Disney and homeschooling

[Vince3]

We are talking 1 week people ! Yeeesh! Life is waaay too short! Like I said earlier, we took our son for a week to WDW for his 10th B-day last year. He is an A/B student. After break he was fine. I preach accountability,but still if you have an opportunity to enjoy life,take it. You may never get that chance again.

 

[ABigBrassBand]

This is why you plan a trip to go through the weekend so you don't skip too much, and don't say it's a Disney trip, just utilize it as vacation time if it's really that bad.

 

[4everDory]

Let me say this again in a shorter message...

I wasn't serious!!! I was venting out of frustration over issues with the school principal. When I homeschool, it will be for the right reasons, not just b/c I want to go to Disney!

 

[SpoonOfSugar]

This is somewhat like the school district my children are in. They are not allowed more than 5 absences a semester. Nothing excused. I tried to take my 3 DDs out of school and they weren't allowed. However, people who get suspended from the school counts as excused absences...makes zero sense.


When my oldest DD was in the second grade we asked if she could leave for a week in November. The teacher said yes. She had no make-up work but had to present to the class something she learned from every park. This was back when she went to private school.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

As a first-year homeschool mom to 2 boys, 7th & 9th grade, I have found this thread quite entertaining. Many comments from all sorts of folks...some who knew what they were talking about and some who obviously did not. Fun stuff. Lol!

To the OP, I feel ya. :animwink: You may be interested in Disney's Homeschool Days that they do twice yearly as well as the Y.E.S. Programs. Just google those and you'll turn up a plethora of info.

For all the rest, I leave you with this itty-bitty morsel that says it all: I've seen the village....that's why I homeschool.

 

[rkelly42]

I think some of us were reacting to the opening post, which was very vague compaired to your second and more detailed post. It originally sounded as if you were going to take your child out of the school system just because of a Disney trip. I think if you explained it a little better at the start the reactions would have been a little different including my own.

 

[Susan Savia]

We took our kids out of school most every year that they were in school to go to Disney World. My father lived in Tampa at the time and we'd tell the school that we were going to visit my father. Well we did and we also went to WDW for a week. They kids took work with them and it all worked out! In the end, it didn't hurt them or the school a bit and for that they have a load of memories!

 

[CamiLyn227]

If you want your daughters to have both good education and frequent time at Disney, move to Orlando!

I like this idea! Wish I lived in Orlando! My family usually went (and still does) in the summer months. We love the hot weather! But there were a few times when I was a kid that my parents took me out of school to go to Disney. We went for a long weekend. And they picked a week when school was out for the monday or firday before. So, I ended up only missing 1 or 2 days and it was never a problem.

 

[montyz81]

I disagree. The kids know it's not about "not caring" about their education because they don't get off free of homework. Sometimes there are tests to make up, homework to make up or do in advance. It's whats important. To my family (yes we take our vacations during the less crowded, cooler weather) it's a matter of quality time together. Going to a place we all love without the heat, humidity and crowds makes for a better time for everyone.

Hey, if you feel good in your justification.. all the power too you. I am sure your kids are fine and do really well in school. I just can't justify it! That said, I can not see how I wouldn't spend quality time with my family regardless of the time of year. I am not sure how going in the off season vs busy season can change how you spend quality time with your kids. There is nothing in the rule book that says you have to hit every single ride while your there in the summer months. In 2009 I had the best time with my child from July 31 - Aug 7. We spent 3 hours every morning at the pool, and then went on choice rides in the afternoon at different parks. We had a ball. Big down pours of rain, some warmer temps, lots of people, but we never laughed so much then we did during this trip! The cooler temps and less crowds would not have changed a thing.

 

[zurgandfriend]

In the case of DS I found that after 2nd grade it was not a good idea to take a child out of school for a week. The homework and missed assignments just did not compensate for the week at WDW. As for home schooling a children there are many good reasons for and against this. I have to agree with the others that a trip to WDW isn’t one of them.
That said, our DS’ school also had a zero Disney tolerance policy and would not cooperate with any parents that wanted to take their children to Disney during non-school vacations. It opened a great debate at a school board meeting. One school official stated that there were plenty of opportunities for vacation. Parents pointed out that not everyone got 15 weeks of vacation each year and perhaps teachers should not be paid for the summer etc. I knew that the meeting would digress into a shouting match so I quietly got up and left.
Later that year I e-mailed the school saying that DS’ grandfather who lived in Kissimmee FL had passed away and DS would be out of school for a week. I thanked them when they supply us with the next weeks school work. What a coincidence that Kissimmee is next to Orlando.

 

[LilMommyBug]

Surely you can't be serious!!?!?!?

Homeschooling deprives children of so many things, primarily normal social interaction with peers.

Are YOU serious? Please tell me that stems from a place of ignorance of home schooling.

 

[4everDory]

I'm hoping so! The "normal social interaction with peers" that my DD13 had before we pulled her out of school was kids calling her "weird," along with other names, making fun of her, and setting her up to get in trouble (strangely enough, no one but my DD ever got in trouble, though). At 8 years old, my DD was wishing that she would "fall out of a window and land on a sword and die." She was suicidal until a few months after we pulled her out of school when she was 10 1/2. No one even told her good-bye on her last day of school. Great social interaction...just what every good parent wants for their child.

Now that she's homeschooling, she's a much happier girl. She takes a sewing class with other homeschoolers, as well as a writing class, both of which meet weekly. She was taking a PE class for homeschoolers, but we quit last year when she broke her wrist and couldn't participate. She is also in dance class/rehearsal 4-5 days a week. She loves to go to the mall with her friends she's made at dance class, and to have sleepovers or lunch dates with them, too. I don't think social interaction is a problem.

 

[loveofamouse]

I'm hoping so! The "normal social interaction with peers" that my DD13 had before we pulled her out of school was kids calling her "weird," along with other names, making fun of her, and setting her up to get in trouble (strangely enough, no one but my DD ever got in trouble, though). At 8 years old, my DD was wishing that she would "fall out of a window and land on a sword and die." She was suicidal until a few months after we pulled her out of school when she was 10 1/2. No one even told her good-bye on her last day of school. Great social interaction...just what every good parent wants for their child.

Now that she's homeschooling, she's a much happier girl. She takes a sewing class with other homeschoolers, as well as a writing class, both of which meet weekly. She was taking a PE class for homeschoolers, but we quit last year when she broke her wrist and couldn't participate. She is also in dance class/rehearsal 4-5 days a week. She loves to go to the mall with her friends she's made at dance class, and to have sleepovers or lunch dates with them, too. I don't think social interaction is a problem.

That's great to hear. That's one of my concerns with my son. Right now, he is completely oblivious to the social cues and signs his classmates give when he's getting annoying or they want to change the subject/game or flat out don't like him. He still calls them friends. One boy even screamed in his face saying he hated him (yeah, we don't hang with that kid anymore:lookaroun ). My son still called him friend. I'm afraid that'll set him up for more heartbreak as he gets older and the kids become more aware of his "differences" or are more cruel.

 

[bladerunner]

In the state of Georgia, Cobb County specifically, after 5 or more absences (excused or not) the state may send a social worker to your house to find out what is going on and potentially take your children away. We received such a threat last year when our kids were sick.

 

[NedFlanders]

Unfortunately, that's not the end of it. Especially if the school system fails to promote your child due to an unacceptable number of unexcused absences.....

I would say people should check with the laws of their state first. They vary... I know in my state until the child is in 9th grade the school CAN'T hold the kids back regardless of how well or poorly they performed in school. So verify that... lots of times schools will try to scare you into making sure your child stays in class not because they care about your child's education. The reason they do it is because the schools are only given federal funding if the child attends X number of days of school each year.

When we go on vacation we take our kid out of school end of story. I don't really see school in my area as anything other than a place for my kids to learn to socialize. Sadly the learning of basics happens at home... I suspect it is the same in your school too unless it is a private school.

 

[fosse76]

Most of all, there is no way I'm sending my DD to the local middle school...lots of drug problems in the school, lots of inappropriate activity in the school (such as playing a game trying to see who can get their hands down someone else's pants the longest and not get caught), the latest "trend" among the girls in the school is being bisexual, lots of peer pressure, discipline issues, bullying, a staff that is not very cooperative, and so on. I have a teaching degree and am confident that I can provide my DD with a quality education.

