Taking kids out of school

[Luhts]

I just talked to two of my kids teachers today(they are in grade 3 and 5). We leave next week already so I wanted to give them a little notice. I felt so bad introducing myself and in the same breath explaining that I was taking them out of school next week already. They were both great and said they would try to put a little work together. I told them that would be great but not to go out of their way....the girls know they will have some make-up work. As far as telling the office for attendance reasons, I just tell the secretary when we will be gone and she makes a note in her calendar! (must be a lot more kids that take holidays during the year!) My son doesn't start JK until Friday either so I will talk to his teacher then.

You're pretty close to us, I wonder if you'd have the same 'rules' as us. I have to fill out an "extended absense" form which the principal has to approve!

I'm also wondering if having a teacher with a straight grade-4 class this year, it will be easier for the teacher to give work in advance than having a split-class, which we've always had to deal with in past years.

 

[Beechnut]

. I have to fill out an "extended absense" form which the principal has to approve!
.

APPROVE! What happens if he doesn't??

 

[newrygirl]

I took my kids out of school when they were in grades 3 and 6 for 2 weeks to do Disney. I also took them out for 2 weeks last December to go to Ireland when they were in grades 6 and 9 and I am taking them out for 2 weeks this Dec to go to Disney again and they are in grades 7 and 10. I worked in a school for 10 years and believe me if they do their work it does them no harm. 99% of teachers don't mind kids going on trips. If you take away gym, recess, lunch. music and a few other things the amount of work time in a day is alot less than you would think. on our first trip my oldest son in grade 6 had to chart the max and min temps on a graph and keep a jornal, that was all. Going to Ireland in grades 6 and 9 all their teachers said they would be learning way more there then in the class and neither of them recieved much work. this year we get back from our trip a week before Christmas break so I figure they can catch up over their break. So even in high school it can be done, just go and enjoy, our time with our kids is too short as it is.

 

[Boncho]

I wouldn't worry. I have always taken my son out of school for at least one week for vacation every year. Let the teacher know as soon as possible. My sons' teachers have never given him work to do while on vacation (even though I ask if there is any he can do while away), they always tell us to go have a good time and he can catch up when we get back. There is always quite a bit of work to do the first week back, but my son doesn't mind because it's not that bad. This year my son is in grade 8 and we plan to do it again -this year we are going in May; to him missing school is O.K. but missing hockey NEVER!!! Hockey is over usually by mid April so I figure the first part of May will be O.K.

 

[Luhts]

APPROVE! What happens if he doesn't??

This is from the schoolboard website:

"1. RESPONSIBILITIES OF PARENTS/GUARDIANS
1.1 Parents/guardians have the primary responsibility for ensuring their children’s regular school attendance. The Education Act stipulates for students to be absent only for reasons of illness, music lessons, suspension, expulsion and quarantines. Absence for any other reason must be approved by the principal."

It doesn't say what could happen, but my guess would be the student would have to repeat the grade if they had too many "unexcused" absenses for the year.

 

[dvdvideo]

I was shocked last year in Sept. when I went.....I expected no kids and found a ton!

 

[Luhts]

Well, if these boards are any indication, there will be a lot there again this year!
I dropped off my letters, but didn't stick around for any comments as they were all very busy with the start of the school year and all. DS (9) had his first math homework this weekend, and he didn't have a lot of trouble with it. The only real trouble was getting him to do it! lol
We have our 'meet the teacher night' Sept. 16th, so I guess if there is anything to be said I will hear it then.

 

[Hoogy]

Our open house/meet the teacher night is this coming Wed....we'll be leaving that morning! My daughter in grade 5 came home with extra work yesterday already. Her teacher said instead of doing it on her holidays he would give it to her early so she could get it done this week-end. YEAH!! My son's JK teacher said his homework on vacation was to do some colouring...seems silly but she means that he practices holding a pencil/crayon.

 

[drag n' fly]

What is really nice is how civil this thread has remained

 

[jeffd101]

I agree but don't jinx it!!

 

[drag n' fly]

I did crossies while posting

 

[yosh12]

themouseforless is where i got my sheets, some i used some i didn't. The non question sheets with just lines and characters on them just made it a little more interesting to have to do some work on holiday. They are only young once enjoy your time with them and help them catch up later. However in 9 days we are vacationing in the World without our son.

 

[lisabrown]

In my own humble personal opinion, kids grow up so fast and time with them is so precious. You only go around this life once, so travel, have fun and make wonderful memories without hesitation. Life is short.

 

[tigger & mickey]

We are taking DS15 abd DD13 out for a week in Nov and this is the fourth year we are doing it. Teachers have been great about generally letting DS and DD know the topics that are going to be covered while they are away and what if any assignments are due. They both usually try to get ahead of the work before we go and then make up the difference when we get back. Anything that is assigned they usually complete on the plane ride down and back. It has never been an issue with us but the kids also know that if they do not put in the extra effort there will be no future trips.

 

[Luhts]

Principal and teachers are fine with the trip, so that worry is gone, but now my ds(9) has got me worried. He wouldn't go to school this morning, said his stomach hurt. I sent him back to bed but when I checked on him he was up playing, having a great time! I asked what was going on and all he would say was "I hate school." Oh great! He had no trouble with his homework this weekend, he likes his teacher, the bully from last year isn't in his class this year. I just don't know what it could be this time, and he won't tell me!
Aaaaahhh!!
Yes, I know this is a different topic really, but hey, it's my thread!

 

[cvs2kids]

Principal and teachers are fine with the trip, so that worry is gone, but now my ds(9) has got me worried. He wouldn't go to school this morning, said his stomach hurt. I sent him back to bed but when I checked on him he was up playing, having a great time! I asked what was going on and all he would say was "I hate school." Oh great! He had no trouble with his homework this weekend, he likes his teacher, the bully from last year isn't in his class this year. I just don't know what it could be this time, and he won't tell me!
Aaaaahhh!!
Yes, I know this is a different topic really, but hey, it's my thread!

I've gone through that before, its not fun. It can be a litany of things including;
-last year's best friend not so friendly.
-misses friend's from last year's class.
-finding work a bit harder.
- believe it or not, could be eye sight issues. My daughter's vision isn't great, and she she complains about class, its time to have her tested.
-something embarrassing happened that to an adult seems miniscule (like a fart in class). ALthough that is a symbol of prode for most boys.

Best luck.

 

[tiggerrr]

Took both DS's to WSW last year and they were in Grade 12 and Grade 9 respectively. They missed 9 days of school and I let the teachers know in advance. They gratefully got assignments together for us and the boys did them mostly during our layover on the way there.

Going back this year and the boys are still in school and will be missing time just after the Christmas break (7 days of school). They know they need to have their marks at a certain level before we leave and we will get assignments before the Christmas break. If all goes well they will complete them before we leave and we won't have anything to work on when we are there. (Wishful thinking but that's okay too!)

Not only will they miss school but they are also going to miss hockey....their favorite sport. They learned a lot about themselves on the last trip and that life is all about memories and not just the books but the experiences we have while going through it. We leave on January 1 and it can't come fast enough.

 

[Cdnmommy]

I did print out a couple of those pages. I think they are 'stickies' at the top of the Families forum. I found them very "American" though, so I ended up making up my own. One I think is really good is about how Disney shows what life was like in the past and how it may be different in the future. It's saved on dh's computer but maybe I can somehow create a link to it on Wednesday if you are interested, snickerboo.
Have you seen that they have a new exhibit in Epcot Innoventions showing what it's like to be in a hurricane? Very timely, I'd say! That will be another great 'educational opportunity'!

We will be in Magic Kingdom one month from tomorrow!

Edit: Here is the link to the pages: http://www.themouseforless.com/downloads.shtml#kids

Thanks for the link, this site is great! I'll be taking my ds (grad 6) and dd (SK) out for 10 days at the end of Nov/beginning of Dec, however it works out that there is a PA day in there so they will miss just one week in total (less for dd). I am writing a note to each teacher today to send to the school. We've never taken our kids out for a vaction before (this is our first WDW trip) so have no idea how it will work. I'll post after I hear back from them.

 

[Luhts]

Thanks for the link, this site is great! I'll be taking my ds (grad 6) and dd (SK) out for 10 days at the end of Nov/beginning of Dec, however it works out that there is a PA day in there so they will miss just one week in total (less for dd). I am writing a note to each teacher today to send to the school. We've never taken our kids out for a vaction before (this is our first WDW trip) so have no idea how it will work. I'll post after I hear back from them.

Good luck! No one even batted an eye at my school. The secretary laughed at the time I spent creating a letter to attach to my extended absense form. I actually copied one off here, or possibly mouseforless, and edited to suit my needs. I'm thinking it must be a bigger issue in the US than in Canada.

 

[bubba]

We took our boys out of school in May 2006 (one in preschool and one in Grade 2) and again in May 2008 (SK and Gr 4). When I told DS grade 2 teacher about the trip, she said she would gather some worksheets together and get them to me before the trip. The day before we left, she pulled me aside and told me not to worry about homework but he could write in a journal every day and share with the class when he got back. In 2008, the grade 4 teacher and the learning resource teacher (both boys are classed as gifted) both said they wouldn't assign 'homework' but would be pleased with journals. Both boys wrote in their journals daily - things like what they did, which ride was their favorite, people and characters they met. They tended to do this when they were waiting for DH and I to get ready for dinner or to go to the pool, so it wasn't a huge time commitment. I also printed off word searches, crossword puzzles, trivia games etc and created a book for each boy to keep them occupied on the flight.