Thoughts on taking kids out of school

[princessap]

We are planning two trips in 2013. A week in february to Clearwater but of course I have to add two days at disney! and then 10 days in October for a full disney trip.
My oldest will be in SK in feb and grade 1 in October and my youngest will be in jk in October.
Should I be worried about pulling them out of school??

 

[dsneygirl]

I wouldn't but that's me. Some people wouldn't even consider it.

My DS is missing 2 weeks in June (SK) and already missed 10 days in Sept.

For me I won't think twice until maybe gr 4-5 ish. Unless they were really struggling academically.

 

[jakoky]

Hi there, i wouldnt worry at all, and this is from someone who has pulled her kids out all the way into highschool....Our last trip was a grad trip for my daughter and we spent 10 day at disneyland, and she missed 6 full day of grade 12 (semestered, so 480 minutes per class-chem 12 being one of them)...My kids have always done fine, knew they had work to do to catch up...

We are about to do to disneyland again for 10 days, and my youngest daughter will be missing 6 full days in grade 11...

I can honestly tell you life goes way too fast, they grow up and graduate way too fast ...Enjoy your family time on your trip and dont feel guilty...

My oldest(20) just finished her lpn ( She plans on going back for her RN in a few years) and my son has (18) has started his apprenticeship for an electrician...i can tell you missing school does not hurt them as long as they are willing to do the extra work!

 

[VAN]

There is no right or wrong answer to this question. Depends ...

What is the school policy? Sounds like your kids are quite young ... will you be able to get assignments and/or find out what the rest of the class will be working on in advance? Are you good about spending some time during the trip keeping your children up-to-date on what they are missing?

Based on what info you have given, I don't see a reason not to pull them out, but would suggest you work with their school/teacher so your child doesn't fall behind while they are gone.

 

[TaniaU]

I wouldn't worry about it either, they're only young once!

 

[RCMommy]

We have taken our kids out for one full week at a time every year of school so far. Never had an issue with teachers or the school. We let the teachers know in advance and tell them we will make up any missed work. We are definitely not the only ones either. My kids are always coming home telling us that someone in their class is off that week because they are on vacation.

I agree with the opinion that life is way too short. I travelled all the time growing up and those are the best memories I have. We do not travel on March break or over Easter or Christmas holidays because it is way too darn expensive and busy (everywhere!) Same with the summer months but then it is also way too darn hot for us !!!

 

[dontthrowsand]

I am a Teachers Assistant (TA) and an education student who is almost done their degree. I have been in classes for the last 6 years where I see kids who go on vacation and either do really well when they come back or times when I am called in because they are so far behind. As an educator, we don't advise it, often dislike it but we all respect your decisions as a parent. I was taken out of school multiple times for vacations between grades 3-10.

Here are the factors in my opinion that make or break students going on vacation sucessful:
1. Homework time! Yes it is supposed to be fun but your kids have academic responsibilities. Enforcing a homework time while on vacation help teach that and keeps them relatively caught up. It is easier to fill in the blanks then teach from scratch to individuals who are very behind while everyone else is trying to learn something different. My parents were adement on this when I was a child and I appreciated it when I got back.

2. How long you are gone for. I know we can cover an entire unit in some subjects in a week, others are one single topic. See if you can minimize the time your kids are out of school as much as possible. Is there a long weekend, a PD day or a field trip/assembly day that falls during that time?

3. How old your kids are. My grade 1s and 2s suffer the most when being taken out of school without guidelines or a homework plan. My grade 6s are usually fine unless it is close to their standardized testing times. I know it doesn't seem like they learn important things in the younger grades but that is where they learn constistancy, routine and fundamental skills for future schooling.

4. Communication with teachers. Most educators are accessible via email during and after school, they usually are willing to send daily reviews while away and help plan some take along work to minimize the impact. I know in my case, the teachers I work with are always happy to make accommodation plans and often find creative makeup assignments relating to the vacation so it doesn't feel like work. (ex: grade 3 - math task was to find patterns in Disney such as car colors or sign shapes and provide pictures)

Hope this helps! Like I said, vacations aren't a teacher's favorite thing but we understand and as a parent, if you dedicate some time to making sure your kids don't fall behind, it can be a great and positive experience for all! Even kids who struggle accademically an be successful during vacation times, in fact some even improve.

 

[canadiankim]

I don't think it's a problem when they are this young or if you are prepared to help the kids keep up. At that age the most the school will expect is a journal of the trip.

We are taking our kids out for 7 days in May/June and they are grades 4 & 6 and will use traveling time and down time to do any assignments that they get. Travel is good for their education too

 

[lisalonglash]

We are planning two trips in 2013. A week in february to Clearwater but of course I have to add two days at disney! and then 10 days in October for a full disney trip.
My oldest will be in SK in feb and grade 1 in October and my youngest will be in jk in October.
Should I be worried about pulling them out of school??

As a homeschooler, I might be biased (lol), but.... life experiences, particularly those that involve such wonderful family time, are worth far more than missing a few or more days in the classroom, IMO. Another plus for your situation is the age of your children - they're probably not going to miss anything that they won't learn on vacation

Don't worry about it, enjoy your family vacations!

 

[mtmbyck]

At your kids age go for it. I did it many times up until they were about grade 6. Then it becomes much tougher to get caught up. In highschool forget it. My kids missed 4 days this year but week before March Break and they both had tests they had to write ahead of time and they both had lots of homework. They don't often start new topics the week before a vacation.

So enjoy the dream season while you can. You'll be stuck traveling in peak season soon enough!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

My oldest will be in SK in feb and grade 1 in October and my youngest will be in jk in October.

I know many people will disagree (particularly those in the teaching profession) but your kiddos will not be missing anything monumentus in JK and SK. If your JK is having a hard time adjusting to school in September, then the only thing you may need to worry about is getting him or her readjusted when you return. Routine will suffer an interruption (which can bring its own problems, for sure) but there is nothing academically that you need to concern yourself with.

Even for your grade one......he or she will be fine. Bring some books (or buy a few new ones on the trip) and read to them before bed. Have them write post cards to family at home, and mail them to Grandma and Grandpa (or maybe even one to their class...your kids will probably be back before it arrives but it would still be fun for their classmates to get mail after the fact). Have them draw pictures of their favourite memories. Give them each an inexpensive disposable camera and let them take photos. Buy them a blank autograph book, and have them print the name of the character below the signature (and maybe draw a pic of that character on the facing page, and colour it in). Visit Gatorland and have them learn about alligators and crocodiles. Take them to the Kennedy Space Center. Explore the airport. They will be learning. And anyone who says that all that awesome teaching could be done in a classroom in one week with 20 other students is mistaken, IMHO.

In Ontario, children don't even legally have to be in school until they are six years old (unless something has changed that I'm not aware of). So if you don't forsee the trips causing issues with your youngest settling back into JK after you all return home, then go for it.

I will qualify my response to say my opinion changes as children get older. Like mtmbyck, I wouldn't think about taking my 16 year old DS out of high school.......there's just too much to make up, particularly for the teens who are taking academic level courses. But for the little guys, its a totally different issue.

 

[treehugnmama]

We are in Ontario too d we take our now gr sk and 2 kids out for 2 weeks every year. Teachers usually have them do a vacation journal. The first words my daughter read outloud on her one were magic kingdom. We were waiting for a bus. I think the family time and experience far out way missing school

 

[HunterBoo]

I am a teacher (grade one) and I say "enjoy your holiday!" ... yes there will be some work to catch up on, but if your child is a half decent student, they will be fine I usually send a book for my students to "journal" about their holiday and suggest reading as the most important activity they continue to do - as we all know reading is a HUGE part of grade one! I SO wish I could travel with my children in the off peak times ... I actually envy those of you who can I would not hesitate to take my own children out of school for a week -with them being aware they will need to catch up upon their return. We are not required to provide all work ahead of time - so please don't ask for it all ahead of schedule

Have fun!

 

[Sue M]

I have no idea what JK & SK are Maybe it's an eastern thing?

But I took my kids out of school till around gr 8. High school is too hard, esp when semestered. But thru elementary & middle school they were fine. We got extra assignments from their teachers.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I have no idea what JK & SK are Maybe it's an eastern thing?

"JK" is Junior Kindergarten, and "SK" is Senior Kindergarten.

Here in Ontario, children start JK the year they turn 4 years old, and SK is the year they turn 5. If your child has a late birthday (September-December) then they could still be just 3 when they start JK.

 

[dsneygirl]

I'm not sure if your school does this but where my son goes it's gradual entry for JK/SK. So the first week he went once for an hour, the second week he went just for the morning, finally the third week he went all day.

Last year we left for California on Sept 22 and he had had 1 full day of JK so far so there was no "routine" to get out of so to speak. Your Gr 1 might be a bit different but for the JK I wouldn't bat an eye.

 

[BELLEDOZER]

Prior to Grade 3, I wouldn't worry about it. Once Grade 3 starts, they have more homework, and they will miss alot more work when they are out of school. If it's for a couple of day's it's fine, but any more length of time, especially with a child that has learning delays, it can make a big difference when it comes to their long term experience with the rest of the school year. For these reasons, now that DS9 and DS8 are in grades 2 and 3, with DS8 having a severe learning delay, we no longer have the luxury of going on vacation when we want to, and now have to work around the breaks in the school year for family trips. Any more than a couple of days off DS8 tends to slide backwards. So it comes down to how your child adapts to change, and if they are able to make up the work afterwards.

 

[Goofy's apprentice]

There is no right answer to this one.

I can say that we took our two kids out of school fairly regularly even in high school. We always made sure to talk to the teachers at the beginning of the semester and let them know that we and the kids accepted full responsbility for catching up etc.

When they were young they did journals each day, writing and scrapbooking the records of their vacations. When they were older they were usually working on homework in advance and sometimes on the vacation.

Teachers were always pretty good about it. Most were even very helpful. We definitely acknowledged that they had no obligation to put in extra time for our kids.

It doesn't work with all kids, families or teaching environments but if it can work, it is lovely to spend that much alone time with your kids.

 

[krazy4crusing]

I am an Ontario Teacher working for a public school board. I am also a full day kindergarten teacher and IMHO I fully support parents who take their children out of school to go on vacation. Currently I have 2 students on vacation from my class 1 is in India for a month and the other is in SriLanka for 3 weeks. When they return they will be better for their trips away, they will have memories to last a life time and extra time spent with their families. This is just as important as formal schooling. I have taken my own children out of school twice during my maternity leaves for vacations. Travelling in the off season is cheaper and the parks are less crowded. I would highly reccomend taking your grade K-8 children out of school, they will catch up on anything they miss. I don't know of any child who failed a grade because they went on vacation. Have fun, life is short.

P.S. I would highly recommend Disney during the first or second week of school in September. The parks are EMPTY!!! We did every park in 1/2 a day and spent the afternoon at a waterpark. The lifeguards at the water park said we were the only people in the lazy river! It was sweet!!

 

[LSmith]

I am an Ontario Teacher working for a public school board. I am also a full day kindergarten teacher and IMHO I fully support parents who take their children out of school to go on vacation. Currently I have 2 students on vacation from my class 1 is in India for a month and the other is in SriLanka for 3 weeks. When they return they will be better for their trips away, they will have memories to last a life time and extra time spent with their families. This is just as important as formal schooling. I have taken my own children out of school twice during my maternity leaves for vacations. Travelling in the off season is cheaper and the parks are less crowded. I would highly reccomend taking your grade K-8 children out of school, they will catch up on anything they miss. I don't know of any child who failed a grade because they went on vacation. Have fun, life is short.

P.S. I would highly recommend Disney during the first or second week of school in September. The parks are EMPTY!!! We did every park in 1/2 a day and spent the afternoon at a waterpark. The lifeguards at the water park said we were the only people in the lazy river! It was sweet!!

Good for you! I have travelled with my kids to many countries, even when my oldest was in high school. I think that they are better for it. It's one thing reading about other countries and cultures and quite another to be able to experience them. They learn about social studies, history, geography, science, languages, politics, etc. up close and personal. Their parents learn as well.

We have been very lucky that most of our kids' teachers are completely on board with this and understand the value of travel. Quite frankly, even if they were not it would not stop us from travelling as we do not ask or need their permission.

One of my kids is going into pre-IB in the Fall and one of the first things I asked the IB co-ordinator was if we'd still be able to do some travelling during school. He said that many students travel, some for 3 weeks or a month at a time.

Even if my child was struggling in school I don't see how a week or so here or there could hurt them.

BTW Please don't tell people there are low crowds in September. It's a secret!