Pulling kindergardner out of school for 2 weeks.....

[pegster]

what about middle school and high school kids, how do you handle taking them out for 5 days?
thanks!

 

[disneychrista]

IMO, other then illness once kid reach middle school it becomes way to difficult to catch-up.

 

[disneymom3]

I missed a week of high school classes when I was a junior to go to Bermuda with my dad. I was a straight A student and the only class that was effected was choir of all things. I missed a concert and so automatically got a B in the class. I was enrolled in honors and advanced placement classes and while I am sure I must have had lessons to make up, let me tell you I don't remember them at all. What I do remember was an amazing trip and the time I had with just my dad. We created so many memories, and since I was only 25 when he died, they are something I wouldn't trade for the world.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

I missed a week of high school classes when I was a junior to go to Bermuda with my dad. I was a straight A student and the only class that was effected was choir of all things. I missed a concert and so automatically got a B in the class. I was enrolled in honors and advanced placement classes and while I am sure I must have had lessons to make up, let me tell you I don't remember them at all. What I do remember was an amazing trip and the time I had with just my dad. We created so many memories, and since I was only 25 when he died, they are something I wouldn't trade for the world.

God bless you, Julie..........that put a lump in my throat........I lost my Dad when I was 36. That sure puts things in perspective, doesn't it.

To the OP, if you were talking 6th grade or high school or something, I would feel different.........but Kind.?? Go and have a blast!!

 

[JenDaveBrendan]

Again, I just wanted to thank everyone for their imput!!! This is the greatest board!!! I have learned SO much from here

Jen

 

[skiwee1]

I always took my kids out of school all through the elementary years. I simply wrote a letter to the teacher telling them that my child would not be there and to give any work they wanted my child to complete. I didn't even tell them why they weren't going to be in school as I didn't feel it was anyone's business. My DD missed 2 weeks of kindergarten last year, and yes it is mandatory in MD, and her teacher was fine with it. She had taken her own 4th grader out for two weeks the year before for a trip to the Bahamas. We are going to WDW in two weeks and DD will miss 7 school days. We are also going in December where she will miss 5 more school days. I doubt she will fall behind and to be honest we have done nothing but review from last year. DD told me today that she liked kindergarten better because all she doesn't learn anything new in first grade. So her falling behind is not a concern of mine. Two weeks of school is no big deal.

 

[daisyduck123]

what about middle school and high school kids, how do you handle taking them out for 5 days?
thanks!

I am an elementary school teacher and will be taking my DD11 out for 6 days next May. Last year she missed 5 days of Middle School for our trip. I just figure that she will remember her trip far longer than she will remember having to play "catch up" when she gets back. We're not even going to worry about it (well, I may worry a little about her 7th grade Algebra class) but this is very important to our family.

 

[pegster]

Thanks. you all made me feel a lot better. We try to take our vacations in the fall we can afford more of a vacation, but i always feel guilty and wonder if i am doing the right thing by pulling them for 5 days.
thanks so much..
we leave next friday!!!!!!!

 

[CherCrazy]

We always took our kids out of school when they were in the elementary grades to go away on vacations. I consider travel to be educational itself! But when they got into middle/high school, the work got harder to make up and the teachers in this school district refused to give work in advance. So we cut down on the mid-year vacations, but tried to do stuff during teacher's week in NJ, etc.

A friend of mine owns a travel agency. My friend does a lot of group business, and therefore must escort these groups. Her son has been ALL OVER the world (and I'm not talking WDW!!). She has had the same arguments with the school district over their nasty letters, warning letters, etc. The kid is only 12 and has a better understanding of geography, and countries, and social studies, etc. than most of the people who TEACH it! How can they NOT consider this an EDUCATION???

Travel is a GIFT, and school districts should not deny it to children. Parents should have rights too!!

