Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

Do you take your DC out of school to go on vacation ?

If so; do you tell the school why your DC is missing school, and if so, how are they about it ?

Thanks !

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

Well, I personally dislike when people pull their kids out of school for a vacation. Maybe because I'm a teacher; maybe because I'm really anal about stuff like that...I don't know.

However, I'm also a giant hypocrite.

My girls are 4 and 2.5. The older one is in pre-k and I took her out of school for 2 1/2 days when we went to Disney in November. We did tell her teacher because, come on...like DD wasn't going to spill the beans anyway. To my knowledge, no one had any problem with it. Even the principal was all excited when Katherine came back asking her all sorts of questions about it!

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

I would bc its less busy then. I would also tell them, yes.

My parents used too, and my teachers would give me the weeks work, or assignments to do while on vacation so I didnt fall behind.

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

DS is still an infant but when he is older, I do not plan to take him out of school to go on vacation. I think it's fine when he is in nursery school or kindergarten but not 1st grade on.

We'll just pay the premium to go when it's school vacation and deal with the crowds.

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

I wouldnt take them out of school for a weeks vacation. It's just too much.

I would however have them miss a day or 2...

I generally dont tell the school specifically why they werent there..

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

DD#1 is only 2.5 and we are taking her out of school to go to WDW but at 2 I see those years as more fun than educational. I don't have a problem with it in the preschool/nursery school stage. I'm not a fan of it once they are in K and up. My parents only took me out once in 2nd grade the last few days of the school year (testing and everything was done at that point and it was a private school) to take me to Europe so it was at least educational.

The thing is once they hit K and up they are missing school subjects and while you CAN do work while on vacation I wonder how your a child can go to school for a week and "catch up" with say an hour of homework or assignments.

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

They've missed 1 day is they were too tired after returning to go, but we wouldn't pull them out for a vacation.

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

It's a tough call. I am very uncomfortable with it but the cost of some trips is so much less than doing it during a school break. I only did it for 2 days last year when my oldest was in 1st grade and my younger kids were in preschool/not in school. Not sure how I would handle a weeklong trip with a couple of kids in various grades. I would be against it, my DH is not as against it. If I did it, I would not be comfortable with not telling the school though, esp since the kids would go back and talk about it and you can't ask them to carry a secret.

LOL probably no help with my reply.

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

My parents always took us out of school for vacation. We used to travel to England in September when we were younger. My Mom talked to the principal and told him what was going on and he made sure we had our assignments. We did it for 4 years. There was never a problem. Our teacher's never had a problem with it either. We always had to write a report about what we did while away. It was so much cheaper to travel in September back then. Both of us graduated school with out any problems.

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

See, I think I am okay with the thought of taking them out for a week ....

I know myself, and I would be diligent in making sure that none of their school-work was missed and I would probably even make them do an extra report or keep a journal while we were away

Granted, I am saying this now ( my DS is not in grade school yet), so I'm not sure how I will feel when the time comes...I know when I was in school, it was not frowned upon that I remember, but from what I have heard in recent years, schools have an issue with it so I am curious what others have encountered who have done the vacation thing during school time

I love to hear everyones opinions , keep them coming !

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

my DS is young still but I have no problem taking them out of school. Trips are so expensive and chaotic when the kids are off, I would rather take them out of school and not deal with that. I would be the one to make sure they catch up with all of the work anyway. I would def. tell the teacher

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

I have taken my son out of school this year and last year (he's in first grade) for vacations but only for two days each time. I did tell them the truth about where he was.

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

While I value school I also value time as a family and not a vacation full of waiting on line for hours at a time. I took Molly out of K for 4 days last year. She was not absent AT ALL during the whole year other than those 4 days. I would do it again.

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

We are going on vacation in May and we are pulling DD from school for a week. I am going to talk to the teacher ahead of time and see if I can get some worksheets so that she doesn't fall behind. She is in 2nd grade.

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

We have and will probably again in the future.

During holidays and school recesses, air fare and hotel prices can double.

I just let the teacher know, and get all of the work that will be missed.

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

I was never taken out of school for vacation and I won't do it either for my children. I might consider missing one day if we had to leave on a Friday or come back on a Monday, but that's about it. Never a whole week or more than a day.

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

I was taken out of school often for vacation when I was younger! My mom would have my aunt call me in sick everyday

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

It depends what grade, when in the school year, etc. I think it's easier at the end when they don't have much work. Also the younger, the less work and the easier it is to bring work and teach it to them yourself.

My parents took me out for almost a week when I was 10 and it did not set me back at all, it didn't cause more stress for me that year. I have tons of awesome memories from that family vacation... it did not make me think that school was not important.

Look - not every parent can take off when school is out. I know my old boss would always take those weeks so I was never able to go then.

Message edited 1/31/2010 1:49:44 AM.

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

I am a teacher, so I probably won't pull DC out of school, but if the opportunity arose and they were doing well in school, I would pull them out. I would NEVER ask the teacher for work though.

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

Well right now my DS is only in nursery school and my DD is just a baby, so I'd be perfectly comfortable pulling him out even for a week if need be. As the kids get older, I'd probably draw the line at missing just 2 or 3 days-- like a Friday/Monday or something. Just so it's not overly difficult for them to catch up with schoolwork. Overall though I have no opposition to taking a kid out of school for a vaca. Family memories like that are priceless to me.

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

Although I don't have school aged children yet, I am an elementary school teacher, and a friend asked me the same question in regards to her own children. I can tell you what I think of it when a parent does it from my point of view.
I personally think it can teach children that school is not a priority, especially if it is done yearly or more than once a year.
Besides that though, it depends on a lot of factors. The child - is the child keeping up in school? Does the child have excellent attendance?
How many days? Is this an extension of a long weekend, or just an entire random week in March? Is the child in a testing grade? Is it before or after standardized testing?
I think parents who take these questions into consideration usually make the right decision as to whether or not they should take a vacation during the school year.

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

I think it depends on the child. When I missed a week of school to go on vacation, it truly didn't matter. I never felt like I had to play "catch up." My brothers were the same way. But when we went on a big family vacation with my cousins I remember my Uncle complaining to my parents that it was during school and that they wouldn't catch up.

Personally I see no problem with it, unless it was mid-terms or something like that.

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

Re: Q for parenst of school-age children...Re: vacation

As a former teacher, I always said I would never do it. Now that I am a parent, I would consider it.

For me it depends on the age of the child and the circumstances. I went to Disney in November and was surprised how crowded it was then. Seeing that, there is NO WAY I would step foot in that place during a school break. I don't think I would have a problem pulling my son out of kindergarden or 1st grade for a trip like that, which would not be an annual trip.

I had a student go to the Phillipines for Christmas one year and it was a HUGE family reunion for her and probably the only trip like it she would ever make - a once in a lifetime experience that her whole extended family was participating in. She missed 2 weeks of school. She did every assignment I gave her and took an exam she missed the day she came back and did well on it. I think in that situation, it was good for her to miss school for the vacation. It depends on the child, the school, the teachers and the circumstances.

Message edited 1/29/2010 2:49:50 PM.