OK, one last question .

[MarkinNM]

I have been pondering our trip in June and changing it to a Sept trip so we can take advantage of the FD. It will easily save me over $900! But my issue is taking my kids out of school during this period, 6 days, 1 MS’er and 1 HS’er, just worried about them just starting school and then taking them out for 6 days in total. I am not worried about the school attendance policy as I will deal with that part, as this is the FIRST time I will ever do this. I am sure there are plenty of you who have done this, please help me decide, what would you do, FD is just too good to pass up on this……

 

[Darcy03231]

I wouldn't do it as my kids would have too much work to try to make up. Once they get to middle school they're changing classes/teachers for different subjects and start to have more complex classes/labs. DD missed a week of school due to an illness in 8th grade (she's an honors student) and it was well over a month before she was back on track. Since that time our school has now gone to block scheduling so missing 6 days of school would be like missing 12. There's no easy way to make that up!

Everyone needs to do what's best for their family and children. If you think yours can handle it ok, then go for it. For me it wouldn't be worth the $900 to see my kids agonize over getting caught up.

 

[mickeyluvr004]

Well we are doing it again for the 3rd year, My DD's are going to be in 5th and 1st but I feel that its the beginning of school what could they possibly miss out on??? They will go the first 8 days and then we are off They love Epcot and they learn alot going into the different countries, my oldest daughter is fasinated with Japan, she loves going in there and spending time there we drive from CT so all the states we go through is also a learning experience for them. I also love that its not too busy there even with free dining its better than when we went 5 years ago at EasterNEVER AGAIN good luck in what ever you choose

 

[mjkacmom]

Elementary school? In a heartbeat. Middle and High? Not a chance. It just would be fair to the kids.

 

[ancestry]

I wouldn't pull the kids out of school for that long for Disney at the beginning of the school year. If they were younger -- in elementary school -- perhaps but not in middle school and high school.

 

[RN4Babies]

I wouldn't pull an elementary school aged child out at the beginning of the year; classroom routines, expectations and rules are being set then, and I think a little one needs that exposure with a new class and teacher.

Nor would I pull out a child in middle school or high school; in our schools the teaching, homework, parent's night, etc. all begin very soon after the start of the school year. I wouldn't want my child to start the year playing catch up.

In addition, I'd be concerned about our district's attendance policy. Our district refers you to a truant officer after eight absences (they don't count a day missed if you have a note from your child's doctor). If you go to WDW for a week, that leaves three days for the rest of the year. I don't want to be in the position of deciding whether or not to keep my child home with an earache in February because we went to DisneyWorld in September.

 

[MarkinNM]

Thank you all for your replies, I am currently in talks with both of the schools to see what we can do, hopefully this can be worked out as we ARE going to have a great time!!!!!!!

 

[ckdsnynt]

Nope. Too much work to make up, not fair to the kids, may cause hard feelings towards the kids (directed at them by the teachers - hey, it's not right but may happen), and there are other non-school days (breaks) they can go. Sorry, but I wouldn't do it. Just my opinion.

 

[kacaju]

My current 7th and 9th graders would not want to miss a full week of school anymore.
Heck the 9th grader doesn't even want to miss a day... they miss so much.

 

[Stitch76]

I just can't see doing this. I love Disney. Some (my DH included) even say I'm a bid obsessed, but I just couldn't pull my kids out of school to go to Disney, or any other vacation for that matter. We have spent so much time teaching our DDs the importance of going to school, and not missing unless they are sick. If Mommy pulled them out, just to go on vacation, then I'm afraid I would be sending them the wrong message.
Also, I agree with what the other posters are saying about the make up work. My kids are in elementary school and one of my DDs had to miss a week, due to illness, and she stressed so much to make up her work that we were both in tears. Her grades in a few subjects slipped a bit, and it took her nearly a month to get them back up (she usually makes As and Bs easily), and she's only in 4th grade. I would hate to see what it would have been like, had she been in a higher grade level.
I am a fairly young mother, so the horrors of High School are fading, but still fresh enough to remember studying and doing homework for 3 to 4 hours a night easy. I could barely keep up, and I went everyday (sick or not). I was an Honors student, and I was trying to get a Scholarship If my parents had taken me out of school to go on vacation, Yeah, I would have went and had a great time. But when I got back and tried to catch up on the work, I would have probably given up all together, and just let my grades go.
I don't think your kids can miss a week of school and not have some kind of impact on thier grades, not to mention their mindset on school all together.