 

[Anjelica]

I know I am not really adding any insight or value to the OP's questions, etc. but I myself am interested in knowing what folks do when they take their kids out of school in terms of informing them? I read that some folks withdraw and re-enroll but for those that don't do that - are you honest with the school or do you "make" something up so you aren't "looked" down upon?

I know I am a few years away but I would like to take my daughter again (going this february) when she will probably be in kindergarden as my second child will be around 2ish and therefore they could also experience WDW at 2. I wouldn't take her out more than 6 school days and would look for 5.

 

[etink67]

Our school has a form to fill out to explain educational experiences of the trip. You turn it in and they tell you if it is approved or not. Due to limitations on being approved, I was nervous last year when DS was in 1st grade because we had two different trips planned. One to Disney and one to San Francisco for a wedding.
I spoke with his teacher about it and she told me to fill out the form for the disney trip but just speak to her personally about the second. When we got back from SF she told me to send in a letter just stating "...was unable to attend school on ...days". She didn't want me to say that he was sick or encourage him to be less than honest.

 

[Delilah Bleu]

I have a bit of a differing opinion here but my dd is 8 years old. I would not think of taking her out for vacation. She goes to a private school (I pay) and she had perfect attendance in 1st & 2nd grade. She is now in 4th grade. I have volunteered in the classroom and would be concerned about the amount of work/learning she would miss. When she was in kindergarten I may have considered it but now I feel it's out of the question. We try to plan our vacations during school holidays. So far that has worked out.

 

[skiwee1]

I know I am not really adding any insight or value to the OP's questions, etc. but I myself am interested in knowing what folks do when they take their kids out of school in terms of informing them? I read that some folks withdraw and re-enroll but for those that don't do that - are you honest with the school or do you "make" something up so you aren't "looked" down upon?

I know I am a few years away but I would like to take my daughter again (going this february) when she will probably be in kindergarden as my second child will be around 2ish and therefore they could also experience WDW at 2. I wouldn't take her out more than 6 school days and would look for 5.

I write a letter to the teacher but don't go into specifics about the vacation. I just say that DD will not be in school from this date to that date. I tell her if she has any questions to give me a call. Since I volunteer at the school quite a bit they DD's teachers already know where we are going. The school can make them excused or unexcused absences. Our school has always excused them.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I know I am not really adding any insight or value to the OP's questions, etc. but I myself am interested in knowing what folks do when they take their kids out of school in terms of informing them? I read that some folks withdraw and re-enroll but for those that don't do that - are you honest with the school or do you "make" something up so you aren't "looked" down upon?

I know I am a few years away but I would like to take my daughter again (going this february) when she will probably be in kindergarden as my second child will be around 2ish and therefore they could also experience WDW at 2. I wouldn't take her out more than 6 school days and would look for 5.

I went to DS's teacher first. She is fine with him missing 4 days (he is in fourth grade) and she said she will give him the work so he won't be behind when he returns. When I told her I was conflicted about submitting a request to have the days approved she said to just say he was sick. If the principal denied my request to have the days excused then there would be no way around it. They would be reported to the district as unexcused and I would be subject to prosecution if the district felt like pursuing it. If the teacher is willing to keep it just between us and submit the days as excused then that's the route we'll go. DS doesn't need to know what the note says.

Two years ago in second grade he was sick ALL the time. He missed 17 days. His grades were fine. We were fanatical about documenting his illnesses, taking him to the Dr. every single time etc. to make sure the district didn't get ugly about the excessive absences. They never batted an eye. Last year he was only sick one day the entire year, so hopefully the four days at Disney will be the only days he misses for the most part this year.

 

[MrsPete]

In most cases, missing a week or two of elementary school is just not that big a deal.

How many two week vacations do you remember, versus how many two week periods of school do you remember?

I remember bits and pieces of family vacations from my elementary school days -- mostly the fun of sharing a room with my cousins, loving the big porch on the beach house, going to the water park, my dad tying the grill to the roof of the car . . .

