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

[jodifla]

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?

you can't string together weekends during the school year to make a week for a Disney trip. that's nonsensical. that cuts out most of your 185 days right there.l

lots of people vacation in off times because of the SKY HIGH airfares, car rental fees, hotel costs, etc. during Christmas and Easter. And, as many other posters have tried to explain, their jobs don't let them take summer off. THAT"S WHY they take time off during the school year.

 

[jodifla]

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!

Exactly. Our school schedule is riddled with half-days off during the middle of the week, some of them as "comp time" for the teachers. If kids so desparately needed every minute in the classroom, they could use some of that time.

 

[daisyduck123]

I am a first grade teacher and I am one who says "Skip school, go enjoy the vacation. School will always be here when you get back". In the scheme of things, will your child being out for a week really affect his education? No.. ..and you will always have those great family vacation memories. I wish more parents would spend quality time with their children, away from work, meetings, etc.

 

[JenDaveBrendan]

MrsPete -
I am sorry, but I feel like I have to defend myself regarding your previous posts....
I really feel that missing 2 weeks is definatly not "over the top", my son missed 2 weeks last year in pre-k and went back in with absolutely no problem. In fact, the teachers and students were really excited to get a postcard and hear all about DS's trip.... and he was thrilled to tell. He still talks about that trip..... Also, he did GREAT in pre-k... never missed a beat even with the 2 weeks off - and that was in a school doing a kindergarten curriculum.
This year I feel the same way. I honestly feel it would not be detrimental for DS to miss 2 weeks in kindergarten. This does not mean I am a bad parent or I am undermining education. I absolutely believe education is very important and I instill that in my child. Like other posters have said, he will remember his 2 weeks in disney more that he would remember a 2 week period of school. Sometimes, a family trip and great memories come first.
Also, there is NO WAY my husband could get those weeks off during the summer or in Nov./Dec. (he is in finance) since these are the busiest times at his business. Also, I grew up going to Disney every year during school vacation weeks (my parents are both high school teachers), and I never care to do it again after going in the off season and seeing how much better it is with less crowds. Nevermind we can do 2 weeks in the off season for the price of 1 week in the peak season.
My original post was basically to see if anyone had pulled out their kindergarten child and if the school gave them a hard time. I was worried since DS is now in a public school and I wasn't sure what they would say about it. Obviously, I wouldn't want him held back due to 2 weeks out on an unexcused absence.
Anyway, you can agree to disagree with me. Everyone thinks differently about this, and that is okay. To each their own, and whatever we as parents decide doesn't make us better or worse than one another. We all make the decisions on what we feel is best for our child/children
Just wanted to add my 2 cents..
Thanks - Jen

 

[MrGrumpy222]

My wife and I have been pulling our kids out of school since K thru 8th and I have never been given grief. Both are in the Gifted and Talented and have gone w/o sick days for years. (Lucky) My question is to teachers that have a problem with it is (Why is it OK to have the Teachers Convention during the school year instead of during the summer vacation? HMMMMMM) I was in WDW last year during Jersey week which is during the NJ Teachers Convention and we ran into 4 teachers from our schools. I thought they were given the days off with pay to attend the convention that was in Atlantic City. I personally don't care but at the same time I don't want to hear about me and my family's vacation either. If my kids had problems in school I would not take them tho.
Cheers

 

[MrsPete]

you can't string together weekends during the school year to make a week for a Disney trip. that's nonsensical. that cuts out most of your 185 days right there.

When combined with teacher-workdays and holiday weeks, you have quite a few weeks throughout the year when kids CAN travel without missing school (or can only miss 1-2 days). We manage to travel probably 7-10 times per year without missing school or paying sky-high prices.

Exactly. Our school schedule is riddled with half-days off during the middle of the week, some of them as "comp time" for the teachers. If kids so desparately needed every minute in the classroom, they could use some of that time.

I agree that those half-days are problems. In my district, both teachers and parents complained until they were taken away.

my son missed 2 weeks last year in pre-k and went back in with absolutely no problem . . . I honestly feel it would not be detrimental for DS to miss 2 weeks in kindergarten. This does not mean I am a bad parent or I am undermining education . . . Anyway, you can agree to disagree with me.

I don't think you can compare missing 2 weeks of pre-k /daycare to missing 2 weeks in kindergarten. In my two daughters' kindergarten classes, they covered HUGE amounts of material in two weeks. They both had the same amazing kindergarten teacher, who had 100% of the kids reading by Christmas. I was amazed at what she accomplished with those kids.
I will have to continue to disagree with taking kids out for two weeks.

