Taking children out of school

[candyht]

I'm booked for the 12/19 Wonder Cruise. I have 5 year twins that are staring Kindergarten in Sept. I will have to take my kids out of school for a week in order to take this cruise. I had the option of taking the 12/26 cruise, but it would have been so much more expensive.

I went to my kids Kingergarten Orientation yesterday and the school was making a big deal about kids missing school for reasons besides illness. They said that all their school funding are based on students attendance. I'm wondering if the teacher and school will give me a hard time when I tell them that I'm taking my twins out of school for a week?

 

[prymsu]

We have never had that problem. Dakota misses very little school except for when we go on vacation. I always talk to the teacher at open house at the beginning of the school year, and explain how Dakota can do some work while we are on the trip, and do work ahead so he won't get behind. Usually i also offer to bring back some small token for each child too. Dakota and I send the class postcards from all over, and keep a journal and then he reviews that with his class after we get back.

In fact in 2001, he missed almost three weeks of school because we traveled to Beijing and Hong Kong. The teacher was very excited and said he would learn way more during that time than he would at school. I guess it depends on the teacher. We take big trips every year, usually during school time because the cost is much less. Good luck!

 

[pal2pluto]

WOW! Hmmmm...kindergarten....I can't imagine they will give you too much hassle. My dd was in 5th grade for our 7 day. The school wanted a form filled out that stated where we were going, how long, what would she learn or experience there. I see family vacations as a learning experience, and was prepared to have her do work to show it as such. They approved it without a problem. We only took one week off during that school year, so they knew we weren't abusing the privelege.

Make sure you give them plenty of notice as a courtesy, though, and they may view it better for your family in the future.

 

[KAR3600]

When my children were younger (now one is in the first year of college the other a Jr. in high school) I would take the kids out of school for a couple of days, usually when they had a long weekend involved. However, in kindergarden they are not yet preparing for their SAT's so I would not worry to much about what they are missing. The school is doing their job by trying to make you not take them out of school for vacation. If they really "hassle" you (which I doubt) explain this is the only time you have left to take vacation or you loose it. They may not be happy but.......oh well

 

[TootyJane]

Originally posted by candyht
I'm booked for the 12/19 Wonder Cruise. I have 5 year twins that are staring Kindergarten in Sept. I will have to take my kids out of school for a week in order to take this cruise. I had the option of taking the 12/26 cruise, but it would have been so much more expensive.

I went to my kids Kingergarten Orientation yesterday and the school was making a big deal about kids missing school for reasons besides illness. They said that all their school funding are based on students attendance. I'm wondering if the teacher and school will give me a hard time when I tell them that I'm taking my twins out of school for a week?

I wouldn't worry about taking your kids out of school at this age. We have taken our kids out of school over the years but this is the last year we will do so since my oldest ds will be going into high school in the fall. We have never taken the kids out of school during the first part of the school year since it's an adjustment period for students and teachers. We've usually done our vacations during the last part of May when all the school testing is over. BTW, we have to notify our schools that we're taking the kids out of school and sign a contract saying that the homework which will be assigned will be turned in on the first day back at school. By signing this contract and turning in the homework this assures that the school will be paid for the student's attendance even though the student wasn't really in school. If you don't do this schools miss out on the funds to be paid as it does when a student is out sick. The homework has been minimal and my kids usually finish it up before we leave on vacation. HTH and enjoy your vacation.

Lisa

 

[two4ruff]

I have a 1st and a 4th grade son who we recently took out for the 7 day cruise. We were up front with the school and were willing to take all missed work and also have the boys turn in journals of their trip.

We believe school is a priority and our kids only miss if they are ill, BUT we don't feel guilty about missing a week for a family vacation - they learned a lot that week about everything from different cultures, climates, transportation, the ocean, etc - you can make your own classroom!

Have fun!

 

[BeanoC]

We take our kids out of school for 2 weeks every year for vacation. We always send letters to their teachers well ahead of time, and we have never had any problems. I agree that they can and will learn more on vacation! That 2 weeks of family time is too important - what they miss at school in that time will not alter the course of their lives!!

Last year, my son was given an 'assignment' to chart all of the miles we traveled. He kept track of all the driving miles, air miles and sea (nautical) miles. He actually enjoyed doing it and he got credit for it at school.

