What to do.....

[kyprincess]

How does everyone feel about taking kids out of school to go on vacation???? Were thinking of going in Dec. but can't decide PLEASE HELP!!!!

 

[liveforthemagic]

I don't have a problem with it personally--have kids in 1st and 4th grade. I think its easier the younger they are.

Alot of parents will use Epcot and AK as an educational experience and work with their teachers to have kids turn in reports or daily logs about their experiences. And I would love to go durign Christmas to see it snow on Main STreet--and avoid the crowds before the break.

For me, I have to look at what will be waiting for my kids when they get back. Unfortunately, they are required to make up not only the average 2 hours of homework they get every night, but also the 6 hours of class work they missed. They could be doing homework until Easter. So for us its not a possibility....but I'm waiting to see what happens when we get to high school--maybe then?

 

[MUFFYCAT]

I took my kids out for a few trips through the 5th grade with no problem.
I took my older DD out for 1 1/2 days when she was in the 6th grade.
It was right before Thanksgiving, about 5 other kids were also leaving early for a trip.

 

[kyprincess]

Thanks for your imput, I guess were going to disneyworld

 

[my3princes]

We are taking our boys out for 3 days in Oct. They will be in 2nd and 4th grades. They are both good students so it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[kandeebunny]

my mom took me when I was younger all the time. Up until about 8th grade we'd go the week before Christmas Break and Easter Break to avoid crowds. I loved it! Mom was a teacher and she didn't mind doing it!

 

[Disneyof3]

my mom took me when I was younger all the time. Up until about 8th grade we'd go the week before Christmas Break and Easter Break to avoid crowds. I loved it! Mom was a teacher and she didn't mind doing it!

I have taken my kids out the last 2 years and think it is no problem. We can't afford to go in regular season or peak so value it is. I always insist on homework for the whole week

 

[soccermom5]

im taking my 5 ranging from 6th -pre k for 7 days in april the teachers are fine with it

 

[lclark0621]

My DS is not in school yet.

But when he is, I will have no problem taking him out of school for vacation. I think family time is just as important as schooling.

And he is my DS, not the schools', so I get to decide if we can do a vacation during the school year.

I will always give the teachers plenty of notice & ask for all work he would miss.

 

[mommytutu]

I took my ds, 1st grade, out of school. His teacher didn't mind at all. In fact, she even gave me some money to pick up some things for the class. I did plan it around a 4-day weekend so he didn't miss as much. Our school district also has a pretty lenient absentee policy. Students have to be present for 90% of their classes, so with 180 school days that mean they can miss 18 days before you have to go before a committee. If the student needs to make anything up it can be done by reports or some Saturday classes. I plan on pulling him out again when go in 2006. Going in the summer just isn't an option for us.

 

[JealousTinkerbell]

I was out of school for a full 2 weeks when i was in High school for a trip to Scotland (so beautiful and i really hope to go back some time..Isle of Skye was the best place) and we will be pulling my boyfriend's 11yo sister out of class for our Disney trip in April. She'll be missing nearly 2 full weeks. We are just making sure to get her homework & class work (or at least as much as possible) beforewe go. She will do it on the plane and some each day in the evening at the hotel. Then she won't have too much to do upon returning.

 

[smoochie]

How does everyone feel about taking kids out of school to go on vacation???? Were thinking of going in Dec. but can't decide PLEASE HELP!!!!

life is too short.

 

[disneylizzy]

I understand wanting to be at WDW when it is not crowded. My thoughts on this are that you are sending a message to your child that convenience and "what you want" are more important than school. We tell our children that we expect them to work as hard at their "jobs" as Daddy works at his. I think that if you take kids out of school now, it is hard to get that high ground back when they are in high school and come up with lots of reasons to miss school. I think they get the message that school is not that important. Of course, bright kids will not be in trouble missing a day or week of elementary school (maybe - what if that is the week they start long division), my thoughts are when they get to high school. Our expectations are that school comes first. Yes, family time is important, but you can have family time in the summer, April vacation, February vacation, Christmas vacation - taking them out of school is for money and fewer crowds. If you have a child in high school that can afford to miss a week of school, I would wonder about that high school program. I guess it is about expectations and not sending mixed messages. I hope this post doesn't seem harsh - life is tough and getting tougher - education is the key for most children.

 

[Hockeychic]

Everytime we have been to Disney I have taken my kids out of school. However last year when they where in grades 7 and 10 it was soooooo hard for my grade 10, 15 year old to catch up. We took them out of school for 7 days and it took him way to long and too many hours to catch up. My grade 7, 12 year old was fine. Previous years it was no problem for the kids to catch up and we never made them to homework when we where on vacation.

So in a nutshell, IMHO I think it depends on the age of the kids. Now fortunatley my DS gets a high school break the first week in November so no problem there and DDis naturally a good student so I am not worried about her catching up.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

I also agree that it depends on the age of your children. We have taken our sons (2nd grade and K) out of school once already this year and will be doing so again in May. My DH is a Navy Pilot and we sort of have to work our vacations around the Navy. We can't pick up and go on vacation just b/c the kids are out of school. It is nice that it works that way for some families, but it doesn't work that way for everyone. My DS's know the value of education (they have been watching DH getting his Maters) and they know that we have high expecatations for them academically. However, when my boys have to watch their father leave for six months (an extremely long time to a 5 year old), I don't have any problem taking them out of school so that they can have a great vacation with Dad before he goes away.

Of course, we will re-evaluate this scenario as the circumstances dictate.

Have a great day.

 

[MAGGIED]

I am taking mine out for 2 days for our trip in April... they are 9th and 6th grade - they know that they are responsible for any work missed and they try to get it alll before they leave so that they are caught up when they return.

 

[kyprincess]

Thanks again for all of your posts they are very helpful,I guess in a nut shell it's up to how you feel your child will do. Let's hope she's doing really well !!

 

[rcraw45425]

We take our two 2nd and 4th grades out. However, living as close as we do it is for 1 or two days going into or coming out of a weekend. Our school district has cracked down on it's absence policy so we can no longer tell the truth, we now just write evasive excuses and their dad is a doctor so we usually have some grain of truth to the excuse. With his schedule it is often impossible to go when the holidays fall, and I agree about family time being precious.

 

[disneylizzy]

I'm sorry Mickey Fliers, I can speak before I think and yes, time with Dad is a priority in your situation. Anyone who has made it to be a Navy pilot or has any position in the armed forces for that matter, has my utmost respect and gratitude. I have two boys who would love to be pilots and I know that in our district, if they don't get recommended for adv. algebra in 7th grade, they are not on the track that will let them take Calculus as a senior. Not fair, but that's the way they do it. I think that Annapolis, West Point, all those top schools want to see the very toughest courses. I just don't want to see a door shut for my kids before they even decide what they want to do. I really don't judge what other people decide for their kids - the OP asked and this is an important issue for me. May your husband stay safe and may your family have an absolutely fabulous time in WDW.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

Disneylizzy - Thank you for your kind words. It is funny that this thread came up, as DH and I were just discussing this situation the other day. We both realized that we will not be able to take our boys out of school as they get older. Family vacations may become a little hairy for awhile, but when my boys find it too diffucult or stressful to make up their work (now they are only 7,5 and 2) we will definately have to take our cues from them. I see you are in Boston. I grew up in Sturbridge and went to UMass Amherst. We will be moving back to Maine this summer.

Have a great day.