha!