To all school age parents

[Phyllisi]

In Feb we took our kindergarten daughter out of school for 3.5 days and Jan 05 we will take her out of school for 4 days for a Disney cruise. I feel bad about pulling her out of school but on the other hand, it is too expensive for us to cruise during the summer or spring break. I try to tell myself that a few days of school missed for a family vacation is worth it. This year we said it will be the only year we would take her out of school since it was only kindergarten but on the cruise our daughter talked her dad into going in Jan. The school does not like this but does not give parents a hard time for taking children out of school for a vacation. We make part of the vacation educational. My question is I do not want our daughter to think that it is okay to miss school, do you think I am doing the wrong thing by pulling her out of school? Her teacher said if she could afford it and take time off during the school period (not allowed) she would pull her kids out. It is so much harder going on vacation now that we have a school age child. We used to go off-season to aviod crowds and save money.

 

[CAMICKEY]

I can relate. Our DS6 will miss 6 days for our cruise next week (perfect attendence up till now). We do not mind doing this in Kindergarten but will try to limit it as much as possible once he enters the 1st grade. What is a parent to do? - Mike

 

[LAMPSKIES]

We have taken our DDs out for a week for a DCL sailing each of the last 4 years. Our school said "in these days of dual income and split families we think it is great that you are able to take a family vacation!" We are doing it again this Dec. 4 for a Western sailing!!!!!!!!

 

[zacsmom]

If your child is doing well in school, go for it and do not feel guilty. I tell my son's teachers every fall that we will be taking a week off in the spring, and they never have a problem with it. My son does not expect it or think that it is fine to do all of the time, but there are exceptions. Just make sure you bring the teacher back a gift.

 

[TheWog]

We did it with our DS6 (now 7) in January. We talked to him and told him this was special and that he was lucky to be able to do this. He didn't miss a day of 1st grade until that point. I think the life experience is worth so much and at this age, we can make up any work they miss. Teen age years, we may revisit the issue. We had such a great time that we are planning on trying the Western in Jan 06 when he is in 3rd grade. Will do the same thing. Take him out and go down the day before. He missed 6 days total, but gained so much in experience and memories. He stills talks about it and we sit and watch our video. To me it is worth it. But I do know your dilemma.

 

[Sarah'sMomfrom PA]

Our school district also does not condone taking your kids on vacation during the school year but we do a cruise every October to take advantage of the better rates. My daughter is a high honor student (98.75 grade average) and is in the 8th grade--she has been to places that other kids only read about in books (Alaska, Hawaii, New Mexico, Arizona, etc. -- about 34 states in all!!) I really feel like travel is an education in itself since I try to always sneak a little history lesson into each trip--when we were in Missouri last year, we went to President Truman's house and library as well as the Gateway Arch (she had been studing Lewis and Clark) and on last October's cruise, we did the summer White House and Hemingway's House. However, I think that this October will be our last school year cruise since DD will be in 9th grade and every year it gets harder and harder to catch up especially since she is in honors/AP classes. Oh well, it was good while it lasted!! IMHO, enjoy the family vacations, throw in a little history because when they get in the higher grades, it will be impossible to do this. Unfortunately, we don't have several breaks in fall, etc. like other school districts so we can't take advantage of this.

 

[mickeyboat]

You will get two, strong opinions on this matter. I think it all depends on your child's school, teacher and the child herself. How supportive is the school and teacher? Are there policies regarding unexcused absences? Is your child able to catch up with missed work?

It's a judgement call. Right now, I would say yes, I'd my kids out of school. They are starting pre-school next year and we are planning to take them out for our vacation in March. But, whose to say a couple of years down the road that we may not feel comfortable doing that?

Good luck in your decision.

Denae

 

[MO Disney cruiser]

Your definitely going to get different opinions on this one.

I've taken my DD out of school for 1 week every year since she was 5. She's 13 now and an honor roll student. If your child can handle it, go for it.

Many may disagree with me, but in the age of broken families, a family bonding time such as a vacation can be priceless. If that means taking her out of school for a few days, then so be it.

Enjoy and don't feel guilty.

 

[thesoldtrain]

I am a teacher and do not mind at all if parents take their students for vacations! I think too little emphasis gets put on the importance of family play time together! Being an educator, I know all too well how seriously we take education, but at the same time, what a child learns in a week with their family is more than I can hope to give them in the classroom. What I DO appreciate from parents is ADVANCE notice....too often parents let us know the day BEFORE they leave that they need a week's worth of work and expect us to just jump up and get it all together. Advance notice of at least a week, two being better, is ALWAYS appreciated!
(and yes, the gift is ALWAYS nice, too! Haha)

 

[crisi]

Its one of those questions only you can asnwer. But here are what I use as guidelines

1. Does the school allow it?
2. Is my child keeping up reasonably in class?
3. Can I do this in such a way to minimize disruption for my child and the teacher?
4. Is my child missing a lot of school otherwise?
5. Is this for a reasonable amount of time?

Our principal tells us that the average child misses seven school days a year. If vacation isn't pushing us out more than one standard diviation from the norm, and my kids are keeping up, I'm not going to feel bad about it.

 

[TheWog]

I agree on giving advance notice. That is fair and reasonable to expect. We told the teacher at the beginning of the year as well as the principal. We booked in May 03 so we knew it was coming.

On another point, I am not sure why it would matter if the school allows it. I'm not trying to be confrontational or anything, but you make the decisions for your children. They can adapt and give you the work or not give you the work to make up. Maybe it will make a difference in the older grades, but for my situation, the school didn't have a say in the matter.

