Would you pull a first grader out of school??

[2Disneybuggs]

We need to plan our second trip before next June. I have travel vouchers that will expire then. Originally I was going to go President' Week and face the crowds because DS will be in first grade. But it looks like I will be very pregnant at that time so no WDW for us. An August trip would be possible but I don;t think I could handle the heat especially pregnant. So October would be an ideal time if it weren;t for school. Anyone take their first grader out and was it very hard on the child when they returned to school?

 

[Jenn]

We pulled our first grade daughter out for a week in early December 2003. We spoke to her teacher about it early on (maybe in October), and she had no problems with it at all. She gave her a journal to write a brief recap of what we did each day, and had us send in pictures to show the class. She did have about 10 sheet of work to make up, but we just did a couple each day until she was caught up.

 

[laceemouse]

I usually say "don't take your kids out of school for Disney" but I think that doing it in lower elementary is probably okay for most kids. We are in a VERY tough and competitive school district, and they tell parents not to schedule vacation during school, but they don't have any firm policy against it. It really depends on the teacher and how flexible they are. As the kids get older, maybe 4th or 5th grade and definitely Jr. High, the work load is so great that it is hard to make up the work. Most dissers say that their kids are so smart that missing even in High School is okay for them, but here if your kid is gifted they just get MORE work piled on them. My oldest is going into 8th grade and if she is out sick for a day or 2 it is tough to make it up. The teachers in Jr. High don't help you at all, but then again I am not at the school schmoozing with the staff all the time. That could make a difference. Anyway, when my oldest was 3rd grade was the last time we took kids out for vacation. It stinks, but it is our reality right now.

 

[F1Julie]

How long are you going for? If you could go over a weekend and only have to pull your kid out of school for a day or 2, I would think that would be best. Maybe you could tie it in with a teacher service day or conference day. The kids around here get all sorts of random days off for those sorts of things.

 

[turnlisa]

Definitely! My DS will be in 3rd grade this year and I already have plans to talk to the teacher on the first day of school. Last year we pulled him out of 2nd grade and the teacher thought it was a great idea! She sent along a journal and some extra work. She asked if she could come, too! Don't worry about it -- the memories that you make on a Disney trip last a lifetime! One week of 1st grade is pretty forgettable.

 

[revrob]

We pulled our son out last year (1st grade) for 5 days, and will be pulling him out for 5 1/2 days this year. I just can't bring myself to fight the heat or the crowds when kids are out of school. I talked to his teacher very early on, and will do the same thing this year. No problems at all.

 

[JESW]

We are some of those bad parents who take our kids out of school. DD5 will be in kindergarten so no work to be made up. DS9 will be in 4th grade. We go in november during a week when they have 2 half-days off. It is also the week after semester end. We have not had any problems in the past taking the week off - we always bring school work with us and he does work every day.

Yes, school is very important, but they way we look at it is that the kids are young for such a short time and we want to vacation with them as a family for as long as we can. Yes, we want to go when the lines are shorter, yes, we could be considered selfish and setting a bad example for our kids by saying that vacations are more important than school, but those are the choices we make. It will be interesting to see what they kids remember when they get older.

We will most likely have to stop when DS reaches the high school in 8th grade. Then he will have several teachers and it will be tougher to get all the missed work completed.

You have to make a choice that makes sense for your child and your family.

Jill

 

[katiemegcz]

We have a DD going into 5th grade this year. We have pulled her out every year since kindergarten for vacation for 1-2 weeks. She is in a special school fro gifted kids within our public school system (relevant to this only because she is in a difficult and fast-paced program). We agonized in 1st grade over whether we should pull her out. Her teacher (a grandmother) took me aside and told me that we should go for it. Here is why...

A child can easily catch up with the work, or get ahead before they leave for a trip. The extra work will soon be forgotten. But those magical days of special family time will resonate with them forever. We have never regretted it once. And school is a top priority in our family.

We have since run into teacher who were not as supportive, and each year when I send the note in to excuse her, I get a very "strong" form letter back from the school district. But we have stood strong, and followed our hearts. The teaeachers have always remarked in conference how much our daughter glowed after her trip, how refreshed and ready to learn she is when she gets back, and how the trip did not affect her grade at all.

Go for it!!

 

[Nanu57v]

When I was in 11th grade my mom actually planned an October trip for the purpose of me missing school. Apparantly in 10th grade I refused to stay home from school even if I was really sick because I wanted the perfect attendance award. (I got it!) This way with Disney in October I was already out of the running early on, and could stay home when I was ill.

 

[Jordan's MOM]

We too took DS out almost every year, for a week ,from kindergarten through 5th grade. We have never regreted it. We truly belive that school is just one way children learn and one part of our lives. Family too is very important to us. Never have we had a problem . Some years he had more work than others to make up. We were willing to do whatever work the teacher asked and many years they gave very little work . First grade i would not worry at all. Go and have a blast.



Jordans' mom

 

[Daxx]

I am a teacher. I know the importance of education ... and I know the importance of family time.

Unfortunately, most of our time (as a child and as an adult) is spent in school or work and not w/our families. Esp. if both parents work and the child goes to an after school program. I spend 40+ hours a week w/my students ... that is a lot of time to spend w/kids who aren't yours. I am the substitute parent as well as their teacher. Those children see more of me than they do of their parents on a school week basis.

Argue, if you will, that there are vacations (Winter & Spring Break) that children get off. However, how many parents actually take that time off to spend w/their child? Not that many b/c work doesn't allow them to. For some parents, it might be the "busy season" or they haven't racked up that much vacation time or perhaps there are too many parents who want that set time off and others cannot take it.

You can make up work, catch up on classroom things. However, the family experience is something you cannot make up. If you miss out on family time while in 1st grade you can't catch up w/it later on. It's lost time.

Disney is a great learning experience. As a teacher and a Disney enthusiast, it's easy to see. I can think of many Disney-based assignments I could give to my students. So many lessons to be learned ... Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Disney Studios, Magic Kingdom. I've had upper level students write reports on the workings of Disney rides (the scrims, etc.) as Disney Trip assignments. They were asked to select a Disney topic to write about ... and many came back w/the most amazing reports I have ever read. They were enthusiastic to learn about Disney animation, etc. and wrote based on their experiences at WDW.

Earlier this year, I had a student take 10 days off to travel to India. For whatever reason, she could not travel during school vacation times. She came back and had so many stories to tell. If she went to Disney, I'd have expected the same from her. Sure, she had homework to make up ... but the experience was more valuable than the work that she missed out on.

Learning is compromised of more than what is taught in the classroom. You need life experiences to go w/your education. Travel, regardless of where, is a life experience.

There's plenty of time to learn ... with family, you never know how much time you're going to have. You never know what will happen w/in your family ... so enjoy them while you have them.

 

[debster812]

Not only would I. I did. DS was pulled from school in Kindergarten for 10 days, and in Grade 1 for a week. With the full blessings of his school and his teachers.

Ultimately every family has to make the choices that are right for them. Added to our family dynamic is my husband's work. He works in a Union shop, and as such they choose vacations by seniority. Would we like to not have to pull DS from school? YES. But, it will probably be another 5 or 6 years before DH is high enough on the food chain at work to get the 'good weeks' So, we do the best we can with the time we get.

 

[lulugirl]

Would you pull a first grader out of school??

Absolutely!

 

[etwinchester]

When we go, my DD will be 8 and in 2nd grade. I hate to pull her out, but we plan on going for 2 weeks in March. I heard that our school is very supportive with this.

My DH doesn't get much time off work, so I want to take this time and enjoy it. We can't go every year due to his work.

I don't care if they give DD work to do before we leave or to do while we're away. I want to make sure she can get caught up. I'm sure it won't set her back for the rest of her life...

Also, I don't want to go during the summer when it's so hot & humid. Who's wants to be miserable on vacation? Summer vacations for children get shorter and shorter. I remember starting school in September. Now, they start in August.

Who knows, by the time my DD is 8, they might not even have a summer vacation anymore and could be going year round...

 

[margiemc]

We took my DD, a first-grader then, out of school the first week in February. I made sure I told the teacher early in the school year and then reminded her a few weeks before we were leaving. She gave me a list of pages for her to work on in Math, Religion, and Phonics. The only thing that she couldn't make up was the weekly 10 word spelling test. Since we drove down from Philly, DD's homework was done before we even got to FL! We are taking her out again for a week in December.

Go for it!

 

[Amirah95]

For a week, yes...anything longer, no.

 

[anditoo72]

I know this can be a touchy subject, but here is my .02 I would pull my first grader out of school as a matter of fact if we happen to go back this winter, I may have to. I was also thinking of bringing my neice who is going into third grade with us, if the trip happens. If we do I will be sure to make the trip somewhat educational (this is where Epcot comes in and the daily travel journals you can print out) that way each child can prepare something to present to the teacher and the class if possible. If a child is struggling in school, I can see where it would make a difference in thier education to be pulled out of school for that time, but if they are a good student -do the assignments the teacher gives for the trip- and something extra tied in with the trip I don't see the harm.

 

[dkal95]

I'm really glad someone posted on this, because I too am taking my 1st grader out for 6 days in October for our trip.

It's good to hear others views on it.

 

[krcit]

I was glad to see this question also. We are going to DW in Nov. and my dds will miss 4 days of school.DD#1 will be in 4th grade and DD#2, in first. This is a dream vacation for us and may be a once in a lifetime(hope not!) trip so we wanted to get our moneys worth, lol. We were going to wait until DS(3) was a little older but this opportunity came along and we jumped on it!! I'm soooooo excited-we haven't told the kids yet. We are going with another family and we're going to get together for BBQ in a few weeks and tell the kids They are going to freak out!!!!! They ask me once a week if we can go to DW someday!!!

 

[etwinchester]

To me, it wouldn't really matter what others thought. Not to be rude...but they don't know your child, their school abilities, etc...

This is something that you and your spouse would know, as well as their teacher. To me, I don't think 2 weeks would set my DD behind for life. Unless for some reason, she was REALLY, REALLY struggeling and if was against the teachers recommendation. That's a different story.

Again, I'm not trying to be rude by posting this but others don't know your children as well as you and their teachers...

Good luck on your decision and HAVE FUN