Taking kids out of school

[HOTMIKE]

Do you take your kids out of school to go on vacation? If so, what grades? How do teachers react? Is there a lot of work to make up? Is it really worth it?

 

[RitaZ.]

We have done it with our oldest since K (now in 4th grade) and this year with DS#2 in K, but never more than 3 days off school.

I usually write a letter to the teacher explaining how many days they will miss school, request that she send homework or projects home to work on, and also ask if the arrangement is acceptable to her. I always time it when there isn't a big test (like the FCAT). When we decide to plan a trip, I check the school calendar for a day/days off from school that we can add to our trip, weekends and then no more than 3 days off. Since we live in FL, it's easier. I have never had any problems with the teachers on this.

Good luck!

 

[3kidsmom]

When we go next month, it will be the third time we've taken our 11 yo ds out of school (this is our first trip to WDW, the others have been to DVC Hilton Head). He's now in 5th grade, other times he was in 3rd and 4th. We always go for a week (6 days this time), and I always feel guilty about doing it. BUT, he is a good student, and it has never hurt him. At HH, it's always my entire extended family (parents, siblings and their kids) and I think the time spent with family is more important than a few days of school. They will never forget these trips with their grandparents.

Our official school policy is that vacations are discouraged, and homework will not be given ahead of time. Sme of the teachers stick to this, some don't. This time we return 3 days before the end of a quarter, so I hope they'll give him some work ahead of time, or it will be a bear to finish it in time. We just decided if he gets lower grades this quarter, we know why, and it's still worth it. We will take some work with us, and see that he does as much as possible. I also have a kindergartener, but he'll make up his work easy enough.

IMO, bottom line is that while school is very important, family time is more so (and I had a teacher tell me that last year when I told her we would be gone, so that alleviated some of the guilt). If it were possible to go in the summer we would, but our business doesn't allow it.
Yes, I'm still a little nervous about telling the school we will be out, but I won't let them stop me.

 

[BusyMomof3]

We took our 3 kids out for our Nov. 2000 WDW trip. They were in 8th, 5th and 1st grades at the time. They missed 5 days and we planned it around a long weekend. We had to write a letter to the schools explaining what we were doing. For the most part, the teachers were OK with it. We did get work ahead of time and spent some time during the trip working on it. The older 2 had a harder time catching up when we got back because of missing the actual class time. It all worked out for that trip, but we won't do it again.

We have decided to go in June as soon as school is out this year. DD, now in 9th grade has stated that she can not miss school for a trip because she would just miss too much in class. She is in an accelerated program and some of her classes are lecture only (no book, no handouts).

In general, if your kids are in Elementary school, taking them out for a trip would probably be fine. If they are older, you might want to reconsider.

 

[bigsis1970]

for 2 weeks, they are in 2nd and K, they are good students and we told the teachers a month before and were able to get homework in advance to bring and turned it in when we got back
( altho both of the teachers told me that no homework was necessary i felt that we should have some ) also i did this in Dec 2001. I know not much work gets focused on due to the upcoming holiday. i will be doing this again in Jan 2003 . Michelle

 

[LKS]

I must be one of the few who does not take my kids out of school for vacations, even though they are good students and only in elementary school. My kids are proud of their perfect attendance, and while I'm sure they would be delighted to trade that for a week at Disney, just as they'd be delighted if I gave them candy for dinner, we find that we enjoy our summer vacations just fine. So, for us it is not "worth it."

 

[Jordan's MOM]

We take DS (3rd grade) out for travel and just did this for a 8 day stay at DW. He missed 5 days of school. We have never had a problem. This was the first year we have even had work to make up. I expected it as 3rd is the big change in our school. In years past the teachers have just said have fun. Even this year, the work was not bad. We got it a few days early and worked hard to get as much done as possible. We olny took reading with us. We had some to do when we got back but Ds was still sky high from DW and did not complain. His teachers were great. They wanted to know if we would take them too. I taked to his main teacher back in October for our January trip and then just mentioned it to his secondary teachers around Christmas. I sent a note reminding them a week before.
As to being worth it,You have to go off season to belive it. We had no lines anywhere, not even test track. The prices were so much better on the resorts, we never had to stand on the bus and the weather was great. DS is a mostly A student and catching up is not an issue. We alway remind him as we walk quickly through the line areas that if he does not keep his grades up that we would have to go in Summer when all these areas would be filled with people!!It's working so far.
We still plan to go during the school year through 5th grade and will look at the situation as middle school and high school comes up.
If they are good students and in the lower grades for sure go for it.

Jordan's mom

 

[LKS]

We have been off season 3 times in '97 and '98 when my oldest was in a year-round school, and while we took advantage of that and enjoyed it, it's still not worth it to me to take my kids out of school. My rates in October, February and March were not that much (or any, if you consider inflation) better than what I'm getting with the codes this summer. So, I can compare crowds, weather and whatever, but I have a philosophical difference of opinion with most on these boards about taking kids out of school for vacations. It's an unpopular point of view, I know.

