Pulling the kids out of school

[TIGGER17179]

My parents always pulled me out of school for a week. I remember that in order to make it where I wasn't falling behind my teacher (6th grade is the first I remember) gave my parents some work for me and I wrote a report on my trip. One of my fondest memories of my dad is him helping me with my math while we were washing clothes at the Fort Wilderness Resort.
We also did the same thing with my niece and nephew and they wrote reports on Epcot since it's really educational anyway.They even let us talk to a few of the people back stage to help with the report. We all got into it and gave a little more personilization to the trip.
GO AHEAD DO IT!!!

[Jodileigh]

I did the take the kids out of school thing on our 3 previous trips and it worked out fine! Low crowds were WONDERFUL! This time, b/c B had some math issues last year, we're going before school starts up again. But, since he's done so well this year, next year we're planning to pull both boys the first wk of December to go! I will say that it is much easier to take kids out in the early years of school than in the upper grades. I would DEFINITELY do it all again and take them out!! GO FOR IT!!!

Jodi

[minnie2002]

I have also taken our son out of school for trips each year since Kindergarten. He is now in second grade. I do feel uneasy about doing it, because I don't want to cause any problems with him and the teachers or the school. I had no problems with the teachers in Kindergarten and First Grade. They were great preparing the work for him. I gave them about three weeks notice about his absence and I told them we would do whatever work he needed to do either before, during or after our trips. One of his teachers even made a special door hanger for our cruise with our son. It made me feel much better about our situation.


This year was a different story. We just moved to another state, hence a new school. We had our tripped planned well before we even knew we were moving, based on our previous school's calendar. I gave the teacher over a month notice at our conferences. She was fine with it then. I sent a note to school about two weeks before to remind her of our vacation. She sent him with a bunch of homework which was great!!. But we really paid the price when we came home. I kept getting daily calls and emails saying he didn't seem like he was paying attention any more and taking him out of school on vacation was probably the cause. It was great to get the feedback, but the feedback was so vague. I began to get worried and I took him to the eye doctor, regular doctor etc. The doctors said he was fine. I even had him checked to see if he all of a sudden has ADHD that it was just presenting itself now. He is an awesome student and then all of a sudden I am getting emails saying he isn't paying attention. I was quite concerned. I would continually ask the teacher if there was anything we could do and she would say she never had this problem. We then met with the principal to try to get to the bottom of this. Long story short, they had the nurse and counselors observe the classroom, and came back and told us there were no problems and our son was just fine. He was paying attention and they didn't see what the problem was. Keep in mind his grades are awesome and continued to be upon his return. He also doesn't get in trouble. We believe that this teacher had an issue that we pulled our child out of school for vacation. The emails and phone calls stopped.

Sorry this was so long.
But I am planning on taking them out again in September for the free dining. My DS's will be in Kindergarten and 3rd grade. I was concerned for my Kindergarten but felt it is so early in the school year and both my children are good students. We do value education, but I feel family time is just as important

[mickey&missy]

We've taken the kids out of school twice now for trips to WDW. Our 06 trip DD was in kindergarten and DS was in preschool. We just went last month and DD is in 1st grade and DS is still in preschool. We have had no problems at all. Both times I've let DD's school know ahead of time and asked the teacher if there is any homework etc DD should do. Both times I got "Just have a great time!" as a response. We're pulling them out again in January for our next trip. DD will in 2nd grade and DS in kindergarten. I don't expect any problems then either. In our school district kids get pulled out all the time for vacation. One of DD's friends went away for an entire month last year!

[KAT1811]

We are planning on doing the same this year if we can financially make it happen. You see, after returning from our last trip, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and I was given only 6 months to live. Praise God, I had the right doctors put in my path and it looks like we have beat the cancer. However, I learned one thing, you MUST treasure every single day because you don't know when your last day on this earth may be!! With that, we are going to try to get back to WDW as often as possible and enjoy our children and enjoy our family time together!!

