Taking the kids out of school...

[kaylajr]

not to start a debate or anything
just looking for opinions

do you take your kids out of school for disney trips or only go when they are on vacation?

we have taken our oldest DD out of school for the last trip

and due to work schedules looks like they will miss a few days the next trip

just wondering what others do

also homework if you do take them out do you make them work on school work while at WDW

 

[debster812]

I think this is a very personal decision to be made with what works best for you and your family. There are folks adamantly against it, and there are folks who are all for it.

Our situation is this:

DS is in first grade, is at or above his grade level in his subjects, and he will be missing 4 days of school in 3 weeks. We are unable to vacation during school vacation time (either winter or spring break, or summer vacation) because my husband is in a union, and they choose vacations by seniority, and he does not have enough time in to get a week in 'prime vacation time' I work IT support for a retail company, and am not allowed to take any extended time off between mid November and the end of December.

So for all of those who say, there is plenty of time when the kids are out of school to go to WDW, if you could make it work with my DH's schedule, I would love it.

We figure that DH will be 'high enough on the food chain' at work to get vacation weeks when DS is too old to pull, so it will all work out.

As always, just my very humble opinion.

 

[MissMagnolia]

I would take our children out of school in a heartbeat to go. Right now they are not in school yet, but we have taken my DH's nephews twice and pulled them out of school. Our stipulations were that they had to get their homework for the week, bring it with, and we helped them with it each night after we got back from the parks. That way they weren't behind when they returned.

The times that children are in school are the least crowded, and so for us, the least stressful. I don't understand the logic of going to the parks during peak season in the sweltering heat and standing in line for two hours to go on a two minute ride. We want to go when the pace is relaxed, no crowds, and we can enjoy WDW to the fullest.

We have been in September, October, and January with children. January is our favorite - no crowds, great weather (we are from WI, so low 70s are wonderful!), and great prices on rooms. In fact, we leave this coming Saturday for a week!!

 

[cyndibelle]

we are going at the beginng of february..daughter is in first grade so she will miss a week of school..they will not give her any homework..they do request that she keeps a journal though while she is gone and reads every day..son is in preschool so no biggie there....i have medical reasons to where we can not go when it is hot so wouldnt work for us to go in summer...i agree what is good for one might not be good for another....

 

[Julia M]

I tok my K and 3rd grader to WDW. We traveled after Easter, during their break and stayed the following week.

I also just took my ds (6th grade), dd (3rd grade) and ds (1st grade) to DL over Xmas. We left Wednesday night, and they still had school TH and F, although there was a noon dismissal F. Also, his science teacher was also gone TH and F, and there was a party F.

Once you hit 4th grade, I would generally only pull for a day or two, not a week, but even that depends on your school.

We're going to Disney this summer, because I didn't want to pull my 6th grader for a week during a heavy academic time.

Julia

 

[catwho]

We have and we are again. My xh works in catastrophe services and he is not allowed to schedule any vacation time during Hurricane Season (some people call it late spring to early fall LOL!) We refuse to go during Spring Break as it is always so crowded, so we go during the school year.

We always write a note to the teachers explaining that we are going on vacation (note: I do not ask for their permission!) and I ask them to help me in getting the kids caught up ahead of time so that they don't have to do work on vacation or have a lot to make up when we return. Most of the time the teachers have said, "Have fun. Enjoy. Send us a postcard and write in your journals." No other assignements requested. I'm sure that my kids' school is not happy about our timing as we are in final preparations for FCATs (blech) but tough, this is when we can all go as a family.

IMO what they gain in that week that the kids get to spend with their family far outweighs anything that they would learn in that single week of schooling.

 

[dmonroe]

Up until now this hasn't been a decision we've been faced with. However, we will pull ds out of kindy for a week next year for our Disney vacation. My dh also works for a company where vacation time is granted according to seniority. While there is the possibility that he could get a summer week, it's much more likey that he gets spring/fall/winter weeks. We actually prefer to go in December anyway. As long as we can comfortably pull ds out of school for vacation, we will. As he gets older and it gets harder for him to miss, we will rethink our vacation planning.