 

[RobinLyn]

We have taken our kids out of school 4 times to go to WDW. The last time was December 2000, they were ages 14 and 11, one a freshman and one in 6th grade (boys). Both are A-B students or I would of felt guilty doing it very year as they got older. My oldest son in high school didn't have work to take on vacation, they told me he would have to make it up when he returned because they do not give out assignments in advance in high school (Southern New Jersey). Middle school was a little better and gave some work he could do while away. When they were in Elementary school, they always got their work for the week in advance if I informed the teachers ahead of time. I was worried the high would give us a hard time, but they didn't. This year we are going the end of August, before school begins in September. One thing I tried to do when going to WDW during the school year was leave on a Wednesday and return on a Tuesday-Wednesday. This way they didn't miss a whole week of school, and we still got to be at WDW for 6 days. Some schools make you get a doctors note if out of school more than 2-3 days. We told the high school we were going to WDW and they never asked for a doctors note. They let my son stay after school to make up tests and other work. It gets much harder when they are older. He had a tough week when we returned but we knew this before going, and of course still wanted to go.

RobinLyn

 

[J&D]

As a junior high school teacher, I have to put in my "two cents worth" here. It does not really bother me when students miss a few days of school to go on a family vacation. I wish I could vacation more with my own family. It does bother me when students don't make up the work that they missed while on vacation. Often times I have given those students their work in advance and have discussed my expectations for them completing the work . Most of the time the students come back and have done nothing. This puts them behind, and many never catch up. Here is my advice if you are considering it. Speak with teachers ahead of time. Ask for work in advance. If that is not possible, then work out a schedule for completing the work after your child returns to school. Most teachers are very understanding and flexible if you just take the time to speak with them (There have been many negative posts directed towards teachers lately ). If your child is given the work in advance, then please see that they attempt to complete it. I don't mean for them to work through the entire vacation- just look for some down time (such as waiting to catch a flight at the airport, on the airplane, riding in a car, etc.) that could be used to get some work done. A big "thank you" to those parents who already follow this advice. It is usually what is best for your child!

It also wouldn't hurt to bring back a souvenir for the teacher. Just Kidding!

 

[RobinLyn]

I couldn't agree with you more J&D. I have always respected my sons teachers as long as they spoke to me like the responsible parent I 'm. I totally understood why my sons high school teachers could not give him his work in advance. I was told by other parents that they had problems with the HS, I did not. I wrote notes to them in advance and understood exactly what my son had to do when returning and made sure he understood that all work must be completed and it was. Unfortunately not all teachers are as concerned or caring as you, as I know not all parents worry like we do. The boys did most of thier work on the plane on many of our trips which worked out nicely. I never had a problem once taking vacation during the school year and always felt that good communication with the teachers and with my kids made all the difference.

RobinLyn

 

[3kidsmom]

Just thought I'd let you all know that I spoke with my 5th graders teacher today, and she was as pleasant as could be about everything. She has a reputation for being strict, so I was concerned, but she told us to just relax and enjoy ourselves. Since we will be close to the end of a quarter, she will talk to the other teachers and see if he can take any tests he will miss ahead of time, so he doesn't have to worry about them. Other than that, have a great time. Now my kindergartener's teacher is out on maternity leave until next week, so I still have to talk to her. Ideally, we would vacation in the summer, but it's not possible with our business. They understand that.

J&D, I also agree with you. Being involved in your school and having good commmunication with the teacher is a must, and it makes everyone's life so much easier.

I feel like a huge weight has been lifted, and now I am even more excited to get going. We leave in three weeks!!!

 

[jayceesim]

I agree with J&D. I am also a teacher and I don't mind students going on vacation as long as he/she makes up the work. The one thing that does bother me though are the kids who take off either a week before or a week after a schedualed vacation. I understand that it's cheaper and less crowded at those times but I feel that we're being taken advantage of when families do this. I'm not allowed to go anytime except during a vacation.LOL!!! My best vacation story ,by far, is the one I heard this year after Christmas. One of my students went to Venezula before,during and after the Christmas holidays. Upon returining I asked where his work was and he said he left it on the plane. since he didn't volunteer the informaation right away I can only imagine that he was waiting for the stewardess to mail it to him. Well ,chalk that up to all the other storiesI've heard in my 25 + years of teaching.

 

[allforpooh]

Last Sept was was the first time we took our kids out of school to vacation, and it could not have turned out better. It was our big decision and we did not make it lightly we thought about and talked about it for months before I could convince myself to make the WDW ressie.

What really surprised me was the great response we received from the teachers. We have 2 girls one is a Jr in High School and the other is in 3rd grade.

The 3rd grade teacher assigned her a journal to work on and had her put down 25 to 30 words a night on what she saw and did at WDW. She also gave her 20 questions on the differences between Florida and Michigan. I even learned a few things about Florida and we all had a great time finding out the answers.

The HS teachers were just as supportive, we let them know the first day of school and they told us to tell them again a week before. When my daughter went back to them, they gave her several of the upcoming assignments and she was able to do them ahead of time and turn them in before we left. So when we returned she was not way behind and had an easy time catching up.

We did pick a time that things were fairly slow and just getting started.

Not only did they survive missing 5 days of school, but we were able to spend the time together with less stess due to the crowds.

Since my daughter started HS, vacations have become more important, with all of her activities its like she has already left for College. So the cost of the value season allow us to take more vacations....

Good Luck with whatever decision you make, I am sure it will be the best one for your family.

 

[tonilea]

We are taking my Nephew (1st grade) out of school for four days in May. Before we decided to, we talked to my sister (not DN's mom) who is a teacher, my mother (who has custody of DN) and DN's teacher. Both DN's teacher and my sister agreed that the "family" time would be more important for DN than the school time. DN's teacher was also kind enough no to require any make up work. DN does well in school.

 

[MrsPete]

I guess I'm in the minority here. I would never take my kids out of school for a vacation. They're in school 180 days/year; that leaves 185 days for vacation. I don't think there's really a "high season" any more at Disney, so I don't think shorter lines justify the decision. Furthermore, I think allowing kids to skip school sends a bad message to the kids -- I think it'll come back to haunt many parents when the kids become teens (I could skip to go to Disney, why can't I skip to ________?). Sure a third grader won't miss much in a week, but how much will a high schooler miss in Advanced Chemistry, Trig, Honors English, and American history?

That's what I think -- I am sure it will be unpopular. It's a decision for each family to make.

I'm also a high school teacher, and I have to second what J&D said: 1) the great majority of kids do not tell the teacher that they're going to be out for a vacation until after they've returned and 2) the great majority of the kids never make up the work missed.

 

[Jackie824]

My oldest child in in 2nd grade. Last yr we took him out of school for 5 days, and this yr we will take him out of school for 5 days to go to Disney. Why we do this is because my husband is at college at nites and we go on vacation during my husbands spring break time not my sons. Last yr I told the teacher we were going and she was very happy for us to have a nice family vacation. I asked for work last yr and she wasnt going to give us any, but I insisted so she gave us a bunch of work and my son completed it during the week, on the plane, when his sister was napping in the room etc..We leave in 17 days to go to Disney again. I told his 2nd grade teacher a month ago, she was also fine with it. Just yesterday I asked her about work, she said if her weekly work/and homework papers were back in time she will send stuff home but otherwise not worry about it. I explained to her I didnt want my son to get "lazy" that week,LOL He is a good student and has never had any problems in school. I figure if the teacher doesnt have the work ready by the time we leave I will print some worksheets off the computer for his age level. I know we could always go in the summer, but I have been there in the summer and its way too hot for me,and having a 2 yr old also its very hard to wait for things when its hot andmixed with the fact that you are 2 yrs old and have a very strong willed mind. Just my 2 cents here.

 

[JohnnyOldBoy]

A lot has been said on this already but I'll throw in a few short comments.
We took our 3 DS out of school for vacations almost every year when they were in grammar school and middle school, not only to WDW but also to Wash. DC and others.
ALWAYS discussed with teacher first, never had a problem, some were very encouraging, some less thrilled but cooperative. We always tied it in to a week in Oct. when they had 2 or 3 days off for some teachers conferences so we would get a week away while they only missed 2 or 3 days.
We stopped when the oldest started high school. With block scheduling he would miss too much, even in 2 days.
It has not come back to haunt us. Oldest is now in college, other two in high school. Now we go during spring break with just the 2 younger DS.
While you will never go to Disney and have the place for yourself, it is definitely less crowded in Sept and Oct. We've been to WDW in Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec, Apr, & Mar (not all in the same year!) and like Oct the best.
Taking them out also made the trips more special, and the kids knew it. It showed in their attitudes and behavior and made the trips more enjoyable for all.
Yes, it's for each family to decide. We went for it. No regrets.

 

[luvthatdisney]

We are actually doing this in about two weeks. NOw granted I picked a week where my kids have 2 teacher workdays so they will only miss 3 actual school days, but I have no regrets about it.

Both of my kids teachers (DS in 5th grade and DD in 2nd grade) were both very excited about our trip and have assigned both of them things to do while on the trip. My DS has to keep a journal each day and especially at Epcot (WORLD area). He also has to track our gas mileage during the trip, this should be fun!!!!

My DD also has to keep a journal with pictures she has taken. They are both really looking for ward to doing this and will given them something to do on our 10 hr trip there and back.

This is not the first time we have taken them out for WDW and will not be the last. Our normal daily life is spent apart (DH and I work different shifts) so when we can go we do. In this day and with the fast paced lives we lead any down time is appreciated and greatly needed. I think most teachers understand ths also.

Good luck!

 

[crazyme5kids]

My children will miss 3 days of school before the Easter vacation break. To the teacher who feels that this is taking advantage because he or she can't do this I say: Please don't begruge my family this time together. Economics is not always the reason for the timing of a vacation. My husband does not get the summer off. Nor does he get a Feb. winter break (he does get a week between Christmas and New Years, but sometimes is away working) or a spring break or many other extra days around a holiday. Usually he takes a vacation day here or there. This year we looked at the calender at saw a window of time and jumped at it. He will have to do some work on vacation (just like most teachers do) but that is fine with me, we still will be together. I think teachers deserve every day, week and month they get off. So do other people. Don't be so hard on us.