Taking kids out of school

[Luhts]

I know there are threads abt this in the Family section, but the Canadian perspective is a bit different, I think.
I am taking my 9 y/o out for two weeks and I am starting to worry. It's too late to change my mind now, everything is booked.
So I guess I am looking for tips on lessening the load when we return, and dealing tactfully with telling his teacher! We took him out for two weeks once before for a family trip. The teacher was quite difficult about giving us work in advance so we had quite a bit to do when we got back. We managed okay, but he's older now and the work will be harder.
Boy, I wish we hadn't done this...

 

[cslittle999]

I think you may have to live with getting the work after the trip. If you think about it from the teacher's perspective you're asking them to do extra work to allow your child to go on vacation which in turn creates more work for them when they get back. I'm fine with taking kids out of school for vacations (we're going to WDW for an extended weekend at the beginning of October) but I think you need to work with the teacher to find the best way to make up the work. Key I think is telling the teacher as soon as possible.

 

[Disney_Mama]

Let the teacher know asap. Every teacher is different. Just because the last one gave you a hard time does not mean this one will. I take my kids out almost every year for an extra week during March break and never worry about it. Go and have fun.

 

[seashoreCM]

Any chance he could telephone his friends on a rotating basis every couple of days to find out what the assignments were, instead of taking the teachers' time? Maybe the friends could fax assignments sheets down, too.

As far as actually doing the assignments, this part has to be accomplished sometime. Missing two weeks of school means a lot of work. I really don't recommend doing this trip at all, unless your 9yo (probably with your help) wants to spend every morning from 8 to 11 (optimistically) in the resort room doing the lessons.

To minimize spoiling his concentration, you go down to the food court or restaurant to get the breakfast and lunch. If the topic choice is broad enough, you could buy books for his book reports at a park gift shop as opposed to bringing them from home or going (with him) to a nearby public library (Kissimmee?).

I can see the teacher's dilemma and difficulty of preparing a lesson plan. Why don't you prepare the lesson plan and the teacher(s) can OK (eyeball, ratify, rubberstamp, etc.) it. If I were a teacher (and I almost became one) I would not bother to mix up the questions on tests when giving them at a later date to kids who were out sick or out on vacation.

Disney hints: http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[My 2 princesses]

is educational, no???

Don't mean to make light of it, but I am taking my SK DD out for a week. Figured since it is only half a day anyway, all she's missing is 2.5 days.

I know a lot of CDN's who have taken bigger kids out. Hope all goes well with the teacher this time around.

 

[crock]

Hello,
I too am a little nervous about our upcoming trip. (21st-28th) but like you its booked and paid for and I don't plan on losing the money. We don't normally take our DS (10) every year, although we have done it twice before. Grade 1, we did the last week of January and last year we did the first week of December report cards were given out the Friday before we left. Each time the teachers were great and gave homework prior to him leaving. I think I am just nervous because we did go last year. (when we booked this trip, my mother was in the hospital and the doctors didn't give us much hope- we booked to give ourselves a little something to look forward too - Mom recovered thankfully) What I plan on doing is sending a note the second day of school (once I know names) and explaining, first off, I will ask if they will have any projects due that week (we will just have it ready for the Friday before we leave if he does) If the teachers (he has two) can't give me a plan for the week, what I plan on doing is just working ahead in math (that's always for homework), french work sheets (he's in immersion) bringing books to read, and a journal of some sort. The two other times we have done this, DS has worked really hard at keeping up with the work and the journal is a great way to capture what we did during the day, also takes him down a notch each night before bed.
While I am nervous about it, and I completely understand it from teachers perspective, family time is just as important as school time (especially at the ages we are talking about) Chances are children are not going to be scarred for life because they missed one or two weeks of school in grade 4 or 5, while they are going to miss something - we as parents just have to help them learn whatever it is they miss. All that being said, I won't take him out of school every year, I may not even take him out of school again. We'll have to change our vacation habits but that's ok. Look forward to your trip! Enjoy it for all it has to offer, your child will catch up and you will have wonderful memories!

 

[Beechnut]

I agree. We took our DD out of G2 French immersion for 2 weeks to go to Mexico. We spent time discussing lanugage (v similar to french) money exchange, and culture. She did a presentation when we came back and emailed the school regularly. Her entire class learned something.

We have a family occasion mid September and she will miss 3 days around a weekend the second week of school. We are travelling to Quebec, so I figure the french immersion she will get there will be 'better' than the school (24hr of french vs 7)


This year we are lucky we are going to Disney for 2 wks for Christmas and she will only be missing 3 days of G3. Our family came very close to a death of a member and the time spent spending quality time together can not be replaced.

Just my 2 cents

 

[dis_guy]

I've been a teacher for 26 years, so maybe I could offer an opinion. I expect that one of your child's teacher's problems is that it is still very early in the term. Things are very much up in the air, stress levels are up and this is just another thing to add to it all. Perhaps they're jealous too, because we don't have the option to travel when it's less crowded and less expensive!

If you can make sure you take along something (maybe the principal should be contacted to help with this) in the way of school work, especially in LA (English) and Math. You can impress the teacher by coming back with it all done.

I used to teach a few kids from a family in the accounting business. Sure enough right after tax time, they'd be gone for a month. They always made a big deal about making sure we all prepared lessons for the trip. Never did a bit, not a page, not a question. I must say it is very rare for any student to actually do work and turn it in from vacations.

So there you have it. For us it's hard to feel enthusiastic about your trip because it represents extra effort for us that is usually returned with little or no effort from our students and their parents.

 

[F4disneyfan]

I know there are threads abt this in the Family section, but the Canadian perspective is a bit different, I think.
I am taking my 9 y/o out for two weeks and I am starting to worry. It's too late to change my mind now, everything is booked.
So I guess I am looking for tips on lessening the load when we return, and dealing tactfully with telling his teacher! We took him out for two weeks once before for a family trip. The teacher was quite difficult about giving us work in advance so we had quite a bit to do when we got back. We managed okay, but he's older now and the work will be harder.
Boy, I wish we hadn't done this...

I wouldn't worry too much about it our kids are missing the better part of 3 weeks this Oct for our trip and have been missing a min of 2 weeks a year for our family Disney trips and none of them have had any issues.

 

[F4disneyfan]

I've been a teacher for 26 years, so maybe I could offer an opinion. I expect that one of your child's teacher's problems is that it is still very early in the term. Things are very much up in the air, stress levels are up and this is just another thing to add to it all. Perhaps they're jealous too, because we don't have the option to travel when it's less crowded and less expensive!

If you can make sure you take along something (maybe the principal should be contacted to help with this) in the way of school work, especially in LA (English) and Math. You can impress the teacher by coming back with it all done.

I used to teach a few kids from a family in the accounting business. Sure enough right after tax time, they'd be gone for a month. They always made a big deal about making sure we all prepared lessons for the trip. Never did a bit, not a page, not a question. I must say it is very rare for any student to actually do work and turn it in from vacations.

So there you have it. For us it's hard to feel enthusiastic about your trip because it represents extra effort for us that is usually returned with little or no effort from our students and their parents.

I can see where that would be very frustrating to put together all teh work for the kids and then have them return with none of it done. If our kids were to do that then they would lose out on the trips that is one of our pre requisites that they do the work the teacher sends. We have an hour a night where they sit in the room and do their homework for the most part we drive and they do it all during the drive or most of it which leaves very little to be done while we are at Disney.

 

[dis_guy]

I can see where that would be very frustrating to put together all teh work for the kids and then have them return with none of it done. If our kids were to do that then they would lose out on the trips that is one of our pre requisites that they do the work the teacher sends. We have an hour a night where they sit in the room and do their homework for the most part we drive and they do it all during the drive or most of it which leaves very little to be done while we are at Disney.

Wish there were more families like yours! On behalf of teachers everywhere, thanks!

 

[Luhts]

Thanks for your replies so far! It's nice to hear that others are doing this/have done this and had no major problems.

I am wondering abt something, tho...wouldn't the lesson plans be made up ahead of time? I wouldn't think providing the lesson plans for the week or two we would be gone would be 'extra work' for the teacher if these things are planned in advance.

 

[Luhts]

Wish there were more families like yours! On behalf of teachers everywhere, thanks!

Last time we took ds out, the teacher was not cooperative in sending work for us, but I made him read every night, do a book report, as well as keep a daily journal of our trip experiences. If the teacher had provided work for us, I would have made sure he did some of it every night as well.
I am hoping this teacher will be more cooperative in providing some work for him so he isn't bogged down when we get back, but again I don't want to make it hard on the teacher either since it isn't his/her fault we are taking our vacation at an inconvenient time.

 

[Northstar]

I am wondering abt something, tho...wouldn't the lesson plans be made up ahead of time? I wouldn't think providing the lesson plans for the week or two we would be gone would be 'extra work' for the teacher if these things are planned in advance.

The general outline may well be planned, but not the details... ie, the teacher knows the kids will be reading "Holes" for novel study, covering some math that involves estimating and graphing as well as number operations with multiplication, working on a science unit about mass and volume... but she hasn't located all the materials and planned exactly what she'll do in the time blocks she's marked out for these units, or what homework will be assigned. More important, even if she HAS done all the micro-planning, it will take her a ton of time to write it out in a form that's understandable to another person.

You might get a better response if you ask:
Are there any big projects planned to come due while we're away? What would be acceptable for you for makeup/later due date?
Are there any big new concepts scheduled to be introduced, and if so, do you have any textbooks or written material we could use to do some work with our child?
Would you like us make sure our child does some reading, and if so, how much, and would you like to recommend any specific books?
If we have our child keep a journal about the trip, could that substitute for writing done in class during the time away?


I've been on both sides of this (parent taking child out and teacher trying to explain to parents why I can't hand over a neat curriculum packet that will exactly replicate what will go on in my class). The bottom line is, if your child isn't in class because of a vacation, the school/ teacher shouldn't have to take extra time to accommodate, prepare material, and re-teach it.

 

[striker3636]

Here's my two cents in wearing both hats (parent and teacher):

As a parent: When we pull the kids out of school the kids have to complete part of their travel journal each night. We usually need a bit of time to wind down for the night (unless it is a special night that we have been out late, then we'll skip it) and this works well for us. Have a look at this link for a great travel journal....scroll down a bit and you will find pages that are for answering questions, blank journal pages, EPCOT activities, and more. We use these not only as a keepsake for the kids' memories of the trip, but also as a way to ensure that they are still reading and writing each day. We have my ds read maps, menus, etc etc....there are plenty of opportunities to incorporate language into your child's day and still have fun. We give the kids their own budget, which is my sneaky way of bringing in math and money as they figure out how to stretch out every penny. Our teachers have always had the "have fun and enjoy family time" approach, and welcome the completed journal as an opportunity to share, etc.

http://www.themouseforless.com/downloads/kids/journal.shtml


As a teacher: Yes, we do plan ahead, but often specific lessons are planned as we go along. There are many factors which affect how,what and when we teach lessons: most importantly for me though, is how well each child in the class grasps concepts, and what is necessary in the learning process to ensure that happens. So, we constantly reflect and change so that everyone "gets it". Sometimes this means we need to provide more time to practise, alternate ways to present the material, and so on. What I'm trying to say is that it isn't always possible for us to say exactly what we will be doing several weeks in the future. Some units take longer than anticipated, etc etc. We have children working at various levels and will assign activities as we see how each child is demonstrating understanding. School is quite different than what it was like when I was in elementary school, and worksheets aren't always a big component of a lesson (if at all, depending on the subject).

Perhaps instead of asking your child's teacher to organize things ahead of time, ask if he or she would be willing to put any missed material in a "while you were away" folder for you to work on afterwards. She will likely be able to tell you the unit and/or concepts you child will likely miss so that you could work on this before you get the folder so that your child isn't too far behind or starting a new concept. Definitely let the teacher know early.

 

[F4disneyfan]

Last time we took ds out, the teacher was not cooperative in sending work for us, but I made him read every night, do a book report, as well as keep a daily journal of our trip experiences. If the teacher had provided work for us, I would have made sure he did some of it every night as well.
I am hoping this teacher will be more cooperative in providing some work for him so he isn't bogged down when we get back, but again I don't want to make it hard on the teacher either since it isn't his/her fault we are taking our vacation at an inconvenient time.

Only a few times have we actually had a teacher send any work most times we are just asked to have them read and take pictures and do a full report of the trip to share with the others in class. This is like getting them to do work but far more fun. They get to put together a pictorial history of the trip and use their organizational and writing skills to do so. The kids go to Kensall Park for french immesion so we also make them read their french books while we are away.

 

[Debbie]

Thanks for your replies so far! It's nice to hear that others are doing this/have done this and had no major problems.

I am wondering about something, tho...wouldn't the lesson plans be made up ahead of time? I wouldn't think providing the lesson plans for the week or two we would be gone would be 'extra work' for the teacher if these things are planned in advance.

I think that Northstar and striker gave you the optimum answer. I have my plans laid out, but they go with the kids. And it never goes as planned! There always seem to be interruptions that cause the lesson plans to be delayed one day, two days, a week. . . or we end up on a tangent and a different course altogether.

The past two years my daughter has been fortunate to go with her uncle and cousins. She started the first/second day of school with "92 days until Disney." "91 days until Disney." "90 days until Disney." (you get the idea Don't leave it to the last minute to tell the teacher.)

I would let the teacher know what your plans are, ask if there are any big projects due the dates that you are away (probably not, but be safe), and ask that any handouts be put into a file folder or envelope while you are gone so that you can catch "Bobby" up when you get home. The teacher will help once you are home, as s/he sees Bobby's needs.

I typically send my Roman (roamin' ) Mickey and a journal when my students go anywhere. That gives them someone to write to each day.

Bring home some Mickey cookies for the teacher, be ready to help you child a bit when you get home, and before you know it, you'll be lamenting that it's winter, and you are not in Disney.

 

[drag n' fly]

Well I must be the only one it has not worked for. Pulling kids caused stress for us, our kids, the teacher etc! Teachers will not give work to do (in our school) because they know it will not get done. Is that not the whole point of a vacation anyways? They must catch up at lunch hour and after school here. Our kids marks were affected. They had trouble keeping up with missed math concepts taught in class and a whole lot more. It really did not work for us. We ended buying DVC and will be vacationing only when the kids are out of school from now on.

 

[Luhts]

Well I must be the only one it has not worked for. Pulling kids caused stress for us, our kids, the teacher etc! Teachers will not give work to do (in our school) because they know it will not get done. Is that not the whole point of a vacation anyways? They must catch up at lunch hour and after school here. Our kids marks were affected. They had trouble keeping up with missed math concepts taught in class and a whole lot more. It really did not work for us. We ended buying DVC and will be vacationing only when the kids are out of school from now on.

This is exactly what I am afraid of. But the trip is booked, so I am just trying to be as prepared as I can. I won't do it again, atleast not for two weeks!

 

[Miandrea]

As an vice-principal, I uphold our school's policy of no work provided by the classroom teacher when the students are withdrawn from school. Children are encouraged to read, keep a journal or create a photo book.