Pulling kids out of school or going over the summer?

[Irin997]

Ok, so I want to take DD8 (9 in May) to the World for our very first trip next year, 2010. Here are the time frames I'm thinking:

1) End of April/Beg of May for our Bday (May 4th) and with luck they will offer free birthday admission again

2) Sometime over the summer, either mid to late June or mid to late August when school is out

I would also think about Sept/Oct but we are already scheduled for a big family cruise in Nov and don't want her to miss too many days of school in 4th grade (she'll be in 3rd grade starting end of Aug).

So the question is, should I take my daughter out of school and go during a less hot and less crowded time? Or go during June when I don't have to worry about taking her out of school?

What are your experiences taking children out of school? TIA!

 

[kevschickee]

I hate going in the summer and will never go again. If she wont get in trouble then I would go during school

 

[cmaee]

My DH is a middle school principal and we have taken our kids out of school for a WDW trip. In 2008, my DH had a different spring break than our oldest DS, so we took our DS out of school during my DH's spring break. It was worked best for our family. I would personally take my child in early May if I had a choice between the two dates. I would hate to be at WDW in the summer months....hence, we are relegated to going to WDW the week after Easter. I would rather be at a crowded WDW with comfortable weather than be at a crowded WDW with unbearable humidity/heat/etc. My brother and his family went to WDW in early May a few years ago and had the best time. They said it was the best WDW experience they've had...crowds were so small compared to the other times they've been and the weather was fantastic. As long as your child doesn't have attendance issues, I would go in May. Make sure you let your child's teacher/school know at least a month out and then again two weeks out....it's better to over-communicate than under-communicate.

 

[Irin997]

Thanks for the quick replies. And the tip about a person saying the beg of May was the best time they've ever been - makes me lean even more towards May.

I plan on communicating as soon as I know for sure and getting the OK from the teacher.

The only downside is I would love to go for 10 days but I don't think school would like that too much.

 

[Goofy'slady]

We'll we were debating this same situation not long ago ourselves when deciding on next year's trip. We have 2 girls and up until this fall it was our oldest that we pulled out of school for trips, now with our youngest heading out to Pre-K this year it looks like it's double duty this year for us. In the past we've had no problem pulling our oldest DD out, however this past June she graduated from elementary school and has been accepted in a magnet school with a totally different break schedule than most other public schools in our area. We usually head to WDW in May; we like the crowd level, the temps and so forth. Well this year's trip in May had us questioning whether to continue coming in May or try a different month. The heat was way more intense then what we've experienced in past May's. I grew up going to Disney year after year so I've been in June months as well as September months but since I've gotten married and we've started our family we've pretty much stuck to May except the one time back in '07 when we did both May and Sept(which was a parents only trip to celebrate b-day & wedding anniversary- for us each b-day and our wedding anniversary are in Sept).

After coming back from this year's trip we decided to make our next trip for 2 full weeks (YEAH) and go during April. Now, I know that means more crowds for us but we're hoping that since we're staying 2 weeks that will give us more time to stretch out park days to ensure we get everything in. However, our main reason for picking those two weeks in April is becasue we won't have to pull our 6th grader out of school because she'll have off the entire time. Now, her baby sister who again is just in Pre-K may miss a few days but we're not thinking it's a life or death situation if she misses a few days of school. Her school's break will be for the first week of her big sis's break so she'll just miss a week at the end of April.

So I guess what I'm saying is that in elementary school I have no problem taking our girls out of school but as they get into middle and high school I'm more conscience of what could be missed and how hard they may have to work in order to make up missed work and so forth. Now, it also depends on their grades, whether or not the school is willing to give you a chance to make up the work or take it with you to turn in when you return and the like. However, no matter how hard you try to plan YOUR family's vacation your child still may wind up missing a few days of school (sometimes it's unavoidable) and you have to remember to be balanced and do what's right for your family. Our kids are only young once and making memories are just as important as the math quiz or that missed spelling test.

Good Luck!

T.

 

[Irin997]

So I guess what I'm saying is that in elementary school I have no problem taking our girls out of school but as they get into middle and high school I'm more conscience of what could be missed and how hard they may have to work in order to make up missed work and so forth. Now, it also depends on their grades, whether or not the school is willing to give you a chance to make up the work or take it with you to turn in when you return and the like. However, no matter how hard you try to plan YOUR family's vacation your child still may wind up missing a few days of school (sometimes it's unavoidable) and you have to remember to be balanced and do what's right for your family. Our kids are only young once and making memories are just as important as the math quiz or that missed spelling test.

Thanks for your input. A lot of those were my thoughts as well, particularly the fact that memories are just as, if not more, important than one week of school. I just hope 3rd grade goes well!

 

[ekatiel]

I would make sure that you know when your DD's standardized state testing is before scheduling to pull her out. The school will most likely not be happy if you pull her out just before or during the standardized testing (which is usually done late April around here(In Texas)). The best thing to do is to pull her out after it's over. Have a fun trip! --Katie

 

[SenoiaDawg]

Going for her birhtday would be a wonderful time to go. We went last year at that time and the weather was nice and the crowds weren't to bad either. My kids were 2, 5 & 7 at the time, so we had to pull them out of school. We notified the teachers early in the year and as long as there are no standardized tests during the time of your trip, you should be alright, especially with the age of your daughter. Besides, what better way to celebrate your daughter's birthday.

 

[rt2dz]

Ok, so I want to take DD8 (9 in May) to the World for our very first trip next year, 2010. Here are the time frames I'm thinking:

1) End of April/Beg of May for our Bday (May 4th) and with luck they will offer free birthday admission again

2) Sometime over the summer, either mid to late June or mid to late August when school is out

I would also think about Sept/Oct but we are already scheduled for a big family cruise in Nov and don't want her to miss too many days of school in 4th grade (she'll be in 3rd grade starting end of Aug).

So the question is, should I take my daughter out of school and go during a less hot and less crowded time? Or go during June when I don't have to worry about taking her out of school?

What are your experiences taking children out of school? TIA!

I wouldn't go during the summer. I hate it. It's too darn hot, and that leads to all the guests being irratable. It's a big domino effect. And even though there are longer park hours, it leads to less of a trip, IMO.

I pull my kids out without thinking twice. Our district has it's list of excused abscences. Then, elsewhere in the handbook, is a note that anything the principal pre-approves can be excused. Our principals have always smiled, signed off, and told us to have a good time.

Now, I do need to choose carefully this year when I pull them out. There are two rounds of big standardized tests for DS#1, and I don't want to pull him out during those--that will not be approved.

I'd just check with the school/teacher when good weeks are. For example 60% of our school last year misses the days leading up to Thanksgiving, so nothing of consequence goes on that week.

 

[Irin997]

Wow, thanks for mentioning the standardized testing, I totally forgot. Good thing is they are in March!!

 

[Lily & Giny's Mom]

Yes the standardized testing, which here in Md seems to be the most important thing for the ed. system.L&G's Dad

 

[Darcy03231]

Just check to make sure what your school district's policy is on unexcused absences. We happen to live in a really strict district. If the teacher doesn't want to give/accept make-up work they're not required to and the child gets zeros on everything missed. Also, more than 10 unexcused absences in one school year the child has to repeat the grade. Since you're already taking her out in November for a cruise, this is something you really might want to check into.

On another note, we were there the last week of April (school vacation week for us). Crowds were light to moderate and the weather was gorgeous. Please that went the week after us (1st week of May) reported having heavier crowds than we did.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

Ok, so I want to take DD8 (9 in May) to the World for our very first trip next year, 2010. Here are the time frames I'm thinking:

1) End of April/Beg of May for our Bday (May 4th) and with luck they will offer free birthday admission again

2) Sometime over the summer, either mid to late June or mid to late August when school is out

I would also think about Sept/Oct but we are already scheduled for a big family cruise in Nov and don't want her to miss too many days of school in 4th grade (she'll be in 3rd grade starting end of Aug).

So the question is, should I take my daughter out of school and go during a less hot and less crowded time? Or go during June when I don't have to worry about taking her out of school?

What are your experiences taking children out of school? TIA!

Make sure you don't take them out when standardized testing is occurring; many schools that are otherwise tolerant of absences can get very upset when kids miss the CRCT's or ITBS's because federal funds are tied to those tests. Our school has CRCT testing at the beginning of may so we wouldn't do it then.

Be intimately aware of what your school's policy is regarding unexcused absences. Ignorance of this is no defense.

Typically we find that taking them out when there is 1 or 2 weeks left in the semester works well for us. Our kids are excellent students and are not impeded by missing school-your mileage may vary on this.