Why is it OK to have the Teachers Convention during the school year instead of during the summer vacation? HMMMMMM

This is a valid question. I would address it to your principal or school board.

 

[zookeeper]

It's kindergarten for goodness sakes! It's not like an absence of 2 weeks in kindergarten is going to prevent your child from getting accepted to college. All this talk of "curriculum" that will be missed is just silly. Go and have fun!!

 

[JenDaveBrendan]

zookeeper - I agree with you 100%

 

[skiwee1]

It's kindergarten for goodness sakes! It's not like an absence of 2 weeks in kindergarten is going to prevent your child from getting accepted to college. All this talk of "curriculum" that will be missed is just silly. Go and have fun!!

I laugh too when I hear all about the curriculum. We are talking kindergarten, not senior year! Even first and second isn't a big deal to miss a couple weeks. These kids aren't writing their thesis. They are adding and subtracting! For goodness sakes, go and have a wonderful time. We will be skipping school ourselves in 12 more days!!!

 

[jodifla]

When combined with teacher-workdays and holiday weeks, you have quite a few weeks throughout the year when kids CAN travel without missing school (or can only miss 1-2 days). We manage to travel probably 7-10 times per year without missing school or paying sky-high prices.
I agree that those half-days are problems. In my district, both teachers and parents complained until they were taken away.
I don't think you can compare missing 2 weeks of pre-k /daycare to missing 2 weeks in kindergarten. In my two daughters' kindergarten classes, they covered HUGE amounts of material in two weeks. They both had the same amazing kindergarten teacher, who had 100% of the kids reading by Christmas. I was amazed at what she accomplished with those kids.
I will have to continue to disagree with taking kids out for two weeks.
This is a valid question. I would address it to your principal or school board.

In Michigan, kindergarten is not even a required grade, it turns out.....

 

[Heather Smith]

We just got back and took our k and 2nd grader out for week, so I have no problem with it. My dd k teacher thought it was wonderful we were going to be spending quality family time together; however, ds 2nd grade teacher was not very happy. She chided us and just came short of calling us bad parents. Oh well, we still had a great time.

As I also have a much older child who is now a teacher herself, I can see the teacher's point of view-- don't expect the teacher to catch your kid up to the rest of the class. Teachers are already overworked for the amount of money they are paid and certainly don't want to be putting in extra time to facilitate your family's vacation. My daugher already stays after school nearly every night to help students who are struggling (which she doesn't mind), but she certainly doesn't like to be expected by parents to do this when a student is behind because of vacation. She's a high school math teacher and many times the parents don't understand the material enough to help, and don't want to hire a tutor so they think she should spend her "free time" helping their child catch up.

 

[crisi]

It's kindergarten for goodness sakes! It's not like an absence of 2 weeks in kindergarten is going to prevent your child from getting accepted to college. All this talk of "curriculum" that will be missed is just silly. Go and have fun!!

Well, I suppose that too depends on your district.

My son went into kindergarten without being able to read. He had a basic understanding of phonics (and with that was advanced for his class), and could count dependably to about 30. By the end of kindergarten he was reading (and reads pretty good), could count to 100 and do simple addition. Could count by 2s 5s and 10s to 100. Could spell simple words and label his drawings and write simple notes. He did this by going to kindergarten 2 1/2 hours a day for 38 weeks. Missing two weeks is missing 5% of the school year.

My daughter just started kindergarten this year. She already does most of that, so she wouldn't be "left behind" on the academics missing a few weeks. But she needs every minute of the social experience - she needs to catch up on appropriate school behavior (which includes showing up and participating).

I doubt two weeks will keep them from getting into college. But two weeks in kindergarten would have made the difference for my son between being in the high reading group in first grade and being in the middle group. And you can't plan for illness and accidents - its possible that two weeks will get added to over the course of the year to the point where your kid does feel the pain from those two weeks. In fifth grade I went to school for a grand total of 75 days - we moved twice, we had a teachers strike, they closed the school for a few weeks in winter for the energy crisis (they were going to make it up in the Spring, but we moved again), I had tonselitis. I even had two Spring Breaks due to switching schools! They almost held me back because of it and the only reason they didn't is that I'd been in a advanced program at my first school that the new school didn't have.

