Pull the kids out of school, or no?

[KPfromCT]

DH is a CPA. Hence, TAX SEASON:mad:, January-April 15th. Fast forward to April 15th, the week of DD April vacation, up here in New England. Was looking to book the Breeze, which I believe leaves on the 13th or 14th of April. Last year the firm had no problem with him going on the Pride, which put us in the same situation. However, the airfare from Hartford to Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, is ASTRONOMICAL for this week. So, we are considering pulling her out for a week. She is in 8th grade, and currently has straight A's. Hoping that trend will continue:rolleyes:.....The only thing is she was hoping for perfect attendance this year.....What would you do?

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

DH is a CPA. Hence, TAX SEASON:mad:, January-April 15th. Fast forward to April 15th, the week of DD April vacation, up here in New England. Was looking to book the Breeze, which I believe leaves on the 13th or 14th of April. Last year the firm had no problem with him going on the Pride, which put us in the same situation. However, the airfare from Hartford to Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, is ASTRONOMICAL for this week. So, we are considering pulling her out for a week. She is in 8th grade, and currently has straight A's. Hoping that trend will continue:rolleyes:.....The only thing is she was hoping for perfect attendance this year.....What would you do?

Forget the perfect attendance. She sounds just like my daughter who went off to University this year. We always worried about taking her out of school too and did several times. In the big scheme of things, taking a week away with her family and seeing some beautiful countries will be much more significant in her life than having perfect attendance in grade 8. She's a straight A student so she will have no problem catching up on what she missed while away. Go for it

[StillPooh]

Check out some of these threads.

[bbohbbneedacruise]

.....What would you do?

 

WOW you opened a can of worms here.:eek:

 

What would I do ... I was never pulled out of school for anything {family funerals excluded} by my parents and I never pulled my kids out of school for anything.

Vacations were planned during off days/weeks regardless of the cost and I am the youngest of 9 so despite being 30+ years ago there was still great expense in family vacations.

[elgato2]

I wouldn't worry too much about taking her out of school, assuming she wants to go (I'm sure she does)..but I would get together with her teacher and/or make her do research on the places she visits..taking some time to learn about history..populations, culture etc...

One thing though that perhaps you hadn't thought of..if she was hoping to socialize with the other kids on board...if most kids are in school..she may not have too many like friends to hang out with while onboard...? Just a thought...

[CruiseAdict218]

As long as she will have no trouble making up work, then I'd say go for it. If you book between March-April, it could fall on Spring Break of other schools, so she could have no problem making friends, but it depends on the timing.

[MichelleChell]

I pull my straight A perfect attendance daughter out of school every yr to cruise. Never had an issue and she catches up just fine. We understand that she will get un excused absences and thats ok.

 

You have to do what you want. Its your kid and you can't listen to the grumps on this board that will say nasty things to you about it. Just warning they will get worse.

[seashinesunshine]

Forget the perfect attendance. She sounds just like my daughter who went off to University this year. We always worried about taking her out of school too and did several times. In the big scheme of things, taking a week away with her family and seeing some beautiful countries will be much more significant in her life than having perfect attendance in grade 8. She's a straight A student so she will have no problem catching up on what she missed while away. Go for it

 

I agree 100%. We pull our kids out for vacations etc, sometimes even a day or two to help with our family business. The time spent together will be priceless, and by doing work ahead of, or after the cruise will only help independant study skill etc.

You did open a can of worms, it is amazing to me how many people put school before life and family. School is important, don't get me wrong, but if a child can't survive life without missing a few days of school in thier lifetime, thats pretty sad. I hope no one gets too nasty here, people are different and we all have different ways of doing things. Whats right for me and my family might not be right for someone else. :)

[Keith1010]

My opinion is that you know your child and your family best and you should do what makes the most sense.

 

Keith

[bunchesofun]

We feel the experiences outweigh any negatives about taking them out of school. Basically it's usually cheaper to travel on non holiday weeks, times of year. You get more for your money. I was taken out of school as needed and was on honor roll throughout my high school years. I know others disagree but we haven't had any problems with our kids being taken out. Their grades stayed the same.

[hftmrock]

I guess I will side the opposite of most here. We never pulled our kids from school. My DS is in the top 2% of his school and is a senior. He would never want to be pulled. He would obviously be able to make up the work. To him , school is more important and we can go during the summer. He has never been absent in high school, ever. I believe he has been out of school a total of 3 days in his entire school career (kindergarten - 12th grade)

 

It's my opinion that it's school first. We work our vacations around that and we go where we can afford when they are out of school.

 

the part I would concentrate on is her words herself

 

The only thing is she was hoping for perfect attendance this year....

 

If she was hoping for perfect attendance, she should be allowed to do what she is hoping for.

[pedsRN4life]

DH is a CPA. Hence, TAX SEASON:mad:, January-April 15th. Fast forward to April 15th, the week of DD April vacation, up here in New England. Was looking to book the Breeze, which I believe leaves on the 13th or 14th of April. Last year the firm had no problem with him going on the Pride, which put us in the same situation. However, the airfare from Hartford to Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, is ASTRONOMICAL for this week. So, we are considering pulling her out for a week. She is in 8th grade, and currently has straight A's. Hoping that trend will continue:rolleyes:.....The only thing is she was hoping for perfect attendance this year.....What would you do?

HELLO! I say take her out and GO! I have been on 3 cruises and have taken my kids out of school each time. This year, we cruise on the Breeze March 2-10 and I'm taking my 8th grader and my Sophomore out of school. The high schooler has a 3.5 GPA, so there's no threat of ruining a 4.0. My Senior son elected not to go along this year. He's the 4.0 with three AP classes this year. I totally understand his choice to not join us. It gets harder to take your DD out of school the further into HS she gets - so go now and don't wait! The life experience on the cruise is more valuable than any week sitting in any middle school or high school classroom, in my opinion.

[twinbee]

I have always taken my kids out of school for all of our family vacations. With my husbands job, he cannot take off during the summer months. I would let the school know well in advance, their teachers gave them assignments to do. They never had any problems with finding kids to hang around with on our cruises.

[Dawg74]

I think parents need to decide for them selves what is best. We find our kids have no problem catching up and the school doesn't mind giving them the work ahead of time or letting them catch up when they get home. Honestly, when I look at the actual work my children do in a week long period it really isn't that much, although they do miss the in class discussion and teachers examples. So far we have taken out kids out of school for a week or two every year with no problem.

[Athankfulheart]

I think that "perfect attendance" is overrated and the whole thing is probably pushed for $$ reasons. It is possible to have less than perfect attendance and be an amazing student. That said, if I were you I would consider just how important the attendance thing really is and include that in consideration of the trip.

 

For what its worth, I homeschool my children. We work to goals and deadlines but not a rigid schedule, so I look at things differently.

[mumtopugs]

Let her decide. I pulled my kids out for a week. The school gave us the make up work to do while we were away and no one gave me a hard time about it. I made sure they knew we were able to do that because of their hard work and responsible behavior they have shown in their academic careers. If they weren't fantastic students and responsible children or felt they wouldn't be able to catch up, I wouldn't have considered it.

[Mxlady]

I would pull them out in one second. they will learn more going to different countries hands on then in any book. The experience is rewarding and educational. Wouldn't think twice.

[frednsb]

DH is a CPA. Hence, TAX SEASON:mad:, January-April 15th. Fast forward to April 15th, the week of DD April vacation, up here in New England. Was looking to book the Breeze, which I believe leaves on the 13th or 14th of April. Last year the firm had no problem with him going on the Pride, which put us in the same situation. However, the airfare from Hartford to Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, is ASTRONOMICAL for this week. So, we are considering pulling her out for a week. She is in 8th grade, and currently has straight A's. Hoping that trend will continue:rolleyes:.....The only thing is she was hoping for perfect attendance this year.....What would you do?

They will get as much or more education on a cruise and it will be a lifetime experience for them!

[k2excursion]

We pulled my friends' nephews out of school to go earier this month. They have kept their grades up, and haven't gotten into any trouble. And they have been good about getting caught up. They took care of most of it before they even left.

[timman19]

We've done this a few times and usually, it's not a problem if you let the school know in advance and as early as possible. Our youngest's school has either given him assignements to do and one time made him keep a journal of where he went and what he saw which was graded.

 

We had a huge issue earlier this year. We went on a cruise and told the school months in advance. They said no problem. A week prior, they changed their minds as exams were being given. They said if our son didn't go to school, he couldn't take them.

 

Thank God I communicated by e-mail originally as I had the message approving his absence. Even then, the principal wouldn't budge but changed her mind after I threatened to go to the superintendant with it.

 

I then asked what was the difference if he was sick that week and didn't take his exams. They said in that case, he could retake them but they would need a doctor's note to show that he couldn't go to school the week before. No problem there as my cousin is his doctor! LOL!

