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:

 

[MKCP 1985]

still waiting for the person to come in and say, "My parents used to take me out of school to go on vacations and now my life is a mess."

Seems like lots of people have come in and said the opposite though. :lol:

I believe that being inflexible leads to breakdowns, but being a problem solver finding workable solutions leads to more Disney happiness. :king:

:ROFLOL:

 

[captainkidd]

still waiting for the person to come in and say, "My parents used to take me out of school to go on vacations and now my life is a mess."

This guy's parents took him out of school for a week to go to Disneyland, and look at him now:

 

[ann0d]

Hello - Don't you understand, some strangers completely disapprove of it. Isn't that reason enough?????

Yeah well, what can I say, I will continue to do it! :shrug:

 

[MKCP 1985]

This guy's parents took him out of school for a week to go to Disneyland, and look at him now:

Oh my!

:ROFLOL:

 

[Cynderella]

I say go for it! It really ends up being the decision of your family and if you really want to go. I remember back in 6th or 7th grade....our parents took us to Disney 3 times in one school year. We did just fine, made up our homework and it was no big deal. The teachers weren't too happy but we didn't really care about them because we were going to Disney! :animwink:

 

[durangojim]

Hello - Don't you understand, some strangers completely disapprove of it. Isn't that reason enough?????

Seems to be a recurring theme around these parts.

Talk to the teacher, get the weeks lesson plans, and take them to WDW for goodness sakes.

School is not their job. It should be a place where they are brought to learn things both socially and academically, but it is not the only place where that can happen and should supplement other life experiences. There are many other places and ways to accomplish the same things, and family vacations are one of them. I was taken out of school occaisionally as a child and young adult, and traveled around the US and Europe extensively. The experiences that I had shaped who I became and gave me an insight into things that some of my teachers did not have. I will now toot my own horn and tell everyone that I am a successful physician with more academic "schooling" than most people. I will have no problem taking my kids out of school when the time arises. And if the teacher or school doesn't approve, I can always write my kids a "sick note"

Flame suit on.

 

[amykissangel]

Oi...why I read through all these and then feel the need to comment is beyond me. A sad, Disney-related addiction, I guess...

1) You sound like a great parent, very much like my own mother who spoke to the teachers and upper administration before removing us for a week (2.5 days during teacher convention) from school from kindergarten to senior year of HIGH SCHOOL (all three of us graduating with honors.) You're clearly aware and abreast of the problems your daughter may have in math, and you could probably take her out for TWO weeks and still make sure she was caught up. A parent like you who is dedicated and worried and aware already makes up for the week - trust me.

2) I am from an ENTIRE FAMILY of teachers. Can't stand when people disrespect them, expect them to bend over backwards, are rude to them, etc. And sometimes this happens when parents want to take kids out of school. The parent will ask, "Is it good idea?" And the teacher, being a TEACHER, will say, "Probably not." Parent gets mad, things go awry, yadda yadda. Yet all of them seem to agree that family time is important too, and if presented in a responsible way, will probably help out your child as much as they can.

3) All the judging drives me nuts. Jane/John Doe from Picklesville, USA taking his/her child out of school or NOT taking his/her child out of school for a WDW trip is not the end of the world. If you want to give your opinion, give it. If you're bitter from some other experience you had, share it in a nice way. And if you don't agree, there are ways to state that other than telling so-and-so that they're not the greatest parents.

K. Done. Time for dinner at Texas Roadhouse and a whole evening with my Disney Itinerary for January, 2009.

HAVE A GREAT TIME AND ENJOY YOURSELVES! :wave:

 

[betteratmk]

As a current educator, and a brand new one at that, I don't know what I will be covering in exactly in class 6 weeks from now. Yes I have an idea what subject I might be covering but no way will I have the work prepared to give them. To the OP, I try to plan tests before a big break. This is due to the fact that taking a test after the break is setting the students up for worse grades. I know my students will not spend that time studying and reviewing for a test. Better to get it out of the way beforehand that way the students can really enjoy the break. I also will not give a test early to a student leaving on a vacation. Although I know my students pretty well, the ones who try to cheat and the ones who wouldn't dream of it, some might not see is as "cheating" to tell students what questions they remember, especially the short answer type questions. There is no way to guarantee that questions from the test would not be spread, therefore a test is something that I won't let a student take early. With you leaving the week before a 2 week break, this might be something that you talk to the teachers about.

If the teacher is a seasoned pro,,,,,,, she or he will be forewarned of the departure and will have a general idea where they will be two weeks out. I wasn't talking about tests, just general book reports that are usually due monthly. We usually have to have 2-3 weeks of lesson plans ahead of time. That doesn't mean that they are written in stone, just guide lines. Math home work should fall in that category as well as social and science.