Perhaps your kindergarten is less rigorous or your kids are brighter and better adjusted than mine. But around here, kindergarten is not learning blue and playing in homeliving - kids are expected to have that before they start.

I'm not against pulling kids from school - ours will miss three days in October. But I tend to agree with Mrs. Pete that vacations can be taken in a manner that impacts the school year more minimally. Two weeks is a long time in a kids development (think back to being a kid and waiting two whole weeks for your birthday and how much "stuff" happened and how long it took - time is different when you are a kid).

As a former manager, I wonder if this is what some of my employees with attitude problems were taught - they wondered why they didn't get good reviews, but wouldn't change vacation plans to be minimally impacting to the business. They were the first to get laid off, too. But "its MY vacation, I get to take it when I want" was what I heard when I tried to say "that's a bad time for us."

 

[skiwee1]

Crisi, my DD already knew how to read before she entered kindergarten but there were many in her class that did not. I subbed and volunteered in her class and it was amazing how the non readers caught on so quickly. By the end of the year all the kids could read or figure out a word by phonics. DD's school is a Blue Ribbon school and does have the kids learn more then colors but they still will not fall behind by taking them out of school for a couple of weeks. At least not the ones that have no difficulties to begin with. I wanted to add that we own our company and have no problems with employees taking their vacations whenever they feel is necessary. Whether their reason is the weather is nice or less crowds! They don't have to give us any reason. We feel that they have lives outside of work and deserve to enjoy them. I couldn't work for a company that wouldn't allow me to use my well earned vacation days how I liked. I guess our employees are fortunate for being able to do so.

 

[jodifla]

As a former manager, I wonder if this is what some of my employees with attitude problems were taught - they wondered why they didn't get good reviews, but wouldn't change vacation plans to be minimally impacting to the business. They were the first to get laid off, too. But "its MY vacation, I get to take it when I want" was what I heard when I tried to say "that's a bad time for us."

Actually, the argument you make here is EXACTLY WHY PARENTS TAKE THEIR KIDS WHEN WORK ALLOWS.

You can't have it both ways, complaining that parents don't work around the school system, then complaining that the don't work around work schedules! Sometimes, it's impossible to work around both!

If your entire department had kids, you can't all be off during the summer! And at my last job, you couldn't be off at the holidays, either!

 

[*Fantasia*]

If you want to take your child out for two weeks.. got ahead and have fun. It's your child... it's your decision.

Unfortunately, my son told me way before the school started that he will not miss a day of school to go on vacation. He told me that he will go on vacation when the school is not in session. He is in 3rd grade now. He wants to learn and does not want to miss a beat in the class activities and class lessons. I respect that and I will grant his wish. I'm proud of him for stepping in and lettting me know straight forward what he wants.

Now, my daughter is another story. I don't think she minds if we go on vacation during school session, she doesn't like school as much as her brother. If anything, she will be more than glad if I take her out of school. She is now in 1st grade.

I have taken the children out when they were in Kinder. But I only taken then out for a few days (3 days) and they are doing fine. I don't know if I would have taken them out for two weeks though. That's kind of pushing it.

 

[robsmom]

MrsPete -
I am sorry, but I feel like I have to defend myself regarding your previous posts....
I really feel that missing 2 weeks is definatly not "over the top", ...This year I feel the same way. I honestly feel it would not be detrimental for DS to miss 2 weeks in kindergarten. This does not mean I am a bad parent or I am undermining education.I..

Anyway, you can agree to disagree with me. Everyone thinks differently about this, and that is okay. To each their own, and whatever we as parents decide doesn't make us better or worse than one another. We all make the decisions on what we feel is best for our child/children
Just wanted to add my 2 cents..
Thanks - Jen

I personally agree that it is your right to decide what to do for your child. Each child is different and each family situation for available vacation time is different. If you want to take your trip do it. That said, my opinion is that I would never let my child miss 2 weeks straight of any school. Unfortunately, you posted looking not for opinions but for people to validate your decision. I am not sure that you are going to get what you wanted.

 

[crisi]

Actually, the argument you make here is EXACTLY WHY PARENTS TAKE THEIR KIDS WHEN WORK ALLOWS.

You can't have it both ways, complaining that parents don't work around the school system, then complaining that the don't work around work schedules! Sometimes, it's impossible to work around both!

If your entire department had kids, you can't all be off during the summer! And at my last job, you couldn't be off at the holidays, either!

