Taking kids out of School-AGAIN

[KBazzel]

We took both of our girls (K & 3rd) out for a week this year. My youngest did all of her work for the week in about 2 hours on the car ride down to FL. My oldest took a little longer (she had some work to do on the way home still) but easily made up the work before she even returned to school. That was our agreement. We got their work ahead of time and they had it finished before they returned (The school or their teachers didn't ask us to do this. It was our family rule).

We had to ask the principal and their teachers for permission but didn't have any problems. My oldest is a straight A student and my youngest has already mastered all the K concepts for the year (including addition and subtraction and is reading very well on her own).

We will be taking them out again next year for another week. In our school system is becomes much more difficult for my oldest the following year when she enters middle school in 5th grade. We want to take advantage of this opportunity now while we can. Because we're going off season we can go for longer lengths. When we have to go during higher peak (and higher priced) seasons we'll have to cut the length of our trips. They still both believe in the magic right now and I want them to have the chance to experience it as much as possible while they can.

Kira

 

[ilovejack02]

Took DS7 out for 10 days in Kinder, 5 days in 1rst and 5 days in 2nd. Never had an issue making up the work and he makes straight A's .

We get out really early for summer usually around May 21, so starting next year we are going to start skipping the last day or two of school on going on vacation. I think it will start getting to hard to catch up if we miss a full week.

 

[MamaJessie]

ARE YOU SERIOUS??? Yes, they are crazy! Since you are typing in complete sentences, I'm positive you and your wife are smarter than a first grade level.

I have taken my daughter out of school for Disney trips twice, and my son once. I'll be doing it again in December. DD will be in Jr. high by then but she is very bright and will be just fine. On the other hand my son is a little more high maintenance but the thought of taking him during a very busy time is, well miserable. And I don't go to Disney to be miserable

I think family time is the real foundation they are building on.

 

[DCbride]

GT Teacher here- take them to Disney!! The time spent with family and experiencing new foods, sights, etc is so much more important than being in a classroom for the week. I am sure with enough notice their teachers can provide worksheets that the kids can do on the plane/car so they don't fall behind.

When parents ask what they can do for their gifted child my first response is - take them places!

 

[ajh88]

I haven't read through everything, but it sounds nuts to me!

I'm a firm believer in the importance of education and all that (hey, I'm back in school myself right now!) - but in the grand scheme of life, a few days of school is NOT a big deal. I do understand that different children deal with disruptions to their routines differently, which is why their parents need to decide what will work for them.

We took DD out of 3rd grade for a few days last December right before Christmas break. We caught heck from my family for it, but the school didn't mind and neither did she. She did all her make up homework - and then went back to school to teach her classmates about gluvine and tannenbaum, which she learned from Helga the holiday storyteller in Germany!

Just wanted to add that we haven't necessarily set out to go during the school year on purpose - we've taken DD out twice - once was over my fall break from school and once was this past Christmas. We've had to work around my school schedule, which is infinitely more demanding and much less forgiving than hers. Once I finish school, we'll go back to "peak" times or maybe missing just a day of school - especially since she is approaching middle school in a couple of years!

 

[Bugsmom73]

Have done it before. Pulled out for Kindy and she missed 1.5 days of first grade(the last day and a half to be exact).

 

[TxDisFans]

We just took our K and 1 out for an entire week. Their teachers were totally supportive - both said "do it now, cause it's hard to do it when they're older!"

Some tips: as a former elem. teacher, I never minded when my 2nd or 3rd graders were taken out for a week to spend time with their families.

I DID mind a LOT when parents asked me to prepare work for them 1 month in advance so they could finish it all before they left on their trips; this may seem like a good idea to parents, but for the teacher it's a LOT of extra work... and simply not always possible that far in advance.

More commonly, parents would send in a note on the kid's last day saying "Jimmy will be out for a week. Please send him home today with all of his work so he won't fall behind." To me, this was so disrespectful and reflected a total lack of understanding about my job. During the school day, teachers have very little free time, if any! Gathering materials for an entire week takes planning, and it can't be done at the last minute like that.

So - when you do pull your kids - and you should! - I suggest that you let the teachers know politely one week in advance. Tell them that you'd be happy to take any work that they'd like to assign and you'll ensure that it's completed. That gives the teacher the option, but not the requirement, to assign vacation work, and an appropriate amount of time to do it!

Have a great trip!!!

 

[bellebud]

academically, yes, it's crazy to worry about K and 1st grade. I'd just make sure of the rules of the school, and make it as easy for the teacher as you can (just meaning what they prefer to be done as far as missed work). Go and enjoy!

 

[krcit]

I took my kids out once when the girls were in 4th and 1st grade. My ds was only 3. I am so sorry that I didn't do it again because now that my oldest is in high school, I would never take her out and she would never want to b/c the work is INSANE. Anyway, I wish I had gotten in another off-season trip before it was too late.

 

[nicki.momof3]

Yes, yes it is nuts What's going to happen?? Is the kindergartener going to miss learning the letter R and spend the rest of his or her life cursing you for it No wonder children are having anxiety attachs and ulcers. So much pressure!!.

I think the the NUTS statement here is that you think in 5 days of school all a k-1 student is going to miss is the letter R.

Have you seen your childs work in say the last year. Not sure about your school but my K student in reading a different book everyday and has a math assignment.

