Pulling kids out of school for cruise

[Anna Chassereau]

Just curious how many do this? We're pulling our son out of fist grade next year for our cruise...I feel like it's easier when they're younger and the workload isn't intense! Just hoping I don't get too much of a side eye from his teachers

Anyone else pull their kids out for vacay? What's been the schools reaction if you have?

 

[Valstew]

I'm pulling mine out in a few weeks for our Disney trip but he is in pre-k, and don't really care if they want to give me a hard time. It's preschool and his second year because of a speech delay. (Now mostly corrected) They need to get used to it hubby's job makes getting vacations during school vacations impossible for a few more years.

 

[Anna Chassereau]

@Valstew oh yes I definitley pulled my son out of preschool two years in a row for a week at a time to go to Disney world!! No one made a fuss over it Now first grade I'm wondering if they will or not...we're actually going to be pulling him out for two weeks. Definitely won't be missing any other school other than that all year!

 

[Valstew]

@Valstew oh yes I definitley pulled my son out of preschool two years in a row for a week at a time to go to Disney world!! No one made a fuss over it Now first grade I'm wondering if they will or not...we're actually going to be pulling him out for two weeks. Definitely won't be missing any other school other than that all year!

I would just make sure you talk to the teacher and make sure to get any work that would be missed.

 

[snoopy5386]

Yes, we have pulled my kids out for vacation 1-2x a year since they started school. We try to plan around a shorter week now that they are a little older. They will miss 4 days later this year for a cruise on the dream. My oldest is in 5th grade so this will be our last year pulling out for more than a day or two. I will miss our off season vacations.

 

[jeanmonti]

Just curious how many do this? We're pulling our son out of fist grade next year for our cruise...I feel like it's easier when they're younger and the workload isn't intense! Just hoping I don't get too much of a side eye from his teachers

Anyone else pull their kids out for vacay? What's been the schools reaction if you have?

We pulled our daughter out of school last September for the transatlantic cruise. (She was in 4th grade.) I don't think they were happy about it but in the end we got lucky. They ended up doing IOWA testing for four or five of the total ten days we were gone so she only missed half the lessons we thought she would. She wrote in a journal about our experiences and gave it to her English teacher to read. We also made sure she did all her make up homework right away when we got back. We had a wonderf trip and had many enriching experiences that she may read about in school someday but actually did; sagrada familia & straits of Gibraltar to name a few. I would do it again for sure.

 

[cruizincathi]

Two years ago, I pulled my 2 daughters from 8th grade and 11th grade in October for a Western. They were able to get phy ed credit for our climbing Dunns River Falls in Jamaica. They were able to do projects for their perspective Spanish classes based on our trip to the ruins in Cozumel.

Last year, we pulled the younger one from a week in January( the older one is now in college) as my mom wanted to take our whole family to the Dominican to celebrate her 70th birthday. That was a little harder since our semesters end in late Jan...but it must not have been too bad because she has agreed to miss another week this year in January for an Eastern.( and now she's a junior with several AP classes and no "fluff" classes.)

Bottom line, school is important but learning can be done easily outside a classroom.

 

[MissDaisyofTexas]

I've pulled my kids out of school for 4 out of our 5 cruises. We live in Texas. I let the school know ahead of time, and even though the absences are technically unexcused, my kids could still make up the work. Totally worth it! Good luck.

 

[Whimsical1995]

We are pulling our 8th graders out for an early December cruise. Last year our friends pulled their son out for a 12 day cruise around spring break and the school didn't like it but it worked out fine. So we decided it would be okay for us since our kids usually get perfect attendance.

 

[FigmentSpark]

We've pulled our elementary school kids out for at least a week after or before school break (giving us 2 weeks+ for our trip). If anything, after they'd done the homework, they were ahead of the other kids because the teachers hadn't gotten to all the work they'd sent home.

This year, my high school aged son will only be missing 3 days around his school break. Things get more serious and workloads are heavier for high school, so we're giving up the driving down days and flying down instead.

 

[Anna Chassereau]

Two years ago, I pulled my 2 daughters from 8th grade and 11th grade in October for a Western. They were able to get phy ed credit for our climbing Dunns River Falls in Jamaica. They were able to do projects for their perspective Spanish classes based on our trip to the ruins in Cozumel.

Last year, we pulled the younger one from a week in January( the older one is now in college) as my mom wanted to take our whole family to the Dominican to celebrate her 70th birthday. That was a little harder since our semesters end in late Jan...but it must not have been too bad because she has agreed to miss another week this year in January for an Eastern.( and now she's a junior with several AP classes and no "fluff" classes.)