And I understand that. We are pulling ours in October. My husband can't go holidays, I can't go summers.

For ME the line is crossed when you go from one week to two consecutive weeks missed. That moves it for me from "we are trying to work within the system" to "we have decided the system is inconvienent for us and we will ignore it." And even that is situational. I'd completely be supportive of an international trip of two weeks (not worth getting on the plane for less when your flight is 24 hours), but Disney - nope. Not going to be supportive.

Of course, it makes no difference how supportive I am, I'm not in the OPs state or district so even my lobbying politicians to get policy and laws changed to support my views is moot. She apparently has the right to do what she wants in her state and district. But, since she asked, I have a right to comment.

skiwee1, I'll have to disagree with you, only because we have a couple of problems in my son's class with habitual absenteeism and his kindergarten teacher is also the remedial reading teacher. There were kids who didn't leave kindergarten reading due to learning disabilities. And there were kids who are behind due to absenteeism. The shame is that some of the kids who are behind due to absenteeism probably have learning disabilities - but they haven't spent enough time in the classroom for those to be identified. The second shame is that my district spends a lot of money on remedial reading - not something I mind to address learning disabilities - but something I do mind when the only reason they require special attention is because there parents didn't bother to send them to school in the first place. There is a positive correlation between attendance and doing well in school - even in kindergarten.

I really see education as a contract between the school, the student, and the parents creating a three legged school. The parents promise a supportive environment - which includes attending school and supervision of homework. The student promises to behave and try. The school promises to provide an environment that fosters learning with competant teachers. No party is perfect - sometimes homework doesn't get done, sometimes you take a few days off for vacation, sometimes the student has a bad day and doesn't behave, and sometimes the school doesn't live up to providing a good environment or teachers make mistakes. But the more you have all three legs of the triangle, the better the education is going to be. One of the problems is that any one student (we all had the troublemaker in class stealing classroom time and resources), any one parent (the ones that suck school resources by suing or threating to sue for stupid reasons top my list), or any one teacher (incompetance) can make an impact on how steady the stool ends up for everyone.

 

[susancl]

I havn't read any posts other than the original. So, forgive me if I repeat anyone else.

I'm also from Massachusetts and kindergarten is not mandated by Massachusetts law. So, you could opt to just keep your child home for the whole year. You should use your parental judgement and do what's best for your child and your family.

 

[skiwee1]

skiwee1, I'll have to disagree with you, only because we have a couple of problems in my son's class with habitual absenteeism and his kindergarten teacher is also the remedial reading teacher. There were kids who didn't leave kindergarten reading due to learning disabilities. And there were kids who are behind due to absenteeism. The shame is that some of the kids who are behind due to absenteeism probably have learning disabilities - but they haven't spent enough time in the classroom for those to be identified. The second shame is that my district spends a lot of money on remedial reading - not something I mind to address learning disabilities - but something I do mind when the only reason they require special attention is because there parents didn't bother to send them to school in the first place. There is a positive correlation between attendance and doing well in school - even in kindergarten.

I don't see where we disagree with too much. I guess through my experience of being in a kindergarten classroom 4 -5 days a week last year I haven't seen any habitual absences. I don't classify a child taken out of school for a single vacation as a habitual absence and neither does our school. To me a habitual absence is where the child misses a day every week. None of the kids in our class even needed remedial work and many of them did go on vacations throughout the year. I said earlier that if the child was already having problems in school then taking them out for vacation would be a bad thing. If you have a child that works normally within the realm of the kindergarten curriculum then I don't think missing school for vacation would be a problem and my experience has shown that to be true. If someone as a child that already needed remedial in kindergarten then that is another thing all together.

 

[marathonmommy]

I didn't read all of the posts so I may be repeating the thoughts of others. Also, keep in mind I am only giving my opinion because you were requesting the ideas of others. I am NOT against taking kids out of school for vacation. Kindergarten may be a great time to do it - I am taking my own daughter out of kindergarten for a week to go to WDW. She is doing well, can read, and I think she will be fine. I don't think I would consider pulling her for two consecutive weeks, though. It may be a tough adjustment getting back into the swing of things at school. You also want to consider where your child is at academically and socially. Two weeks is a long time in the life of a kindergartener. So overall, IMHO, pull your child out for some fun but consider the length of stay based on YOUR child. It is lengthy for some (to be out of school), but perhaps your child can handle it.