Taking Time for Vacation When School Is in Session

I think it is fine.

It is only Kindergarten for crying out loud?!

Education is very important....but so is Family Time...and when presented with this choice/option I would be fine with having my child miss a week of K for a family function.

For kindergarten, I would totally do it! This will be the last year you will probably get to and it not "affect" her schooling! Have fun!

Wow! Some strong opinions! My kiddos are older and cannot miss school without getting way behind, and so we do not skip. However, in kindergarten it is not a big deal and crowds at the parks are smaller, weather is cooler. I say make a memory and skip while you still can. They are only young once. And family time is important too.

Yikes! This is a really bad habit to start. Seriously, you can't take a vacation when school isn't in session? Right now, school is her "job" and she's just STARTING her career... meaning she hasn't earned vacation time yet.

Kindergarten is about "learning how to learn" and establishing learning patterns and routines. Taking her out of school in the first couple of months isn't the end of the world, but don't expect the teacher to be thrilled and provide you with the work ahead of time. If you really HAVE to do this, tell the teacher as soon as possible and if you take work with you- DO IT.

As an educator, it makes me crazy when parents do this. It send a message to the teacher that school isn't important. I know that no one wants to hear that, but it's true. Bottom line. I have a friend who does this each year and next year her oldest will be in 3rd grade and actually told her that he doesn't like when they go on vacation in late September b/c he misses a lot and it's hard for him to get back on track.

A lot of people work FT (me included), disrupting your child's education for R&R doesn't make sense either. Would you take a week off of work at the start of a project? I know I wouldn't.

no matter how you justify it, you are still bombing on your commitment to your child's education. Will it harm them?.....No, but it does set a trend for picking & choosing the rules you choose to abide by! Between spring, Christmas, & summer vacation.....there's more than enough time built into the year for vacation.

I also don't like the mindframe where children have special treats/events, & then return to school with the attitude of "wooo-hooo, I went to Disneyland. Hey, look at me!" That doesn't sit well with me.......

As for your justification of "working FT".....many of us do & we still manage to abide by the guidelines! & as JC A mentioned, there are school districts out there with strict attendance policies. In our school district, if your child falls below 90% attendance, then the child is required to make up that time....either thru afterschool or Saturday detention....in order to move up to the next grade. Check with your district before making plans!

Family time at this age trumps school in my mind. Most families with young kids do not have resources for many vacations - particularly ones like Disney that will probably only occur once or twice while your kids are young. While kids are in elementary school you can run off on a vacation without losing much ground. If you can time it around a three day weekend even better so they lose less than a full week of school.

We pulled our kids out of school once when they were in 1st & 4th grade. We advised the teachers ahead of time that we would be attending a family function out of state (which was true) and asked for the work for that week. Every day we sat together and did their homework. It was done on the plane, in the airport, or at breakfast, or during a mid-day "siesta". It takes less time to teach one kid their lessons than for a teacher to instruct 18 kids at different levels. You can get all of her work done at this age in an hour a day.

We reasoned that places like Disney are so very busy during school vacations that the stress and inability to get to attractions on our probably only visit to Disney was a poor use of our resources. We had hoped to get back to Disney before the kids got this old - but stuff ahppens, family members get sick, financial hardships come, etc. There is no time like the present.

Now that our kids are in high school and middle school it's just not an option to pull them out of school for a vacation. The pace is faster, there are 7 - 8 subjects that need to be tracked with many different teachers, etc. Now our only choice for family vacation is when everyone else is trying to do the same thing - Summer or school vacation times. I HATE crowds! I live in the NY metro area I go on vacation to avoid crowds!!!!

Note - I have two nieces who are elementary school teachers and they do comment about parents like me who "think that vacations are more important than learning" - and I tried to explain that it's about making the most of limited family resources - that it's not a commentary about the importance of learning. (I also explained that since we're not teachers we don't have 10 weeks in the Summer, one at Christmas, two more in the winter and Spring with which to relax with our families <grin>). ;o)

Take the Disney vacation now while you can - before you know it you'll have sports, band, and many other committments that will restrict your family time.

Enjoy it - and do not feel guilty.

In our district, the trip must be deemed "educational" --yep--even for a kid in Kindergarten AND they must complete all work from the week (days) they miss. That said, throw in a trip to Epcot, and go! It only gets harder the higher grade they're in.

I don't like taking kids out of school. Its hard enough to get mine there! If I were planning the trip, I would try to make it around scheduled days off. They always get a 2 days off (4 day weekend) at the beginning of November, or Thanksgiving or Christmas where there are already off for like 5 days.

Also, in our district, trips have to be pre-approved by the Principal. If approved, the week's work is sent with the kid, and is due when they return. The time missed goes as an unexcused absence. That goes against the attendance. My son has missed 6 days for various illness and asthma attacks. Just got a letter home that if he misses 10 days total, excused or unexcused, he could be recommended for grade retention...

Just a thought.
M.

My theory is there is school and there is "the school of life"....my son is in kindergarten and yes we take him out of school for two extra weeks at xmas for a long family trip and then a few other times during the year for extended weekends (missed 2-4 days).

We get homework from the teacher in advance and have him work on it before we leave and while we are gone.

These trips are things that help teach your kids about what is important in life...spending time with family, visiting other cultures, getting out of your normal routine to experience life.

They have plenty of time to learn at school during the rest of the year and really is a few days here and there going to stager their academic growth or potential. I can't remember any one ever asking for my elementarty school transcripts. I can vividly remember my childhood vacations with my family though...Just my opinion.

Plan vacations around school holidays and breaks. Just my opinion.

Family is as important as well as school. A week of fun will not hurt her education and will do a world of good for ALL OF YOU. We have taken my dd out every year for vacation, we can't stand the crowds while school is out. She is in 3 grade now our time is about over. The lower grades are just fine and it has always been easy for her to catch up. With your dd going to K one thing to think about is the social side? Will she have friends in school? The social part of going to school and missing a week might be harder to pick up than the learning. You know your dd and might have to give her a few tips on how to get back into the swing of things. Then again she might just be Miss Popular for getting to go to Disneyland and not have and worries.

Bad move. Oct. is so early in the school year. She will just be getting into
the routine and you will pull her out. Early in the year, they are forming
friendships, which I think is very important. Just my opinion.

We do this ALL the time, and have done so every year while the kids are in elementary school. Next year when my one starts Jr. High, we'll have to stop taking them out of school. I'm bummed. Back to crowded vacations for a while.

Also, my kids are straight A student, excel in music, theatre, academics, extra-curriculars...Elementary education is designed so that kids can catch up.

Ask your teachers well in advance for any missed work sheets.

And I also used to ask other moms what their thoughts were and I stopped b/c there were some really rigid parents about what kind of educational message and priority I was making....Then I started just asking the teachers, and they were all for it....always asking if they could come along and hire a sub....

We recently moved from the states to Canada, and my goodness, it's a huge practice here in Canada. There are so many kids taken back to their homelands: China, Korea, Russia, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Australia....those kids are absent on average 3-6 weeks. And they still catch up.

Have a great R&R!!

I personally don't like taking kids out of school - but I totally understand your wanting to have a RELAXING vacation.....talk with the teacher and find out what she might miss - are their little things you can bring with you to help her while you are gone?

I know that when I go on vacation - i bring learning activity books for my boys - geography, Presidents, etc.

HAVE FUN!

Go for it! We recently returned from a Disney vacation with our Kindergartener. He missed a week of school. We let the teacher know a head of time and we made sure he did that week's homework. It was so worth it. Like you, my husband and I try to avoid taking vacations during school vacation times. I know in a few years this will be more difficult.

BTW, my son had the time of his life ( as did his parents and 1 year old sister). Absolutely no regrets from my husband and I.

i wouldnt do it for a whole week as most schools only let kids miss 9 days/semister and she would be out for 5 of those nine can you do it in august right before school starts as the last thing

I ALWAYS, and I mean always take our vacations during school. I never have vacationed during the summer. I tried spring break once and it sucked. This december I will have a 7th grader, 4th grader, 1st grader and one not in school. We are planning a week in Disney.

Family time will always come before school. What they experience during the time away will be much more remembered and beneficial than another day in school.

I have to say it does get harder to pull them out as they get older, with more work to make up, but it is still so worth it.

It's kindergarten. Go and have a great time!

I say go!! Tell the teacher in advance that you are going so she can give your daughter a packet of work for the week that she can do on the plane. They are only young once!!

I have heard about different districts having strict rules on taking your kids out for non-family emergencies so I would definitely first check with your district to make sure they don't freak.

With that said- I would say go and have a good time!! Its kindergarten and kids should have fun!! If it were jr high or something I would say aim for the fewest days out as possible because of getting caught up, but in my personal history of mising school for vacation, it was hard, but ALWAYS worth it!

Is it fair for you to make your choice that this is "just kindergarten" and feel like it's okay to pull her out for a whole week, and at the same time believe that your child's kindergarten teacher should have perfect lesson plans, perfect attendance, perfect classroom management skills, challenge your daughter academically, socially, and emotionally, be creative and clear, and provide a great introduction to her whole educational experience?

If you're willing to accept that it's "just kindergarten" when it's convenient for you to go on a trip, you need to be okay with it being "just kindergarten" when things aren't going exactly the way that you want them too during the school year. Because otherwise that is a heck of an unfair catch-22 for that teacher. So you pick which way you want to feel about school, and make your choice then.

Go for it! You can get an independent study packet from her teacher so she doesn't "fall behind," and that will give her something to do on the plane :)

I took my daughter out for a week in Kindergarten to go to the Dominican Republic. She learned more that week than she would have in school. Was speaking Spanish fairly well by the time we left. Petted a chimp, held a toucan, studied tropical butterflies and plants at their camp, learned about another culture. I would never let my child's education get in the way of their eductation. I have occasionally taken an extra day or two on a weekend away, usually involving a museum of some sort. I am completely honest with the teachers and request make up work if required. She is in 3rd grade now and doing great. Responsibility does not get shirked when you alter the learning experience to involve more than school. I think it enhances it.

I personally am against planning vacations when it causes kids to miss school. It tells them that school/education isn't that important. School is out for 2-3 months in the summer, Christmas Break, Easter/Spring Break, and other long weekends. Plan the get away during those times. If you must schedule when she will miss school, do it where she will only miss a day or two...not a whole week.

I have NEVER taken my son out of school for anything other than an emergency or death in the family or a doctor's appointment. Even then, I tried to minimize his absence. He is now a Sophmore in college. My daughter is only in preschool but I try to minimize her absences too by scheduling appointments for either first or last thing in the afternoon. This also helps minimize my absences from work as well.

As a teacher, I don't understand why families do this when they have all summer, many long weekends and two week-long breaks during the school year. Why disrupt their routine and risk them falling behind, then stressing to catch up? (I realize K would be a different story than older grades, but still...) I think it sends a poor message about the importance of school when there are other opportunities for vacation already built in to the year.

I'm sure I will be dealing with this often come fall. Up until this point we have homeschooled the kids, so if there is an experience that they can have we skip lessons, or shorten lessons for the day. I won't have that freedom for every little thing come fall when they go to public school, however, I have no issue pulling them out for things.

You have to take vacations when you can, sure it's a school week, but this isn't likely something that she will get to do a million more times.

Just find out what work she'll be missing from the teacher and get some 'make-up' work for her to do. It's kindergarten, so I can't imagine it would be much more than a few worksheets. Have fun!

We always took vacations during the school year. If you go in the summer, it's not very relaxing. There are SO MANY people there in the summer! And our teachers always said GO! They said the the kids learn more on a vacation with their family than they would for those few days in school..... I've been out of school for 10 years now but even when I was a junior, the teachers still said that.......

I say GO! (And you can always do a little "homeschooling" if you need to while you're gone!)

We went on a vacation during school. We just cleared it with my daughter's teachers first. They gave us a homework packet to complete and we also took her to visit the California missions. We took video she could share with the class as well as brought back souveniers. We made our fun trip educational and her teachers were thrilled that we were so diligent about it.
It can be done, just ask for some work to do on the road trip.
Your daughter is only in kindergarten so it's not the end of the world, for sure.

Have fun, let the teachers know ahead of time.

Best wishes.

I can't see why it would be a problem. A week is a very short amount of time, especially if you child is only in kindergarten. Perhaps you can speak to the teacher and see what assignments she will be missing and have her to them while you are on vacation.

My parents took my sister and I out of school for fairly long periods of time when I was in third grade (the last two months of the school year), fifth grade (5 weeks), and 6th grade (the last 6 weeks of the school year). Each time they asked the teachers to give me the class assignments for the period we were gone and had me do a project on the country or countries we would be visiting in our travels. In 5th grade I actually came back a full month ahead of where the class was in every assignment. I hope that my husband and I are able to travel with our kids the way my parents did with my sister and I. I think it will be fine for you to take your child to Disneyland. Just make sure you and her teacher are on the same page so you avoid conflict.

Enjoy your trip!

i woud go for it. How often do you get a chance to go on a family trip together? You are thinking smarter Disney at a time when it won't be so crowded. Plus its just kindergarden, IMO its best to do these things while they are still young.

If you are having a hard time deciding.Then ask your son what he would like to do.

I have mixed feelings on this...I used to teach 3rd grade and it drove me crazy when kids were late all the time, took off for vacations, etc. I felt a lot like Sue H. was saying...but now that I have kids I see it a bit differently...ahh perspective! ;) Plus, my cousins live far away from the rest of the family and the only time they were able to see us and visit the grandparents, etc. was to take them out of school, especially if we were having a bit event (I know big events are a slightly different story, but still).

I think this, it's certainly not ideal, but sometimes you have to do what works. I also think that if your children are not struggling in school, they get good grades and they are willing to do the work that they are missing without a whole lot of grief, then it's probably fine. But, if your kids are missing important information, of course it's all important, especially in K, but you know what I mean, then I would not plan a trip during those times.

Honestly, I'm sure you'll get tons of responses on both sides, but it's really your call. Ultimately you're going to have to know your kids and know if this will work for you. There is still part of me that sees vacationing during school times as an undermining of the importance of school, but there is certainly another part that sees your perspective too...it's really a tough call!

We took our Kindergartener out in November AND March this school year and it was fine. She had to do her homework on the trip. When I saw she has missed 12 days of school on her progress report yesterday I thought there was a HUGE mistake and then I remembered our trips.....oh well, it's all good :)

HAVE FUN!

wow! school is important... but there IS more to life on the other hand.

If it were me I would contact the school district now... WAY ahead of time, and find out thier attendance policy.

Around here plenty of kids went on trips during the school year, and most of them were approved IF a) there was plenty of notice ahead of time b) they had to have planned educational experiences on the trip, and had to bring back a report or presentation about what they learned (age appropriate) c) they had to have good attendance previous top the trip and have good grades (like b's and above) in all subjects.

And after the trip they had to bring back all their due coursework and turn it in. Around here kindergarten in either "half day" or it is full day, but just 2 or 3 days a week. So I cannot imagine that the load can be that heavy.

If the district feels strongly about the subject- they'll tell you. Around here people are pretty relaxed, and a lot of family vacations are to amazing, enriching places that are once in a lifetime experiences- and our school district "gets" it. My high school principal encouraged me to apply for a program that would have had me traveling in Thailand for my senior year of high school- the whole year! Financially my family couldn't bring it all together... sigh- oh well. The point is that travel can be done, right or wrong- just follow the rules, and if the district says "no way"- then respect that!

Good Luck!
-M.

i took my son out in kinder and 1st grade, took him out for 2 days for a local trip this year(2nd grade). i have some health problems that make it impossible for me to enjoy myself if i am overheated, many vacations ended in the ER when i was a child. my oldest child(the one i'm referencing above) is also autistic, so large crowds have been hard for him to manage in the past, though he is doing MUCH better now. he is a straight A student, tends to not miss much school due to illness, so i don't have a problem with it, and i've never been hassled by the school/teacher(i've never lied about it either). now that he's getting a little older and the concepts(especially math) are becoming a little more difficult, we're doing a summer vacation this year - yet have selected coastal southern CA, the temps are much more mild. i really wouldn't worry much with kinder. but i WOULD look up the absence policy online and find out how many "unexcused" absences you have available to you each year. maybe talk to some ppl in the same school district as you to find out their experiences.

It shouldn't be a problem academically. We used to do that sort of thing often when our eldest was in Kindergarten. Heck, even in first grade. My husband could never get time off during the summer months (he didn't have enough seniority at work to be able to bid his leave for those months...they were always already gone before he got a turn to bid). So we would talk to the teacher at the beginning of the year and let her know it would be happening. And we would ask her to provide whatever work he would miss during those days and we had him do it while we were gone. It didn't take long for him to do it. It was KINDERGARTEN. But, he was in private school. The public system probably is more stringent about how/why students miss days. So get in touch with the school he will be attending and talk to them now to find out what their requirements are.

Check the truancy laws in your state and the unexcused absence policies in your district first. Nothing kills the relaxation of a vacation like a court date and a fine when you get back.

You can miss up to 9 or 10 days without a legitimate excuse here. I would go for it. It will not matter to miss a week.

It's not my first choice, but I've done it and it's worked out well. Kindergarten shouldn't be a problem, but sometimes it can depend on the child. I've actually pulled my kids out of school for vacation up until 7th grade. They do well in school and it hasn't been a problem, but there's NO WAY I can do it once my oldest starts high school next year. It's nice to take advantage of those less busy times at popular vacation destinations. Does your school or district have any fall breaks or days off for Teacher/Staff Development, conferences, etc.? Sometimes you can minimize the amount of time they miss school by taking advantage of those types of days off. Maybe she'll miss 3 days of school instead of 5. Give both the school office and the teacher a heads up in advance. My sons' teachers have had them keep travel journals--even just drawing pictures if your daughter doesn't know how to write yet. Have fun!

Disney is a blast and a lifetime of memories for you and your family!!! Talk to teachers in your district. Usually testing occurs between January and April so those are the months to avoid taking her out of school if you can. My son's teacher had no problem with our taking him out of school and in fact recommended doing it before they entered junior high when their workload gets heavier. Enjoy your family time - it should be your highest priority.

I see nothing wrong with taking your kindergartener out for a week - it's not like she's a junior in HS and it's finals week. And like someone said, the memories will outlast anything she'd learn that week. But double check with your school district first. Our school district made me fill out a form for an "Educational Trip" request when we had to go to Hawaii for a family wedding (I used words like "Hawaiian culture", "our President's home state", and "interaction with relatives from a number of other countries and cultures" to make it sound like we weren't just going to lay on a beach all day). Basically, kids could miss up to 5 consecutive days with permission from the principal, 6 - 10 days with permission from the superintendent of schools and anything over 10 days (without a REALLY good reason) could result in my child being dis-enrolled (is that even a word?) in the school and I'd have to re-enroll them. Our old school district had no such policy and any parent could take out any child for any length of time for any reason. It was a surprise to have such a strict policy in our current school district (although I do kinda see the benefit of it). Anyway, have a great trip (Disney is awesome!).

Check your state law. Some states don't mandate children to attend kindergarten. It's optional.

It's been a very long time since I have taken my daughter out of school for fun because she loves to be there. When she was in first grade she was going to have to miss the Friday before winter break because we were going to Paris. My daughter did not want to ruin her perfect attendance (they had the party already) but her teacher was able to convince her that it was fine because she was going to learn so much more in nine days in France than one day in first grade.

Go for it. At that age it's no big deal to miss a week . . . we did it a fews years back when our kids were younger. I wouldn't do it now that they are in high school and middle school, there would be too much school work to catch up on.

I am a former 3rd & 4th grade teacher and I think it shouldn't be a problem as long as your child is not struggling with academics. I had many students do it when I taught and I never saw a problem as long as the child was not already struggling. In fact, I usually assigned them only 2 things: 1) Math homework (so they didn't fall behind in this area) and 2) to keep some type of "journal" (with pictures, ticket stubs, etc) they could use to share their experiences with us then they returned. Maybe something similar would work for you!

Do be sure to check your school's attendance policy. They seem to be really tightening up on this sort of thing in some areas.