I know things are sooo different now; but when I was young my parents always pulled me out of school for a week to go to Disney. My dad took our family one time in July and said, "Never again!" After that, we went in late October every year!

 

[sgfun]

I'm afraid I have to agree with most of the postings. This is the first year we are pulling kids out of "real"school, but have pulled them from pre-school two past trips. We will be pulling our 1st grader, kinder, and preschooler out for about 4 1/2 days. We planned it so they would be in school a portion of each week missed and did try and work around some days off from school.

I also did not ask permission but told the teachers what we were doing. I have asked for travel work for them and will work on those things on the trip up and back. We will also be doing their journaling while there.

For me it was a personal decision as to enjoying time with my family or having everyone hot, grouchy and miserable. I don’t think I could justify a week at the beach, but a trip like this it was any easy call.

 

[Otto's Doll]

We pulled our DS 10 (5th grade) and DD 8 )3rd grade) out for 11 days in the very beginning of the school year (2 days after school started). We went to Disney from 8/27 -9/7 and had a wonderful time. The teachers and princepal were fine with it. My DD had her homework to take with us, and my DS made most of his up after the trip. It was just the way their teachers handled it, either was fine with us. That said, I wouldn't do it again, only because DS will be in Junior High next year, and I think it will be harder for him to make up everything.
Both my kids are good students, and I did take that into account when deciding our trip dates. From here on out we go in the busier season, but hey, Disney is Disney!

 

[mudnuri]

Right now, we're planning an april/may trip. If we go with our original plan over school break, DD's 1st n 2nd graders will miss the Friday before, and then Monday and Tuesday after break, as we drive. We may change to May9-15, which means, they'll miss the 6th, 9-15, and 17, 18. I have already told the principal that they'll be missing something....her children went through a school in a diff district, and she could only go on family vacations during our districts breaks, she said she use to pull hers out every year in Feb and April to go on family trips...she thinks there great for families.

When we went to St. Augustine DD7 was in Kindergarten, and she had to keep a journal...this year, they'll both have to read for 30 minutes each night, and write 4-5 sentances regarding what they read...luckily, they can read a book on the way down, and write when we get there...but they will turn in their assignments when we return.

Brandy

 

[minniegirl101]

my parents always take me out of
school for our trips to wdw

i have never had a problem catching up
on school work

 

[webprinter]

My daughter is in 7th grade this year and we will be taking her out of school for 7 days. We told her teacher ahead of time and asked for as much work ahead of time as possible. We have done the same thing many other years including last year. We let her know ahead of time that she needed to get good grades before and after or she would never be allowed to go again. So far it hasn't affected her grades negatively. Her teacher keeps her after school one day for an hour if there is a concept she needs help with upon returning. She is a good student and gets mostly A's. We usually don't bring work along if it requires dragging large textbooks with us. She has work a little harder before and after, but we all think it is worth it. We plan to keep taking her out of school as long as her grades stay up. I figure it is an incentive. We own 3 timeshares and it is difficult to get time in the summer and over Christmas. Plus, we have trouble getting off work during those times. Debby

 

[Hawk]

Originally posted by catwho

We always write a note to the teachers explaining that we are going on vacation (note: I do not ask for their permission!) and I ask them to help me in getting the kids caught up ahead of time so that they don't have to do work on vacation or have a lot to make up when we return.

I agree with catwho. We extend our children's mid-winter or spring vacation by three/four days each year. Second trips are during summer vacation. It is not a school decision. However, we make sure that any assigned work is completed during or prior to vacation.

Hawk.

 

[tmli]

My ds is currently in 2nd grade, and I have and will continue to take him out of school for vacations. I believe children get education from world experience as well as in the classroom.

I do inform his teachers, not ask....but I do request missed/extra work. It is only a request though because I do realize the extra work involved for the teacher to do this.

We do make it a point do educational things while there.

 

[Jordan's MOM]

We have a 5th grader and he has been pulled out most years since kindergarten. We went this year the 2nd week of December. We always inform the teacher or teachers of our plans about 6 weeks ahead and follow up with a letter the week before asking for any work we could do ahead of time. Makeup work has varried but this year he had NONE. The teachers said it was a good week to be out as it was a review week and they did not belive in giving work just to make a child do something. We could go in the summer but I don't like heat and crowds. Next year however, DS will be at middle school and I will hesitate to take him out for a full week. We will choose a week with a few days off and let him just miss two or three days. I would not take DS out even in elementry for more than a week but that is just me. It works for others and I have no problem with that. Our school system has no real rules and I delt with no one but the teacher but some schools do have stricter rules. I advise however to start with the teacher and only address a high position person if necessary. We love our winter trips. My family is worth it.


Jordan' mom

 

[Kate-n-sam]

I always said I wouldn't, but.....
DD is in first grade now and we wanted to go for spring break. It's very late this year so we thought the crowds might be manageable. As it turns out, we couldn't get any reasonable weekend flights. I booked our trip yesterday. We will leave on Tuesday of break week and return the following Wednesday. She will miss 3 days of school. That doesn't bother me really because several other families pulled their kids for a week in the fall without a problem, plus she's had a perfect attendance record thus far. I'm sure if she had already missed lots of days or was struggling I would have thought twice about it.

It's quite a dilemma for me, when DD was a preschooler we went 2 times a year for 3 years in a row, it was great to go whenever we wanted. Haven't been to the world for 2 and a half years so we are very excited to bring DS (almost 4) for his first trip he will 'remember'.

Good Luck!

 

[Gretchen]

In short, I agree with the rest of you all. I've pulled DD out of preschool (no big deal) and kindergarten (again, no biggie) Her K teacher sent a journal that she wrote in every night. We have always read to her and played learning type games while motoring around. She does well in school. We are taking her out for 4 days over MLK week, her 1st grade teacher will probably give her a journal too, and is fine with it. I belive at this time our family time is more important too. After talking with some friends with children in middle/high school, their kids blanch at the thought of missing any school. They would be hopelessly behind when they got back. One other thing to keep in mind, my DD was concerned about missing what was going on at school. Not that she would miss learning time, just the regular routine goings on. I thought that interesting. Anyway, yank 'em out and have fun!
Gretchen

 

[mom2boys]

We will be taking our boys out of school this month. We are going to WDW for a week. My kids are off MLKing Day that Mon. Tues & Wed are in-service days. The quarter ends the Friday we leave (after school). We haven't informed the school yet - we only decided to go 2 weeks ago. I will let them know later this week. (I figure tomorrow will be too overwhelming being the first day since Christmas break.) My boys are in 3rd & 4th grade. Hopefully the school won't mind. Our school is pretty good about these things.

 

[Karibeth19]

My DD is in 1st grade, and we are taking her out for 4 1/2 days in a couple of weeks. We've taken her out of school for the past three years and have never had a problem. I always try to plan short trips or plan to go over a long weekend so she doesn't miss as much school. Last year we went to WDW over President's weekend when school was out for two days, and then at the end of our trip, there was a huge snowstorm here at home, and school was cancelled for three days! So, instead of missing 6 days, she only missed three! This year, I wanted to go during Value season, so we're going over MLK weekend. I'll take her out before lunch on Fri. and she'll miss 4 days the following week. I agree with Jordan's Mom, start with the teacher, and go up from there only if you have to. My DD's teachers have always been great about it. Even her teacher this year doesn't seem to mind, and she has always seemed a little strict to me. Definitely not a "warm and fuzzy" type. We're like a lot of people on the board, in that my husband runs a restaurant, and we can't take a vacation during "normal" vacation times because that's when he's the busiest. So, we'll probably continue taking her out of school for now, and re-evaluate when she hits middle school. The bottom line is, they're your kids, and family time is just as, if not more, important than classroom time.

 

[miche61]

We too are taking our children out of school this year. We have done it in the past also. This will probably be the last year to do it as oldest DD is in 5th and I'm afraid it will be too hard in two years (our next possible trip) for her to be out of school. She is an excellent student and will miss four days this year. DD8 is in 2nd, and DS7 is in kindergarten.

All the teachers so far have been very supportive. I do believe it is very important for families to vacation together. We also have to plan around DH's work schedule, so we go when his work is slow.

The kids will make it up. In a life of learning, what is 4-5 days missed from school for something they will hopefully remember for alife time?