 

[mericletwins]

I teach middle school (and used to teach elementary school) and I would recommend the opposite of what others have said. I wouldn't pull an elementary student out the first two weeks of school, but would after that. Conversely, I would pull a MS'er or HS'er out especially the first week maybe second, but not much later than that. I would ask your kids and if they are willing and you all are aware that there are just some things that they can't make up and their first MP grade might be lower than what you/they want and that's okay then absolutely go for it. That kind of family time, especially at those ages is invaluable and to me is worth a possible lowered grade. Of course, this is assuming they do well in school and the lowered grade is not the difference between a D and an F. Good luck with your decision.

 

[GoofyFairie]

This is really a personal/family decision. You know how well your kids do academically and how easy or hard it is for them to catch up when they miss a day of school. IMO you can't replace family time. Have a great trip!

 

[mom4graceandlogan]

I took my daughter out for 3 days in first grade for a wedding out of town b/c we drove there. She did all the makeup work so she would not miss anything but got zero's for all of it. Technically you should get zero's for missed work if unexcused and that is alot of teachers to negotiate with to ensure your kids get to make up their work and get credit for it. Our school is a title one and gets federal funding for each child. They lose federal funding over $4000.00 for every child that misses more than 15 days excused or unexcused. My daughter now in 2nd grade has missed 15 days this year just from various illnesses she has picked up. If your school gets federal funding they may be hesitant to o.k that many days absent so early in the year. We are luck, we get a week off in september. Right now I am struggling with the Disney Marathon. I am signed up but it means the kids missing a few days to go with me. I don't know what I am going do. I am going to talkt to teachers, they will be in 3rd and kindergarten, but if either has been absent 5 days before the trip I am going to cancel it( Most of the illness seemed to come Jan and Feb(Flu stomach virus etc). Like previous poster said I don;t want to be stressing in May because of the number of days she missed if she is not feeling well. A week straight will be a ton of work to make up for those grades and is alot of work to put on the teachers to pull it all together for the student, test separately etc. Not worth the savings in my opinion. I am struggling over the marathon because it is the only time of year I can do it, but am leaning towards not doing it since it means missing school.

 

[tinks_mom]

Hi! Sorry to be negative but I would not recommend pulling your kids out of school for this trip. I LOVE Disney and pulled my kids on more than one occasion when they were in elementary school... once they hit middle school it's a whole new ballgame. Not only is it frowned upon by the school but the kids themselves tell me it is just too hard to make up the work - they don't want to miss school unless it's absolutely necessary. I would schedule the trip when school is out and not worry about the free dining promotion. Have a wonderful, stress-free vacation!

 

[3boymthr]

We are pulling our kids out of school in a couple of weeks. But unless it was kindergarten I would not pull my kids out in September. They miss too much and it sets them up to be behind for the entire year. We're pulling them out after standardarized tests, after the decisions for retention are made and after 75% of the school year has passed. Truthfully I don't think my oldest would want to be pulled out of school to go to disney in the first few weeks of school. HTH

 

[crazydaisy00]

We took our kids out of school to go to Disney and it was well worth it! This is so common at our school that my kids come home quite often telling us a classmate is at Disney! Just this year in my sons class 6 of them went, daughters class 5, one of the 5 went 2x's! We talked to their teachers and got all their work for the week and started before the trip, worked on some during the trip- I even have a pic of my nephew reviewing spelling words in the line for test track! That was to tease his dad! They never missed a beat! Son 2nd grade, daughter 1st grade, Nephew 4th grade and they are all on the honor roll! This did NOT affect their grades! They even have forms to fill out if the trip is educational, my friend cut and pasted tons of stuff from Epcot and other parks. My opinion is if the teachers can vacation during school why can't the kids?

