Have you ever taken your kids out of school to go to WDW?

[MomofKatie]

We took DD out for a week at a time every year of elementary school for our Disney trips. She never had any problems making up work and her principal and teachers were fine with her mssing days.

When she got to middle school, we decided to see how her first year went before we planned another trip. 6th grade was OK, so we took her and a friend out over Veterens Day in 7th grade (they missed 3 days). DD had a great time on vacation, but told me she didn't know if she wanted to miss any more days in the future, because making up the work was really stressful (lots of homework in the 7th grade and unsympathetic teachers). The middle school wasn't as accomodating as her elementary school was, but it still wasn't a huge deal.

We are planning another November trip this year, and DD and a friend are going to miss 2 1/2 instructional days (half day Thursday, Friday and Monday, then Tuesday is a Teacher Workday) for our 5 night trip. She is a freshman in high school now- we lucked out a bit because she has pretty easy classes this semester. The only class she might have a lot of make up work in is English. We 'll see how everything goes with makeup work- it will have an effect on the next four years of vacation plans.

I say that unless you have a child that is very unmotivated to do makeup work and is really struggling with grades, it will do no harm at all to take them out in elementary school. Middle and high school are more iffy, depending on courseloads and extracurricular activities.

 

[copcarguyp71]

We have done it every other year since she was three (she is 9 now). We leave tomorrow for our next trip. Our plans are to do at least one more when she is 11 and then we are unsure about doing it while she is in middle school. I personally refuse to go in the heat and crowds of the summer so I am unsure about trips after 2014 but I have never hesitated to pull our DD out of school to go. It is really the only time I can get away from my business anyway so the choices are limited.

 

[Jo DeVil]

I think only you know what is best for your children. Our schools break up on Friday for 2 weeks Tattie holidays, which is the best time for us to go to the world, we aren't going this year but it is expected that half of the school will have finish school today so they can fly tomorrow. Last year we bumped into 20 families we know! DS is 8 next week and when ever we have taken him out for this reason he has done a presentation when he gets back to school showing everyone his photos. We think that all work and no play..... he understand that if he works hard them there are rewards to be had, but that works for us. Don't worry to much life is to short and enjoy. TTFN Jo

 

[bdearl41]

Whenever I went as a kid, my parents would take me the last week of April or the first week of May. I would miss school, and I did fine. Also the weather was always perfect and the crowds low. I think going during school is by far the better option.

Work to live, dont live to work.

 

[cornandacobb]

Disney during the summer and holidays(school breaks) is the worst time to go for crowds.
If we're shelling out thousands for a week in Disney, we much prefer the crowds to be lighter and the weather to be to our liking.
Ideally, we'd prefer not to take the kids out of school, and I've had to think twice about taking my daughter out as she has gotten older, but in the end we've always done it.
My two older kids and our trips:
2006(1st and none)
2008 (3rd and none)
2010 (5th and 1st)
2012...this December (7th and 3rd)

Up to middle school(5th grade), there was never any problem whatsover. Easy workloads to make up. 5th grade was a bit more challenging, especially with her still adapting to middle school and the increased workload. Had to stay on top of my daughter to get the extra work done. This upcoming trip will also be a challenge. But we're up for it, and so is my daughter.

But as others have stated, it's personal preference. I totally understand anyone that wouldn't do it....moreso when the kids are older. Grade school is a no brainer in my opinion. Again, it's just my opinion.

 

[Mukta]

School doesn't start here until after Labor Day, so I took my godkids the week before Labor Day weekend. Crowds were much lower than the rest of summer, but they didn't miss any school.

 

[Nemo14]

As a former middle school teacher married to a teacher , I obviously couldn't take my own kids out of school, but I never minded when my students got to go as long as their parents gave me enough notice to get suitable relavent assignments ready for them. Different school districts have different rules though, and I'd hate to see any kid penalized because their parents decided that they would just go anyway, rules or not.

 

[Sofiesmom]

We just got back in Sept and we took our daughter out for 7 days. Teacher gave us work for her to work on while we are vacation. Every night we did homework. It worked out well and she didnt fall behind. I also think since it was 2 weeks into school that helped. Honestly, people at work think I am crazy for taking her out and a bad parent. Screw them! I can do what I want and I know what is best!

 

[WDW!]

As a kid my Mom took me out of school for trips to WDW and I turned out OK and now we take my niece and nephew out for trips. School work always get done on the airplane rides and we take an afternoon to work on it if needed. NO REGRETS
(you avoid the crowed season this way....)

 

[KDiS88]

My parents took me & my sisters out of school every year for a vacation. The teachers were a little upset at first but we usually took whatever homework we would miss for the week & got it done on our way to the vacation or back from it and if we didn't, we still had another week to complete it at our schools. Since we always got our homework done the teachers couldn't complain much. I say go for it & have lots of fun!!

 

[Sunny D]

I am a third grade teacher and it never really bothers me. At the beginning of the year I give the parents state testing dates and ask if they can make sure their child is in school during those days. Any other time is fine with me. I'm jealous that I can't go during off season and always beg my students to take me with them!

 

[Tomi-Rocket]

Done it four times with our kids. No problems ever, with teachers, schoolwork or grades.

 

[GadgetH_RR]

I guess I am a much more laid-back middle school teacher than most. I wish more parents would take their kids out of school for vacations during the teenage years because family time is so important at that age and the effect of missing my class for a week in the grand scheme of a student's life is about as miniscule as it gets. I always let students drop the lowest (or several depending on how many grades are taken that term) quizzes and homework grades every term because everybody has an off day every now and then and I don't feel kids should be punished with loads of homework while on vacation or attending a funeral or other forced family function. If a student bombed a bunch of previous quizs or homework, then they will have to do the full load of what they missed on vacation. If they have managed to keep their grades high during the term, then they can have a school-free vacation (from my classes at least). I know several other middle and high school teachers who use this model of grading so it can't hurt to check with your kids when considering a vacation in the middle of the school year.

 

[BrittanyRose428]

Well, I don't have my own kids yet, but my parents never took me out of school for any kind of a vacation. If it was an extra day they would, but not for a week or so at a time. Although looking back at how school was when I was younger I think I would have been fine. It really depends on the kind of student the kids are. Even in high school I was always either on top of school work, or ahead of it, but in middle school I think it would have been fine to take a couple of days off.

When I have my own kids I think it would entirely depend on what kind of students they are. If they are always doing their work on time and receiving good grades I wouldn't see an issue with it. However if it was a child who was prone to falling behind as it was, I wouldn't pull them out of school.

 

[Britt]

Elementary, absolutely.

Middle or High School, it will hugely depend on the type of student they are. If they're doing poorly, Im not going to take them out OR reward them for a vacation. If they're a good student and I know they wont have a hard time catching up, then we'll consider it : )

 

[Dad 2 M & M]

DW is a teacher...so she would have to play hookey too! Short answer: No

 

[MissingDisney]

We've taken our children out several times for Disney trips with no problems, with the last one including 7 missed days of school, all during the elementary years. However, even though my kids had all their homework done before we even left for the trip (they are great students), they were stressed about other things they were missing during this instructional time; experiments, guest speakers in classes, student council weekly meeting, etc. knowing that these missed lessons would (and did) come up when they returned to school and they would not be able to fully particpate in discussions. They have begged us to plan vacations around school breaks so they do not have to miss school. It really causes them stress.

I always concentrated on just getting the homework done but this last trip clearly showed me it's not just about the homework, it's about the missed interaction and instruction as well. We have now agreed as a family, to a maximum number of days that they will miss school for vacation purposes, as our oldest said "mom, it's not a vacation if I'm just stressing while I'm there anyway". Well stated, smart child.

Ask your kids how many days they're comfortable missing. Maybe they have some feelings about it, maybe they don't. If they don't have any stress about it, you know your child best. Make a decision that is best for you, them and your family. As for the nasty-grams from the school...they look great lining the garbage can.

Enjoy your vacation!!!

 

[Dasnowz]

Absolutely!!! And not just for Disney! Our kids were home schooled for several years and I have a mentality that I admit that family and educational trips rule. My kids were able to go the 50th anniversary at the Arizona memorial. My kids miss school now for Disney days. I already let the school know they will not be there the 24th because we are going to Fantasyland and Epcot for the day. We took a week in Oct a few years back and went to DL for Halloween because I wanted to. Family trips are always more important. I have 2 that have graduated and 2 in high school still. I would take them out in a heartbeat and take a trip anytime. I used to teach K and it showed me that putting my kids and spending that time with them is way more important. In the grand scheme of life homework can be made up but lost time with kids cannot.

 

[BUZZCRUSH]

We always have and our oldest is now in 6th grade and will do it at least til high school. We've never had an issue,but I always make a point of earning "brownie" points wherever I can. i.e. send extra supplies in, volunteer to help the teacher, etc. etc. And we always have conferences and stay in touch with the teachers in general. I think if they know you well, know you are committed to keeping your kid on track, they are more understanding and less judgemental.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Sadly, we live in a state with fairly strict attendance laws. Anything over 2 unexcused absences in a 60 day period and we could face misdemeanor charges and a $500 fine. I just spent the last couple of days making sure they corrected my daughter's two religious absences last month to be reflected as excused since she will be missing 2 unexcused days next month and I don't want to wind up in court.

However, if I lived in a state with more normal and realistic attendance policies or find that our district is understanding to a reasonable degree- I'd consider up to a week during elementary if we were far enough away from state testing times. I don't think I'd chance it in middle school or high school. My parents pulled me out in 6th grade for my first trip to WDW and my school work really suffered. The work just intensifies so much by that point that I think it's too detrimental to the child's education to have them miss at that point. The only time I might consider it is at the very tail end of the school year...i.e. if finals and testing are over, but school is still officially in session.