Now what do I do????

[jewelray]

I need some really good advice here guys. I have plans to visit WDW in April 2003 for my dd's Spring break. Now comes the problem, I have a free companion voucher which means basically me and my dd can fly roundtrip for about $300 maybe a little more. Now they tell me that there are blackout dates which of course include when I'm supposed to go So I'm saying to myself I can go ahead and switch my dates to the week after Easter which would be the first week of May or even to the 2nd week which would definitely mean less crowds but I'd have to pull my 4th grade dd out of school.

Can I justify pulling her out considering it's close to the end of her school year???? I'm thinking maybe I can have her do whatever homework over the Easter break (she'll love that )

What would you guys do in my situation? The only other alternative would to go again in June and after this past rainy June we don't want to do that. I am leaning towards taking her out but I just don't know.

Opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[TigerLilly's Mom]

I'm taking my DS out this December. He is in second grade and an excellent student. I think if they are good students and won't have a hard time catching up, that it is not a big deal. I don't know how much homework fourth graders have, but my son has about a half hour each night and about an hour of reading each week - so it will not be a big deal for him to do before we leave or even on the weekend we get back before school. My mother in law is a teacher and so is one of my good friends and they get concerned when a parent pulls out a child for vacation ONLY if they are struggling in school. Also, some states don't allow family vacation as an excused absense. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Jordan's MOM]

I have taken out my current 4th grader several times. He was out last year for a full week and will miss a full week next year. We try to go every other year. We had no problems at all in our school district and I am glad we are able to do this. We love going off season and it is worth it to us. Our DS is a good student and had no trouble keeping up. There has been maany debates on this topic but many poster have stated that their schools policy make school time vacations very difficult. You may want to check with other parents in your child's school that have taken thier children out and see how it was handled. The offical school policy might be quite different than how if is handled at the school your daughter is in. Our district policy is very vage to allow each school some freedom as to how to handle each situation. My only caution would be to check on dates of end of grade test and be sure to avoid them. While I don't agree with lots of these policies and test, I want to make sure that I don't make things too difficult on my son by planning our trip at a certain time.Hope this helps a little.

Jordan's mom

 

[AKASnowWhite]

This will be the fourth year in a row that we've taken our kids out of school for a Disney trip. We are lucky that our kids teachers have been very supportive to date.....IMO, if your child is a good student and won't have trouble catching up on missed work - I'd go for it. The days that our kids are actually KIDS go by so incredibly fast. If it's possible for your family, take the vacation. You'll be glad you did.

Oh - BTW....it has been my experience that WDW is very quiet in May...beautiful weather, easy touring.....much better than spring break crowds!

 

[Punkswife]

We have pulled our DD out of school for the past five years to go on our Disney trip. I agree with all the above, if your child is a good student they will have no trouble catching up. DD has had very supportive teachers that give her the work ahead of time that the other students will be working on while she is out. She works on it during the trip. Some teachers even incorp. the trip as part of her work. One year she had an assignment of going to all the countries in Epcot and having the CM mark on the map where their country was located and write their name and hers in their language. She really enjoyed doing this. We allow her to take a friend with her each time and I think that year was one of her favorites. She and her friend learned alot about other countries while enjoying the trip as well.

 

[travelitis]

This dilemna comes up regularly on these boards. I've pulled my kids out of school for a Disney trip, but I checked with their teachers first. Now that we've moved, these schools have much less tolerance for it. It's an unexcused absence, and if our kid misses 3 or more days they need a doctor's note. If they miss 10 days, they might be held back a year. If your kid is a good student, I think it's O.K., but check with your school, because what any of us think doesn't matter. What really counts is what your school says. I hope they give you their blessing.

 

[undertheradar]

Why not drive to Florida and forget about the airline. The quality time spent together is well spent and any school work brought along could be done during this time. We make the trip to Orlando every December and notify the teachers a month in advance. Disney has plenty of resources for kids scouting programs and learning opportunities. By the time you add in all the airport restrictions and flight delays(weather, etc.), the drive time from New Jersey should be reasonable.

 

[jewelray]

Thanks for all the great suggestions everyone I really appreciate them. I think what I'm going to do is to go over Easter break as planned if possible. If not, I will not worry about pulling her out of school for a week at the beginning of May because it is the end of the school year anyway (they finish June 18th). As far as her doing homework on the trip LOL there is no way she would . . . . so I won't worry about it we'll do it a little a night the week we return.

Thanks again everyone!!!

 

[carleesmom]

I am pulling my DS's out the first week in November (2nd & 4th graders). I know for us here in North Carolina the beginning of May is when the end of grade testing starts, so you may just want to double check on that. Hope you have a great time

 

[cinder1]

Like everyone has said, just be sure to check your district's policy. Ours is very strict. Kids can only miss so many days a yr and very few of those can be unexcused. Family vacations are definitely unexcused. The teachers are not permitted to give out homework until the child has been out for 3 days so you cannot get it until after your trip. (My 2nd grader had pneumonia earlier this yr and they would not even give me her homeowork.) Also it is up to the teacher to decide if she or he will even allow work to be made up when the absence is unexcused. And finally, many teachers, even if they allow work to be made up, won't send it home. The kids have to miss recess until all the work is made up. It is very ridiculous.

 

[AKASnowWhite]

WOW! Am I ever glad that I don't live in an area where the school district is so incredibly controlling! We leave in 5 weeks.....can't wait !!

Oh - and we have the blessings of all of our kids teachers (12 teachers in all - not to mention the countless support staff!)

 

[ellyn2000]

I agree with many of the other posters. At that age, I took mine out of school every year for our WDW trip after giving their teachers plenty of notice. Never had a problem. Couldn't do that now with their demanding courses. Talk to the teacher and see how it goes. I'd do it.