Pulling first grader out of school - twice - want opinions.

[tlmadden73]

I have a dilemma that I want some opinions on.
What's the longest you've taken your elementary age kids out for a Disney trip? How did that go?

DISCLAIMER: - I know every kid is different and every school district is different, so I am just looking for personal experiences, opinions.

My grand plan was to get APs for the family (wife, son, myself) to go in Nov. when my daughter was 2 and then again 11 months in October when she will be turning 3 (because she would be free still). Two trips of 4-5 days each .. made much more affordable with the annual pass.

I have been planning on pulling him out of school 4 days to go this November (around veteran's day holiday) to go.

My sister's family just informed us they are going during their Spring Break (last week of March) which does not coincide with my son's Spring Break (week before Easter). They want us to go with them (they live 1000 miles away) as we don't see them often. I have a flexible vacation scheduled, we will have an annual pass and only live a days drive away from Orlando, so doing that would be easy and relatively cheap -- if it wasn't for that annoying school requirement. Heh.

While I didn't have issue with pulling him for four days this fall (it's just first grade, he'll be fine), I am worried about pulling him for another few days in the same school year -- both from his education and from any repercussions from the school.

So, what's the longest you've taken your elementary age kids out for a Disney trip? How was it? How did the school view it?

 

[im4pacers1]

We have taken our kids out for a week at a time in elementary school. The school didn’t seem to care. Teachers prepared homework packets. This year, however, I got (they sent to everyone not just us) a letter from the school system detailing a super strict attendance policy effective this year. We already have our trip planned and the kids will be missing 4 days this year. I guess this will be our last year.

 

[tlmadden73]

We have taken our kids out for a week at a time in elementary school. The school didn’t seem to care. Teachers prepared homework packets. This year, however, I got (they sent to everyone not just us) a letter from the school system detailing a super strict attendance policy effective this year. We already have our trip planned and the kids will be missing 4 days this year. I guess this will be our last year.

My plan is to just work with the teacher directly. The district policy is written pretty strict - with words like "unlawful" and potential letters sent to social services, etc., but those policies seem to be written for the habitual missing children -- parents who don't care about their kids education or for older kids who just skip out a lot.

I care about my son's education (I mean, I've made him do "homework" almost every day this summer to keep his skills fresh) .. I just want the flexibility to go on a family vacation when I want .. not when the school schedule dictates.

Generally I feel that attendance enforcement is just a concern to the district because of funding potentially lost when students aren't in school.

 

[alliecat523]

This is a touchy subject around these parts. Be forewarned!!

Personally, I’ve pulled my kid out multiple times for various reasons. I would encourage you to check the school policy on allowed absences per semester (we get 9 per state law). This may allow for both trips without issue. There also may be educational allowances (another touch subject) that you could utilize.

IMO, I think a first grader will be fine. You know your child best. If they can make up the work without issue and keep their grades up, I really don’t see an problem.

 

[Hikergirl]

We get 10 unexcused absences a year in our district so as long as we stay under that I wouldn't hesitate to do it at that age/grade level.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

If the school district doesn't have a restrictive policy and the child isn't struggling, I would have no issues with it. We always pulled our kids out for a week at that age and never had any problems making up the work. It does get harder in middle school, so take advantage while you can.

 

[Pkltm]

In all honesty, we pulled our kids out of school to go to travel throughout their schooling, even in the higher grades. They were both excellent students and be fore we booked when they were older we would consult their teachers and the schedule for their classes. They never had an issue. Both graduated with honors.

I think you should go for it! So many people do not understand that kids can actually learn on vacations, plus the value of the time with the extended family is huge!

 

[Dis703]

We've been pulling our kids for vacation (mostly to Disney) 1-2 times a year from the start. I try to adjust my vacations so we miss the minimum amount we can manage, by including weekends and short breaks when possible, but if we have to pull for a full week in the fall and again in the spring we do it. It hasn't had any negative effect on them yet.

 

[Nikciburd]

As a teacher and mother, I get it. If your child is reading for at least 20 minutes every day and doing math facts then it’s probably not a huge deal in first grade. But teachers still generally hate it. Usually, though, it’s the students who can’t afford to get taken out of school the most who go the most often and longest. For example, I work with struggling readers specifically and I had one girl who was gone for 3.5 weeks and didn’t touch a book the whole time. She really needed the reading practice at the very least. 4 days at a time is not the worst especially if you are careful to emphasize the import of learning the rest of the year.

 

[smiths02]

Personally, I would not pull twice in the school year. You are also potentially pulling at times that are difficult because mid-November you pull a week (I know you said 4 days, but I am assuming one day would be off already), kid goes back two weeks, Thanksgiving, go back 3 weeks, Christmas break. Same for April...you pull, go back a week or two, spring break, go back. (I also don't know what testing requirements are for 1st graders where you are but that would be close to standardized testing around here)

Are you willing to play it by ear as well? I know a federal guideline I read about often is that missing more than 10% is considered excessive, so 180 days average school year-missing more than 18 is a problem in general. (In our area, 10 absences gets you flagged, whether they are excused or not).

Are you prepared to change the April plans if your child gets the flu and also misses a week in January? Is it possible for you to go during Thanksgiving in November or take advantage or any other breaks? With APs, possible to make a few shorter trips based on existing breaks and weekends? (Fall Break, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas break, MLK Jr, President's Day)

 

[2019TripIdeas]

Preface: I've spent many years teaching first grade. I have 3 kids myself, and we're planning on pulling our Pre-K student out twice this year (once for a trip to Hawaii, once for a trip to DW). Each will be a full 5 day pull. We're doing two big family vacations in a year (normally, we travel a lot but moreso long weekends or holidays) expressly because we view it as our last chance to do it before I'll care as a teacher. Also, I'm not working this year so I won't be missing a full week of teaching.

That said: My one and only concern with first grade would be where your child's reading level is. How academic was your child's kindergarten? Is he already reading fluently? IF NOT, I wouldn't go, and particularly not on the Fall trip. Depending on how your school curriculum is for first grade, the first half of G1 can be strongly focused on more complex reading patterns (I'm thinking things like vowel patterns, dipthongs, digraphs, multisyllabic words, etc). I believe most schools (at least those in the district I've taught in) would aim to have a child reading fluently by Christmas break.

I worry less about G1 math as most curriculums for that seem to be cyclical so they will likely "come back" to what is missed and he'll get a refresher. I personally think that asking a teacher for the math concepts and reading up on the common core expectations for how it is taught (there are also YOutube videos and tutorials and things), you could essentially pre-teach or teach the concept on vacation. G1 reading can be more tricky to "get right" and I've seen parents give their child sound-level misconceptions (which the teacher then has to un-teach) when on extended breaks.

If he's reading well (you can ask the teacher for metrics for how they measure things)- on grade level or above, then I would definitely consider doing both. Otherwise, I'd likely do the spring trip but not the Fall. You might also ask when your district does their benchmark testing as missing that can be a bummer for kids.

 

[JediBonas]

We pull our kids out for a week to go to Disney and, honestly, don't think twice about it. They're going to be starting 2nd grade in a few weeks and we're pulling them out last week of Oct for our next trip. In January their teacher (1st grade) just had them write a journal entry every day about what they did along with drawing a picture.

 

[tlmadden73]

Thanks for responses.

My school's policy doesn't seem cut and dry for what I read. I was hoping for something like you mentioned "you have X unexcused absences allowed" -- it just says they start sending "notices" after 3, 6 and 10 "unlawful" absences that "could" include legal action like prosecution and involvement of social services (And yes, they use the word "unlawful" not "unexcused").

But my guess is that action is used for parents that aren't taking any effort getting their kid to school -- especially older kids .. not parents that just pull them to go on a family vacation.

 

[ddavis3586]

My daughter was in 1st grade last year when we went on our Disney/Universal trip. We went for 2 weeks, so she ended up missing 10 school days (in January). I let the school know a few months ahead of time and her teacher was wonderful at getting her work to us. She had no problem finishing up her school work (most of it was done the weekend before we even left). She also took a few books with her to read during our trip. When she got back, she ended up being about a week ahead of the class, but never had any issues.

*I forgot to add, she also wrote a journal (and attached pictures) for each day of entire trip which she shared with the class when she got back. This was her favorite part!

 

[cadien]

Our son was a first grader last year and got pulled out for more than one trip. It did not affect him academically. His reading and math were at acceptable levels. The teacher didn't send anything like a homework packet. But he did have to do basically a slideshow for the class when he got back from the longest trip.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

My parents pulled us out of school for 8 days every year throughout school.
We informed teachers 2 weeks prior to ask if they wanted to gather work. Most times they did gather work which we had completed by the time we arrived back at school
I see no issue taking a kid out of school for 2 short periods.
Heck is probably easier on everyone to do 2 smaller periods than 1 longer one.

 

[Thing 1]

We pulled through 8th grade. Never in issue. Only once per year BUT I think family vacations are huge. This this once I would do both.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Ages ago, we pulled our kids out of school for a week. They were in K and 2nd grade. Then, DD (older child) got sick, and missed a week of school. We got a "Truancy Warning Letter". To be fair, NY state really doesn't consider a child to be truant until 20 days are missed, but since we were halfway there, we got the first warning. Nothing further happened, because she didn't miss any additional days. I mention this because you are missing a bunch of days, and could easily fall into the truancy area if your child has health issues in the same year. Obviously, there's no way to predict this.

Beyond that, I think you would be okay if, as others have suggested, you have a reasonably bright child who does well in school, and you have them do some work while you're away. First grade is mostly about reading skills--easy enough to read some each day, maybe do a worksheet. Mostly, it's to keep the reading skills they've already obtained. You could even incorporate this into your trip by reading Disney-themed books together while waiting in line, etc. It doesn't have to be a big formal thing, IMHO.

 

[Jaimetropmickey]

As a teacher and mother I would not hesitate to take my child out. Every year I have students gone for a few weeks to one month. Get in touch with the teacher ahead of time for suggestions on how to stay caught up... We are used to it and most of us are happy to do t! It really does not bother me since I know how important family time is!

 

[SaintsManiac]

Kindergarten--5 days out
2nd grade--4 days out
3rd grade (this year) -- 4 days out

It's starting to make me a nervous wreck, so we aren't doing it after this trip. I think for 1st grade you're fine doing it twice, but I would not do it myself.