Oh please. If any of the above were true, you wouldn't have even needed to bring up this ridiculous question. And your comment "the latest 'trend' among the girls in the school is being bisexual" is so blatantly homophobic it can't be taken as a serious concern by any reasonably educated person. And second, a teaching degree doesn't mean you can give a quality education (I'm certainly much better educated than most teachers, particularly in math and science). But I digress. If you feel that the school isn't providing your child with a quality education, then by all means homeschool her. But really, to rant about how the school won't excuse the trip is ridiculous. The school doesn't have to excuse the absence, nor should it. I know I as a teacher certainly wouldn't.

 

[fosse76]

I would say people should check with the laws of their state first. They vary... I know in my state until the child is in 9th grade the school CAN'T hold the kids back regardless of how well or poorly they performed in school.

Wow, what a horrible system. Let's pass them along and really make them look stupid.

So verify that... lots of times schools will try to scare you into making sure your child stays in class not because they care about your child's education. The reason they do it is because the schools are only given federal funding if the child attends X number of days of school each year.

It's so true that it is disgusting. The worst thing that ever happened was tying funding to success rates.

When we go on vacation we take our kid out of school end of story. I don't really see school in my area as anything other than a place for my kids to learn to socialize. Sadly the learning of basics happens at home... I suspect it is the same in your school too unless it is a private school.

Who can blame you if the state allows it. But the fact that you sacrifice your child's education for a vacation that could certainly be taken at other times during the year says more about you as a parent than it does about the system.

Now, do I think it's a bad idea to pull a kid out of school? Not really. But the expectation that the school should accomodate the decision is utterly ridiculous.

 

[loveofamouse]

Oh please. If any of the above were true, you wouldn't have even needed to bring up this ridiculous question. And your comment "the latest 'trend' among the girls in the school is being bisexual" is so blatantly homophobic it can't be taken as a serious concern by any reasonably educated person. And second, a teaching degree doesn't mean you can give a quality education (I'm certainly much better educated than most teachers, particularly in math and science). But I digress. If you feel that the school isn't providing your child with a quality education, then by all means homeschool her. But really, to rant about how the school won't excuse the trip is ridiculous. The school doesn't have to excuse the absence, nor should it. I know I as a teacher certainly wouldn't.

Wow...that's rude. I say it's definitely plausible as it was being discussed in my area. Teens girls are "playing" around with each other for fun. Girls are having __"fun"____ in middle and high school. Is it really so far fetched to say they are also having _"fun"_____ with each other? Well, it's not. Does it make it homophobic if you don't want your child having ___"fun"___ with ANYONE, guy or girl? I, for sure, will not be telling any of my kids that it's not ok to have __"fun"____ with the opposite __gender____ in school but you can totally play with the same __gender____. No. No _"getting naked"_____. Does that make me a homophobic person or a prude? no.

I also witnessed kids playing touch, touch games with each other. When I was in middle/high school, all kinds of touching went on in the back of school busses or back hallways or stairs. Kids skipped class to make out in back corners.


Just because you are a teacher doesn't mean you can tell everyone else that they are careless parents to remove their kids for a vacation.

*ok so a three letter word starting with S isn't allowed :ROFLOL:

 

[WDWmazprty]

My parents always took us out of school when we went to Disney. No problem. 5 days out of the year, almost every year. It was never an issue, we just made up our work when we got back.

 

[WDW 3]

Hey, if you feel good in your justification.. all the power too you. I am sure your kids are fine and do really well in school. I just can't justify it! That said, I can not see how I wouldn't spend quality time with my family regardless of the time of year. I am not sure how going in the off season vs busy season can change how you spend quality time with your kids. There is nothing in the rule book that says you have to hit every single ride while your there in the summer months. In 2009 I had the best time with my child from July 31 - Aug 7. We spent 3 hours every morning at the pool, and then went on choice rides in the afternoon at different parks. We had a ball. Big down pours of rain, some warmer temps, lots of people, but we never laughed so much then we did during this trip! The cooler temps and less crowds would not have changed a thing.

We've done it both ways. Right or wrong.... our family time at WDW is 100% better when the temps are cooler and the crowds lower. We all have our own way of doing things. My family would never spend 3 hours at the hotel pool. We could spend time at a hotel pool anywhere (I know they aren't as cool as at a Disney resort). We are at WDW and want to enjoy the parks. I guess we have to agree to disagree