Taking Kids Out Of School

[Horizons16]

I dont really fit in any of those i dont think but

I usually would miss a few days in Jan thats when we go for christmas and 3 or 4 days after school goes back is when i come back. But now that im graduated.... i dont have that problem!

 

[Took]

We have taken our DD (8) out every year since summers are almost impossible for us to use for vacation. However, we are very careful to clear the idea with her teacher before we make plans. Normally, teachers have encouraged us to take this time and have helped her come up with small projects to highlight the educational aspects of any travel experience. We are careful to see that she misses few other days during the year.

took

 

[zurgswife]

OK...I figured out your poll

You are asking about which time frame people generally would take there kids out...

Under high school ( i still have 1 more year left)....It wouldn't and hasn't mattered the time of year....September to June...I take them out depending on what I want to do..

 

[ValerieK]

I will take my kids out of school, except at the beginning or end or the year. I believe that there is too much going on at these times of year to take your child out. The beginning of the year, the kids are getting to know there teachers and classmates.

DH has a conference at the Dolphin in September and we are leaving our DS with a friend. DD is still in preschool, so she will be coming with us.

 

[wee-haggis]

Originally posted by ValerieK
I will take my kids out of school, except at the beginning or end or the year. I believe that there is too much going on at these times of year to take your child out. The beginning of the year, the kids are getting to know there teachers and classmates.

DH has a conference at the Dolphin in September and we are leaving our DS with a friend. DD is still in preschool, so she will be coming with us.

I agree that the beginning of the school year would not be recommended but at the end of the school year (after final exams) the last couple of weeks are pretty much non events.
How does your son feel about getting left behind while his sister,mother and father are in WDW ?
I personally could not contemplate leaving one while taking the other.

 

[ValerieK]

Originally posted by wee-haggis
I agree that the beginning of the school year would not be recommended but at the end of the school year (after final exams) the last couple of weeks are pretty much non events.
How does your son feel about getting left behind while his sister,mother and father are in WDW ?
I personally could not contemplate leaving one while taking the other.

He is okay with it. It will be his first year of middle school and he is taking honors classes and skipping a grade level in Math. He would miss a week and he told me that it would be too much. We were at WDW for a week in May and we will go for Halloween and he will miss 1 day then. We are also looking at going in December. So he isn't missing out on much. He said for us to go. He is pretty grown up for his age. He just told me that he wants lots of pins to come home with me.

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

5-10 year Olds.....After Schools Go Back.(September-November)before end of year testing starts. (FCAT)

 

[HenDuck]

I plan to take DS out of school to go on family trips through the 3rd grade. I truly cannot see what's the harm in missing a week to 10 days of school up to that point. (Of course, I haven't been in the 3rd grade for some years, so maybe they're already learning Alegbra by then).

I know others have different opinions...

I would take him out of school probably in September/October or even early December. In the earlier grades, like K and 1st grade, I would probably pull him out at any time of the year.

JMHO!

 

[RebeccaLovesDisney]

We have taken the kids out of elementary school for four days before Christmas break. It really helps to beat the crowds at WDW and we got a much better rate on DCL than we would have a week later. In elementary school, the week is not very academically intensive, mainly parties and such. I know this will not be the case in middle and high school, so we are taking advantage of it while we can.

 

[matty624]

Originally posted by slp87
As a teacher, I took my DD out of school for 3 days this year and myself as well!! Obviously the best thing to do is check with the child's teacher early and let them know your child will be absent. For elementary students the timing isn't too crucial, but there are times in my state that we do testing, so you want to be sure it doesn't interfere with that. Of course as they get into middle & high school, you start dealing with exams.

So it's okay to take children out just as long as it doesn't impact on testing?
Sorry, don't agree personally. Speaking as a Headteacher I don't think taking a child away from their education, even if it is Disney, is a good idea. They never catch up the work they missed. Go during vacations...
Ian

 

[wee-haggis]

Originally posted by matty624
So it's okay to take children out just as long as it doesn't impact on testing?
Sorry, don't agree personally. Speaking as a Headteacher I don't think taking a child away from their education, even if it is Disney, is a good idea. They never catch up the work they missed. Go during vacations...
Ian

Too general Ian...
It depends on the child and the parents .Some have no trouble at all(this is not a guess, this is fact....speaking for my own kids).
Last time (for example)Our kids were given 18 hours of work preceding the holiday and this meant that when they returned to school they were still on track.
We as parents made sure that all the work was done properly so that we could share a fun ,and educational trip.

 

[matty624]

Originally posted by wee-haggis
Too general Ian...
It depends on the child and the parents .Some have no trouble at all(this is not a guess, this is fact....speaking for my own kids).
Last time (for example)Our kids were given 18 hours of work preceding the holiday and this meant that when they returned to school they were still on track.
We as parents made sure that all the work was done properly so that we could share a fun ,and educational trip.

