Can I pull my kid out of Kindergarten to go on vacation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will also be pulling my kids out school to go to Disney. I believe spending time with family is as important as going to kindergarten/1st grade.

Because of course there's no opportunity to spend time with family and go to school.

[Anonymous]

It is also much cheaper to travel off-peak so for families who don't have money trees, the only affordable way to take certain holidays is to go during off-peak. Not only is it cheaper but you also don't have lines/crowds etc...makes for a much more relaxed budget friendly holiday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is also much cheaper to travel off-peak so for families who don't have money trees, the only affordable way to take certain holidays is to go during off-peak. Not only is it cheaper but you also don't have lines/crowds etc...makes for a much more relaxed budget friendly holiday.

Really? because my blue collar family always managed to find somewhere affordable to go during peak times.

[Anonymous]

It is also much cheaper to travel off-peak so for families who don't have money trees, the only affordable way to take certain holidays is to go during off-peak. Not only is it cheaper but you also don't have lines/crowds etc...makes for a much more relaxed budget friendly holiday.

Yes, it is considered off-peak because that is when fewer people are able to travel. I would assume that because school is in session plays into this. So basically, duh.

Obviously, there are several different views on this and no one is going to convince another camp to change their mind. Personally, I think that school comes first. I don't pull my kids out for vacations because I think it sends a bad message. But to each their own.

[Anonymous]

PP 20:05 here. Yep to each their own and a good thing because what to you sends a bad message is what makes our holidays fun, more educational at times and cheaper!

And everyone in my family valued education and learning greatly and went on to post secondary education and grad school despite missing a week of school here and there when we were young. It really didn't damage us or send us a bad message in any way.

To PP 20:55 - For sure there are lots of ways of doing cheaper holidays during peak times but certain holidays like ski vacations or Disney can be done for a fraction of the price during off peak seasons, making them affordable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP 20:05 here. Yep to each their own and a good thing because what to you sends a bad message is what makes our holidays fun, more educational at times and cheaper!

And everyone in my family valued education and learning greatly and went on to post secondary education and grad school despite missing a week of school here and there when we were young. It really didn't damage us or send us a bad message in any way.

To PP 20:55 - For sure there are lots of ways of doing cheaper holidays during peak times but certain holidays like ski vacations or Disney can be done for a fraction of the price during off peak seasons, making them affordable.

Well, it sounds like you have to have a status symbol vacation, and this is the only way you can afford it.

[Anonymous]

To those who wantonly pull their kids out of school for vacations under the guise of learning happens everywhere... how will you respond if/when your high schooler cuts school to catch a movie or skateboard in the park or veg out at a friend's place?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As long as you are involved in your children's learning, it shouldn't matter. When I was little, I missed that the last 2 months of 5th grade to move to Europe for the summer with my parents, the teachers at the time said I would learn more from the experience than I would in the classroom.

That seems a little different than waiting for a plumber or going to a sale at Bloomingdale's.

I am the pp that stayed home for the plumber or went shopping with my mom and I will always treasure those stolen moments with my mom a hell of a lot more than knowing what happened in "Where the Red Fern Grows."

And staying home to wait for the plumber taught me about contributing to the family - sometimes it was my turn to help out if my parents couldnt miss work that day.

People complain that kids leave school, even college and grad school, and still dont know how to "do" anything. Life lessons, even when boring, go a long way.

Ouch..something about having to skip school to wait for the plumber because mom and dad are too busy to deal with it makes me really sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP 20:05 here. Yep to each their own and a good thing because what to you sends a bad message is what makes our holidays fun, more educational at times and cheaper!

And everyone in my family valued education and learning greatly and went on to post secondary education and grad school despite missing a week of school here and there when we were young. It really didn't damage us or send us a bad message in any way.

To PP 20:55 - For sure there are lots of ways of doing cheaper holidays during peak times but certain holidays like ski vacations or Disney can be done for a fraction of the price during off peak seasons, making them affordable.

Well, it sounds like you have to have a status symbol vacation, and this is the only way you can afford it.

haha - oh yes you should see my elevated status when I mention I enjoy skiing!! It puts me right up there with ummm...yeah the other tens of millions who go skiing every year. I actually couldn't care less about status or what other people think - which is why I have no problem doing my own thing. I also wait and buy things on sale because like vacations I like to get the most bang for my buck. If I can get the identical holiday (with fewer crowds) for 1/3rd the price, why not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP 20:05 here. Yep to each their own and a good thing because what to you sends a bad message is what makes our holidays fun, more educational at times and cheaper!

And everyone in my family valued education and learning greatly and went on to post secondary education and grad school despite missing a week of school here and there when we were young. It really didn't damage us or send us a bad message in any way.

To PP 20:55 - For sure there are lots of ways of doing cheaper holidays during peak times but certain holidays like ski vacations or Disney can be done for a fraction of the price during off peak seasons, making them affordable.

