How do you inform teachers of a WDW vacation?

[kodiak5bears]

We are leaving for WDW in 15 days. We are going the week BEFORE Spring Break this year. My question is... Does anyone have a "cute" letter informing the teacher/school of an upcoming vacation or know where I can find one? I thought it would be cute for my 6 & 7 year olds teachers~

 

[MickeyFan77]

I used that letter last year for my son who was 5 at the time and in 1/2 day Kindergarden. They weren't to receptive. They called and said that it was still an unexcused absense. I thought O'well...My son is doing great in school and as long as he is we will keep going. I am going to try and schedule around some vacations and cut the days down though. When we went the teacher gave us all his homework in advance and since we ended up being in our room for 21 hrs b/c of Hurricane Jeanne it was the perfect time for him to do it. NOW there was a note in the PTA newsletter that effective now teachers are no longer suppose to give the students homework before hand. To me that stinks but o'well isn't going to change my mind. To me Disney is not just a fun place but there is ALOT of learning going on too.

 

[tmtee]

We always take the children out of school for vacation, especially when we go to Disney. I verbally let them know about a month or two in advance- depending on time of year. About two weeks before the trip I hand deliver a memo to them with the details, I also cc the school office and hand deliver that memo also. And, about a week or less I check in with the teacher again. The day before we leave, I go into the teacher and school office and say bye, just so they remember. The teachers have always said how much they appreciate the memos along with the speaking to them. That way if they forget, they have the memo in their planner which reminds them.

During the initial meeting with the teacher I explain that we take vacations when my husband can get off and we would like to work with her in having a plan ready for the children when they are on vacation.

Homework gets done on the plane coming and going. With some special assignments done in park.

Have fun

 

[Dwarful]

Well, all I can say is "Thank God" we live where we do. We have only taken the kids out of school once so far, our oldest missed 5 days of 3rd grade and our youngest missed 3 half days of preschool. No big deal. We talked to the teacher before hand, also sent in a little note reminding the teachers and staff. We did get the work before hand and the oldest completed most of it on the airplane coming and going.

Since the OP has all of her bases covered and was looking for something cute, I"d have the kids write something up on some Disney paper. Also, perhaps some interesting postcards written by the kids would be nice. My girls loved sending postcards back to the classes, the oldest picked different postcards at the different countries in Epcot, while the preschooler stuck with the Princesses, Mickey & Minnie and Pooh Bear. Have fun!

 

[Gucci65]

I used to send reminder emails, after talking to them personally.

Most teachers were cool, some were not.

Middle school is a pain cause there is so much testing. Then if you miss a cheerleading practice - the world stops.

On a funny note (or sad - depends on how you look at it) each year my friend takes his 4 kids to WDW, ages 5 to 13. Every year they are gone for a week attending a funeral. I couldn't do that, I would be afraid it would come true.:lol:

 

[Miss Bell]

How about making a video that shows your kids with a voice over saying, "So and so, you just made an A on your math test (insert appropriate major school accomplishment,) what are you going to do now?" Then they can dance around shouting, "We're going to Disney World!"

 

[George]

Luckily our school district has a fall break which is unbelievably sweet for WDW trips.

 

[SpeedFigure]

Can you read?

Obviously you guys are not READING what she is really asking for! Everyone needs to calm down about "Banned vacations not on vacation days!"

A Cute way could be, go to your local Roberts and get some Disney scrap book paper. Write a note on that. Just say something like

"Dear _______,
Well it's time my family to head off to the most magical place on earth. I'm sorry I'm leaving class early for Spring break. I'll make sure to give Mickey and Minnie Mouse a hug for you. Hope you have a great break yourself.
Ta ta For Now!"

Or I have seen a Mickey mouse card at Hallmark that's blank inside and you could write a note in there.
Maybe say in the note that you'll bring the teacher back a Pen to grade papers with or something.
Since your kids are young, maybe have them draw a picture of the Castle or Mickey mouse and attach the note to that.
I hope this helps.

 

[Dwarful]

Yep, Speed Figure I think you gave some good tips. I think many forgot what the op came back and reexplained. That was why I suggested having the child write a note to the teacher(s) on their own on some disney style paper and then perhaps send appropriate postcards to the class.

 

[NoNoNoNoNo]

Two words

Family Reunion.

They haven't seen the family in YEARS. 140 relatives will be there, 90% have never met the kids. The family's heritage is very important to us.

 

[kathyjacks]

I used to send reminder emails, after talking to them personally.

Most teachers were cool, some were not.

Middle school is a pain cause there is so much testing. Then if you miss a cheerleading practice - the world stops.

On a funny note (or sad - depends on how you look at it) each year my friend takes his 4 kids to WDW, ages 5 to 13. Every year they are gone for a week attending a funeral. I couldn't do that, I would be afraid it would come true.:lol:

sad :lol: .
My kids go to a charter school and both of their teachers have been to dw this year too and I subbed for them to go so it was no big deal to tell them we were going.Its not excused but its not a big deal as long as they don't miss 30 days in any given year so mine missingn 4 days in april is a drop in the bucket to what some miss. there are some wealthy families in our school that take their kids out 2 weeks for ski trips and such so .........it all works out.

 

[kodiak5bears]

How is your relationship with your children's teachers? A handwritten note sent to each teacher separately, reminding them that you wlll be on vacation that week, would be best. Most of the teachers here at my school will provide a small packet of written work for the child to complete. Be realistic, though, and recognize that your kids will be in VACATION mode, not SCHOOL mode, and aren't going to be enthusiastic about doing much work while you're there. Take advantage of travel time to do that, if you can.

With a 12 hour drive ONE WAY... They should have PLENTY of time!! :lol:

 

[kodiak5bears]

I used to send reminder emails, after talking to them personally.

Most teachers were cool, some were not.

Middle school is a pain cause there is so much testing. Then if you miss a cheerleading practice - the world stops.

On a funny note (or sad - depends on how you look at it) each year my friend takes his 4 kids to WDW, ages 5 to 13. Every year they are gone for a week attending a funeral. I couldn't do that, I would be afraid it would come true.:lol:

Funny and sad. Our dog of 11 years died this past weekend. Yeah... a funeral... :lookaroun in WDW!! In honor of our beloved dog of course!! :wave:

 

[kodiak5bears]

Obviously you guys are not READING what she is really asking for! Everyone needs to calm down about "Banned vacations not on vacation days!"

A Cute way could be, go to your local Roberts and get some Disney scrap book paper. Write a note on that. Just say something like

"Dear _______,
Well it's time my family to head off to the most magical place on earth. I'm sorry I'm leaving class early for Spring break. I'll make sure to give Mickey and Minnie Mouse a hug for you. Hope you have a great break yourself.
Ta ta For Now!"

Or I have seen a Mickey mouse card at Hallmark that's blank inside and you could write a note in there.
Maybe say in the note that you'll bring the teacher back a Pen to grade papers with or something.
Since your kids are young, maybe have them draw a picture of the Castle or Mickey mouse and attach the note to that.
I hope this helps.

YES YES!! Thank You!! THIS is what I was looking for! I love both ideas!!

 

[dukehoopsfan]

As a wife of a teacher....there were many times I wished we could take our two kids out of school during a non vacation time but we figured that probably wouldn't present the best image for a teacher! :lookaroun

Personally, I would not go for the "cute" message to the teacher - sort of seems to trivialize that the child will be missing school to go on vacation - and even if homework is given ahead of time there is always something missed in class - and that is just my own opinion. I would write a simple reminder note to the teacher, and leave the cute note for when returning to school. Let the childre write the note and present it with a new pen for grading papers or some other trinket. Even let the child bring a photo album and journal to show the class of the new things that he/she learned while visiting WDW.

 

[stitch's mom]

My son is also in middle school and I first informed the principal and asked about the policy and was told that even though they would frown about it the superintendent said there is nothing they can do about it because some parents have to work around their work schedules also. I then told all of his teachers and they were really good about telling me to just let him enjoy himself and he can catch up when he gets back.

 

[christyj]

We take our kids out of school every year to take our disneyworld vacation. Our kids are usually gone for 8-9 days ( we take a 12 day trip). We usually go in Sept.-Oct. so we let our teachers know the begining of the year so advance arrangements can be made. They have tried to say we can not do this, but we have checked our local district laws and there is nothing in place that says we cant. SO.... Off to the Happiest Place on Earth we go this September. Forgot to add, both of our kids 7 and 11 are good students with no behavioial problems, which always seems to help. Even though I think every child should have the chance to go at least once.:wave:

 

[GenerationX]

Personally, I would not go for the "cute" message to the teacher - sort of seems to trivialize that the child will be missing school to go on vacation - and even if homework is given ahead of time there is always something missed in class - and that is just my own opinion.

I disagree. I think a cute message is appropriate, since the OP is trivializing the missing of school to go on vacation.

 

[kodiak5bears]

I disagree. I think a cute message is appropriate, since the OP is trivializing the missing of school to go on vacation.

I find it amazing that when people write in asking questions and wanting advice it always turns to the negative and the people always wind up getting bashed for one thing or another!!

I did not ASK for everyones opinions of ME taking MY kids out of school. So lets put that in our "TRIVIAL" pipe and smoke it!!

We are all here for the same reason... our love for WDW! Or so I thought. :lookaroun

 

[rileyspaw]

I was a school teacher for 35 years and I think family vacations and the time spent together as a family are just as important as anything your kids can learn in school during that time.

Go and have a good time and have the kids make up the work upon your return.
:wave:

 

[MouseearsDeb]

Chill Out Everyone!

Unfortunatley, you will get everyone's 2 cents on taking the kids out of school. Last year we took our 7th grader out for 4 days with no problem. We had great communication with all the higher powers, teachers included at the school. We probably won't do it again, simply because of the amount of work involved with higher grades.

I'm mixed on giving a 'cute' note, etc. You know you're childrens teachers better than any of us, so it will be you who knows how they will react.

An idea might be, if your kids are fairly handy with glue stick, to make a 'homemade' collage card with different pictures depicting what you plan on doing while at the World. There are a lot of magazines, web sites where you could print pictures off.

Another note on school work, our DS was given the equal amount of time to make up his work. So, since he missed 4 days, he was allowed 4 days to make up work. This was great so that he didn't have to stress over school while on what is supposed to be a vacation, regardless of when it is taken.

Have a magical trip! Hope you let us know how it all went once your home!:wave: