second guessing

[XTinabell]

Thinking about perhaps October/November. Or even waiting until February. Granted we have flights booked (got a great deal) but we have cancellation as well (so we can change it with little financial consequences).

C

FWIW I think November is a great time to go. If you go early before Veterans day. However Veterans day this year falls on a Tuesday and according to Wikipedia Thanksgiving is on the 27th this year so you could even go after Veterans day and likely still have low crowds. The christmas decorations will be up and the crowds are low assuming you're not there around thanksgiving or veterans day. October I hear is also generally good for crowds as long as you don't go close to Mickey's Trick or Treat thing.

 

[TiredX2]

My son's anxiety is also separation based. Meaning that when school starts - it is a trecherous time for all involved (teacher, myself and principal alike) and the first 6 weeks of school were the worst for us. We were thinking (and perhaps wrongly) that if we had a "carrot" to dangle to get him into school and going for a week, then went to DL that this may help.... however now we are second guessing that. Thinking about perhaps October/November. Or even waiting until February. Granted we have flights booked (got a great deal) but we have cancellation as well (so we can change it with little financial consequences).

I can only tell you what would be true for my kids, specifically DD.

She would be all upset about starting the school year. Go for the week, go on a great vacation and then be at least as upset, if not more so, about going back.

If instead, she had been going for the three weeks the problems would have been *mostly* over (of course, she is going into 5th grade, it took a lot longer in 2nd).

I would really consider going later in the year. Let DS get totally settled in school for a couple months and then have a nice break. Maybe spaced between the start of school & winter break?

As others have mentioned, though, YOU know YOUR child best. I can only think of what I would try on my kids and extrapolate from there.

I am totally a big believer in taking kids out of school for family vacations. Just a few days into the school year seems a hard time to do it.

 

[tiggerrulz]

Every trip we have taken, we have pulled our kids out of school. They may not remember missing a couple of days of school years from now, but they will remember Disney! We did it because we prefer to travel when it is a little quiter, and cooler - DW does not like Florida summers. The school may get grumpy, but so what?

 

[BraMax]

I just thought I would add my two cents. We are heading to California for 2 weeks Aug 23-Sept 6. My kids will be missing the first 3 1/2 days of school. I talked to the school before we made any arrangements to see if it will be a problem. The only thing we have to do is before the end of the year we need to supply them with a letter that our kids will indeed be attending the school for that year since we will miss registration. My kids will be in grades 1 and 3. I figure all they do is review the first week. Yes they will miss out on the intial bonding of the class but both boys are very out going and have a ton of friends. The school also told me that it is not uncommon for 25% of the student body to be missing the first week as people are finishing up holidays. Anyhooo I hope you enjoy your time at the park. I know I'm looking forward to the slower week after labour day.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Our kids will be missing the first week of school for the EB repo cruise.
I talked to the elementary principal (youngest two in that school) the other day and he actually preferred to "not register" them until we return- he would "ghost" them in a class so a spot would be there for them but he said something about their percentages (which I know has something to do with $$ they get) would be messed up if they were registered and then missed the first week.
Win/win situation for both of us- because now our kids don't have to be counted absent that week.

just thought I'd mention that because to the OP- your school might not throw such a fit if they have the same situation going on (where absences have to do with how much $$ they get) and might prefer you just actually start school late rather than have him in school a few days then absent for 11 days?

(ps we have found thru the years that the best times, atleast for our kids, for them to miss school to go on vacation is either at the very end of the year or at the very beginning. They don't miss much during those times- we all know the beginning of the year they aren't immediately learning new material the first day of school or even the first week really and the last week of school is spent doing end of year parties, preparing to end school, etc.)

 

[jakoky]

hi there, we went to DL last september...we pulled our kids out at lunch on the 14th and they didnt go back til the 26th...they missed 5 1/2 school days, the only difference is my kids were/are in grades 11, 9 and 7...i spoke to the counsellors before we left and the older two had some homework, but they completed much of it before we left...they brought a litte(very little) on the trip...with my kids ages, it took some time for them to completely catch up once we got home, but they so wanted to go on the trip, that the extra work was worth it to them...i say go for it...september was an awesome time to go, low crowds and great weather...your son is young and you guys will have an amazing trip, family time is so important and time just goes way too fast...
sharon
me, dh, dd - 17, ds -14, and dd -12
WDW-dec 04-9 nights at the pop
DL-may 06-10 nights at the CCI
DL-sept 07-10 nights at the HOJO

JUNE 09-Planning a 11 night DL trip for my daughters graduation and my 40th ...Seems wayyyyyyyyyyyy to far away s

 

[samkj]

This is just my opinion based to the little you've told us. Since he has issues for the first 6 weeks of school, it seems counter-productive to pull him out after less than a week. The issue will still be there when he gets home, plus he may feel if he got to miss that long, why does he have to go now? The first few weeks the entire class is getting to know the routine and adjusting to the class. By not being there he will miss this time frame. Instead of easing into the work, he'll come back and school will be in full swing. If you need to miss school for the trip, go with your gut which seems to be telling you that going that early is a bad idea.