HndrdPrcnt, I am so glad to hear that you are doing well and have beaten the ugly caner monster. I agree that we all must cherish every moment we have and make as many memories together as we can. One never knows.

I think family time is important.

Sorry, but this is a sore point for me. MIL lives next door. We told her that we were going to Disney again in September when she asked. She asked what about school. I said we're gonna blow all five unexcused absences right off the bat. She just kind of persed her lips, and we moved on to something else.

Oh well, MIL will get over it. It is your family and you need to do what is best for you. It isn't up to her. Enjoy your family vacation together and cherish the memories you make.

We believe that this teacher had an issue that we pulled our child out of school for vacation. The emails and phone calls stopped.

We had trouble this year as well. Our DD's teacher had an issue with us taking her out of school for our family vacation (there were 15 of us this year). Personally I do not care whether she liked it or not, it is my family and I will do what I feel is best, peroid. She did give her a hard time but we dealt with it and moved on. She was having a hard time with another student bullying her and the administration was anything but proactive in the bulling arena. We ended up having to remover her from the school after petitioning the superintendent for the transfer. The principal also had issue with us pulling her out and told the principal at her new/old school (she attended this school from K - 3, then we moved. Now we are back home where we belong for 5th and 6th.) that she had "attendence issues". When I explained the nature of the issue the new principal was very understanding and supportive. She actually felt for us and our situation regarding the other school.

We have three children. Our oldest is 11 and our younger two are 3 and 1 (we are working on the fourth). We have a big gap in the ages of our children but still feel that our time as a family is important. We will continue to pull our daughter out of school for our family vacations. DH and I own our own business, I stay at home with the children and he works 85+ hours a week 8 months out of the year (his hours shorten a bit on the "off" months). We spend every minute we can with the children and feel that family is the most important thing in the world. Our WDW vacations are very special to us as it allows us to be together every minute of every day and focus on each other, nothing else.

[scootch713]

I too pull my girls out. We usually go the full week before thanksgiving, they come back and usually just have school mon/tues thanksgving week... so that gives us wed, thurs, fri, sat, sunday and they are off monday too to get caught up. By the time they go back on that tuesday, it is like they never missed any school.

My dear neice was 21 years old and had cancer. We took her with us to disney in 2006. At the time we did not know she also had a brain tumor. It was her last "good" week and she passed away 4 months exactly after the trip. That trip was more important to my girls than any week they could have spent learning in school..... and even though most of us are luckily healthy, noone ever knows if it might be their last "good week"..... go, enjoy, give your kids an extra hug/kiss tonight and dont' worry about 5 days of school!!!!

[Taja]

Do what is best for your family--but work with the teachers/administrators.

We took a 9-year-old lass out of school last December for 9 days (supposed to be 7, but her mom decided on an extra day before and after the WDW visit) with her teacher's full approval. She had three projects to complete, two related to WDW and one math. She is well ahead of her class and will be skipping fifth grade and going directly into middle school--sixth grade next fall--so it was our last opportunity for a bit. We need to be sure she settles into middle school before planning anything else! *LOL* She'll be fine academically, but she's very tiny for her age, so socially might be another story--at least initially.

Her current school is accustomed to students being pulled from school for travel, as most of the parents work in film or television. Some move their entire family for two or three months at a time!

[Stitchahula]

You should be ashamed of yourself. Pulling your children out of school for 5 whole days just to give them happy memories that will last a life time. Bet you thought I was serious at first, but really it's not like they are missing the mcas or sats to go. I say go have fun and leave the guilt behind.

[Tigerinvestigator]

Glad to see this board has changed over the last couple of years. I can remember a time when it would have been 50/50 and I never understood that. Now it is pretty much unanmimous that with a little careful planning and common sense it can be done. We took our kids out for two days in December which preceeded our Christmas vacation and we are taking them out in two weeks for 5 days. This May trip is after all of their tests and during the period where they are celebrating the end of school more than learning. Our teachers and administrators are great and the only comment we ever get for pulling them out is "can I go with you".

[disneykat]

I have been in public education for the past 15 years. I teach in a very good school district and my children attend school in the same district. This will be the 5th year that we have pulled our kids from school for Disney. We have found Labor Day a great time to get away. I end up taking 3 personal days and 1 no-pay day to do this and my administration has never said anything except, perhaps, "what did you bring me?" My kids rarely miss school (except for occasional illnesses) and quite honestly I don't feel bad at all about pulling them. I always request homework at least 2 weeks in advance and have my kids remind them as the date gets closer. I realize that sometimes it is difficult to get materials together beforehand so I always visit their teachers after our trip to make sure that they have made up all of their work. This year, I have an exchange student in one of my 11th grade classes. His host family home-schools their own children so he has missed two full weeks of school for family vacations. One trip was to Hawaii and one was a western ski trip. Really now. . . how could I complain that this child was missing too much??? Look at what he's getting out of these two weeks. I couldn't give him all of his work before he left, but he checked my website for updates and quickly finished everything else up when he returned. I understand that attendance rules are for everyone but I also believe that parents should not feel badly for pulling their kids for family vacations. In the words of Leanne Womack,
"when you get a chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance."

117 Days until the magic begins AGAIN!!!

[DestinationWDW]

We too like you mdhiggins have the 5 unexcused day thing where we as parents are actually threatened to pay fines or serve jail time! Last year we did the "bounce back" program and went in August as DD started middle school and she did not want to miss school. We as a family respected her decision. In the past, we were upfront with the children's teachers and some did forward homework in advance, one did ask for journaling, as mentioned, and one time, DD had to make up all work on our return. Another trip - the one before last - Christmas break worked out well. This year we are pulling them out again....although I'm very excited (my 15th anniversary, my dad is coming - his 1st trip - his 10th anniversary, our

[DestinationWDW]

sorry.....first DVC trip) - I am nervous as we will be pulling 3 out now - DS K, DS 5 and DD 8. It is an early release week. If grades are not good - they are aware plans WILL change! This topic comes up a lot with mixed responses...you have to do what you feel works best for you and your child.

[FTDW Poly 08]

That is not necessarily true. My DS is now in Grade 10 and we pulled him out in Dec for 2 1/2 weeks and we are again pulling him out for 1 1/2 weeks next week. His teachers have NO problems with it and he still maintains an above 90 average! It all depends on the child. We have pulled him from school for every Disney vacation as we won't do Disney during peak periods.

I obviously haven't read the whole thread, but I've got to respond to this one. I'm a high school teacher at an affluent school and let me tell you this: if your child misses school, he/she is missing out on learning. No matter how you prepare for making up this work, it's not the same. Teachers may act like it's not a big deal, but it normally is. Also, regarding grade school, my concern is that by implying that it's okay to miss school then, then you're teaching that it's okay to miss school later.

I hope I'm not offending anyone, but it's just what I firmly believe.

I'm going the first week of August, by the way.

[irish1967]

A couple of thoughts from a bystander of sorts...

We always go in the summer so I can't say that I have personal knowledge of this but I do work in the school environment so...

I think what is necessary is to be realistic about what you are doing. Yes, quite frankly, during primary and probably middle school, the children won't miss anything that can't be made up. BUT, the work needs to be made up and it needs to be made up in the way that they would have learned it in school. Methods are different now than what they were when you were in grade school and teaching your children the way you learned it may ultimately confuse them. It may take time and effort on your part to make sure that they return with the knowledge necessary to move forward.

Also, realize that school policies apply to everyone. Even if your children are on the honor roll, if the policy is that someone who is unexcused may not make up an exam, then your child may end up with a lower grade in the class. Not necesarily a bad thing but this is something you should should find out about and decide it is worth it BEFORE you plan your trip.

(Remember, high school transcripts for for ALL 4 years are sent to college admissions offices for review. The most likely scenario is that the admssions office at a college/university will not be swayed with the argument that your children got a "B" in a class because they missed school to go on a family vacation to Disney World! If school policy is that work for unexcused absences cannot be made up, class rank and GPA will likely be impacted by time off for a family vacation.)

Finally, even if you do get work ahead of time, be sure to realize that your child may return from vacation either ahead of the class or even behind the class. The teacher should not be expected to hold back the rest of the class if they "get" a concept in one day instead of the planned two or three days because a parent informed them ahead of time that their children would be missing school.

I guess ultimately my point is that while any reason to pull a child out of school can be valid, it should be done in a way where the associated costs of doing so are carefully considered. If it is right for you, go for it and have a great time. If it isn't, then maybe going during a school holiday is a better choice and have a great time.

[Belle1217]

noone ever knows if it might be their last "good week"..... go, enjoy, give your kids an extra hug/kiss tonight and dont' worry about 5 days of school!!!!

WOW. That is a really good way to look at it. I too pull my kids out of school (well I only did it once) but we are going in Nov. and they will have to miss 5 days. I start feeling guilty the min. I book the trip. But you make such a great point. As a matter of a fact I am going to kiss and hug my 3 sleeping children now.

[KAT1811]

We are planning on doing the same this year if we can financially make it happen. You see, after returning from our last trip, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and I was given only 6 months to live. Praise God, I had the right doctors put in my path and it looks like we have beat the cancer. However, I learned one thing, you MUST treasure every single day because you don't know when your last day on this earth may be!! With that, we are going to try to get back to WDW as often as possible and enjoy our children and enjoy our family time together!!

I do not know about anyone else but no matter how many replies to this thread (and others like it) I read I cannot get past this one and another that I read on a thread. They have stayed with me. In the other thread the woman had traveled to WDW with her family, her niece was a part of this trip. Apparently her niece had a brain tumor they were unaware of. Their week in WDW was her last "good' week, she died not too long after. Unfortunately none of us know what tomorrow may bring.

I too pull my children out for our family vacations and will continue to do so for years to come. I make sure that I dedicate myself to helping DD#1 recover educationally from our vacation. To me it is just as much my responsibility as it is hers. Luckily she is a good student. I am determined to make as many magical memories with my children as possible. Just like tonight when DD#3 was covered, I mean covered, in red sauce after pasta and meatballs. She was messy but she was SO cute!!!!

[KAT1811]

Looks like Belle1217 found the post I was talking about.

[tinksmom02]

I pulled DD5 out of kindergarten for a week last September. She'd only been in school for about 3 weeks. Her school's policy is to send work home AFTER the absence, not before. Her teacher was very encouraging and excited that we were going.

We're going again this September, earlier. She'll only be in school for 2 weeks before we leave. This early in the year, it's all review (sad to say, but it was all review in kindergarten for DD up until about a month ago).

HndrdPrcnt is right...you need to enjoy it while you can. That said, each family needs to do what's right for them, and that "right thing" will be different for everyone.

[Tigerinvestigator]

I obviously haven't read the whole thread, but I've got to respond to this one. I'm a high school teacher at an affluent school and let me tell you this: if your child misses school, he/she is missing out on learning. No matter how you prepare for making up this work, it's not the same. Teachers may act like it's not a big deal, but it normally is. Also, regarding grade school, my concern is that by implying that it's okay to miss school then, then you're teaching that it's okay to miss school later.

I hope I'm not offending anyone, but it's just what I firmly believe.

I'm going the first week of August, by the way.

There you go mess up the whole thread by being the one who objects!

Don't agree with you but respect your opinion and it is that opinion that caused this thread.

[Rella]

So, I started this whole long chain...and I can't thank all of you enough for your time, thoughts and opinions. I too was struck by the couple of posters who talked about how short life is...so glad you're doing well, John (HndrdPrcnt). And so sorry to hear about your niece, scootch713, but happy that you got to take her to WDW...

I will be taking my three beautiful, healthy children to Disney in September. Guilt-free. Knowing that we are going to make some life long memories for them. They may not remember what they learned in school at the beginning of second grade, but I bet they will definitely remember what they did at Disney!

Thank you. Thank you.