Planning with kids in School

[loveswdw]

We are debating this right now. Our DS3 hasn't started preschool yet but will be in August. We have a trip planned in October with our ressies already made. While researching preschools around here, I learned most of them follow the same schedule as our county school system. Well of course, the week we've scheduled is the week BEFORE the fall break. So we are debating whether we should move the trip back a week. I know he's only 3 so he wouldn't be missing anything really. But it just seems silly to take a trip the week before he would be out of school anyway.

 

[LilGMom]

We are debating this right now. Our DS3 hasn't started preschool yet but will be in August. We have a trip planned in October with our ressies already made. While researching preschools around here, I learned most of them follow the same schedule as our county school system. Well of course, the week we've scheduled is the week BEFORE the fall break. So we are debating whether we should move the trip back a week. I know he's only 3 so he wouldn't be missing anything really. But it just seems silly to take a trip the week before he would be out of school anyway.

You said it yourself that he's only 3. What will he be missing? Coloring with primary or secondary colors? If it isn't a hassle to change your reservations than do it, but I wouldn't worry about it. My ds is five and we didn't have any trouble pulling him out for a few days during kindergarten. It'll get trickier when he hits the third grade and has the FCAT (Florida yada yada Test) but we'll know at the beginning when in spring that happens.

 

[Granny]

I realize that at a certain age it will not be possible to pull her out of school. So...

1. How bad is it during breaks (Easter, Thanksgiving etc...)

Well, any time that the majority of the country is off will be a crowded time at WDW. Also, if you aren't pulling the children out of school you are looking basically at long weekends, and that's an expensive way to own and use DVC. Lastly, for weeks like Easter you are at the highest points per night in the DVC schedule so that's a killer.

2. Is summer just too brutal in Florida to really enjoy the parks

Until this last Christmas, we had never gone to WDW in any time except the summer. It's all about what you and your family can handle. The parks are busy but on the other hand the park hours are longer and very few attractions are closed. We will be going again in July, and looking forward to it. Some people find the heat and humidity very rough. We find it to be a lot like our home in St. Louis so I guess we never gave it that much thought.

3. How do you get around the school calendar (any tricks)??

Sorry...we just worked within the school calendar. I will say that if you travel the week before school starts in August you will probably enjoy substantially less crowds.

Just trying to think ahead while enjoying our time as non "peak" time travellers.

I think you will find that what you give up in crowds and weather will more than be made up for in the joy you have watching your little one(s) find the magic and building wonderful family memories.


The nice thing about DVC is you can slow down, and go at a much more enjoyable pace. Going back to the villa for afternoon naps (yep, including the adults) or hanging out by the pool can be a nice way to relish the vacation and beat the heat.

Good luck!

 

[vbalacek]

Your decision may also depend on your school district's policies on vacations.

We pulled my son out for 3 days last fall for a Disney week. Our school district would not give any make up work for the period because it was considered an "unexcused absense". We also received a letter from the principal reiterating the school policy that a certain number of unexcused absenses will effect grades (not really an issue in kindergarten, but possibly going forward.)

A friend of mine's school district is even stricter, and if a child has 5 unexcused absenses, the school district notifies Social Services. Yikes!

 

[psu4glory]

we don't have any children yet - but DW is a teacher, so we still have to plan around the school year. here's what we've found over the years...

1. Easter / spring break is brutal - we tried this once...crowds were out of control. and it didn't help that FLA was having a record-breaking heat wave at the time. 90-95 every day we were there, and in was in late MAR.
2. almost any week you choose in the summer is going to be fairly crowded. we prefer to try to go as early in the summer as possible. crowds seem to be a little smaller in early JUN, and the temps are still bearable.
3. we LOVE thanksgiving at WDW - because of DW's schedule, we are tied to the actual week of and the beginning of the week following t-giving. crowds are heavy from thursday through sunday - but starting the following the following monday....WOO-HOO! the parks clear out and the atmosphere becomes more relaxing.
4. we've never actually tried going during the week b/w christmas and new years...and if we can avoid it, probably never will. we've always heard horror stories about crowds during that week.

 

[alldiz]

It appears my wife has "HI-Jacked" my username. The real Yomickey is not a school teacher(not that there's anything wrong with that), but his wife is. I will have to register her so that she can enjoy "The Dis".
Hi honey! I'll be home by 4.

I keep getting subscribed to threads that I have not searched or made replies.

My disboards in-box was full of e-mails this morning.


cc:wife's e-mail

I still use hubby's email address....I had to unclick the
box of auto email.....I was getting a ton...
hubby not happy
Kerri

 

[KelNottAt]

It's been 5 years since my kids missed a full week of school due to vacation. Since then, it's been a day or 2 here or there. I always hoped we'd continue to have short getaways like that until graduation.

But that was before DS entered HS and got the chicken pox this year. He missed 4 days for a legitimate and excused illness (would have been 5, but TG for a snow day). That was Feb 5 - 9. On Feb 8th we got a nastygram from the school advising us that if his work isn't made up by the teachers' deadlines he will get F's in every course, regardless of gradebook scores.

What a nightmare it was getting him back on track with his classes. He's a highly motivated honor student and it took until TODAY for all his teachers to assign and give him credit for make-up work. Thank goodness he fell ill during the second week of the marking period. If this catch-up had dragged into the 4th quarter, he'd be stuck with Fs.

So, anyway, to make a long story short. This experience has brought me to the sad realization that our trips from here on out must be limited to non-school dates. What's worse, since my kids play sports, that reduces the options further. Baseball practice during spring break, for example.

I now find myself looking forward to January breaks when the kids are in college as our next opportunity for off-season trips.

 

[carone0318]

Dd is 10 and currently in 5th grade, ds is 6 and is in K. We pulled dd once a few yrs back when she was in 2nd grade and I hated it. I hated having to get the work all made up and stuff. Dd is a good student, but really needs to work hard for those grades.

We do not pull our kids for a week's time for vacation. I have to say that I really like Disney in the summer months. I like that the hours are longer (MK) and we can be in the parks til about 11pm, if not later. We usually either go the last week in June or the last week in August. We switch each yr and buy our APs every other yr for our August trip.

This schedule also works well because dd is involved in competitive gymnastics and competitive soccer and there is practice or she has games yr round. If we would pull her for vacation in the school yr she would either miss a soccer game or many gym practices or possibly a gym meet, which is something she wouldn't want to miss. Actually our above vacation schedule falls on either week that the gym is closed, so she doesn't miss a week's worth of gym time (which is discouraged by the coaches.)

We have missed a day here and there, no biggie. We went to Disney in December for a few days, the kids had off on 12/8 and we kept them home from school on the 7th and went to Disney. We had a great time, but it is not the same as our 9/10 day summer trips which we all look forward to so much.

 

[MojitoMiss]

Since DH is a college professor, we are also tied to the school year. We have found that we can deal with either crowds or the heat, but together they are strength sappers. On the other hand, as many here have said, we aren't in full commando mode, as we know we can return soon and therefore we don't have to do it all every time.

As to breaks: spring break can be good, depending on how much of the country has the same break that you have. For us it's only so-so: one of us is trying to get away from college students, and there are a lot of them at WDW during spreak breaks!

I don't mind the crowds between Christmas and New Years, (although New Year's Eve is, IMO, the single worst day of the year to visit). The down side is that I'm from New Orleans, and find the pools too cold for swimming Since DH is from the North, he thinks they're fine though, and this is his favorite time to go....crowded, but not hot.

I prefer going as soon as school is out for the summer. Here in the south, schools let out the end of May and resume mid-August. In the north, schools dismiss mid-June, but don't resume until September (usually). So, we figure that half the country is still in school and go then. This is my favorite time: hot maybe, but not crowded.

I agree with others who question the educational value of a Disney trip, but I remember my parents pulling us out of school every year to go. And I dunno, but travel with my family was always a learning experience.

MM

 

[Zoom]

Just curious, if your kids teachers oks to pull them out for a week, do you have to inform the principals office too? Is there a possiblity that the principal would say NO?

 

[Olaf]

Take them out while they're in Elementary School. DS is entering middle school next year, and we're just going to have to deal with the summer heat and crowds.

I noticed that you're in NY. Don't they go back after Labor Day. That will help somewhat. If you schedule for late August, into Labor Day weekend. Nice way to end the summer.

 

[Starr W.]

Just curious, if your kids teachers oks to pull them out for a week, do you have to inform the principals office too? Is there a possiblity that the principal would say NO?

I had to fill out a form, that principal & teachers signed off on. I only took my son out for the 2 days before Thanksgiving break. No problem, have a good time. Years ago my mom got a bunch of garbage from the vocational school principal when she took my sister out for a 1.5 days to go on a museum trip to NYC.

I wouldn't take my kids(next yr 5th grader & kinder.) out for a week and it depends on the district's rules and the personality of the principal. I know last year at least 6 of my elder son's classmates missed weeks going on vacations.

 

[MeandMyBoys]

I read this thread with interest because not only do I have 3 school aged children, but DH is a school teacher. We can't pull the boys from school because DH can't take time off during the school year. We are limited to going during school breaks.

For the past 2 years, we've gone in late August, and I will tell you that it's hot. Last year, I think my littlest guy, who was turning 5, got heat poisoning (if there's such a thing). In any event, he spent the last day of our vacation in our room with my mom, getting sick.

We decided not to go in August anymore. We're not taking a family Disney trip this year, although DH and I will be there for a long weekend in September (he's taking one day off from work). We're planning our next family trip in 2008 and we will either go in February or April.

We get a week off in February (mid-winter recess) and I've heard that the parks aren't too crowded then, plus it's not as hot. Next year, we will get 2 spring recesses - one around Easter (March) and another around Passover (April). We're thinking that since not many people will be getting a week off for Passover, that might be an even better time to go. It'll be warmer than February and the crowds shouldn't be too bad.

I think that if you're creative, you can often work with the school calendar.

 

[Starr W.]

I read this thread with interest because not only do I have 3 school aged children, but DH is a school teacher. We can't pull the boys from school because DH can't take time off during the school year. We are limited to going during school breaks.

For the past 2 years, we've gone in late August, and I will tell you that it's hot. Last year, I think my littlest guy, who was turning 5, got heat poisoning (if there's such a thing). In any event, he spent the last day of our vacation in our room with my mom, getting sick.

We decided not to go in August anymore. We're not taking a family Disney trip this year, although DH and I will be there for a long weekend in September (he's taking one day off from work). We're planning our next family trip in 2008 and we will either go in February or April.

We get a week off in February (mid-winter recess) and I've heard that the parks aren't too crowded then, plus it's not as hot. Next year, we will get 2 spring recesses - one around Easter (March) and another around Passover (April). We're thinking that since not many people will be getting a week off for Passover, that might be an even better time to go. It'll be warmer than February and the crowds shouldn't be too bad.

I think that if you're creative, you can often work with the school calendar.

When is Passover next year? Alot of the NE schools take their breaks in mid-April regardless of when Easter falls.

I have learned alot about other areas school schedules reading this board!

 

[MeandMyBoys]

According to my tentative school calendar for next year, Passover falls between Sunday, April 20 and Saturday, April 27th. My kids don't return to school until Tuesday, April 29th, unless we use too many snow days, so I'm looking to go sometime during that break. I should mention that I live in NY - Long Island, to be exact!

 

[Starr W.]

According to my tentative school calendar for next year, Passover falls between Sunday, April 20 and Saturday, April 27th. My kids don't return to school until Tuesday, April 29th, unless we use too many snow days, so I'm looking to go sometime during that break. I should mention that I live in NY - Long Island, to be exact!

That sounds good, unfortunately our district always goes either the week before or after Easter Sunday.

 

[MeandMyBoys]

We live in an area of NY with a very large Jewish population and over the course of the past 5 or 6 years, the local school districts have started giving 2 spring recesses when Easter and Passover are far apart. This year, the 2 holidays are close, so we have one week off in early April, but next year, with Easter and Passover being so far apart, we end up with 2 breaks. The Easter break is really quite short - from Holy Thursday through the Monday after Easter, but the benefit is getting the additional week in April. And the benefit to my family is that this gives us the opportunity to visit Disney in April when it will be warmer, rather than in February when it's colder.

 

[daisyduck123]

We just pull them out.

We've got a DD12 (8th grade) & DS9 (3rd grade).

They miss 6 school days every May for our WDW trips.
Last year, we also went in Jan. & they missed 5 days then too.

Going in the slower season is wonderful!!!

**BTW..I'm a teacher & pull myself out as well

 

[magicmama]

I'm a teacher so we go during school breaks and the summer. Spring break was the most crowded. Christmas was fun but also crowded. We like to go in the heat of June. Not being from Minnesota originally, the heat is easy for us to adjust to and we don't mind going when its hot. Hot makes a great time to have fun in the pools.

And I have many students who miss school for WDW trips. But it takes a toll on the students to catch up. Some activity type learning cannot be made up easily so the student misses out.

Some schools have various activites that take them to WDW during the school year - cheerleading competition, marching bands, etc.

Take your kids out when they are young but be careful about taking them out of school as they get older.

 

[disneymom8589]

We just pull them out.

We've got a DD12 (8th grade) & DS9 (3rd grade).

They miss 6 school days every May for our WDW trips.
Last year, we also went in Jan. & they missed 5 days then too.

Going in the slower season is wonderful!!!

**BTW..I'm a teacher & pull myself out as well

Wow! I'm jealous! Our school district gives us 3 personal leave days. One is totally covered and the other 2 we have to pay the sub. How do you get lucky to get the days off? I wish I was in your school district!!