taking a 1st grader out of school

[mickeymouse1017]

I am taking myself and my DD4 out of school for a week in December. I feel so guilty missing that much work but I have the time and I love being in Disney with my DD. I encourage the parents of my first graders to enjoy their vacations but I do think that two weeks would be excessive. That is a lot to ask of the teacher to get two weeks worth of work together ahead of time and then expect them to sit with your child catching them up on tests. If you could work it out with some school holiday, that would be ideal.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Do what you feel is best - but be prepared for the consequences (if there are any.)
I teach 1st grade and I have had kids miss school with very mixed results. Most go away and come back and fit right in with no problems. (Although it is generally not more than a week.) BUT, a few years ago I had a little girl miss 2 weeks in October to go to Disney. When she came back, she was so confused because the class had moved on. She ended up with a needs improvement in math on her 1st report card and the parents were livid! They ended up spending hundreds of dollars on private tutoring even though I explained that she just needed time to catch up with everyone else. She's now going into 4th grade and is fine.
The point of all my rambling is that in the long term, it is not a big deal. But, in the short term it could be quite difficult for your little one.

 

[disneymamaof2]

DD is going into first grade and we are taking her out for 5 days in December and 6 days in May. We also took her out in kindergarten for 6 days. I asked the teacher for her work and she said forget that you are going on vacation she will be fine when she gets back. We did have reservations about taking her out twice this year, however we kind of timed it when we know they don't do a lot.

 

[dougsmom98]

Even though I am a teacher, I am not opposed to parents taking kids out of school for vacations. I think two weeks in a row is a lot of time to miss. We have 8 weeks in our quarters and the student would be missing 25% of the quarter. That is a lot of information to miss. I had two children just complete 1st grade and they learned so many critical reading and math skills this past year. You also never know before the school year starts if your child will be successful from one grade to the next. I had one child who sailed through kindergarten but really struggled in first grade. He likely has a learning disability, but it was not really apparent last year. In first grade it was.

 

[Darcy03231]

Make sure you check your district's policy on unexcused absences before you go. In our district if you have 10 or more your child cannot advance to the next grade, no matter how well they ended up doing during the school year. You could also expect a visit from the truancy officer and possible court action. Also, it would be up the teacher if they wanted to give/accept make-up work. If not, your child gets zeros on anything missed.

 

[jillyb]

I agree with PPs that two weeks is a bit long. In our school district we have to get approval from the teacher and principal. We have to prove that there will be educational opportunities and the child has to do a report on what was learned. Some teachers are very strict about this and others aren't overly concerned about it.

 

[mmmears]

Here's my opinion -- and it's diff from other people's responses, but it's just my opinion here.

1. Missing school teaches kids that school is less important that play.
2. Family time at WDW can be had on weekends, school holidays, summer.
3. WDW is not really "educational," it's visiting a theme park.
4. If there was a family event like a wedding/funeral/family reunion, etc. we would pull our DD out for those if necessary, but not to play.

We had this dilemma a few years ago with a cheer trip to WDW. Even though our DD is a "top" student, and she goes to a private school with a very liberal policy on this, we chose to pull out of cheer rather than have her miss a week of school. Why? Because I want her to know that school comes first, before play.

I agree with the others that 2 weeks is a long time. We went for 2 weeks a couple of times when our DD was in preschool. They miss out on projects, skills, and socialization with their peers. It really seemed like a long time to be away.

There are many kids at my DD's school who miss 1+ weeks of school because their parents get a business trip to China or Europe and decide to take the kids (it really is educational!). But those kids have a rough time "catching up" and many end up in tutoring, 2 ended up having to repeat kindergarten.

Of course, it's up to every parent to make that decision. We've decided to go during school vacations, even though it means more crowds and less days (due to both vacation days and the higher cost of travelling during school holidays).

Good luck with your decision. Remember, I'm just stating our choices and the reasons behind them. Other people can of course do whatever they please, including just saying that it's fun and they are going to do it. Justifying this on the basis of education or family time doesn't work for me.

