Take kids out of school for $1,200???? Y/N?

[Wolfclan Dan]

Hello wonderful board!

We have a trip planned in April 2009 (5th - 13th)and if the DW and I are willing to take the kids out of school the week before we could save $1,000 of our total bill and receive a $200 prepaid Visa at check in.

Our original trip is the first week of our two week spring break. So if we take the kids out of school, their spring break would be three weeks long! Good for them i suppose, bad for studies.

We are staying at POR and the difference in the two trips would be 8 nights at AAA price or 7 nights $1,200 less!

I am torn. The 4 day - 3 day free deal is pretty dang good! My oldest DD is 9, fourth grade, and she is my only real concern in regards to school. Math is not the easiest for her and I worry about her falling behind.

Any teachers here, feel free to chime in! Anyone at all here, feel free to chime in. We love to save money and all, just want the best for the kids.

:shrug:

 

[The Mom]

This is hard one, due to the length of the break. 3 weeks is along time, and there may be a lot going on the week before break.

This isn't an issue for us, as my son's school (HS/MS combination) has a no days off before/after break policy, so any student who tacks on extra days has to attend Saturday school until the missed days are made up.

We have yet to offer a trip that my son feels is worth it. :lol:

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Ask for some work to take on the trip with you. Spend a couple of hours each day by the pool while your daughter does a bit of school work

 

[krankenstein]

I will always say that it is a bad idea to take a child out of school for a trip. I understand where you are coming from, but your child's education is more important than a trip to WDW.

 

[Phonedave]

I'll get out the popcorn and sit back and watch the fireworks

You are going to hear from both sides of the camp on this one.

My, I would not do it, especialy in your situation. Three weeks is a long time to be off, and if your kid is allready having some problems in math, she needs all the schooling at this developmental time in her life.

People are going to say that you can take work with you, or that you can use WDW as a learning experence. My OPINION - and its just an opinion, is that is a busload of bushwah. You childs teacher, is more than someone who hands out lesson plans and collects homework. They are supposed to be working with your child to assessment what their strengths are, and where they need additional development. You do not get the same results from blazing though a stack of worksheets as quickly as possible so you can get back to Mickey. My oldest is in 4th grade, and missing a whole week would put her a unit behind. They may introduce a whole new concept and then when she returns she will be trying to play catch up while learning the currents weeks concepts as well.



Again, this is how I MYSELF feel. It's an OPINION. If someone (you or anyone else) wants to take their kid out of school, that's their call as a parent. I wouldn't do it, but I am not going to criticize someone if they do.

-dave

 

[hwdelien]

Yes, by all means, take the kids out of school. For one thing the park will be less crowded. I take my kids out of school every year for vacation. You can get the school to agree to an excused absense for an educational trip. Just a little form to fill out and each teacher has to sign off. Some teachers even get on board and have the kids write about something that they learned. If they can't learn something in epcot there's something wrong. Even a day trip down to NASA will increase that learning experience.

 

[tigsmom]

We took our kids out of school up until the 6th grade after that we started going during the summer or on Spring break. Sometimes the teachers gave work to do while away and other times they had to make it up when they came back. One asked for a trip report complete with photos that could be used instead of the project that was to be done during break (writing a short story).

Since your kids are young, and if I were in your place, I would do it. That is a lot of money to save and in these economic times that is important.
Speak to the teachers and see if they will work with you; if you give them enough heads up they may put together a work packet (I know some of ours did). You could also get a 4th grade math workbook in stores like target, Walmart and the like and have her do some work each day, say during afternoon break or early evening before she is too tired.

 

[hwdelien]

Oh, and I forgot to mention, one of my daughter's has a learning disability and it does not adversly effect her IEP.

 

[captainkidd]

Take them out. I can't stand when parents act like it's such a big deal to take kids out of school for vacation. My parents took me out of school every year for vacation. I used to skip school constantly (not that I'm advising that or bragging) and I never had any problems with my grades.

 

[kasey1988]

if its only i week, i would do it.. i missed school in grade 5 and grade 8.. both times teachers gave me the work that was going to be done during that time to do while i was away. I did most of it on the plane/in the car, and then took one night in the hotel to finish up the rest.
Its really up to you though, you know your child the best, and how they are in school. If her marks arnt that great you might want to reconsider it, but if you feel she wouldnt fall behind then i say go for it. But i defintally wouldnt take her out of school for more then a week.

 

[captainkidd]

I will always say that it is a bad idea to take a child out of school for a trip. I understand where you are coming from, but your child's education is more important than a trip to WDW.

Nothing is more important than the time families spend together. And if having a more relaxed trip that is more affordable means kids missing 1 week of school, I say go for it.

I'm not trying to be dissrespectful or anything, but your last sentence implies that they're pulling their kids out of the school to join the circus. They're not. From what I gather, it's 5 days of school.

 

[Master Yoda]

It is going to depend on three things....

1. Your child's school policy. Many schools have very strict policies about vacation absences. If your child's school forbids them then you have your answer.

2. You child's teacher. Some will give makeup work some will not. If your child has a teacher that will not then again you have your answer.

3. Your child's performance at school. This is one that is really hard because it requires you to take the loving parent glasses off. Can your child really afford to take the time off? You mentioned her struggles in math. Math is a tricky subject where every lesson builds on the one before. Believe it or not for a kid on the edge missing a week in math could effect them for some time to come.