That being said, when the oldest starts middle school next year we are not doing any 1 week vacations during the school year because we don't know what the workload will be like for her. We're planning on doing several 4 day trips that build on a friday or a monday school vacation, a weekend, and adding in a 1 day absence.

We also tell the teachers about 2 weeks ahead of time what's going on. We don't apologize, we let them know and ask them if there's anything they'd like the kids to do while gone. 99% of the teachers have been fine with it, I typically have a good relationship with them by the point the kids are going to be out.

 

[Irin997]

Good thing is the MD 3rd grade standardized testing is in March, so going is May should be fine.

The November cruise is actually November 2010, so that won't affect 3rd grade - just 4th.

Really and truly, how bad are the crowds in the summer? And how HOT is it???

 

[Darcy03231]

Good thing is the MD 3rd grade standardized testing is in March, so going is May should be fine.

The November cruise is actually November 2010, so that won't affect 3rd grade - just 4th.

Really and truly, how bad are the crowds in the summer? And how HOT is it???[/QUOTE]

I'm from NH and we went in August 2007 for 2 weeks (2nd & 3rd). I really didn't think it was that much hotter than it was at home. Crowds were moderate to heavy the 2nd week and moderate the 3rd week. We used touringplans.com and never waited more than 20 min for anything.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

Good thing is the MD 3rd grade standardized testing is in March, so going is May should be fine.

The November cruise is actually November 2010, so that won't affect 3rd grade - just 4th.

Really and truly, how bad are the crowds in the summer? And how HOT is it???

It depends-we don't mind the heat and it gets pretty hot where we live, so yeah, it does get hot but it doesn't bother us.

When we take summer trips the parks are open much later so we spend most of the day at the pool and spend the evenings in the parks (take naps during the day so the kids can stay up to 12-2 am before they fall asleep), and it's cool and not crowded.

We call them Vampire Vacas...

 

[princessmom29]

It is HOT if you are not used to it. close to 100% humidity and over 90 every day. I live in south alabama with the same kind of weather and would personally never care to go in the summer b/c I know i would be miserable. We go over thanksgiving and only miss two days of school. I teach high school, and my principal has no problem with a couple of days, but i do not recommend pulling kids for more than a week at a time, especially late in the year. Most people claim that their kids are advanced and not missing anything, but anything more than a week is a lot of time to be out of the routine of school, and a lot of makeup work to do. I saw one poster say that they were pulling their kids for 2 weeks. In our school system that would cause a child to have to repeat the grade and cost Mom and Dad a trip to truancy court. We only allow 4 parent note absences per semester. After that you must have a not from a doctor or it is unexcused. Kids get zeros for unexcused abscences and 4 unexcused is a loss of credit for the semester. I would definitel find out what the policy for your school system is before pulling your kids.

 

[Irin997]

Thanks for the tips. And that is exactly why I've been seriously considering going over the summer.

It is hot and humid in MD and I hate it - not sure how much I'd enjoy FL in the summer!

 

[Darcy03231]

With a good touring plan going in the summer really isn't that bad. We got up early every day and hit the parks for opening. We stayed until about 1 pm and then went back to our rental house for something to eat, swim, rest, etc. We'd then go back and night (around 5-6 pm) and close the parks. Since we were there for two weeks there was no rush to see/do everything in a day. We took our time and managed to get everything in. We were a group of 9 (which is why we rented a house off-site) and everyone is still saying what a great vacation we had. Got to see/do everything and at the end of it all we didn't feel frazzled, rushed, or that we needed a vacation from our vacation. We had plenty of down time. In fact we took one full day and just hung out at the pool at our house.

Quite honestly I'd rather go in the summer and spend an extended period of time doing the parks then go during the school year for a limited period of time and be trying to fit it all in with little to no downtime. We've done both and to me the summer with more time is preferable.

 

[mericletwins]

Really and truly, how bad are the crowds in the summer? And how HOT is it???[/QUOTE]

It is hot, but you can work around that. Using the pool, a/c lunches, using EMH. Between the end of June and the end of August I would probably pick the end of August for lighter crowds. A lot of schools are back in session at the end of August. I think a lot of southern schools are, but others can confirm that. I have gone twice at the end of June for my daughters' dance team trips and this summer will be going at the end of August for free dining.