 

[MarkinNM]

I teach middle school (and used to teach elementary school) and I would recommend the opposite of what others have said……
That kind of family time, especially at those ages is invaluable and to me is worth a possible lowered grade…….
Good luck with your decision.

Thanks for your reply, great thinking points here, love a point of view from a teacher…And when we go we will indeed have a great time!!

This is really a personal/family decision. You know how well your kids do academically and how easy or hard it is for them to catch up when they miss a day of school. IMO you can't replace family time. Have a great trip!

Family time, especially it is now getting more and more limited as it usually does with the older they get, having 2 others out of the house and in their 20’s, family time is a valuable thing and one cant put a price on it and seeing how’s its Disney and how Disney is family orientated, its like a free bonus every time we go to Disney….

Hi! Sorry to be negative but I would not recommend pulling your kids out of school for this trip. I LOVE Disney and pulled my kids on more than one occasion when they were in elementary school... once they hit middle school it's a whole new ballgame. Not only is it frowned upon by the school but the kids themselves tell me it is just too hard to make up the work - they don't want to miss school unless it's absolutely necessary. I would schedule the trip when school is out and not worry about the free dining promotion. Have a wonderful, stress-free vacation!

I agree in that ANY makeup work is difficult, especially that they miss the theory behind the lesson given by the teacher, I am so torn by this decision but I just found out yesterday some news that is defiantly going to tie my hands on making this, see post below………

We took our kids out of school to go to Disney and it was well worth it! This is so common at our school that my kids come home quite often telling us a classmate is at Disney! Just this year in my sons class 6 of them went, daughters class 5, one of the 5 went 2x's! We talked to their teachers and got all their work for the week and started before the trip, worked on some during the trip- I even have a pic of my nephew reviewing spelling words in the line for test track! That was to tease his dad! They never missed a beat! Son 2nd grade, daughter 1st grade, Nephew 4th grade and they are all on the honor roll! This did NOT affect their grades! They even have forms to fill out if the trip is educational, my friend cut and pasted tons of stuff from Epcot and other parks. My opinion is if the teachers can vacation during school why can't the kids?

WOW, that is quite surprising to hear that seeing on how schools have a strict attendance policy, as ours does, how do you or what do you tell the school why your kids are missing that much time??

LOVE your point on the teacher having vacations….


THANK YOU ALL for your input and thoughts on this decision. Trust me here it is great to know that there are other parents in the same boat and I really do value all of your opinions, I knew I would get responses but did not think they were going to be this diverse and different………..

 

[jakoky]

I say "go for it"...we are leaving for DL in 3 weeks and are going for 10 nights(they will miss 7 days of school)...my kids are in grade 8, grade 10, and grade 12(yep, grade 12)....we have talked to teachers/counsellers and have the go ahead (this is our 4th trip in 4 1/2 years where the kids will miss this much school)...my kids know they have to work very hard before we go and when we get back...my oldest will have some work to do while there (we are on the semester system so each day they miss is 85 min. per class )...the reason we are doing this is my oldest will be gradding, and we know how important family time is...my kids always make up what they miss, and family is so important, this trip is going to be awesome...(both my girls are honor roll and my son should be )...

Oh yah, our last trip was in september 07, and my kids started the school year going for 7 days and then missed 6 1/2 days and did completely fine)....Good luck in your decisions, you need to do what is right for you and your family...if you go, have an awesome trip!!!

 

[MarkinNM]

Just found out yesterday that with the current situation at work that the uppers in management have decided that all vacations and requested time off is going to be canceled due to the economic times and that there were too many cuts in personal and what seems like to me, a few too many, for the summer months of May-Aug…………………GRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Now I am forced in taking that time in Sept or just don’t go at all, this will disappoint my kids VERY much, not to mention my wife as we were all in need of a great family vacation. Please don’t get me wrong here in that I am VERY grateful everyday I have a great job and am gainfully employed by a great company. Now the decision is made for me……………….