Traveling without your college kid

[Moliphino]

Not everywhere has snow and needs makeup days built in.

We did, but they were added at the end of the year. We got full weeks off in February and April. One year they tried swapping out those two for one week in March and I think everyone complained because it was changed back immediately.

 

[DLgal]

We did, but they were added at the end of the year.

That's what our schools did when I was growing up on the east coast.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I find "spring break" for high school weird. We didn't have spring break nor did my kids. We had Easter, which was Thursday always a makeup day for snow, Good Friday, and back on Monday because Monday and Tuesday were always makeup days for snow.

I'm confused---Easter is a Sunday and Good Friday the Friday before it. So are you saying your school took off a religious holidays under a guise of snow day make ups? Because Easter and Good Friday fluctuate on when they occur (anywhere between March 22nd and April 25th). How would your school know when to make up the days on those specific days each year?

And you're talking about having an issue with spring break when that's essentially what you got but labeled differently?

Around here you can take your child out for religious reasons but Spring Break is in mid-March and isn't at all centered around religion.

The big 3 districts in my county have March 13-17th out for break this year. Growing up that matches, usually for St. Patrick's Day we were out for break.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We did, but they were added at the end of the year.

Growing up that's how it was I remember one year having to go to June 5th or 6th which was fairly late.

However, at some point the state changed the required number of days to allow for a district to choose number of days or number of hours. Number of hours is what they adjusted to around here for the most part so what they do is add minutes to days over time to make up the time. If it's really really bad they can take away a break but since the switching to hours that seems to be less needed. I remember one time them having to shorten our winter break and one year not having spring break at all back when it was required number of days. I rather like having the required number of hours, it allows for that flexibility in the calendar without disrupting it as badly as before.

ETA: I should also say if the number of snow days isn't used then they can and do end the year early, they just have to meet the required instructional time.

 

[Minnesota!]

In same situation - wanted to bring my younger son on a trip to see a football game in a different state/turn it in to a family vacation. College freshman excluded due to his breaks.

College freshman told us to go...he is off having fun at school, told us to go have fun, too..

 

[Moliphino]

Growing up that's how it was I remember one year having to go to June 5th or 6th which was fairly late.

However, at some point the state changed the required number of days to allow for a district to choose number of days or number of hours. Number of hours is what they adjusted to around here for the most part so what they do is add minutes to days over time to make up the time. If it's really really bad they can take away a break but since the switching to hours that seems to be less needed. I remember one time them having to shorten our winter break and one year not having spring break at all back when it was required number of days. I rather like having the required number of hours, it allows for that flexibility in the calendar without disrupting it as badly as before.

I think they maxed out at needing to make up 5 days. If you had more than 5 snow days anything beyond 5 didn't get made up. HS seniors don't have to make up any, they finish and graduate a week or two earlier than everyone else gets out.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think they maxed out at needing to make up 5 days. If you had more than 5 snow days anything beyond 5 didn't get made up. HS seniors don't have to make up any, they finish and graduate a week or two earlier than everyone else gets out.

Ah yeah here there wasn't any sort of maxing out, if you fell under the required instructional time you had to make it up but districts built in some padding which allows them to get out early if they've not used it all. I'm too lazy to look it up lol but there could be less time needed for someone who would be a senior in high school because seniors typically got out about 1-2 weeks ahead as well.

 

[Magical2017]

We will have to travel during the summer. My spring break (university) is always different from the K-12 schools, so our family only does day trips in March. We travel over long weekends and during summer. The prices are higher and there are more crowds, but it is what works now. When they were in elementary I took them out of school. Now with GT classes for my high schooler and middle schooler, I try to avoid missed school as much as possible.

 

[nw6675]

I agree with those mentioning the college age child might not even care. My sister is 5 years older and was thrilled when my parents and I left for vacation. She would come home and have a great time at our house with her friends lol.

We stopped taking DSS when he was in college. He came a time or two, but really had his own things (work, school) going on.