 

[accord99cutie]

When I was in High School, My entire Band and chorus went to NYC for the week of st. patricks day because the band was in the parade and the chorus sang in front of the statue of liberty (neither BTW was as exciting as marching in the parade in Disneyland the following year!) We were out of school for 5 days.... all 200+ students, just to have fun in NYC. There was no learning going on, just fun at the hotel, and sight seeing. Now if Its ok for 200 students to go to NYC for a "school trip" for a week, in my eyes, its ok for a few students to go to Disney World for a week...

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

Oi...why I read through all these and then feel the need to comment is beyond me. A sad, Disney-related addiction, I guess...

1) You sound like a great parent, very much like my own mother who spoke to the teachers and upper administration before removing us for a week (2.5 days during teacher convention) from school from kindergarten to senior year of HIGH SCHOOL (all three of us graduating with honors.) You're clearly aware and abreast of the problems your daughter may have in math, and you could probably take her out for TWO weeks and still make sure she was caught up. A parent like you who is dedicated and worried and aware already makes up for the week - trust me.

2) I am from an ENTIRE FAMILY of teachers. Can't stand when people disrespect them, expect them to bend over backwards, are rude to them, etc. And sometimes this happens when parents want to take kids out of school. The parent will ask, "Is it good idea?" And the teacher, being a TEACHER, will say, "Probably not." Parent gets mad, things go awry, yadda yadda. Yet all of them seem to agree that family time is important too, and if presented in a responsible way, will probably help out your child as much as they can.

3) All the judging drives me nuts. Jane/John Doe from Picklesville, USA taking his/her child out of school or NOT taking his/her child out of school for a WDW trip is not the end of the world. If you want to give your opinion, give it. If you're bitter from some other experience you had, share it in a nice way. And if you don't agree, there are ways to state that other than telling so-and-so that they're not the greatest parents.

K. Done. Time for dinner at Texas Roadhouse and a whole evening with my Disney Itinerary for January, 2009.

HAVE A GREAT TIME AND ENJOY YOURSELVES! :wave:

Yummy!:slurp:

 

[Hakunamatata]

This guy's parents took him out of school for a week to go to Disneyland, and look at him now:

Its my understanding they went to Universal, not WDW...:ROFLOL:

 

[wannabeBelle]

Its my understanding they went to Universal, not WDW...:ROFLOL:

That would totally explain everything!!! :ROFLOL::ROFLOL: Belle

 

[Wolfclan Dan]

Are you really sure that your savings will be that much if you go the week earlier.? Can you take advantage of the 'buy 4 get 3 free' the first wk of your spring break,...and just miss out on the $200 gift card? ...Don't shoot me...just a thought.

I would love to do just that! The 4/3 deal is not valid during our Spring Break, much to my dismay. We will arrive on 3/28 (a day before the $200 card ends) and our departure is 4/4 (the day before the 4/3 deal ends for Spring Break).


For all those who may be curious, we have already changed our trip to the above dates. The $200 gift card thing was really just a bonus as I did not even know about when I inquired about the 4/3 deal.

 

[lynnie5150]

take them out and when you get back you can have a tutor sit down with her to go over the work. There is two weeks to get it done. Also, she might benifit in the long run from the 1 on 1 attention.

 

[haveyoumetmark]

I really don't get what all the fuss is about....

Will the child remember a week in fourth grade before spring break? NO.
Will the child remember a week in WDW with her family? YES
Will the $1,000+ help you out a little financially? YES

She probably won't be doing anything anyway that week of school....

 

[MouseMadness]

OK, time for me to stop sitting back and being quiet - against my better judgement.

I seem to see a lot of arguments here that center around "it's the only time we could go" or "we only get 2 weeks vacation" or "the $1,200 savings is worth it"

What ever happend to if you cant do something because of scheduling, money, or circumstance, then you suck it up and don't do it?

There are numberous times, in fact this April is one of them, when I would have loved to go to WDW with my kids, but either vacation (mine) or airfare prices did not work out. The way I view it, school is their job, and being at work during certain times (quarterly project reviews, etc) is mine. I think thats a pretty good lesson that I am teaching them as well. There are plenty of times that I would have rather been doing something other than work, but guess what, there are responsibilites and I go to work. There were times when I did not have the extra funds to do the vacation I wanted, so guess what, I didn't do that vacation. I am sure there are plenty of times my kids want to miss school, but they go.

It's funny. People wonder why my bosses treat me so well. I can cut out in the middle of the day for a hour for a Dr. appointment. I can work from home at times when my kids have 1/2 days or one is sick. People say "oh you are lucky you have a nice boss, most are horrible" Funny thing, in my years in corporate culture I have never had a "bad" boss. But then I have been out sick once in 15 years (strep so bad I fell asleep in my car), have never blown off a meeting or assignement, and I stay late when I have to. What comes around goes around, I treat my job well and my job treats me well. I am glad my parents instilled that work ethic in me as a kid (we were never pulled out of school for vacation. I used to get pulled out for about 2 hours of othodonture when I had braces, and then was brough right back to school, no missing a half or whole day for a simple dentist visit)

-dave

That's true, but your 9 year old is only 9 years old once.