Perhaps I am generalising a little. Maybe US teachers (and Canadian ones!) are better than UK teachers at providing work for long periods out of the school environment. I know for a fact that it simply doesn't happen often here, and when work is provided, it is rarely completed.
My own children are bright, and could probably miss a few days, but I still wouldn't do it... I just love fighting the crowds too much during July for that!!!
The trouble in the UK, is that parents generally take children out for weeks at a time (2 being the norm). I think Americans tend to holiday for shorter stints than that...
Ian

 

[zurgswife]

Originally posted by matty624
So it's okay to take children out just as long as it doesn't impact on testing?
Sorry, don't agree personally. Speaking as a Headteacher I don't think taking a child away from their education, even if it is Disney, is a good idea. They never catch up the work they missed. Go during vacations...
Ian

I also agree that this statment is too general.. While I have taken my kids out in the past and will do again this year. It really hasn't impacted them at all.

But kids missing school and catching up on work is purely individual ..... my dd 12 due to extended illness has missed almost have of the school year days maybe more. The school was going to require her to go to summer tutoring but the teacher just came back the last marking period and said she seems to be fully caught up....she is exceling in the subjects this term that are dependant upon the stuff she missed last term and is still getting A's..... So, depending upon the child they can miss lots of days and still get caught back up...without excess teacher work....JMHO

 

[Micca]

twin DDs turn 21 on Monday We took them out of school at various times (usually early December) at least a half dozen time during their school careers. It doesn't appear to have been detrimental. Their teachers were always excited for them to go to WDW.

 

[kaylajr]

Any age at any time For us

My DH and i both can not get vacation over the summer months
and i don't think it would be fair to Never take our kids so we take them out in early spring normally

This Year they will miss a week in Oct they will 4th and 6th grade
my DD in 6th is a great student when it comes time for DD 2 to hit middle school we may have to reevaluate because she is not as quick to catch up
my nephew will be in 5th grade is coming with us

as long as we can make it work we will keep taking family vacations

and in answer to an earlier post Yup the are learning basic algerbra in Elementary school now
it is crazy i have to relearn math so i can help with the home work

 

[flyball]

We wouldn't consider taking a junior high/high school age child out of school.

I think this really depends on the school district. Our school district will not accommodate vacationing children by providing work to be completed while the child is away. It therefore becomes a huge burden for the child to catch up upon return to school. Both of our girls are above average students, but the sheer amount of work that my older daughter had to make up when she returned from a trip we took when she was in third grade made this a bad memory. Most of the work was busy work and the requirement to complete it within a day or two was completely unreasonable. She was miserable and was made to feel like she was being punished. I think that vacations can be a tremendous learning experience for children and that it's unfortunate that there are so many constraints placed upon them. I understand that the school schedule is put in place for a reason, but if a child can maintain academic progress, he/she shouldn't be punished. Our district is unreasonably adamant about not missing school for any reason in high school, so unfortunately, we won't be able to visit DW unless they are on a scheduled vacation.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Originally posted by wee-haggis
I agree that the beginning of the school year would not be recommended but at the end of the school year (after final exams) the last couple of weeks are pretty much non events.
How does your son feel about getting left behind while his sister,mother and father are in WDW ?
I personally could not contemplate leaving one while taking the other.

We've left some of our kids while bringing others. We did that one time when our 4th child was a toddler since my in-laws were watching the older children (all school age) and my little one would have been too much of a handful. I brought him last February when he was 4. My other kids are in school and really didn't have the desire to go to WDW (my 4yo had been to WDW several times, but he was young an didn't remember it). I will bring my youngest again this December (will be meeting my sister and my 81yo mother) and I might bring him this fall (we bought APs). I'm probably going to go back down the end of January with only my 10yo. I'm sure that will make his siblings (13 and 16yo) jealous, but they are older and really can not miss the days of school. My 10yo's grades and behavior are such that he really deserves this special mom/son trip. He knows nothing of this yet...

T&B

 

[labst60]

No kids yet, but I would absolutely take them out of school for a family vacation.

My parents pulled me and my 3 siblings out of school several times when we were in school (including HS) and we made up the work when we got back - no big deal. These were primarily honors/ap classes for all of us.

As far as clearing it with their teachers, I would do no such thing. I think I would trust myself (and as they got older and had their own itnerests, my child) enough to make the decision what was in their best interests (miss a test or a game vs. quality family time). And as far as timing, vacation will be when works best for DH and my job - simple as that. We actually have put a lot of thought into this b/c as we were deciding whether to buy into DVC, we began to discuss this issue in conjunction w/ deciding how many points to buy.

I agree that parents need to send a message that education is a #1 priority, but in reality, family time is even above that, at least to us.

 

[marksor]

Our rule is you take them out during the school year if they are in eighth grade or below. We do not/will not take them out of shcool once they reach high school. We have taken our kids out of school for a May WDW vacation twice- it worked out great both times as far as school was concerned. Even for your average eighth grader it is relatively easy to make up any missed work. Once they hit high scholl I say forget it. Even if you think it is feasible for your kids to make up work I believe at that time you need to show them how serious you are about school and responsibility to the main task at hand. A teenager that is not totally committed to his/her education may get the wrong idea if you pull them out of school for a vacation no mater what you tell them.

 

[dbail2]

I use to take the kids out of school to go in October but stopped once they hit Middle School. There is just too much they miss once they get older and much harder to make it up...