Is Easter such a big deal that you really couldn't go over spring break? I ask this as a person who has celebrated Easter on many spring breaks. Also our spring break generally either started with Easter or ended with Easter so you could conceivably do Easter at home and still have vacation.
We lose a day on either side to travel, so if we didn't leave til Monday and then had to fly out the following Saturday or Sunday(if we wanted to cut it close) we would really only have a 4 or 5 day trip.
I have a lot of guilt over what my kids miss because of my dh's work schedule, so it think this might be one of my hills to die on. I am not going to let them miss out on week long family trips because of it.
Once they hit middle school I guess we will hope dh's schedule allows of travel.
Post by cincodemayo on Sept 17, 2014 14:45:23 GMT -5
I definitely will. Kids getting to spend time with their entire families and experiencing new things is just as important as school, in my personal opinion. Who cares if it's Disney? That may be something the kid remembers their whole life. School is important. But so is life.
Post by mainelyfoolish on Sept 17, 2014 14:49:36 GMT -5
I wouldn't do it routinely, but we are taking DD (a first grader) out of school for three days the second week in November (DD has a four day weekend with Veteran's Day) to go to Disneyworld. Yes, we're those parents. The combination of favorable weather, low crowds, affordable lodging, and younger brother still being able to go without buying a ticket tipped the scales to where I said ok for this time. (My DH always thought it was NBD, I was the hesitant one.) FWIW, this is our first family trip to Disney and we aren't planning to go again for a few years, at which point we may or may not choose to go while school is in session.
Nope, short of some sort of wedding or other event that couldn't be controlled I would not. School is #1. I don't want to confuse that message.
This. I would take them out for a few days if it was a big family event or some other important event, not a regular vacation. My BIL and SIL took their kids (k and 2nd grade) out for a week so far to go on a cruise and Disney. They do something this every year. Their reasoning is that it is cheaper during that time. They are not taking off days for our sister's wedding even though their kid is in it and I judge that.
My parents didn't do it routinely, but there were a few times we went somewhere over a long weekend and they let us miss 2-3 days, or we were traveling out of state for a holiday or wedding where we missed a day or half a day.
One of our friends is a teacher and he gets so mad when people schedule long weekends months in advance then don't cancel them when snow make-up days are added to the calendar. UNCLENCH. If my kids are doing fine, I don't care if they miss a Thursday in February when Friday - Monday was a long weekend anyway.
I voted yes. My parents did this every couple of years to go to Disney and avoid crowds.
Eta: we always got our assignments ahead of time and worked on them before we left, on the plane, and some evenings. ((Shrug)) it wasn't that big of a deal for us. But, we were always good students. Of my kids were struggling etc. I would probably reconsider.
I wouldn't even hesitate to do this. In fact, I'm positive we will do it more than once (not always Disney) during her 13 years of school.
My mom used to wake me up once or twice a school year and ask if I had a test that day. If I said no, she'd say, "Great. Let's have a girl day!" I remember those days with such happiness and I'll do that with C too.
Work hard, play hard and all that.
Love this. My mom did this too. We called them "mental health" days. I took one or two each year when I worked too. It didn't harm my career either educationally or work wise. I would argue it made me a better employee/student.
I went on tons of vacations during the school year growing up. I was a great student though, and it never effected me academically.
My mom used to work for an airline, and I had free passes my entire childhood and teenage years. I specifically remember instead of going to the evening/parent portion of the science fair, my parents decided we were going to fly to Disneyland that night instead.
I remember I had a huge paper to write about a family member my sophomore year of HS. I woke up on Saturday morning, called my grandma and asked what she was doing in a few hours, and if she wanted to pick me up from the airport. I skipped Monday & Tuesday the next week, wrote a killer paper, and spent awesome quality time with my grandparents. My parents let me do things like that because like I said, I was a good student.
No regrets - I will have no qualms about pulling DD out of school occasionally for things like that.
Yes. I work in a school and people do it all the time. They try to schedule it obviously over a long weekend so they're only missing 3 days or so. My schools policy is "5 days without prior administrative consent."
This is one of those "only on the internet do people stress about this" issues.
I disagree actually. I feel like this is one of the rare issues here that people do judge and talk about in real life. I voted yes in the poll though, so I'm good!
I was going to say the same thing, gravytrain225. I am a teacher and this probably wouldn't be allowed in our school. If you miss more than 6 days in one term, you don't get credit for the class (medical issues are a different story).