Bottom line, school is important but learning can be done easily outside a classroom.

I agree it's educational! And it's hands on learning outside the classroom I feel like that really sticks with you and makes an impression! My first trip to Europe literally changed my life forever...the art and architecture I saw over there led me to get my degree in Art History...I fell in love with it during that trip! I now run an art based online business which I absolutely love!

If you don't mind me asking which ruins did you see in Cozumel? We're doing the same itinerary and I'm just starting to do research on what to do...

 

[ladybugmommy84]

I'm pulling my daughter out the last 3 days of school.

 

[cajaput]

Yep! We're pulling our 7th & 5th graders out for an early December cruise. They'll miss 6 days of school. We've already let all the teachers know & most of them asked if they could come too! I think most teachers recognize the amazing real life learning experiences they’ll have exploring other countries and are nothing but encouraging. We also took them out for 6 days in early December of 2014 for a trip to DisneyWorld & it was the same response from those teachers.

 

[mernin]

We've taken my DD out of school for a week or two separate weeks in a school year in K, Gr 1 & 2 and have a week already planned for this year. I think it depends on the kid and the school. Ours have all been easy going so far and my DD hasn't had issues with keeping up. As she gets older that may change, but I have no issue doing it now.

 

[drea21]

Yep, and I don't feel a bit guilty about it. This year I will have a 1st grader and preschooler and I don't hesitate to pull them. I know our elementary school doesn't have a problem with vacations as long as you fill out the proper paperwork ahead of time. This school is through 4th grade, so I know I will pull them at least one week a year through 4th, then reevaluate.

 

[bumbershoot]

We live in Texas. I let the school know ahead of time, and even though the absences are technically unexcused, my kids could still make up the work.

From what I've read about TX, you are really very lucky that there is no problem. TX doesn't mess around with absences.


I was just in FL and met many people from England. They get *fined* for taking their kids out. One woman said that the fine amounted to 100 British Pounds. She said they did take the kids out because the amount they save by going during school time is WAY more than the fine was.

And I met a Dutch family. He said that *at the airport* (Schiphol) they check the permission paperwork from the school that you get, and if you don't have the paperwork they fine you right there.

 

[cmph]

I wouldn't worry in the slightest about 1st grade, unless there were really special circumstances with the timing coinciding with special services reviews or something. But how much pushback you get will totally depend on the admins as much as the teacher. I pulled my son out of K for 3 days b/c of a family wedding the Saturday wedding before Thanksgiving (really - 2 and 1/2 days). The teacher didn't care at all... but I got a lovely letter from the principal when I informed them of the trip a month ahead of time anyway! Other than a single (pukey) sick day, it was the only time he missed the entire year. I would get it if he'd missed multiple weeks for illness or was academically behind, but nope. Definitely make sure you notify the admins in advance so it's all on record.

DD is in 6th now and would freak out over missing even a day. I think her teachers would care less than she would!

 

[PlanoNana]

DD is pulling her Kindergartener out for our cruise the week after Thanksgiving. DD has discussed with her teacher who will give her a few "assignments" to complete. But good grief, it's Kindergarten and she's a bright kid. Her experiences on the cruise will top anything she will learn in school that week.

 

[michellekcm]

I'm in Australia, and we pull our daughter out to travel every year. (Our plan was to travel every 2 years, but it hasn't worked out that way). We generally pull her out for 4 weeks at a time, as travelling overseas from here we want to make the most of our holiday. The government is starting to crack down on travel as a reason to miss school, but our school is of the opinion that they learn so much travelling that it's beneficial to them. They don't give us any work to take with us either, just ask that we talk about what we see, use everyday experiences as maths examples, and try and continue to read with her daily. We try and work around school holidays, but it depends on the timing of the cruises - e.g. last year we did the Transatlantic, so we didn't get a choice on timing.

Our daughter is in second grade this year, and we will pull her out next year in third grade as well. The year after that our son will also be at school, and we'll reassess. Although, I think in 2018 we really want to do the Panama Canal, so that will necessitate time off school again due to the timing of the cruises.

If the school had a real issue with it, or our daughter was falling behind in her schoolwork (which she's not currently) we'd look at what we could do in terms of either taking work with us, or shortening the trip, or maybe not going, depending on discussions with her teachers.

 

[Stratus22]

We pull ours out every January cruise. The teachers just load them up with homework which they do in the airport. They are pretty funny about it too by telling us..."Oh, can I come...Run..have fun!!!!!"