Taking kids out of school for cruise?

[Gretel]

Actually to clarify, it was not for 2 and a half weeks I would be taking them out of school. It is that amount of time before the end of a quarter. They would be missing 5 days total.


Thanks for all the replys!

 

[JODIELYN]

We just returned form 7 day western. Took our kids (all 4 of them) out of school for the entire time.

they are 10th, 7th, 5th, 1st. The private school they go to requires that they get ALL their work done ahead of time. So, about 3 weeks before we left i wrote a letter to each teacher giving details and asking for them to start getting work together. They all were very cooperative and the kids worked hard, but got it done! Didn't take any work with us and when they returned they had just one or two tests to take in the week they were back.

Worked out wonderful I think if you are organized and work it all out ahead of time, communicating well with the teachers etc.

Family time is so so important!

Enjoy your trip!
Jodie

 

[Wishing on a star]

oooops!!
Yes, I see now! You are only talking about 5 days.
Sorry about any confusion.

I know you must be excited to be planning such a wonderful and magical family vacation!!!

 

[MelissaE1]

Wow, this is such an interesting thread. It is amazing to read of the differences in schools and states, from "no big deal" to huge fines!

My attitude before has always been that it's my kid, and also that occasional travel can be more educational than sitting in the classroom. My DS went to a K-2 school and we pulled him every year for at least a week and no one seemed to care. But this year he goes to a 3rd-5th intermediate school and there are prominent newspaper articles posted by the front desk area saying how they can hold your child back for excessive absences (more than 9 days I believe.) That made me think a little, espcially since he's been absent a few days when he was ill. Luckily his teacher has been very supportive and will give us his extra work in advance, and I have to say if they bugged me about it I'd be pretty miffed as my son is on the A honor roll and in the gifted program and I can't imagine that he'd be missing enough to hold him back for an entire year.

I would still take him out in subsequent elementary years for the savings/smaller crowds, but I have heard so many people say it gets harder when they are older that I am starting to worry about the planned absence thing when he hits middle and high school.

Good luck with your decision Gretel.

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

We're taking our kids DS (12) & DS (6) out for 6 days prior to their spring break for our March Cruise. I was a little worried about the amount of time they are going to be gone. My DH took my older DS out for 1 day for elk hunting in November and it was not a big deal at all. The school wanted us to wait until 2 - 3 days prior to the day he would miss before asking about class work. When I questioned them on the 6 day absense coming up this spring - they said the same thing. They are allowed 12 absenses during the school year and these are excused as long as I either notify them in advance or it is for an illness or doc. appt.

 

[goofysgirl]

We took our three girls in October for a week. They are in 3rd, 7th, and 10th. The schools were not thrilled with our decision, but did go along with it. We have the ability to have one week of vacation as excused absences so we were covered there. Our 3rd grader made a wonderful journal and shared many of the experiences with her class. Our 7th grader was actually ahead of her class in language arts, as she was told to read and do a report on a book, only to find out the class did not finish the book while we were gone. Her other classes we easily made up within a weeks time. Our sophomore made everyting up easily, and probably grasped the most from our trip. We have learned that life is way too short to wait until you can do things to please everyone. We will be going in November again and taking the girls out but only for two days, as they have Teachers workshops, Election Day, and Veteran''s Day. I would never hesitate to take my kids out, they know they will have to work hard to catch up, but don't we all have a ton of e-mail and voice mail waiting for us? Have a wonderful trip your family deserves the FAMILY TIME, and at the price you can afford!

 

[Gretel]

Just to update, we have decided to take them out of school next Jan for 5 days. They are both A-B students and there absences would be excused. The schools my girls are in have no problems with family vacations. It is ME who did or does not want to put ay extra stress on them by having to make up work. I think we will be fine ad we are so looking forward to our cruise!

Thanks for all the replys!

 

[Wishing on a star]

Yey!!! Have a MAGICAL time!!

 

[kasar]

Okay, I'll be the lone dissenter here. We're the fools who fight crowds and wait on long lines during school vacations. We just got back from our Wonder cruise (yes, more expensive that's why we did just 3 days) and two days at WDW. Very crowded but still fun.

We always travel during the summer or on one of their breaks. We always manage to do great things and, while not as easy as other times of the year, always have a lot of fun. I'm not making judgements on anyone else, it's just how our family does things. It can be done.

 

[Jhondy(210)]

i know Gretel has already decided to pull her kids but for anyonr else still on the fence this is the experience i've had.

i'm in highschool and many kids miss soooo much school. i more of a B-C student with an occasional D or an A. i was out of school for 3 days(knee surgery) and then out of many classes after that for check-ups and what not. my teachers had no idea why i was gone. it was fairly easy to make up the work i missed(except one class i had trouble making one work up, never learned the work we just moved on to the next unit...oh well)

the one thing you have to check is what kind of teachers your child has. the teachers i had were very good at giving me the homework i needed, and were available for help if i needed it.

this years teachers on the other hand suck! i've missed a few classes for various things like field trips and debate tournaments. some of my teachers have been very hard to get make up work from. a few kids went hunting during school(i live in wisconsin what can i say) a teacher would not let those kids make up work and strongly urged them and there parents not to go. everyother teacher was fine with it though.

i wouldn't cancel a vacation because of an idiot teacher...i'd just beg for the makeup work but just be warned.

 

[tchrmom]

As a teacher......I don't have a problem with kids missing for a "trip like this". However, instead of "making up" work that is missed, I think I would ask for a daily cruise journal. How about throwing some "cruise related" math problems in there too?

We are taking our kids out of school (and me too!) in October, and I plan on posing this idea to thier teachers.

I hope it works!

 

[dis4me]

Hey Tchrmom
As a teacher in our district I offered this to my dds teacher when she was in Kindergarten.I said I would have her draw a picture everynight and give me a sentence to explain it. I would write the sentence and have her copy it into the booklet. I thought it would be a nice keepsake as wee. NO GO with the teacher. SHe didn't want her to miss any skills so she sent her with 3 books and over 30 pages of work.
BTW my daughter could read before Kindergarten and was way ahead of her class.We did do the journal anyway but it was not handed in.
This year when we went away I didn't even bother.I have since resigned but I know the curriculum like the back of my hand.I offered to teach the concepts while we were away but the teachers said it would be easier if they just did the work.Oh well.At least they know they didn't miss anything.
Better luck to you!! Have a great cruise.

Gretel glad to see you made your decision and are comfortable with it. This will always be the age old debate but majority of teachers I know feel quality family time and travel to new places has more of an impact on a child's life than missing a few days of math problems. Have a wonderful time.

 

[alisbarc]

This is a very interesting thread.

We have 4 kids (3 in school, 6th 4th and K) and could probably not afford to travel as much as we do if we didn't go on off times. We make one trip a year during the school year. Next year we are doing our first Disney Cruise. My Dad was military so we traveled a lot (and changed schools often) and it was a positive experience.

In our area the teacher and the school administrator seems to be the key (outside of the kids, of course). We got a new school administrator this year and he required all parents to meet with him prior to taking kids our for any reason. Myself and several other parents passed on this meeting (My wife went). He gives the same speech to everyone and tries to lay a guilt trip on you. The teachers on the other hand have always been great. Easy to work with and happy that we want to spend time with our children.

We will keep doing it as long as it has no negative effects on our children.

Can't remember my grades from 1st - 8th grade. Never had to put them on a resume. Never asked about them at a job interview or applying for a loan.

Happy New Year all!

 

[aprilgail2]

When we go my god daughter will be in 10th grade but we are pulling her out of school since neither of us has any desire to go on vacation during peak season! Our school has a policy of 20 absenses during the year and you do not get promoted so she will only have to miss 5 days of school which leaves plenty of "play"...plus she very bright and picks things up quickly so she should not have any problem.

 

[AnnMorin]

Michael (9) had to write daily in his journal about what he saw etc. He had to do a math problem in it daily too, I designed the problems for him. Usually they were around how many nautical miles we traveled that day. But when we were in cozumel I made a problem for him dealing with converting pesos to dollars (one peso is roughly one US dime) Upon return he made a poster/collage to present to his class with pictures of the different countries and sights-stingray city, the machine gun clad gaurds at cozumel pier. It was very intereting to his classmates.

 

[mpaone]

We took our 3 kids (8th, 6th and 4th grades) during Halloween week these past 2 years. We spoke to both schools and sets of teachers beforehand. My youngest daughters teacher asked her to keep a journal and that she would make up the other work when she got back. It was a lot of work but she did a little extra each night and had 2 weeks to finish it. My older 2 had to make up most of their homework when they got back but some gave them the work beforehand which worked out well. I think it really depends on the school system AND your kids.

I would never go to a tropical island in the summer. I dont see the point. My sole purpose of going in October is because usually the crowds are much thinner. Thats what works for us!

 

[mdvasquez]

Our children have also missed a week of school both last year and this year. Last year they were in 5th 6th and 10th grade, and this year they were 6th, 7th and 11th grade. There has never been an issue with doing this. I just wrote a note to the principles and then to each teacher. Some gave work before the vacation and others gave it when we got back. My daughter is SLD, my middle son is ADHD and my oldest is gifted. They all did just fine with the missed work and their grades never suffered for it. They will be out again this October for a 7 day cruise.

Dena

 

[dianthus]

This is such an interesting thread to read!

Having done the DCL cruise last April during Spring Break & several in a non- school holiday week, we all agree non holiday weeks are more fun- less crowds

I didn't think a public school system could seek any type of retribution on a student or parent because of an absence that was approved by a parent/guardian, regardless of reason. I can see concern if a child has poor grades, but if a student can handle it , it really shouldn't matter. It amazing what some of you have encountered

We've been taking our DD out for 2 week long trips each school year since she was in pre-school. We feel that travel provides an equally important learning experience & view it an extension of the classroom- life learning. We convey this to her teachers early in the year, so they are aware. I also ask them if there are any particular periods where it would not be wise to be away & then plan accordingly. I will send in a note a month before & request they give her the assignments to do early, or an assignment for her to do while she was away. The teachers are always so accomodating.

Last year she did a presentation on the St. Maarten Butterfly farm & a year before did a report on the Kennedy Space eco system. The teachers and kids loved it!

Take your kids out if you can. Travel is less rushed, less expensive & the memories are worth it!

 

[diathoney]

My kids DD (9) in 4th and DS (8) in 3rd will miss 4 days of school for our trip. Both of their teachers were fine with sending the missed work home early (next Monday the 13th) so the kids can work on it before and during the cruise. They both have wonderful teachers this year - we're lucky.

I really like the idea of a journal. I think I'll add that in as an extra assignment - for me too! (I'm such a mean mom!) I bet they'll enjoy having the journals to read and re-live the trip after we get back! I know I will!

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

We were always very gung-ho about taking our kids out of school, and have done so for the last four years the week after Thanksgiving to go to Orlando. This year, oldest DD is in 9th grade Honors program, and she spent quite a bit of time on vacation doing schoolwork. When she got back, she had a ton of makeup work too, complicated by the upcoming science fair. She has a very solid school schedule...no studies. She just didn't enjoy the vacation as much as in the past, and we felt that we can't put her in that position anymore. This was also complicated by some health issues requiring additional partial days out of school and an after school babysitting job that she got 2 weeks before the trip. (Just for reference sake...not bragging!...there were a total of 2 Bs, the rest As, on the kids' 1st Qtr report cards, so yes, they are good students.) However, I envy those that don't find it a problem, and think it's great that it works out for them! We're very disappointed about not continuing our tradition.

This is one of the reasons I'm on this board now...looking at an alternative to doing Disney during high vacations seasons...and started wondering about doing a cruise instead this year.

Good luck!