 

[lisadr]

As a parent who will be taking her DD(7) out of 2nd grade for 2 weeks in Sept/Oct., I say do what you KNOW is right.

You know your child better than anyone-even the teachers and administrators. If YOU feel that they can miss the time and make up/keep up the schoolwork then by all means do it.

You can make it very fun and educational as well as keeping up with the missed school work. We have done and my daughter has not suffered in any way.

If you are willing to help your child and bring them up to speed there should be no problem.I think that a lot of teachers are reluctant to see kids miss 2 weeks because a lot of parents don't have the time/ability/desire to make sure that their child keeps up with the missed work-making the job fall on them-and they have enough work as it is.

I say if you child is stable enough academically to miss 2 weeks then go and enjoy the family time-childhood is short and 2 weeks of school are a drop in the bucket compared to the lifelong memories your child will have of that family time together.

Time as a family is just as important as time spent anywhere else. Just because it's "Play" time doesn't make it any less precious.


That is my humble opinion on the subject. Good luck and have a WONDERFUL family vacation.

Lisa

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

I think 2 weeks is a long time even for a 1st grader. You need to check w/ your school system on what's allowed, too. In our system, if your child misses 10 days unexcused (and, yes, vacation is unexcused) you are reported to a truancy officer.

Same thing here. I'm all for taking kids out for vacation but not at the risk of being reported to a truancy officer...who reports to child protective services! Here, you also fail the term if you miss 10 days unexcused.

 

[Crazy4Disney72]

Here's my opinion -- and it's diff from other people's responses, but it's just my opinion here.

1. Missing school teaches kids that school is less important that play.
2. Family time at WDW can be had on weekends, school holidays, summer.
3. WDW is not really "educational," it's visiting a theme park.
4. If there was a family event like a wedding/funeral/family reunion, etc. we would pull our DD out for those if necessary, but not to play.

We had this dilemma a few years ago with a cheer trip to WDW. Even though our DD is a "top" student, and she goes to a private school with a very liberal policy on this, we chose to pull out of cheer rather than have her miss a week of school. Why? Because I want her to know that school comes first, before play.

I agree with the others that 2 weeks is a long time. We went for 2 weeks a couple of times when our DD was in preschool. They miss out on projects, skills, and socialization with their peers. It really seemed like a long time to be away.

There are many kids at my DD's school who miss 1+ weeks of school because their parents get a business trip to China or Europe and decide to take the kids (it really is educational!). But those kids have a rough time "catching up" and many end up in tutoring, 2 ended up having to repeat kindergarten.

Of course, it's up to every parent to make that decision. We've decided to go during school vacations, even though it means more crowds and less days (due to both vacation days and the higher cost of travelling during school holidays).

Good luck with your decision. Remember, I'm just stating our choices and the reasons behind them. Other people can of course do whatever they please, including just saying that it's fun and they are going to do it. Justifying this on the basis of education or family time doesn't work for me.

You certainly have the right to your opinion and of course the right to do what works for your own family, but understand that for some people, the distance WDW is from their home doesn't exactly make it practical to just go for a weekend, and some people really aren't in the position to get off during typical vacation times, like summer breaks from schools. For years my DH was low man on totem poll in his division and as such had last pick of vacation time due to the fact that coverage had to be maintained at all times. Our middle child is autistic and while he handles these things better at 11, when he was younger, his negative reactions due to excessive heat and humidity and extremely crowded conditions made summer or spring break not a good time for a family trip.

Growing up with divorced parents, I am extremely sensitive to the importance of a family relaxing, enjoying themselves, and building memories together and if that means the kids have to miss a couple days of school, as long as no one is doing poorly in school, that's okay with me. I do think 2 weeks is a lot, but that's just for my kids.

 

[NaplesRI]

I agree that 2 weeks together is a lot of time out...having said that, I think there are so many "broken" families, I would support family time, and I dont agree that Disney is not educational.
What about all the countries at Epcot? What about learning to take turns picking the rides? What about sharing glow sticks with kids that dont have any? I could go on...

We are having a family vacation next March- DS and wife, DD and her son, our grandson (she is a single Mom). I believe it is important for us to spend family time so he understands the importance and the joy of family. Yes, he will miss 5 days of school, though he is just in Pre K.

Frankly, I tried to manage it for a school vacation but the airfares are just so high for those weeks, it would not be possible.

Sorry to run on... I say go for it

 

[dreamin_disney]

well my dd has good attendance.
K-3 she's only missed a total of 5-6 days
2 for allergic reaction to fish sticks at school(2 seprate occassions)
2 days for fever last fall (i had that awfule 2 week cold/flu) we also seen her principal at urgent care too-lol!
1 day for ear surgery

We are taking her out a week in Nov. Its parent teacher conference and its min day all week. Plus the friday before. We figured it would be best since she's only going half day. I will ask for indepentant study so she gets credit(i think school still get paid too). I'm going to let her teach know in Sept so she has plenty of time to get work together.

Plus like the made up letter for excusal to go to wdw My dd will learn a lot on this trip
Flying
seeing different land in Epcot
tasting food from different cultures
budgeting(she's earning her own money and will budget it)
etc

 

[tinkerlisa]

We will be taking our son out of school for our next trip to WDW. I try to do it so that it is schedule around non holiday days off from school. Last year, we waited for parent-teacher conferences. They last three days but they are only half days! His teacher said he wouldn't be missing much and she accomodated us by letting us have our appointment the morning we left. Two weeks is to long I think but it is up to you.

 

[In a hurry]

Growing up with divorced parents, I am extremely sensitive to the importance of a family relaxing, enjoying themselves, and building memories together and if that means the kids have to miss a couple days of school, as long as no one is doing poorly in school, that's okay with me. I do think 2 weeks is a lot, but that's just for my kids.

I've found that we can relax, enjoy ourselves and build memories all of the time. It doesn't take a trip to anywhere to do so.

And, give me a break. Disney is all about fun, not about education. Anyone saying differently is pretty much full of it. You could get an "epcot" education spending an evening watching Samantha Brown on the Travel Channel.

 

[perkinsrose]

You certainly have the right to your opinion and of course the right to do what works for your own family, but understand that for some people, the distance WDW is from their home doesn't exactly make it practical to just go for a weekend, and some people really aren't in the position to get off during typical vacation times, like summer breaks from schools. For years my DH was low man on totem poll in his division and as such had last pick of vacation time due to the fact that coverage had to be maintained at all times. Our middle child is autistic and while he handles these things better at 11, when he was younger, his negative reactions due to excessive heat and humidity and extremely crowded conditions made summer or spring break not a good time for a family trip.

Growing up with divorced parents, I am extremely sensitive to the importance of a family relaxing, enjoying themselves, and building memories together and if that means the kids have to miss a couple days of school, as long as no one is doing poorly in school, that's okay with me. I do think 2 weeks is a lot, but that's just for my kids.

CrazyforDisney:
I know what you mean. Life gets hectic. With work, school, activities and all the responsibiliities and time-committments--family time is in short increments. WDW vacations are a rare time that the whole family is together 24-7 & eating every meal together and relaxed with the only decisions to make being what to enjoy next.

PreviousPosters:
Also, I think WDW can be as educational as you make it. We studied fish/mammals before visiting/observing at the Living Seas. We did a many-months long general study of the Epcot countries before visiting the World Showcase. (outside of school--I don't homeschool but I am a teacher) Kids bring books for down time & journals to write about trip. Science abounds in futureworld. Living with the land, Circle of Life, and Animal Kingdom offer opportunities to explore conservation topics.

Sure there are more educational vacation destinations, but we try to make the most of WDW trips and I have no problem Dkids missing days of school for the experiences.

 

[shortkathleen]

This is one reason I love HOMESCHOOLING! I just have to get permission from myself to take my children out of "school"!

As a former kindergarten and first grade teacher in public school I totally supported families taking vacations during the school year. In fact, I encouraged it. You are not implying that education is not as important as school. Just do what you feel is best, YOU are the parent. Don't let a goverment institution guilt you into not taking family time. Just my opinion.

 

[In a hurry]

CrazyforDisney:
I know what you mean. Life gets hectic. With work, school, activities and all the responsibiliities and time-committments--family time is in short increments. WDW vacations are a rare time that the whole family is together 24-7 & eating every meal together and relaxed with the only decisions to make being what to enjoy next.

PreviousPosters:
Also, I think WDW can be as educational as you make it. We studied fish/mammals before visiting/observing at the Living Seas. We did a many-months long general study of the Epcot countries before visiting the World Showcase. (outside of school--I don't homeschool) Kids bring books for down time & journals to write about trip. Science abounds in futureworld. Living with the land, Circle of Life, and Animal Kingdom offer opportunities to explore conservation topics.

Sure there are more educational vacation destinations, but we try to make the most of WDW trips and I have no problem Dkids missing days of school for the experiences.

The education came from your time with your child. Epcot is just a nice field trip.

I'm not in any way against families spending time together, vacationing, etc. I stated earlier that I just think 2 weeks at the same time might be difficult for the student. Per the parents knowing best, they only know best when they have ALL of the information, including what will be missed, truancy laws, etc. That is just plain common sense.

 

[vettechick99]

I co-teach first grade with the reg. ed teacher. Are you thinking of taking him out for the entire 10 days? I see several red flags here:

1. Our state only allows 15 days of absences and you are not far from it if you use 10 days for a vacation. Attendance counts against the school for their Annual Yearly Progress. If he does end up getting sick and missing 5 or more days, that's unfair to the other school/other students.

2. First grade is a HUGE year in school. They go from knowing a handful of sight words and letters to knowing all sounds (by January) and being able to blend, sound out words and being able to read just about anything. Not to mention 220 sight words and 220 spelling words. They learn many math concepts from basic addition and subtraction to measurement and geometry.

3. Don't expect the teacher to be excited about your plans. While I would be happy for you, you can't expect me to compile 2 weeks of work for your child. It's impossible. We do so much hands-on learning - we rarely do worksheets. I could give you my lesson plans and whatever work sheets we do, but that won't get you far. So think about that as you discuss things with her.

Normally I am ok with a child missing a week if they are an excellent student only. Two weeks is really pushing it. And when you take it is important also - the longer they are into the school year, the more they are exposed to and NEED that knowledge base to build upon. I'd definitely reconsider your plans to at least shorten them.

 

[Camno's Mama]

I agree with most of the other pp's on this one. Two weeks is too much...while it would be a great time, you child would probably pay for it when she comes home. In my opinion, the stress on her and you might not be worth the extra time. Could you plan it over a long weekend? When you have a Friday off and leave on the Thursday night so that you have a whole weekend and the next week?

Good luck making the decision. It's a tough decision.

 

[Aristomommy]

DD9 who has always been a good student, has missed school over the years. In first grade she missed 5 days for a family vacation. In 2nd, 3rd and 4th she missed 3 days for WDW and for visiting family in California. Each time she was fine missing the time, but had lots of homework to catch up on even just for 3 days. The work wasn't hard, but it was boring.

I personally wouldn't take off 2 weeks. This early in the school year the students are getting used to the classroom procedures and friendships are forming. I would hate for my child to feel left out on all of that so early.

OP: did you ask the school's policy before you paid for your trip? The school may have a restrictions on how many days you can miss. Both of my kids miss school during the flu season, so I can't take a chance of not having any extra days off. It doesn't matter which teacher you have, the school policy applies to all students.