[crazytrain486]

Pull her out now while you can! I did not even read any of the comments. I have been doing this since my oldest was in K. Life is too short and time is precious! enjoy

[martikus]

This topic always gets pretty heated.

 

I am from the camp you are only young once and pulling my child for one week a year will not put him behind for life.

 

DH can't travel first quarter and I pay a REALLY high price if I travel in the summer so we plan to pull DS every fall for a family vacation and did so in November this year (DS is in K).

 

If she isn't going to miss any exams or major activities I say go for it.

 

I may think twice about pulling DS in high school when grades actually matter or if he is heavily involved in an activity. But until then....I don't think twice. It is only 5 school days.

[Swampbabe]

Wow, all of these excellent 4.0 students! I wish that they were all in my class. :D Seriously though, as a parent do what you think is appropriate. I teach an AP level class and all of my assignments are online and a student could certainly keep up on their own. One thing to keep in mind though, if I give a test on Friday and your student is on a cruise and misses the test, I expect them to make that test up on Monday when they come back, in addition to turning in all of the work due for that chapter.

 

This might seem a little hard hearted but the other students would like to get their tests back in a timely manner so that we can go over them and then move on the next part of our curriculum. I don't think that I should spend approx. three hours of my own time to write a makeup test for your child because they were on vacation. :cool:

[Almost Packed]

Wow, all of these excellent 4.0 students! I wish that they were all in my class. :D Seriously though, as a parent do what you think is appropriate. I teach an AP level class and all of my assignments are online and a student could certainly keep up on their own. One thing to keep in mind though, if I give a test on Friday and your student is on a cruise and misses the test, I expect them to make that test up on Monday when they come back, in addition to turning in all of the work due for that chapter.

 

This might seem a little hard hearted but the other students would like to get their tests back in a timely manner so that we can go over them and then move on the next part of our curriculum. I don't think that I should spend approx. three hours of my own time to write a makeup test for your child because they were on vacation. :cool:

 

students in AP classes would expect this...my kids were/are in A.P. They certainly are better students than I.

 

My now SR in high school barely has 4 classes this year because he took so many early. He's taking what is required plus extra not required. He was earning his high school credits in JR high and college in HS.

 

so yep, he can afford to miss a few days.

 

This is the same child who could not read nor write in first grade and I held him back a year. He was tested for 2 years straight in a row for austism. His father and my brother both are autistic. Turns out, he isn't but just needed a bit more help until the light bulb went off.

 

Having an awesome teacher (thanks Miss Lovelace) and a lot of effort on his part and mine, things turned around. I have no problems rewarding him with some fun times for all the hard work he's done. It's his vacation too.

[Warm Breezes]

DS is 18 and a Freshman (technically a Sophomore due to being dual enrolled in HS his Senior year) at a local university and DD is 15 and a Sophomore in HS. They have been on 9 cruises in the last 11 years as well as numerous land vacations their whole life. Some of them were during the school year and some of them were not. My philosophy has always been that taking them out of school depends on:

 

1. The schools policy (our school excused family vacations).

 

2. The childrens ability to make up the work. Both of our children are A average students (believe it or not...some posters here don't think there are kids that can be that intelligent) and had the ability to make up the work missed, especially at younger ages.

 

3. The childrens willingness to make up the work. Through 6th grade my kids were willing and able to make up the work. When DS missed a week in 7th grade he struggled to make up the work (although he did it without his grades dropping) and he was punished by the Basketball Coach for missing practices and his first game, even though he didn't make the team until months after this vacation was booked and paid for. DS requested that we try to avoid planning trips during the school/sports seasons as it was becoming too difficult for him. DD had just gotten into competitive dance at that same time so we had to start scheduling around her competition season as well.

 

In a nutshell when they were younger pulling them out was no issue with their school, their grades, or their willingness to make up the work. As they got into middle school/high school and sports they still had no issues with the school or their grades but we did have a problem with their willingness to make the work up...so since then we have struggled finding time with DH & my work schedules to get vacations during their breaks. Sometimes it doesn't work out all the way and we have to compromise with them missing a day or two of school. But life is a compromise and family vacations are a priority to us.

 

You need to do what is best for your family. This is what worked for us. Like I said earlier, DS is now technically a Sophomore in his actual "first" year in college....He did not suffer academically from missing a week of school at a time in elementary and a day or two here and there in high school. You need to make your decisions based on your school and your kids....no one else here knows what is best for your family.