 

[AppleDumpling]

Having just one child, this was never an issue for us. However, as the second youngest of six children, it definitely affected my family growing up. When my older siblings were in college, or out of the house, we still vacationed with only the younger kids, basically whoever was able to make it. (I was still in elementary school when the two oldest were in college.) As others here have said, it was just part of life and never a big deal. My older sibs weren’t resentful because they were busy with their own lives, and had other advantages that came with being older.

IMO, my parents treated all of us the same, yet it’s not always possible to be “equal” on everything, tit for tat. I will add that as a family of 8, we never went on extravagant vacations; it was mostly road trips and camping, and sometimes visiting out of state relatives or friends. Airplanes and hotel rooms were out of our budget (I never experienced either until I was in my 20’s.)

If I had two children, I would try to have some one-on-one time with each, and deal with changing circumstances as the family grew.

And we've (semi) joked with our younger son, who is a senior, that the day we drop him off at college next year, we're heading to the nearest airport and going on a trip without our kids.

This is actually what we did, although it was 4 or 5 days after dropping DS off before going on a cruise, which happened to coincide with our 25th anniversary. (Only the second time going away as a couple without him since he was born.) He was fine and happy for us.

 

[mrodgers]

I'm confused---Easter is a Sunday and Good Friday the Friday before it. So are you saying your school took off a religious holidays under a guise of snow day make ups? Because Easter and Good Friday fluctuate on when they occur (anywhere between March 22nd and April 25th). How would your school know when to make up the days on those specific days each year?

And you're talking about having an issue with spring break when that's essentially what you got but labeled differently?

Around here you can take your child out for religious reasons but Spring Break is in mid-March and isn't at all centered around religion.

The big 3 districts in my county have March 13-17th out for break this year. Growing up that matches, usually for St. Patrick's Day we were out for break.

Easter break is usually Thursday through at least Monday sometimes Tuesday. By March/April time, there will have been many canceled days because of snow, it's inevitable. That Thursday, Monday, and Tuesday are labeled as snow make-up days. If you have to make up a day, these are the off days that are now school days.

There are usually a couple days through the spring time in addition that are scheduled no school but make-up days. They are usually needed from snow closings as well.

And finally, they add days on to the end of the year. I'm not sure we'd ever gotten out of school on time for summer and neither have my kids.

2022-2023 calendar

Monday after Thanksgiving off- snow makeup day 1. Usually not needed but there are times there is a snow storm earlier in November

February 20, Presidents day, off - snow makeup day #2

Easter break April 6-10
Thursday April 6 - snow makeup day #3
Monday April 10 - snow makeup day #4

Any more days canceled due to snow, which is just about every year, get tacked on to the end of the year for makeup. May 31 is last day of school which is a week early. For some reason they started a week early this year. Typically last day of school is June 5th or 6th but typical is to have 2 or 3 more days to make up and they get out on the 8th or 9th.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Easter break is usually Thursday through at least Monday sometimes Tuesday. By March/April time, there will have been many canceled days because of snow, it's inevitable. That Thursday, Monday, and Tuesday are labeled as snow make-up days. If you have to make up a day, these are the off days that are now school days.

There are usually a couple days through the spring time in addition that are scheduled no school but make-up days. They are usually needed from snow closings as well.

And finally, they add days on to the end of the year. I'm not sure we'd ever gotten out of school on time for summer and neither have my kids.

So you get a break?

You said you found spring break weird for high school, it doesn't seem like your area is really doing anything different. They still have a break built in albeit structured more like what a Fall Break or Thanksgiving Break would be if it's Thursday and Friday and like other places if they need to remove those days they do.

If they always exceed year after year decade after decade sounds like they need to lengthen the school year from the get-go and then allow for early end if not as many days are used (however rare that may be) assuming state law allows for that.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

For us, this was one of the benefits of having twins. Ours had the same college breaks. And because one played a college sport, spring break was always a FL tournament, which became a family trip for us. (Games and events, plus one free day with DS and a few dinners if we were lucky.)

We still enjoy traveling together as a family. Had one of our favorite trips together just last year. We also all take separate trips, too.