I'm going to get all cliche and sappy and say that I'm thinking 40 years from now nobody is going to regret those 5 days spent together, but they may regret not having had them. :shrug: (this has probably been pointed out, but I did a lot of skipping of posts :lol: :lookaroun )

That was about the point we stopped taking them out to go to WDW... I think 5th grade was our last year. Way too much work to keep up with past that. We never asked for "special assignments" the teachers just gave us the lesson plan for the week... they were always happy for us and happy to do it.

We'll be there over spring break, and I don't look forward to the crowds we got used to NOT seeing those trips we skipped school for :lol: but WDW is WDW.

I can't wait!

 

[Phonedave]

That's true, but your 9 year old is only 9 years old once.

I'm going to get all cliche and sappy and say that I'm thinking 40 years from now nobody is going to regret those 5 days spent together, but they may regret not having had them. :shrug: (this has probably been pointed out, but I did a lot of skipping of posts :lol: :lookaroun )

That was about the point we stopped taking them out to go to WDW... I think 5th grade was our last year. Way too much work to keep up with past that. We never asked for "special assignments" the teachers just gave us the lesson plan for the week... they were always happy for us and happy to do it.

We'll be there over spring break, and I don't look forward to the crowds we got used to NOT seeing those trips we skipped school for :lol: but WDW is WDW.

I can't wait!

If it was some sort of "once in a lifetime" thing, then yes, that is a different case.

Many of the people around here go to WDW quite often. I go with my kids roughly twice a year. While family time and bonding and all that is very important, quite frankly for us WDW is nothing out of the ordinary.

Yes your kid is only 9 y/o once, but not going to WDW because they have school does not mean that for the following two weeks they have off, you sit on the couch and watch TV. There are plenty of other bonding experences out there that can be scheduled during vacatiosns. Many that quite frankly, offer just as many, or more, memories than WDW.

I guess it all boils down to how important going to WDW is to you. I love going to WDW with my kids, but it is not such a critical thing to me that I am going to pull my kids out of school to go. If we can schedule it during a vacation (at a resasonable cost), then we go. If not, then we do something else and have a good time doing that.

-dave

 

[durangojim]

If it was some sort of "once in a lifetime" thing, then yes, that is a different case.

Many of the people around here go to WDW quite often. I go with my kids roughly twice a year. While family time and bonding and all that is very important, quite frankly for us WDW is nothing out of the ordinary.

Yes your kid is only 9 y/o once, but not going to WDW because they have school does not mean that for the following two weeks they have off, you sit on the couch and watch TV. There are plenty of other bonding experences out there that can be scheduled during vacatiosns. Many that quite frankly, offer just as many, or more, memories than WDW.

I guess it all boils down to how important going to WDW is to you. I love going to WDW with my kids, but it is not such a critical thing to me that I am going to pull my kids out of school to go. If we can schedule it during a vacation (at a resasonable cost), then we go. If not, then we do something else and have a good time doing that.

-dave

It shouldn't matter if it's a once in a lifetime chance or not according to your according to your way of thinking. For me, I seriously doubt that there is anything any school system could teach to a student in one week that could not be learned at a later date with some hard work on both the student's and parents part.

 

[Phonedave]

It shouldn't matter if it's a once in a lifetime chance or not according to your according to your way of thinking.

Huh ?

I don't get that. In my way of thinking, things have a relative importance to each other. School outranks a "run of the mill" trip to WDW. No lets say grandma and grandpa live in Florida, and grandpa has just learned he has some sort of terminal illness, and wants to have the grandkids to WDW one last time while he still can. Now THAT outranks school. At least in my book it does. Every one's book is different.

Is missing a week of school an insurmountable problem? Not at all. The question is (again, in my way of thinking) what are my kids missing this week of school for? To me (again, my personal opinion) going to WDW because of lower crowds or cheaper airfare is not a good enough reason to take my kids out of school, just as if my brother (who works off schedules) scores a sweet tee time at the local country club is not a valid excuse for me to call in sick to work. (Although if nothing was going on, I would call and take vacation on short notice if possible)

Again, these are all my opinions, and how I do things. How other people do things is up to them.

-dave

 

[captainkidd]

Huh ?

I don't get that. In my way of thinking, things have a relative importance to each other. School outranks a "run of the mill" trip to WDW.

Like others, you're sort of missing the point. No one is talking about dropping out of school to join the circus. They're talking about missing about 2% of the school year to go to Disney World. No one is "choosing" Disney over school.