But I also remember many details from my elementary school classrooms. I remember projects we did, books we read, fun times with friends on the playground, holiday parties, school service projects, and even very specific lessons. If others don't have memories from elementary school, I think that's odd indeed.

I think two weeks of elementary school is a huge deal. My kids cover a great deal of material -- more than I did at that age. I'm okay with missing 2-3 days in a week that already has a holiday (or a teacher workday) built in, but two week is over-the-top.

 

[jodifla]

I remember bits and pieces of family vacations from my elementary school days -- mostly the fun of sharing a room with my cousins, loving the big porch on the beach house, going to the water park, my dad tying the grill to the roof of the car . . .

But I also remember many details from my elementary school classrooms. I remember projects we did, books we read, fun times with friends on the playground, holiday parties, school service projects, and even very specific lessons. If others don't have memories from elementary school, I think that's odd indeed.

I think two weeks of elementary school is a huge deal. My kids cover a great deal of material -- more than I did at that age. I'm okay with missing 2-3 days in a week that already has a holiday (or a teacher workday) built in, but two week is over-the-top.

You missed my point. There are how many school days in a year? Plenty of other days to create those memories.

Kids miss school for all types of reasons....moving, getting sick, funerals, etc. Vacations are just one more reason.

 

[rlduvall]

When I became a mom, I just assumed I would always take my DS out of school a week for vacation. He is now in the 1st grade and this will probably be the last time I do it and I am only taking him out 3 days. The teacher didn't have a problem with it and she said not to worry about him getting behind because DS won't get behind , but the school is less than enthused and one teacher in my neighborhood went off on me about it; saying I will keep the kids in his class from winning "perks." Well, I finally figured out what all the commotion is about. As mentioned earlier, the "No Child Left Behind Act." Each school is required to have a certain level of attendance and grades on standardized testing or they will lose federal funding. 10% of the requirement is the attendance. So, as much as I hate it, I will try to either go on vacations during fall break or the first weeks after school gets out. Darn old Federal Government.

 

[MrsPete]

You missed my point. There are how many school days in a year? Plenty of other days to create those memories.

Kids miss school for all types of reasons....moving, getting sick, funerals, etc. Vacations are just one more reason.

180 days in a school year.
185 non-school days.
Non-school "wins" by five days; I guess I'm still not getting that point.

Yes, kids DO miss school for other reasons; however, sickness and funerals are not avoidable -- kids and parents don't do those things voluntarily. Why ADD TO those unavoidable days when 185 "free days" are available?

 

[disneychrista]

37 weeks of school - 4 single day holidays & 1 teachers days the Friday school gets out
5 full weeks off for various school breaks (2 @ christmas/new years, 1 @ thanksgiving, 1 @ presidents, 1 @ easter)
10 full weeks for summer vacation
If you look at it this way the school weeks beat out the non school weeks by more then double.

Of course this is specific to my school disctrict and yours may be different.

 

[skiwee1]

37 weeks of school - 4 single day holidays & 1 teachers days the Friday school gets out
5 full weeks off for various school breaks (2 @ christmas/new years, 1 @ thanksgiving, 1 @ presidents, 1 @ easter)
10 full weeks for summer vacation
If you look at it this way the school weeks beat out the non school weeks by more then double.

Of course this is specific to my school disctrict and yours may be different.

ITA. Our kids do not get off a full week for Easter anymore either. We get the Friday before and the Monday after. Easter break used to be a big vacation week for us because the weather was nice and combined with the weekends gave us 9 full days to vacation. Thanksgiving is Thursday and Friday. Christmas is the only one that gives us a full two weeks but we do not leave home during that holiday. Our schools have written in so many 1/2 days that they have to take away other days. I decided long ago that it's my kids, my life. We vacation when we want and thoroughly enjoy them without any guilt. Go and enjoy. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise or attempt to lay a guilt trip simply for taking a first grader out of school!