Post by teatimefor2 on Sept 17, 2014 15:12:58 GMT -5
I would most likely due it for a trip aboard: Great Wall of China, African safari, India. I would have to think about Disney, but a day or two is not the end of the world.
My parents took me out of 4th grade for 3 weeks to go to Asia. Our teachers were completely on board, and we had work to do and it was a great experience.
So for something like that? Yes. For Orlando? No.
Exactly what I was going to say. I missed 2 weeks of 6th grade to spend time in Chile and see where my dad was born. I didn't miss a beat and teachers were very supportive.
I struggle with this because my rule-following side wants to say that school is not optional, but I recognize that decisions should be made on a case by case basis- taking student, age, personality, and type of trip into account.
I wouldn't want to send DS the message that avoiding lines at Walt Disney World trumped his attendence in school. We're big on education. For an educational trip that couldn't be done another time, it would depend on the child.
You know what's funny? I can't see ever taking DD out of school when I didn't have to because I have to save my own PTO for her ACTUAL breaks. Do people really get so much time off or have such awesome back-up childcare arrangements that they can just go to Disney during some random week in the fall and not worry about what they're going to do with their kid over their real spring break?? Just me??
Post by barefootcontessa on Sept 17, 2014 16:08:33 GMT -5
yes I would. there is so much downtime in school. When my kids were out for a week for a family wedding, we did all of the week's work in one day. this is younger elementary.
Post by ilikedonuts on Sept 17, 2014 16:31:47 GMT -5
I just looked up our public school's handbook and there is a section specifically on family vacations. It starts with the whole try to take them during school breaks blah blah blah then says BUT we understand if you can't. And say just to get it approved more then 5 days out by the principal and the teachers have to give the work. This is for the entire district K-12.
Maybe my district's more lenient? its more rural so lots of people pull their kids out for days during hunting season and the entire week leading up to the county fair (4H, etc).
yes I would. there is so much downtime in school. When my kids were out for a week for a family wedding, we did all of the week's work in one day. this is younger elementary.
My kids have no downtime in school. To the point it is nuts. A lot of the work is a pain to make-up also. I hate it when the kids are out sick for a day. It is too much.
Post by mandapanda18 on Sept 17, 2014 16:40:09 GMT -5
Absolutely! My parents did this almost every year with us, they would set up an independent study plan with our teachers and we would be given all of the work to do while gone. I had to make up any tests when I got back, no big deal.
It was, because I had kids ranging from 2nd grade to 8th grade, and have never had issues before with attendance. So obviously this isn't a standing issue for me.
Its even more ridiculous because they should have been able to see that it was consecutive days that they were away. To me, that wouldn't cause a red flag.
OP- at that age, I would take them out of school as long as I knew they wouldn't be behind the rest of the class and could easily pick up what was missed when they return.
Post by estrellita on Sept 17, 2014 17:57:06 GMT -5
My parents always did our winter vacations in Jan (mostly to Disney, early Jan like your plan). They were only 3-4 day trips usually but I'd be out of school for a day or two, like a Friday and Monday or something. It was never an issue. I'd probably do the same with my kids, assuming it's just a few days and depending on the attendance policy of course.
Post by rugbywife on Sept 17, 2014 18:32:41 GMT -5
To any Canadians, particularly Ontarians, take your kids on holiday whenever you want. Just not in May and June during EQAO in grades 3 and 6. And ideally not the first two weeks of school. The best time to take them is in the the week before or first two weeks after report cards are handed out. The worst time is 2-3 weeks before reports go home. Also, if you take for kid for a week or more, expect that they may possible miss most of a strand of math especially if they are covering geometry and spatial sense or probability and data management while you are gone. Other than that it shouldn't be a huge deal. For high school it is more complicated because they are semestered.
That being said, we won't ever pull our kids. DH is a teacher and I am a VP. If I ever make it to Superintendent we could maybe afford for DH to take an unpaid week but that would affect his pension so probably not. My kids are stuck in school. Suckers.
You know what's funny? I can't see ever taking DD out of school when I didn't have to because I have to save my own PTO for her ACTUAL breaks. Do people really get so much time off or have such awesome back-up childcare arrangements that they can just go to Disney during some random week in the fall and not worry about what they're going to do with their kid over their real spring break?? Just me??
I'm certainly not guaranteed to be granted time-off during DD's school breaks and I would never get approval to take time off for all school breaks in a year. I might get one break request one year and another break the next, but I don't have the luxury of being able to take off work whenever my daughter doesn't have school. I can't imagine my situation is uncommon.
A few years ago DH miscalculated & scheduled our 2week WDW vacation for the week after Spring Break. So DD1 & 2 got 3wks off in a row. I have no regrets but they were little & barely in school (p & Kindy). I would still take them out, especially for a week or less. I missed a week Junior yr of HS visiting east Coast colleges. I don't think it's a big deal unless your kid will really struggle catching up or miss exams or something.
Post by jeaniebueller on Sept 17, 2014 19:35:50 GMT -5
I am kind of rolling my eyes at some of the responses implying that it's fine if you are going abroad, but not --gasp-- Disney. And we usually use daycare for my kids school breaks and it's not always a given that I can take vacation time during their breaks. Really, if we were to take a vacation, I am not going to be held hostage by a school schedule the next 12+ years. It's doesn't mean I don't value education.
I am kind of rolling my eyes at some of the responses implying that it's fine if you are going abroad, but not --gasp-- Disney. And we usually use daycare for my kids school breaks and it's not always a given that I can take vacation time during their breaks. Really, if we were to take a vacation, I am not going to be held hostage by a school schedule the next 12+ years. It's doesn't mean I don't value education.
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Apparently the Grand Canyon is an acceptable option as well. I know Cindy and Bobby Brady had quite a life lesson when they visited.
I am kind of rolling my eyes at some of the responses implying that it's fine if you are going abroad, but not --gasp-- Disney. And we usually use daycare for my kids school breaks and it's not always a given that I can take vacation time during their breaks. Really, if we were to take a vacation, I am not going to be held hostage by a school schedule the next 12+ years. It's doesn't mean I don't value education.
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I mentioned family commitments abroad just because its unlikely I would take my kids anywhere that's longer than a 2 or 3 hour flight away and in a radically different time zone for just a weekend. But since I am on the East coast, Disney would be very doable over one of the shorter school breaks DD gets, like teacher development days that happen before a holiday Monday (like Columbus Day or MLK). Color me clueless, but I still don't get why Disney necessarily has to be a 7 or 10 day extravaganza.
I wouldn't even hesitate to do this. In fact, I'm positive we will do it more than once (not always Disney) during her 13 years of school.
My mom used to wake me up once or twice a school year and ask if I had a test that day. If I said no, she'd say, "Great. Let's have a girl day!" I remember those days with such happiness and I'll do that with C too.
Work hard, play hard and all that.
Love this. My mom did this too. We called them "mental health" days. I took one or two each year when I worked too. It didn't harm my career either educationally or work wise. I would argue it made me a better employee/student.
We had this too! My mom did the exact same thing; made sure we didn't have a test or anything, and she always made sure we were caught up with schoolwork, and had good grades, but we'd do this twice a year. We'd stay home and paint nails, we'd go shopping and have lunch...I loved those special days, and I will do it with DD is she is a good student as well. And I could argue about the need for a mental health day at any stage of life for hours.
To the original question at hand, yes, I would do the vacation thing too. This was something we did infrequently growing up, and we always had our school assignments ahead of time, and took any tests ahead as well. My mom also made sure we read everyday we were on the vacation. She was also the type that made us do math worksheets and flashcards during summer vacay, lol
I remember teachers being creative and supportive with it too; one elementary school teacher assigned me a special project where I had to give a presentation about my trip when I got back. She assigned other kids the task of taking the classroom stuffed animal with them, and photographing him on the trip. It was sort of accepted in our area.
I believe traveling (all kinds of travel) are so vital for being a well-rounded person. And to me, being with your family and spending quality time with them is never a waste.
You know what's funny? I can't see ever taking DD out of school when I didn't have to because I have to save my own PTO for her ACTUAL breaks. Do people really get so much time off or have such awesome back-up childcare arrangements that they can just go to Disney during some random week in the fall and not worry about what they're going to do with their kid over their real spring break?? Just me??
I'm certainly not guaranteed to be granted time-off during DD's school breaks and I would never get approval to take time off for all school breaks in a year. I might get one break request one year and another break the next, but I don't have the luxury of being able to take off work whenever my daughter doesn't have school. I can't imagine my situation is uncommon.
I liked this b/c I'm in the same situation. No school=very busy time at work. School breaks are blocked out for vacation. I don't have PTO either, all time off has to be planned 1 yr in advance.