 

[Eyekimore]

Two comments- take them however you like.

1st- As a teacher- no make-up worksheet will ever equal what will be missed in the classroom. They will essentially be behind when they return.

2nd- She's in fourth grade. Will missing it harm her for her entire life- I think not!

 

[Wolfclan Dan]

Wow. This will be a hard one. As I said, I am torn. I agree with all of you! I feel the same, on both sides. I think the tip in the scale will be what my DD's 4th grade teacher has to say.

FYI, my youngest is in 1st grade and well above the curve thanks to her older sisters. The 2nd born is absolutely brilliant and helps my oldest with HER homework!

These current economic conditions is what is tempting me to pull them from school. I kinda feel a little greedy, but it really is a lot of money.

Either way, we will have a wonderful vacation. What to do what to do...



Oh bother....

 

[wannabeBelle]

I agree with Master Yoda, I think your first step is to check with the school/teacher. If taking a family vacation is not an option as the school doesnt allow unexcused absence, then you have to decide if a failure is worth the family trip. I dont necessarily agree with it and I do believe that this is more a child by child decision, but some schools do have that rule in effect. Belle

 

[Juliaz3]

My parents always took me and my sister out of school two weeks in February for a trip to Florida. It was wonderful, sometimes we visited the World, and I looked forward to it so much. Never missed much in school, and it certainly didn't ruin my life. I easily caught up afterward.

If your child's teacher is helpful and flexible enough to either assign a little work while the child is out, or can help her catch up when she returns, what is the harm?

Really, these parents who think a child will NEVER catch -- well, what if your daughter was sick at home during that time? Would she really never be able to learn math because of it?

Take the time to enjoy your family and LIFE, we only go around once.

 

[wdwCC]

Hello wonderful board!

We have a trip planned in April 2009 (5th - 13th)and if the DW and I are willing to take the kids out of school the week before we could save $1,000 of our total bill and receive a $200 prepaid Visa at check in.

Our original trip is the first week of our two week spring break. So if we take the kids out of school, their spring break would be three weeks long! Good for them i suppose, bad for studies.

We are staying at POR and the difference in the two trips would be 8 nights at AAA price or 7 nights $1,200 less!

I am torn. The 4 day - 3 day free deal is pretty dang good! My oldest DD is 9, fourth grade, and she is my only real concern in regards to school. Math is not the easiest for her and I worry about her falling behind.

Any teachers here, feel free to chime in! Anyone at all here, feel free to chime in. We love to save money and all, just want the best for the kids.

:shrug:

Get as much homework ahead of time as possible, bring it along on the trip, and use something like "we will go to the Magic Kingdom as soon as you finish your math".

 

[krankenstein]

Nothing is more important than the time families spend together. And if having a more relaxed trip that is more affordable means kids missing 1 week of school, I say go for it.

I'm not trying to be dissrespectful or anything, but your last sentence implies that they're pulling their kids out of the school to join the circus. They're not. From what I gather, it's 5 days of school.

I never implied that they were joining the circus, but 5 days IS a long time to miss class. I work in the school system, I see kids who miss a week for various reasons (most are more important than a family vacation), I know how far behind a student can get. Your opinion is different than mine, but it doesn't make mine less informed. Times have changed a lot, what was ok 10 years ago isn't now. No Child Left Behind has thrown a huge monkey wrench into the whole equation. Not to be rude, but instead of calling someone out for having a different opinion than you, perhaps you should consider that some people might have based their opinion on actually witnessing the circumstances. :wave:

I am done with the thread now because I've said my peace. To the OP, do whatever you think is best. Just remember Disney will still be there a week later, you cannot get that week of class back.

 

[dove_]

Ask for some work to take on the trip with you. Spend a couple of hours each day by the pool while your daughter does a bit of school work

Every one of the 5 trips I've gone on with my family were during school (along with 2 2-week trips to hawaii and other random trips here and there). Doing the homework is not such a big deal, I usually got a lot done on the plane or before we left.

It's not like they're missing 3 weeks of school, they're missing 1 week, and will have 3 weeks to do the work. I think that sounds fine. If you're concerned about your daughter and math, maybe ask the teacher for some extra worksheets or find some on your own and work on them a little each day.

In my opinion, taking them out of school is not a huge deal, despite what lots of teachers seem to think. I think it does depend on the kid and the parents, though, so if you think your kid is struggling a whole lot and you don't think you can help them, maybe it's not a good plan. But with 3 weeks, I'm sure you can figure out all the homework.

 

[disneynut4u]

If your child is smart & does not have grade issues, I say do it. I am taking my son out of school (9th grade) for a week. We were going next week, but I had work related issues and had to reschedule my trip. We chose the second week of May. His last day of school is around the 15th of May. I spoke to the principal and told her that I was considering taking my son on vacation and told her the week. I asked her how she felt about it & would there be any problems for him to go. She said due to him being an honor student, and not having any other type of problems with him, she had no problem with him going. All grades would be posted by then so it works for us. If his grades were suffering, then I wouldn't consider him missing. But I REFUSE to go during the summer or other "vacation" time periods due to the crowds!!!! But that's just me! :lol: