Would you pull your kids out of school for a Disney vacation?

[penguinande]

This (or similar) had probably been asked before, but I'm curious - do you think it is appropriate to take your kids out of school in order to travel to WDW at off-peak times?
I'm in the very early stages of planning my kids' first trip to WDW. My dd is currently 4, almost 5, and ds is 2. However, we probably will not be going for another 1-2 years, so dd will be in school by then. Looking at the crowd calendars for the times we would be able to go makes me cringe. I doubt dh would have any objections to pulling her out of school, but I don't know how I would feel about it.
Has anyone done this, or an I totally horrible for even thinking about it? If you have done it, what did your child's teacher say?

 

[SensesFailed]

I don't see it as a problem, as a matter of fact, I am doing it next month. Granted, I had to give up some time over the holiday and my ex wasn't very happy with the idea, but I have no problems with doing it. My parents did it with my brother and me while we were in school and I feel it's not a problem.

My kids are given their homework prior to us leaving and I will make sure they do it and do any studying beforehand. I see it this way, sometimes, it's hard for kids or even parents to find the time to vacation during the summer or when children have off school. If your kids have good grades and will do the work while on vacation, have at it.

 

[disney world dreamer]

i would do it in a heartbeat.

my parents took all three of us children out of school every single year frompre-k through 12th grade.

our teachers never had a problem with it as long as we handed in our homework when we got back. (we always brought a note to school 2 weeks prior so the teachers would have enough time without rushing to gather anything we would need)

we all graduated high school and all graduated college so i don't think being pulled out of school did any harm.

 

[cattywampus]

Yep. Did it last November and will definitely do it again.

 

[penguinande]

Thanks Really I think that I was more worried about disapproving teachers and other parents than I was about dd falling behind. Nice to know that other parents have done this - opens up many more options.

 

[Mousemommy1]

We have done it, but only for a few days and in earlier grades. In 3rd grade, our oldest told us that she did not like missing school, so we haven't done it in a couple of years. We respect her want to be in school while it's open. Both she and our other DD are straight A students. They LOVE school.

When we used to do it, we would make sure the missed work would be done ahead of time by arranging that with the teachers.

 

[clori]

I would (and did) do it in elementary school but iffy on middle school and wouldn't do it in high school. I would start though by looking up the school info where your kids will be going. You want to know the policies that are in affect for your school district. Some schools are very vacation friendly and some schools are not.

Is there anything in the student handbook regarding vacations beyond we don't recommend it. If they count as unexcused absences is there any rule for x amount of unexcused absence which can vary from a phone call home to court date.

If possible talk to parents of older kids who go to the school and see what they say since the handbook may say one thing but in reality the school is okay with vacations.

Do your best not to pick state testing times though where I live those don't start until 3rd grade. For older grades avoid midterms and finals as well.

Do not assume teachers will give work ahead of time. Sure some will, some may no be allowed to etc.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

We pulled our son out of school last year for Disney and we are doing it again this year. He's in 2nd and has only missed 2 days of school so far this year. We are going the week after spring break. The teacher already knows and has no problem with it. She's going to send work home for him plus he does a vacation journal for extra credit. I think it's ok when they are this age. I don't think I would do it when he gets into the upper levels

 

[kmb584]

I took my daughter out of school in November for a Disney trip. We would normally go again in April or May, but we've jumped on the June bandwagon instead so as not to take her out twice. Her school district allows one vacation per child per school year. I e-mailed her kindergarten teacher two weeks before we left and she put together a packet of school work for my daughter to complete while away.

 

[3PrincessesAndaFrog]

We did it every year until the kids were in Middle School....the weather was great, the only time my spouse could go, and and no lines. The asked teacher what they would miss, some gave them work others gave us a hard time.

Once in middle school, the kids said no because they had too much to catch up on. Now we go end of August and have had great luck with minimal lines. A little hot but but we are use to it now.

 

[Saltywardog]

We do it most Septembers for a week. Best weather low crowds.

 

[Lauralaylin]

Definitely! Done it twice already, and I have two Disney vacations booked that will do the same. DS does fine in school, so that isn't an issue. I hesitate from doing it in September as he doesn't adjust to school super well, but otherwise I do it without issue. Teachers where I am expect it in elementary school.

 

[Cedarmom]

At that age? In a heartbeat.

We are going this year and pulling a 6th, 3rd, and kinder out for 4 days. This is our last year before we have a middle schooler. Once they hit middle school, the workload is harder, they miss more and it's harder to catch up. But elementary school? I have no issues with pulling them.

 

[Tiffylv]

.

 

[MommyBryn]

If we didn't homeschool our children, we absolutely would take them out, regardless of the grade.

I grew up being pulled out of school for vacations, Disney being the main one from middle school through high school, because my family farms and winter is the only time we really CAN vacation. We were in a small town so everyone knew my parents well and no teacher ever gave us a hard time about it, but we were good students as well and so being out for a week or two never caused us issues. Had we struggled they might have been more hesitant or had more suggestions on what to do to stay on track or catch up.

 

[kam1011]

Most people here are going to tell you yes. I am against it. That's also how I was raised. I missed one day of school for a vacation in my entire childhood and I can remember my parents being all torn up about it. We went away to the Bahamas for a four day weekend, but the only flight from our area involved missing the day of school before that. We go to Disney every summer, just as we did as kids. We always have a great time.

 

[lam0037]

I was pulled out for vacations lots of time. My senior year of high school, I missed two days of classes for MNSSHP while taking 5 AP classes and my grades didn't suffer, I wasn't behind, Etc.

I also missed a couple days of college classes to travel for football games last semester. Didn't affect my grades. It really depends on the child and their ability to catch up/work ahead/ learn independently.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Yes for my kids. They are elementary and make As with little effort so I am not concerned at all about them falling behind. If they were not such strong students, I would not pull them out. When they get to middle and high school I will be less likely to pull them out.

 

[GS for life]

I did when my oldest was in elementary school but wouldn't past 6th grade. My oldest was upset with missing 3 days for the GS convention. She had a bad experience missing a few days in middle school for a school orchestra trip with a math teacher. So, no more missed school. However, we don't start school until after Labor Day so we tend to go the week before. It is hot, but crowds are lower.

 

[amber_cntrygrl]

Yep! Pulled our oldest DS out for a cruise in 2012 (K), for Disney World in 2013 (2nd grade), and will pull him for Disney World in November 2015 (4th grade). We've never had any trouble from teachers, and the principal actually gives us 3 of the 5 days he misses, excused!
We won't be going back again after that until he's in 6th grade, so we won't be missing school anymore after our November trip. We'll just have to fight the crowds after this one.