I am a teacher and 100% support parents right to take a vacation when every they want but what bothers me is how you minimize what a child does everyday in school.

 

[Samar]

FWIW, my son was out sick with a horrid case of strep for 4 days this week and had about 20 pages of make-up classwork/homework. That's a lot of homework for a first grader to come home to from a Disney trip, especially if the teacher won't give it out beforehand.

To each their own

 

[susykt4]

Last year I had a rough time at work where I was working 7 days a week and due to circumstances, could not get vacation time in May, June or July. We decided family time outweighed anything else and pulled the kids (then K and 3rd) out for two weeks in Jan/Feb. Ten full days out of school. It was the best, most needed family vacation ever! It WAS tough for the kids to come back and make up all that work. I would not do it again for 2 weeks. However, we're pulling the kids (now 1st and 4th) for 2 days in May to go to a baseball game and then spend a long weekend in Chicago. Oh, I forgot to mention that my son's K teacher commented on how much more focused he was after missing two weeks. We pulled my daughter out for a week in K and 1st for Disney trips also.

 

[DrMomof3]

We took our kids to Disney in mid-December and my eldest missed 3 days of K. When I run the half-marathon in January, he will miss a few days of 1st grade. He's an excellent student and at the top of his class. My job is very demanding and it's hard for me to take school holidays off. I am NOT a fan of having my kids miss school for Disney but I want them to see me run the half marathon.
I'm not worried about him getting behind. He's very self-motivated and will make up whatever work he misses. I am worried about the message we're sending - that it's ok to miss school to have fun. I'm hoping the message the kids receive is that family time is also important!
On our December trip we had our son write/draw something every day to explain what he did on our trip. We'll come up with an age-appropriate assignment for him on our next trip, too.

Amanda

 

[crisi]

I think the the NUTS statement here is that you think in 5 days of school all a k-1 student is going to miss is the letter R.

Have you seen your childs work in say the last year. Not sure about your school but my K student in reading a different book everyday and has a math assignment.

I am a teacher and 100% support parents right to take a vacation when every they want but what bothers me is how you minimize what a child does everyday in school.

In kindergarten and first grade, a student who is already ahead of the curve learning wise it probably isn't a big deal.

But around here its generally "elementary school age, it changes in middle school" - and for some parents and districts its ok until high school. And for some parents and districts its ok all the time.

I was a little shocked this year when it turned out not ok in fourth grade. Three days gone for school turned into two months of homework headache for a kid who reads at a sixth grade level, is pulled from her regular math for enrichment math, and has no problems with facts. It wasn't really the fact mastery, it was that she missed a lot of work. A straight A student brought home a report card filled with Bs. There were other organizational things going on as well - and the missing for a "no worries, irresponsible" vacation was exactly the wrong message at the wrong time.

It was nice that it was fourth grade. I think by the time she hits middle school she'll hit it with a sense of responsibility.

If I had to raise this kid over again, I'd do it differently. We wouldn't have pulled her before this. We'd raise her with a better sense of responsibility and more discipline.

(My son, who is a year older....no issues).

 

[Momto3cuties]

So silly As a former K teacher, I wish MORE families did this. A week with your family is far more important than a week of kindergarten, especially if you are both working parents or mom/dad travels alot. I always asked my students to keep a journal and to share it with us when they returned. The kids in the class LOVED it. I also suggested that if they could that they send a postcard to the class via the school address or email us a picture while there. The students would always get excited to get "mail".

I do think that it is important to find out what your school's policy is though. I think whatever it may be you can make a case for the educational aspects of a trip to Disney.

Go and have fun!

PS - We are taking our 5 year old kindergartner out AGAIN this year. He missed 4.5 days in October, 2 for his aunts wedding in January, and now another 4 for an April vacation. No one at the school has said anything, but have a great time. My DH also travels ALOT, so it is such a great family time for us.

 

[humboldthny]

As a former teacher I personally think that unless your child has either missed a great number of days already, or is more than a quarter behind in their progress it's no big deal to take kids out.

The experiences that they get from a family vacation are a lot more important than 5 days of K (and I can say that because I taught K ).

I think it's a bit different when they reach middle school...but you're not there yet, so enjoy your vacation!!

 

[mousebymarriage]

I wouldn't worry about taking your K and 1st grader out for a week. In Feb. we took our 3rd grade DS and 8th grade DD out for 6 days (they actually only missed 4 days because we happened to have 2 days off for snow). They caught up without any problems very quickly.

 

[southtexasmom]

Just make sure you know the rules for your school district. In our district if the absence is unexcused the missed work can not be made up, the students receive a zero for anything missed.

 

[tttessa]

Remember education and schooling are 2 different things ..... school is there to facilitate the learning process, to tick boxes and make sure our kids can all jump through the same hoops at the same age - and there is nothing wrong with that. Education is part schooling and part the enrichment that our parenting provides. A well rounded person takes from both aspects.
To me education includes the family trips, the fishing with grandpa, the girl guides, whatever.

Tessa

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Remember education and schooling are 2 different things ..... school is there to facilitate the learning process, to tick boxes and make sure our kids can all jump through the same hoops at the same age - and there is nothing wrong with that. Education is part schooling and part the enrichment that our parenting provides. A well rounded person takes from both aspects.
To me education includes the family trips, the fishing with grandpa, the girl guides, whatever.

Tessa

Only wish my DD's school felt the same way