Pulling kids out of school?

[Wendaeh]

We have 3 kids -- 4th, 2nd and 1st graders. Our trip to Disney was 11 days -- they missed 7 days of school and I was VERY nervous about it. We returned on Sat night (they had Sun and Mon - president's day off). All their teachers let a friend bring home th accumulated work and we picked it up. My 4th grader aced all tests this week; all 3 kids were caught up by Thursday. None gave me any trouble about completing the work.

I printed the journals that are listed on the budget board and my kids worked on them while away -- the teachers raved about them.

I wouldn't make it a habit of pulling my kids out -- but let me say this -- we waited 10 mins at MOST for any ride -- had a WONDERFUL time and saw everything. For a big trip to Disney I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Have fun!
Wendy

 

[Wendaeh]

...my kids learned how to read a map; judge distance and time; visit other countries (which at Brownie thinking day last night really came in handy); my son had cool facts for his 2 President's reports from the Hall of Presidents; learned about fossilized energy; gained confidence by trying Buzz over and over again until they could really rack up oints; my one son got over his fear of dark places and loud noises; learned about animals at each kid station in AK; and my other son conquered his fear of roller coasters (thanks to Aerosmith!). A side trip to Sea World really put us over the top....


....but my favorite moment was after eating dinner at Crystal Palace and watching Wishes I felt a hand snake into mine....my almost 10 year old son WAS HOLDING MY HAND...and said, "I love this place Mom!"

I love this place! Best thing we ever did for our family.

 

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

Originally posted by Wendaeh
...
....but my favorite moment was after eating dinner at Crystal Palace and watching Wishes I felt a hand snake into mine....my almost 10 year old son WAS HOLDING MY HAND...and said, "I love this place Mom!"

I love this place! Best thing we ever did for our family.

This brought tears to my eyes reading this. How sweet!

 

[Linda55]

I am a certified teacher and sign-language interpreter working in a Junior High. In 25 years of teaching, I have never seen a week of school that wasn't worth missing for a family trip. The benefits of cheaper flights, shorter lines, etc. well outweigh a week of school. If a teacher refuses to give work, oh well. What's going to happen? Maybe a B instead of an A next quarter. As someone else said, in ten years, who will remember?

Sorry for no fun little icons and stuff. This is my first post and I'm still getting used to things!

 

[Glory Days]

When my kids were young I never took them out of school. We did Disney in July or August, and it was hot! Our school just seemed to disapprove if they had to miss a week, and my girls were great students. Well, went back to teaching when they were older, and wish I had pulled them out for a winter break once or twice. Especially since they were good students, they could have made up the work. Like someone said, I can't imagine a week of school work being better than a week of family time. Just plan it so it's not during a big testing week (school's have those schedules at the beginning of the school year) and enjoy!

 

[winifredweasley]

Sure! Pull them out of school! Goodness, they're only little kids. You're not being a bad person. Teachers undestand vacations. I'm in 7th grade and even kids in my grade get out a couple weeks at a time for vacations. And even a few days just to go skiing.

 

[disneycrazed139]

I think it's teribble that any school wouldn't work with you on it. Nothing wrong with making up a packet of crucial assignments to bring.

I wouldn't take a middle schooler or high schooler out. They'd fall too far behind and would feel it--especially in math and English, but as far as elementary aged kids, I think it's fine. I used to do it all the time. Now that my DS is 12, I won't do it anymore, but when he was 6 and 8 we left for a week and there were no negative repercussions. The teachers gave him packets and everything that was crucial was completed on the plane ride.

I think it really depends on your kid too. If your child is a good student, it shouldn't be a problem. I'd think twice if my kid didn't catch on to things easily or tended to get lost if a day or two is missed. Depends on the kid and your personal preference.

 

[MELSMICE]

Originally posted by disneycrazed139
I wouldn't take a middle schooler or high schooler out. They'd fall too far behind and would feel it--especially in math and English

That's not neceessarily true that they would fall behind. My oldest DD is a freshman now & we have taken our kids out of school for the last 3 years for a week. They have all done fine, including her (she carries a 97-98 overall average).

Our other 2 DD's have done fine also (6th grade twins). One carries a 98 average, the other a 94. Each time we have returned they have been actually ahead in some of their classes.

I really think it depends on the child (as you said) & how you handle it. They take any work they get from the teachers with them & also call friends every day for any assignments they didn't get. They've been told if they don't do this then no more vacations during school time.

 

[stacieps]

When my daughter started Kindergarten I had decided to schedule vacations around her school schedule. Then this year (1st grade), we decided to take a family vacation in Oct ('03) when my DH could get time off from work. I explained to her teacher that she would miss 6 days for a family vacation and that we were going during school time because it is when DH could get time off from work and as he is a member of National Guard and things were just too uncertain about whether he'd be activated that we felt we needed to have a family vacation when we could. I'm so glad that we did, because at the end of Nov. he got the call that he'd been "selected." He's now been gone since the beginning of Jan. and will be gone for more than another year. Our children (DD 6, DS 4) still talk about our last vacation with Daddy on the "big boat" (we went on a cruise). So, while some may not agree that taking kids out of school is the right thing, I say that having that special week together so close to when Daddy left was the best thing for our family. We (me and kids) will take our trip to WDW during DD's spring vacation so that she doesn't miss more time from school, but there's no guilt here that she missed the 6 days in Oct.

