Anonymous wrote:I am old school. We only travel on school breaks. I teach from Kindergarten on that school/education is supremely important. My son had perfect attendance this year. I don't let them stay up late on school nights either.

There is a disconnect these days. Our Principal routinely has to send emails and letters admonishing family for continually taking their kids out of school for vacations. It is crazy to me. They get many 4 day weekends, week at Xmas and ov spring break and 2.5 months in the summer.

I think you need to have your kids respect and value school starting at the beginning.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gosh I have to say I'm really surprised by this thread.

I have taken my kids (K and 1st grader) out of school for 2-3 vacations this year that involved missing school for 2-3 days each. (frequently extending a long weekend).

I agree that I try to teach my kids that school is important, and that it is their "job". But I also think family time is SUPER important. We are lucky enough that both sets of grandparents are in good health, and WANT to vacation with us. Due to large families, we can't always work everything around the kids schedules or school vacations. I acknowledge that pretty soon -- 3rd? 4th grade? -- they will start missing actual learning when we pull them out of school, and it will get harder and we won't do it as often. But right now? Its an issue of priorities.

My kids go to a very well regarded elementary school in Ffx County... but let's get real -- there is NOTHING that they are missing currently for 2-3 days that they can't figure out. For me, its a matter of priorities. While school is important, I also think connecting with family and knowing your grandparents is also important. I took both kids out of school for 3 days in January to go on a cruise with the grandparents. By educational standards, it was complete crap (like Disney). They didn't "learn" anything -- other than the important life skill of how to be flexible travellers and the excitement of visiting Mexico (even if all they saw was a beach in Cozumel for 5 hours) But I would do it again in a heartbeat. When they're 20, they will not be damaged by having missed 3 days of school... but they will always remember the excitement of going on their first cruise ship with Nana and Granddad. That is worth something in my view. Even if it is just purely fun.

I am the poster above. I am not the poster who responded to the question about why I can't just schedule it around vacation... but I would like to respond. And yes, sure, price is part of it.

But really it boils down to a weighing of priorities. If I were to schedule vacations entirely around school, it would limit where we could afford to go, what we could do, and who we could go with. If you've ever scheduled a vacation with extended family (which is important to me), you would know that it is hard to find something that fits everyone's needs. For me, the question is simply this: Yes, I COULD go on a shorter/different/more expensive vacation that would allow me to keep my child in school without missing a day... but WHY? There is something to be said for teaching your child that school is a priority. And certainly that is inconsistent with taking off to Disney World without regard for the school schedule. But, IMO, there is plenty of time to teach that lesson, and I don't feel it needs to start in 1st grade. So why else should I pay more/do less on my vacation to avoid missing a day of school? Is it because it is disruptive to the class? Disrespectful of the teacher? Will my child be woefully behind if he misses 2 days?

... .

none of the above. You are teaching them it is o.k. to follow some rules but ignore others if they are inconvenient. This can become quite a slippery slope if you are not careful.

Suffice to say, you've made your priorities clear.

Anonymous wrote:That's right. You have to be careful. We took our son out of school three years ago and haven't looked back since. I new realize that we have to keep homeschooling him because if he goes back to regular school 'm sure he'll miss a bunch of days because he'll sometimes have better things to do and he will completely blow off any homework that he doesn't think is useful learning. And I'll agree with him. It's a slippery slope.

Anonymous wrote:And I'm sure that none of those bonding vacation times could be scheduled for the months between June and August when school is out and you're trying to find camps for your kid, right? It isn't about "bonding" or finding enough time to travel. At least be honest about it. Some people care about teaching their kids to follow the rules, even when they aren't fun, and others don't. Life lessons aren't always fun.

Anonymous wrote:Our kindergarten teacher was off for several scheduled days this year once I remember during the 100th day of kindergarten celebration which is a pretty big day for that age. Why should she or any teacher be upset that my DC misses a day or two for one of our own family events? Especially close to Christmas and New Years. Luckily it was no big deal for us or her. How many non teaching staff took vacation during the school year? Shouldn't they feel guilty too and stop taking off then? The school shouldn't be overly responsible for getting the children up to speed, but parents shouldn't feel horrible about pulling their young children out for a couple of days a year either.