Would you take a 6th grader out of school for 5 days to save $800?

[Islandbear]

If they are "A" students before the trip they will be "A" students after the trip. (But, with more life experience.)

 

GO FOR IT!!!!!!!:D

 

PS I love this thread every year I see it. It is an old friend. I wonder if the kids that origionally started it have graduated and have kids of their own now? LOL

[lady_cruiser]

If they are "A" students before the trip they will be "A" students after the trip. (But, with more life experience.)

 

GO FOR IT!!!!!!!:D

 

PS I love this thread every year I see it. It is an old friend. I wonder if the kids that origionally started it have graduated and have kids of their own now? LOL

I love this last statement. I was about to "gently" tell you how good this thread is but then I read this PS of yours....:p

[RavenRose96]

Yes! I have and I would do it again. Just set some time for homework (we like the flight). As they get older, the work gets harder, but I think they are also more capable of getting it taken care of. Enjoy your trip and your savings!

[Raven Days]

I say do it. I raised my kids in Germany on a military base. The DOD schools were much more understanding about taking the kids out for a few days. I always made it educational however. Since Germany and France are both chock full of history and figures in literature I would make sure that I was able to point those out as we went along.

Me and the kids spent a week in Paris and I took the kids to all the important land marks...to this day my daughter still remembers the Eiffel Tower and my son has not forgotten the immense size of Napoleons sarcophagus. You can’t learn that in a book. My kids have been to the Roman Baths and has stood in front of the Porta Nigra in Trier, Germany. They have literally touched history. They traveled to the top of the Zugspitze, stood in awe of the Neuenschwanstein, Linderhof & Nuenschawngau castles of “mad” King Ludwig of Bavaria . They have seen the 1st printing press and the Guttenberg Bible in Mainz. I have photos of my children standing in front of the Louve, Notre Dame, and the Conciergerie in Paris. Again, not something they will ever get out of a book. They can read about all these places but my kids have been able to experience them in person. I know that going to school is very important and my kids only missed when I felt it would benefit them more to do so.

I did run into some issues when we moved back to the states. The local public schools were not as understanding as the DOD schools had been. I was told that they lost money when my kids didn’t come to school. I actually got into a verbal argument when I was planning on taking my kids to Orlando when my husband came back from Iraq. The principal told me that I should have gone during the summer. Well unfortunately for him my husband was still in Iraq and did not re deploy back to the states until the end of August. He threatened me with truancy if my kids went….so I went to the our Military Liaison – every school has one if they have military dependants enrolled… He called the school and worked it out. Usually most of the schools around a military base are more understanding then this one was. I would check with your children’s teachers and see if they can work ahead or take work with them. I did this and tried to incorporate what the kids were working on with where we were going. The key is to let your kids teachers know in advance that you will be taking your children out of school for a period of time.

[Julienatul]

If he's a good student, can makeup the work absolutely!!!!!! We are taking our soon to be Kindergartener out for a week this November. It is saving us $1000.

[westwingjazz]

I recall how much work my son (5th grade) had to make up for being out a couple days for my mom's funeral services. After that experience, any vacation we took was scheduled when school was closed. It was a lot of pressure on him to make up what was missed on top of the regular work for which he was still responsible. I also learned that some teachers are more cooperative in helping with makeup work than others.

So I would think about how much time your child has to make up the work they will be missing, and if missing the classroom lessons will affect their ability to do the work. Every child and school is different.

 

What they said!!!! This is the perfect response....I have been taking my girls out for years. Teachers and schools are very different. Some years were more successful than others...some years it was regrettable. But we made it...my daughter just graduated with honors. You definitely have to plann all year. My only request was that my girls could not miss school all year!!!!