 

[26555]

Just read a few of the posts in this thread. Would you believe I'm sweating taking my kindergartner out a few days? There are people really giving me a hard time about it. Some people home school where they are in charge of the entire education of their kids. That is "allowed" so why am I not "allowed" as a college educated parent to get some assignments ahead of time and home school them on those matters for the week? I wouldn't want to teach chemistry to them but the elementary stuff I think I could help them with so they didn't fall behind. I'll probably do it and take the hit for "unexcused" absences. I just find it odd that I'm a rebel for doing it.

 

[MarthaB]

Don't sweat k-garten. Look at it this way . . . in many states k-garten isn't even required!

I took my DD out of k-garten for a week last year and she was fine. The school district didn't approve (another school district where only 5 absences are allowed), but her teacher worked with us. She even thanked me repeatedly for coming into school to see what she would be missing. She actually said most parents wouldn't have even asked!

 

[garylpn]

i agree that a child should not be pulled out of school for wdw if the child is struggling, but i feel it's just fine for children doing ok, especially if it allows a family to vacation together
many people cannot get summer vacations, particularly jobs involving a seniority vacation system coupled with limits on employees allowed off at the same time
i have to most strongly disagree with the anti attitudes of some, while i would not expect a teacher to feel responsible for a child making up the work, it's not any part of the education establishment's job to pass judgement on any families priorities, particularly a public school system, in the end they are the employees of the very people who are deciding to take the vacation, something the limited absence/failure policy schools seem to lose sight of
gary
a son of a son of a sailor

 

[mouselifer]

For some people it is easier to get to WDW. Maybe they live closer, have more money or alot of extra time. Sometimes when a person has one of these factors, their perspective is very different from most others.

In our life in raising our children we have noticed that we only have some control over TWO things.

What we do with the TIME we have together and What we do to develop the relationships with those people we choose to spend TIME with.

That's It.

WDW and USF/IOA Easter weeks here we come.

Everyone please have a great day.

 

[BonSchwe]

Will be pulling DS13 and DD12 out of school for 8-days at the end of April. Just yesterday, 03/22, I sent notices to all their teachers and the principal that they would be gone. I have to admit I was fearful of the reaction I would get but as I had stated in my notices "our family is in dire need of togetherness right now". I was met with resounding great reactions from the teachers. A couple said they wished they were going and most thanked me for letting them know far enough ahead so they could put something together. I left the homework or special projects to their discretion as we had never done this before.

To some people it might not be the thing to do, but we were not letting this opportunity pass our family by.


31 days and WDW here we come!!

 

[Minnie Mare]

We returned from our wonderful trip. Only one of my son's teachers gave him work to do (read a few chapters and do a rough draft essay). He received a packet of work (not huge) to finish by the end of this week from the others. All his teachers were great about this. He got right back into the swing of things. I was worried about this and in the end I have absolutely no regrets about taking him out of school. We spent a wonderful week together and made memories to last a lifetime.

 

[candtmom]

I, too, have always pulled my kids out of school to avoid the crowds. They are 7 and 9 now. We are very lucky because my sister, their aunt, teaches at their school so always makes sure they have all their work ready for them to take with them. We always make sure their teachers have plenty of advance notice before we leave. We try to make time each day to do a little work. They do end up having to make some work up, but it has worked out well for us. Like the others have said, though, a child who is struggling academically can't afford to miss too many days.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

there have been a couple times while i was in high school that i went on a family vacation and missed a week of school...My teachers just need to be informed 2 weeks prior to , and they will give me all the hoomework and classwork i need..i usually did it on teh planes back and forth..wasnt a big deal at all

 

[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

Sorry to get on my high horse, but hey, as a teacher would it be ok if i decided I wanted a week off school? And don't say we already get loads of holidays because so do the kids. If kids go out of school to holiday then fine (especially if they are pain in the butt kids - this is fab from my point of view) but don't expect teachers to carry out extra work getting kids a work package together to catch up, it's such a pain having to do that. So for now I'll carry on paying full price at peak times for my holidays.

 

[kimlooman]

I must agree that there is nothing wrong with taking your kids out of school for a family vacation anywhere! I am a teacher and now am home with a new baby and we took our older child out twice this school year to go to Disney. There is nothing more valuable than spending time as a family and especially at Disney. We would not be able to go during school breaks due to my husband's job/vacation time and we could not afford it during Spring break and Christmas break. That is not an excuse and I should not have to justify with any reason/excuse to have my kids miss school for a family time. Kids are only kids for such a short time and once they are older and move out you can never get that family vacation time back, take the vaction, make the best of it with lots of fond family memories. School will be there when you get back! Amen!

 

[jcemom]

Stitch's Greatest FA: My kids have had several teachers take vacations during the school year. No big deal.

Edited to add: I just noticed that you're from England, so the situation may be different for you. As far as holidays go, the kids in our area don't get many, two days for Thanksgiving in November, the week between Christmas and New Year's, a couple of days around Easter (2-4), and summer vacation. We don't get fall break, spring break, or anything like that.