Well, it sounds like you have to have a status symbol vacation, and this is the only way you can afford it.

haha - oh yes you should see my elevated status when I mention I enjoy skiing!! It puts me right up there with ummm...yeah the other tens of millions who go skiing every year. I actually couldn't care less about status or what other people think - which is why I have no problem doing my own thing. I also wait and buy things on sale because like vacations I like to get the most bang for my buck. If I can get the identical holiday (with fewer crowds) for 1/3rd the price, why not.

Why not? Because it disrupts your child's education? Going skiing is not like one of those once-in-a-lifetime trips people are talkign about...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I'm the one who said I take my kid for month at a time to travel without batting an eye. I think "routine" and "curriculum" are the words I'm striving for my child to think outside of. I want her to know learning is fun and world is school. I don't want her to say no to wonderful learning experience because she has a routine. I know as an adult this will help her tremendously. I know it did for me. I've learned to be flexible and take learning from everywhere and whoever I can get.

School never trumps being with family, learning another culture, language, physically seeing sights and things she only reads and sees pictures of if she was in school. I maybe the minority here but this is how I want my DD and DS to think so I put it into practice. I don't only wait for holiday and vacation times. If great oppt arises(such as friends wedding in Korea, or a fantastic deal)you bet they are coming with me and we will be making the most of it.

I'll tell you where you would be in the majority -- at a homeschool convention!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP 20:05 here. Yep to each their own and a good thing because what to you sends a bad message is what makes our holidays fun, more educational at times and cheaper!

And everyone in my family valued education and learning greatly and went on to post secondary education and grad school despite missing a week of school here and there when we were young. It really didn't damage us or send us a bad message in any way.

To PP 20:55 - For sure there are lots of ways of doing cheaper holidays during peak times but certain holidays like ski vacations or Disney can be done for a fraction of the price during off peak seasons, making them affordable.

Well, it sounds like you have to have a status symbol vacation, and this is the only way you can afford it.

haha - oh yes you should see my elevated status when I mention I enjoy skiing!! It puts me right up there with ummm...yeah the other tens of millions who go skiing every year. I actually couldn't care less about status or what other people think - which is why I have no problem doing my own thing. I also wait and buy things on sale because like vacations I like to get the most bang for my buck. If I can get the identical holiday (with fewer crowds) for 1/3rd the price, why not.

Why not? Because it disrupts your child's education? Going skiing is not like one of those once-in-a-lifetime trips people are talkign about...

Could you describe how it disrupts my child's education? I've never seen any disruption to her education. She comes back and carries on as though she hadn't missed a minute. Her teachers have never expressed any concerns or identified any disruptions to her education, nor any concerns about her missing a few days. She is doing wonderfully in school academically and socially. She loves going and loves to learn. So I guess I'm missing something - how is her education disrupted? My parents did the same with me - my dad couldn't get time off during our winter or spring break so we took all our holidays off peak - what effects would you expect me to have from this disrupted education I apparently had? I never skipped, dropped out, stopped loving learning. I went to grad school, won awards, made life long friends...so how was it a negative thing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Former teacher here--I would try to avoid doing this. In the early grades it can really disrupt the child's routine and it is not fair to expect the teacher to do all the catchup when he returns, or to prepare a week's worth of work in advance. In the older grades the kid can really miss out on substantive learning.

But more importantly, I think it's critical to send a message to kids that school is to be taken seriously. When I was teaching, the kids that were regularly taken out of school for vacations were generally just not as engaged and respectful of school. I know that they were also the ones begging mom and dad for days off at other times. If you pull them out of school to go to the beach or disneyland, they're not going to understand why you can't also pull them out to sleep in or go to the movies. They've got 2 months off in the summer and various assorted weeks and days off during the school year, which gives plenty of time for relaxation and vacation.

Kindergarten is pretty young, of course, and a week off would probably be OK if your kid is the flexible type, but I really wouldn't do it much older than that and I would consider it my responsibility (NOT the teacher's) to go over what the kid missed so that he's prepared when he gets back.

I'm not a teacher, but I say Amen to this... thanks! My parents never would have pulled me out of school for a vacation. It is too important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

My parents never would have pulled me out of school for a vacation. It is too important.

We're talking Kindergarten, not high school or college. My child knows his letters, sounds and how to count to a 100 and he's in home with me. I think if he misses one week of learning about something he already knows to have fun with his family he'll survive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

anonymous wrote: I will also be pulling my kids out school to go to Disney. I believe spending time with family is as important as going to kindergarten/1st grade.

Because of course there's no opportunity to spend time with family and go to school.

So you're saying spending time with family by going to a local park, picnic or even a local museum is the same as going to disney?

Anonymous wrote:It is also much cheaper to travel off-peak so for families who don't have money trees, the only affordable way to take certain holidays is to go during off-peak. Not only is it cheaper but you also don't have lines/crowds etc...makes for a much more relaxed budget friendly holiday.

I agree with this. We are using the military discount to go to Disney and we'll be using it in Sep right before it expires. So if the disney tickets cost me $400 v. $1000, yes, I'll be pulling my kids out of pre-k and kindergarten to take them there. And no, we cannot go in the summer for other reasons.