 

[mshinrockford]

We've taken our children (ages 10 and 13) out of school for a week every year for a family vacation. I always talk to the school ahead of time, and have them make up whatever schoolwork they can BEFORE we go. I should note that both of my kids do very well in school, and THAT may be a factor for you to consider in the future. It would be a lot harder for me to take them out if they were struggling in any academic area.

IMHO, with the busy lives we all lead (sports, church activities, etc.) family time is priceless. We realize that our son, who is almost 14, will be leaving for college in a few short years. The concentrated time we spend as a family on our vacations creates memories that will last a lifetime. My husband's Mom died when he was 14. The only strong memories he has are centered around their family vacations. That has been a strong motivating factor for us.

We choose to travel during the off-season because the crowds are smaller, and the stress level goes way down. Good luck!

 

[denise5374]

Another thought, my DH is a teacher and his school does not "allow" him to take vacations during the school year, so for us it is either Christmas break or Easter break or during the summer. He also teached a summer program for six weeks from end of June till the middle of August and if he takes time off then it si without pay so our vacation times are the third week of June or the second and third weeks of August. Fortunately, the third week of Aug was much cheaper than the second week so that is when we are going.

But to answer your questions, I would take my kids out of school to do a vacation. They both do well and don't miss many days. I don't think I would do it towards the end of the school year but other than that......Vacations are educational!!

Just my 0.02.

 

[rae519]

There is more that can be learned during this cruise than the four walls of a classroom could ever teach!
People of different nationalities, cultures and their language - both CM's and Guests - different countries, foods and ways of life.
The greatest learning is firsthand experience and through the grace of God you are financially able to give your child(ren) this opportunity - don't let it pass you or them by!

Rae

 

[crisi]

Re the school allowing it, some schools will hold your child back if they have unexcused absenses - and vacations will count as unexcused absenses - or even turn you and your child into CPS. Sometimes this is codified into state law - it is in Pennsylvania and Indiana, although individual districts may have a lot of leeway in how they choose to impliment. So you can make the decision to take vacation, but if the school has a "no vacation" policy, you are simultaneously making the decision to either risk your child being held back a grade, or pull your child from that school and into a private school or homeschool and perhaps risk dealing with CPS. Not everyone has the luxury to thumb their nose at laws like that.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

We are just back from a 2 week vacation where one of the weeks was school break and the other wasn't. DD is age 11 and in 6th grade, the school systems doesn't condone taking kids out, but they can't stop it either. She has good grades, only missed 3 other days, (WDW), and is a good kid. The teachers gave her some work, but not alot, well she did it all and finished the book that they were reading in school. She is so far ahead of the class she is now bored!! I was kind of surprised, I havent let her go straight to her horse yesterday and today because I figured there would be tons of work. Guess I was wrong! Looks like next year this won't work and she may miss 2 full weeks, obviously I will wait till jan or feb to decide, she states to me the only problem missing school is the clicky girlfriend nonsense, so I explained to her that if your supposed best friend isn't there for you after 1-2 weeks, then you need to realize she's not really a "best friend". Guess that's the bummer of being in the pre-teen age!

 

[TheWog]

Thank you for clarifying, I was not aware that some states actually legislate that. and I won't get into whether I thumb my nose at laws or not and I think "CPS" has worse issues to investigate than whether someone is visiting exotic ports of call and considering that abuse.

I'm not trying to stir any trouble regarding this, just expressing that the schools will have to live with your decisions.

 

[crisi]

By the way, I just looked up the law for my home state, Minnesota. At seven unexcused absences in a year a school may report the child (and parent) to the family court system. They don't appear to be obligated to, although it appears different districts have different policies (some do automatically at seven unexcused absences).

Family vacations are great - and we intend on pulling our kids out (at least while they are little), but they aren't worth dealing with the family court system.

Its worth looking up the law for your state before you pull your kids. In some states, it appears to be as short as five days

 

[LAMPSKIES]

I'll be taking them out (DDs 14 and 12) 1 Week for our Dec. 4 Western and (hopefully) for two weeks for the May Panama canal sailing............They can read and study about the Panama Canal but, how many people actually get to see it!!!!! My kids are both honor roll students and if they want to turn me in to the state.......that's o.k. too. Let's see pass notes and shoot spitballs or.....go on a cruise with your family to the Panama canal........Let's see that stand up in court.

 

[jrabbit]

At seven unexcused absences in a year a school may report the child (and parent) to the family court system

First let me say that I think most teachers do a pretty good job teaching and loving and careing for our children. BUT the school system IS NOT/ARE NOT the childrens parents. Just what is an unexcused absence? Does the school get to determine it or is it the parents. Kids cutting classes - that's unexcused. Parent keeping a child home because they are sick - sounds like excused. Class field trip to an amusement park, sounds like unexcused but it's actually a "school day". Parents taking kids out of school for vacation - that's gotta be excused (because the parent knows about it). I know that some schools really look down on that but tough!!

OK, I'm off of my soapbox for now (I think). We've taken our kids out of school for a 5 to 7 school days at a time. Granted, our kids are good students (really). We have notified the teacher(s) involved well in advance. They have done there "missed work" before, during and after the trips. 95% of the time the class(es) have barely moved from where they were before we left and the kids have been 1 to 2 weeks ahead of the other students and more often than not, they've done the work and the rest of the class NEVER does!!

Now that the oldest is in HS it is going to take a lot more thought before taking him out of school. But up through 8th grade, I don't see a problem in pulling the kids out for family vacation.

Go For It!!