In less than a week after returning, both of our kids were completely caught up with school and you could never tell that they even left! It is well worth it to take them out.


'Beano'

 

[4crusinransiers]

At this age its probably no big deal. At any other grade (although I know the school frowns on it) As long as the grades are there I do not see it a problem either. My Boys somtimes ( 3 times a year)
Take a Wen and Thru off so we can go camping or do family things.
My husband and I work twelve hour days on sat and sun, EVERY sat and sun so this is our only family time. One time a teacher gave me hard time till I explaned that not all parents had weekends off! Our days off are wen and thur.
My boys get good grades.
They will also be missing the first 3 days this sept as we will be on the Magic. I already told the school...no problem they said!

 

[SC Minnie]

We took DD7 out of school for a week in Jan for the 7 day cruise. She had not missed any days up to that point. I sent a note to her teacher and explained that we were going on a cruise and asked if there was anything DD could do to make the trip more educational. She gave her homework like doing a report on birds native to the area, graphing the weather, etc.

If you explain to the teacher that you are going and give her/him enough notice most of them do not have a problem. It also does not hurt to ask if there is anything 'extra' that can be done while on vacation. I don't know what that would be for kindergarten but it is always good to ask.

Family time is very important and with such hectic lives we all have these days a vacation is one of the few times we get to spend together relaxing as a family.

 

[iloverags2]

My dad was a teacher, but not in the same district where we went to school. His spring breaks did not coincide with ours so he would take us out of school during his break if we went anywhere. Our teachers were always very understanding, knowing he would be sure we had educational experiences.

On another note, we took DH's daughter on a weekend cruise two years ago, when she was in 8th grade. She missed a Friday and Monday, which we were ok with since she was a straight A student and didn't miss school during the year. It turned out to be a great experience as we did a snorkeling excursion. She had always been interested in Marine Biology, and even during her junior high years would talk about studying it when she was older. Turned out she was not thrilled at all about snorkeling and we haven't heard any desires to study MB since! Better to find out early before she set her heart on it. She did end up learning quite a bit about marine life anyways on that trip as DH is a diver and knows tons about it...he gave her the scoop on everything we saw on that trip.

 

[TnRobin]

We are taking our son out of school next week for a 7 day cruise. He is in 1st grade. I simply talked to his teacher. She agrees that there are just something that you can do in a school enviroment. Like seeing real Mayan Ruins, visiting coral reefs and petting stingrays. I am taking all his homework with us for him to do on the plane. When he returns, he is going to do a "Show and Tell" type presentation about the Coral Reefs.

 

[tcjp4me]

We to had to take our DD out of 4th grade last fall for our vacation.She is in year around school, but when we had booked the trip we didn't have a school cal. for the upcoming year.So whe she returned to school (July start of the new year for them) I was horrified to see that I had booked the cruise a week early before their break! I was very upfront with DD teacher,who was very nice and understanding about it all (by this time we had already paid final dep. and everything was set). She was great! HOWEVER-the principal was a different story, she treated me like I was the student in 4th grade (the how dare you attitude).I even said she could make up the work before we left,do a special report ect.She really was quite rude (I made sure to tell her teacher that also). We went ahead and went (late Sept. after 9/11) and it was the best trip as a family we have ever had. And when we returned - guess what no real homework for DD to do!(last week of school kind of nothing anyway I guess). So to make a long story short- you are the parent and I believe we know what is best! (don't give it a second thought-there in K they have plenty of time to be in school,and some life lessons are not always learned in school!!) Have a great time!!!

P.S. We are returning this Sept. also for the 7day Western! (during break=haha!!)

 

[Celebrategoldens]

on a cruise with you than they will in the kindergarten class. Now that I have a high school student, we are more careful of taking her out of school, in fact in our district if someone over the age of 16 misses 11 days of school, they fail the grade. When our children were younger we took them out frequently for trips. We would often let them write a report or have something to "show and tell" about when they went back to school. I think teachers like to know the families are providing life experiences to the children. AS a 9 year PTA veteran, the people they are talking to when they say "DONT let your child miss school" are the ones who get drunk at night and forget to put their child on the bus the next morning, NOT responsible parents who are enjoying family time, and exposing their children to other cultures and life experiences.
JMHO

 

[BethC1952]

We took our son out of school for two weeks every year from Kindergarten through Grade 6 for our annual Fall Trip to WDW (he's 27 now, so the cruise didn't exist then!). The school did hassle us a bit, but they couldn't refuse to let him go. He took plenty of work with him, and always did some kind of report about something he learned. Those reports weren't the usual kind of stuff, though. His fourth grade teacher loved his comments about how WDW was live theater, with all the guests playing parts and the Cast and the parks being the scenery! I wish I had kept a copy of it!

