Re: Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

I won't do it. They ask for him to be there daily, on time.
I think a huge issue in schools is parent participation-not necessarily to be present at school-but to do homework, make sure child is rested and in school.
Maybe NY schools are different. I am in NC.
Maybe years from now i will be kicking myself for making school life first in our life. who knows?
but it does feel wrong to ignore his teacher's request when she puts so much energy into him day in and day out.

ETA: teacher is attending 2 of his basketball games tomorrow to cheer for him.
she is amazing. she goes on fossil digs with me and kids on weekend.

maybe if she was sh!tty i would not care so much

Message edited 2/8/2013 8:06:08 PM.

Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

She sounds like a great teacher.

Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

If its any grade older than 1st I would not.

Re: Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

At this point I would not because my child is struggling, it wouldn't be fair to him.

Re: Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

Yes........I have and will always, if my life remains as it is now.

I respect teachers and education, but no one can sway my choice.

Re: Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

Posted by Hofstra26

Yep, I would take my kids on vacation without hesitation.........and I am a teacher!!! .

Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

Yes I would.


ETA: my parents never did it with us. We never missed school days for vacation. Ok.. except for one time when I was in 11th grade and my sister was in grammar school---we missed one extra day of the Martin Luther Holiday b/c we went to Disney for a long weekend.

We missed the Friday before (half day for both me and my sister.)

that was IT.

I went to school with plenty of kids that missed for vacations.

I will not be as strict as my parents were with that. I am not saying we would go on 3 vacations a year during crucial school times, but if DD needs to miss a few days for a family vacation....so be it...not a huge deal in the grand scheme of life IMO.

Message edited 2/9/2013 8:49:54 AM.

Re: Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

Message edited 2/9/2013 9:16:04 AM.

Re: Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

I would !

Re: Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

Absolutely! Did it last year when we went to Florida - dds were in K and preK.

Re: Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

Absolutely especially at those ages. I took my 4yr old and 2nd grader out for a week to go to California. Granted, my second grader had a lot of work to make up (some we brought and some was when we got back) but he was fine with it.

Re: Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

I think some posters on this thread are being a bit extreme. We are talking about K, not HS - BIG difference IMO. Honestly, I'm not taking DS out of school this year because I don't need to so this post is coming from a completely unbiased point of view. Would I take him out of K for a wk to go on vacation if it could save us money AND make for a much nicer vaca ABSOLUTELY. Life is too short not to take advantage of these opportunities!

And, for what it's worth I've actually had this convo with my DS's teacher who I am pretty friendly with - she is a young mother herself. It depends on the kid. My DS is smart and way ahead of where they are in his class right now. He could quickly make up the actual work pages they do in a wk and it would have no impact on him academically to miss the weeks lessons. My guess is, it's probably the case for most kindergarteners! So I say go for it! now, if your child is struggling to keep up - that is a totally different story and not fair to the teacher to have to work extra with your child because you put them at a further disadvantage.

I would definitely think differently if we were talking about an older child - ESPECIALLY in the upper elementary grades where there is testing in the spring etc - the ELA's etc. IMO this is comparing apples and oranges.

Message edited 2/9/2013 10:25:27 AM.

Re: Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

Re: Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

I absolutely would pull them out. My girls are in K and 1st grade. I pulled them out last year and will be pulling them again this year. Unfortunately, my husband is a cop and I am in the medical field, so we are limited to when we are able to get off. My kids are both doing well in school. If either one was struggling, we wouldn't go. No question. But they are doing well, and pulling them to me so we can enjoy a vacation together is as important as education. I send the teacher a note well in advance and if they can't give me the work in advance, I will make sure they are caught up as soon as we get home.

Re: Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

Re: Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

Posted by BargainMama

Posted by Teachergal

Posted by BargainMama

Posted by olive98

No way! I could never do this. I take education very seriously. Also as another poster said its also about respect for the teacher.

So do people never take vacation days from work out of respect for their co-workers and bosses? One child out, or even two or three, isn't going to break down the class.

I respectfully disagree with this. Please try to imagine 23+ kids in a kindergarten class and trying to get all of them reading, writing and doing math by the end of the year because those are the new standards. Imagine planning engaging, motivating, hands-on activities for your kids, many lessons a day, every day. Now imagine, kids not showing up for these lessons at all different times of year because their parents are pulling them out for vacations. While you might not think so, it is not easy for the teacher to help these children "catch up" with the work that they missed especially if everyone has the same mentality of pulling the kids out whenever they want. The teacher would then be constantly focusing extra energy on the kids who were out for unexcused absences instead of being able to continue on with their regular curriculum if everyone took vacation at the scheduled time. This also takes time away from the kids who are there when they are supposed to be. Personally, I feel like kids are in school 180 days a year. There is another half a year to take vacations. It shows respect to the teachers and the other children to take vacations during school vacations. JMO!

I'm certainly glad that my DD's teacher thinks very differently than yours. She wrote me a note that said family vacations are important, and gave me a journal for DD to complete each day for the two days she missed, draw a pic and write a sentence. Then read it to the class when she got back. We then made up the homework packet and few dittos she missed. Wasn't a big deal AT ALL. Again, different strokes for different folks.

You are never guaranteed a tomorrow. Family time IS important. Not everyone can go away when the school breaks happen. Whether you agree or not doesn't really change my mind in the slightest

Re: Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

Re: Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

My parents pulled us at any grade, not just Kindergarten. I went to FL in senior year as an example. Now granted it wasn't often they pulled us and it was usually no more than a week of school but we all survived academically. Personally, I don't think a few days at ANY grade level will make or break your kid. Finances and family time are equally as important to me as their education.

Reality is, while there are plenty of school breaks the costs of vacationing at those times is a MAJOR consideration for many families. And the crowds???........For what you spend on a vacation this is a huge consideration. Unless money is NO object and you don't mind insane crowds then travel during school breaks. But for me, it's worth it for my kids to miss a little school over the years to be able to vacation, save thousands of dollars, not deal with insane crowds and make great family memories.

I wouldn't fault anyone who won't pull their kids for a vacation, it's a personal choice and I can see both sides of the argument. This is just my feeling on it.

Re: Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

We at pulling my oldest out of k for a week to do Disney. Her teacher is fine with it. We cannot go during the normal school break. My dh's job chooses his vacation based on seniority. He can only get what is available and all the set guys get school breaks, Christmas, etc off first. Will be another 10 years before he gets those weeks off.

Do what works for you and your family.

Re: Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

I work in education so it isn't an option for us. I might in Pre K or K if it were an option but not any older than that. I have middle school kids who are taken out for a week and IMO is setting a terrible example for your children, at that age they understand and see vaca as a priority over school.

Re: Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

Re: Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

I had a woman I worked with that used to take a family vacation the last week of school. Her kids knew if they got good grades they can miss the last week of school and go on vacation. I thought this was a great idea since they really were not missing anything during the last week.

Re: Would you take DC's out of school for a week to go on vacation?

Our vacation will be the first vacation we've taken as a family of 4. We went when my oldest was 2, now she's 5.

My oldest is incredibly smart. She's reading and doing basic math. One week out of school is not going to change that. What I'm telling her is that family vacations are important.