Beth

 

[Ashkins]

We will be on the May 18th 7day... Because of the days and last day of school is the 24th my kids last day of school is tusday the 14th. (hubby has a business meeting we are going to on the way) Since we knew in advace the kids are all taking their finals early and had extra project or 2 .

They are in 5th, 7th, and 8th.

I did talk to the principles of their schools and let them do the initial talking to the teachers.

 

[ErinC]

We took our DD 5 on a week long vacation in Nov/Dec. She missed a week of Kindergarten. Our teacher was great, and gave her some pages to do, which we half finished on the way to the airport before we left town. My husband had a conference in Las Vegas, so we went a week early and week to LA and Disneyland. We had a great time. I just wrote a letter to the principal about a month ahead of time. I did not ask her permission, I basically informed her of our upcoming business trip with Dad! I have a good relationship with my child's teacher, so we had no problems. And of course do not forget, that a small gift for the teacher from your trip always helps! Go and have a great time. Family is so important these days! Erin

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

We referred to our trip as a family reunion out of state. Last year the teacher gave Belle a journal to do--where she went, who she saw, how did she travel. This was her only homework (she was in K). Well, we got to the Poly, check in. Picture the scene--the sparkling water, the white sand beach, the castle across the bay. Buzz and cousins are merrily playing on the sand...and there's Belle, holed up in the room, doing her precious journal that she couldn't start until she was actually ON vacation! So, I guess there wasn't too much worry that work wouldn't get done! I think teachers are okay with it so long as the kids will be gaining some knowledge and the overall family approach to school is positive. They have to emphasize attendance, it's part of their job, and there are people who don't take education seriously. Bringing back something for the teacher or class would be a nice touch, too. (Shells? Postacards of sea life?)

 

[TootyJane]

Originally posted by Ashkins
We will be on the May 18th 7day... They are in 5th, 7th, and 8th.

Ashkins, We'll be on the same cruise. Our kids (all boys) are in 2nd, 5th and 8th. Maybe there will be a meeting of DIS members and we can meet although I haven't seen anything posted about a meet yet.

Lisa

 

[natsmom125]

We always take our dd out of school for trips. It is too hot and too expensive in the summer time.

She had the same teacher for 1st and 2nd grade...this teacher is great and always cooperated with us. She always sent Math homework and a travel journal that dd had to
keep up with each day. When it came to 3rd grade...I would always ask for work for dd
to do and she never sent anything. So when we went on the 7 day cruise in January...I took
a math workbook that I bought at Barnes & Noble, or Wal Mart or somewhere like that..
gave dd some spelling words to learn....when we got back...had dd take all this stuff to
school and give to this teacher.....and the teacher did not count her absent for those 4
days...nor did she ever acknowledge the work...I thought it was a riot!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As she gets older and in higher grades(hopefully) we will try not to take her out as much as
we have in the past....but I will still continue to do it if the situation warrants!!!!!! I'm thinking about the last week of school next year, May 2003...she will miss 2 1/2 days...by that time
they've learned all they are going to learn anyway.

Just go, enjoy, have her read a couple of books and she'll be fine......

Phyllis

 

[glindamood]

This must be getting to be an issue - it pops up every now and then. This is a personal choice but I can tell you what we have done and I would do it again.

We have 3 DS's - 21, 18, 12 and we have always gone to WDW during October and had to pull them out of school. I have never had a problem - with them getting their work done or the school district allowing us to take them out. As stated earlier, I have always let the teachers know early in the year that this is our plan and work with them. Now, with one in college and #2 on the way to college, I won't let them take a week from classes to go so we have had to find a time after their finals to go but will still are pulling out our youngest out for our 12/14 cruise.

Have a great cruise!