Pulling your kid out of school for vacation?
 

Wanted to see how some of you guys/gals feel about this. We usually take an and of summer trip to the beach. We have gone the 2nd week in September for the last 15 years or so, it has become a tradition, best time of year to go in my opinion.
The little one starts kindergarten this fall, and this would require him missing his second week of school. We are kind of on the fence about this, how bad do you think it is for him to miss his second week of school? I am sure he will not mind. I know they do not really learn a bunch in the first few weeks , but this could be an important time for him to learn the ropes, and develop relationships with his peers.

Enjoy your vacation

With our Wisconsin teachers demonstrating they have no problem sacrificing the students' learning by taking a vacation without notice, AKA protest about collective bargaining rights, I have absolutely no guilt pulling the kids out of school for an extended vacation.

Enjoy your vacation.

Speedy:)

+1

Given the state of public education, your kids will probably gain more from the time with you than sitting with 50 other kids in a classroom being taught the Party-mandated indoctrinational rites.

It matters more as they get older. At kindergarten, it matters not at all.

This comes up more for us now that our kids are in different schools with non-aligning spring breaks.

I'm not sure why some of you even send your kids to school, considering how you feel. The only responsible thing for you to do is to homeschool your kids. Of course, some of you have no kids and thus can talk a big game.

I absolutely would not take him out of school for his second week. Kindergarden is mostly about socialization, not academics. The first few weeks, making friends and learning the ropes, are critical. When he is older and doing more book learning, he won't miss so much by being out of school. Think of the message you will be sending your child, - will it be, "A week on the beach is more important than school" or "Education is so important we must schedule our vacation around it."

We homeschooled our kids for several years before putting them into a charter school. Our son graduated among the top in his class and was Homecoming King and got a scholarship to college and our daughter is on the Dean's List and doing great. I believe that kids learn in many environments and learn a lot during vacations. The stuff they learn is important and isn't taught in the classroom.

Kids adapt, so have fun on your vacation!

the kid's job is to be in school and it has to learn what it means to keep to a schedule.
If you take the kid out of school when ever you feel, the kid will do what ever it want's in later live.
That's why the young generation has no working habits.
Go to a shopping center during school hrs. what are all those teenagers doing in the mall?

Kindergarten? I'm sure he can catch up on the eating paste and gluing girls hair together agenda for that week, lol.

Kidding but I know what you mean. My kid has 30 minutes of homework every night in Kindergarten. A little struggle to catch up but we manage.

Enjoy the beach!

I wouldn't worry about missing school through all of elementary school, but would stop by high school. We didn't take them out in Jr. High/Middle School, but now feel we made a mistake and could have.

+1

My son has missed a week of school for the past 2 years for vacations - we went to other countries and while there made sure he had many "learning" moments and kept an eye open for things that he could bring back to his class and give a lesson/presentation about. He also had a lot of fun and spent a lot of time with his parents.

trips and family time can be very important - your kids learn their habits from you and not their teachers / peers. If they see their parents working hard and putting an "effort" into everything they do then they are likely to do the same through out their life. There have been numerous days that I will go pick him up from school and bring my son back to office and let him tag along with me or even put him to work and he is just 8 years old. He has also seen me go back into work (I do IT work) because something has come up that is important.

So I say go to the beach and while playing make sure you are create some learning moments about the environment and any sealife you can catch see in the surf

I have never hesitated to pull my kids out of school, no matter what grade, for family stuff and somehow they have all managed to avoid turning into chronic truants hanging out at the mall.

Kindergarten? A child could miss three months without any negative consequences.

Our family trips are the most valuable use of time, ever.

Both my kids are very bright. My daughter will be 11 this year. She has been in advanced programs since day one. Has participated for the last three years in an international educational competition. Was one of 300 out of 3,0000 that went to the state finals this year. Plays violin, piano, is starting guitar, is in a triple threat, singing, acting, dancing program after school.

The boy is 8. I think he is smarter than his sister but a total goofball flake. To say he is a challenge is an understatement. He has soccer, plays piano, is a boy scout.

The other night my wife and I were discussing how we influence what teacher he gets next year. We think his teacher this year while excellent did not have the right experience to deal with him.

Got report cards 2 days later. They both got straight A's and the boys scores were better than the girls.

Oh yeah, they missed a week this semester because we flew to FL for my brothers wedding.

One week of missed school does not define them or condemn them for life.

If you think it's up to the school to provide a foundation for your kids then you get what you deserve.

To be fair, my wife holds three degrees, one of them a Masters in Early Childhood Education/Development.

It's freakin kindergarten, not prep school! Have fun on vacation.

My parents always took me out of school for vacation, and I did the same with my kids. Not a problem

Missing the second week
 

Go ahead and do the vacation especially if the child is already a veteran pre-schooler.

Whatever you decide the kid will get a better educational experience on your trip than in Kindergarten.

Time with family declines with age -seems odd now but those experiences you have with em now are the whole point -you never get to go back and do em.

So have fun .

mflo

What a bunch of BS.

1. A child can socialize anywhere there are other children to interact with. Guess where there are a lot of kids? Yep, "on the beach" with their families on vacation!

2. You do not have to take academics completely out of the equation. When I was a young kid, we would go to Hawaii every year for Thanksgiving. My parents (and/or I) would always let my teachers know well in advance. I would get all my homework upfront to take with me, and kept a journal to bring back to share with the class (usually for extra credit).

IMO, exposing children to other cultures/environments is far more valuable than sitting in a stuffy classroom, where the teachers likely don't really give a rat's arse about your child's "early education". The K-2-ish years seem to be little more than day-care anyway.

The kid is in kindergarten. :confused::rolleyes:

I believe Kindergarten used to be optional... Many teachers and early childhood specialists question the concept of kindergarten for all kids. I believe the fact that both parents work (almost all) is the reason kindergarten got incorporated into our schools.

I'm sure someone will let me know if I'm wrong...

Kindergarten = Children's Garden

Things are a little different now versus 40 years ago. Kids are generally reading by the time they get through kindergarten. Seems like everything has ramped up one grade level and frist grade work now is stuff I didn't learn until second, etc.

That said, I wouldn't hesitate in the slightest to pull a kid out of kindergarten for the second week of class, especially for a family trip that will have much more import to the kid.

It's a far greater disservice to your kid to be chronically a few minutes late to school a couple times a week than to miss a week of class going on a trip.

If your tradition is during the school year...might as well change it now (you have plenty of time before Sep)...or you will be making the same decision again every year for the next 12 years. Relationships made in the first two weeks of school may be nothing...or lifelong friendships. Going in Sept because it is the nicest time of year is selfish. It is not like it is soimething you cannot control like a move or a funeral. Make a new tradition that shows your child how important it is to meet one's responsibilities.

A missed week of school (particularly at the beginning of the school year) should not matter one bit. That's especially true during kindergarten, but heck, it probably holds true for all levels of education including high school/college/grad school.

At the same time, fint brings up a good point. If this family tradition is going to cause you grief this year, what about the next 12? At some point, someone irrational is going to have a cow about it. Might as well modify the family tradition now (or next year), before your kid(s) get too used to it.

My parents made me miss my first week of K, family stuff.

Changed my life.

I think fintstone makes a good point. I assume you like to go on that week because it is less crowded after the kids go back to school. Well, with kids come sacrifices. This would be a trivial one. That said, it's only K so this year, go and don't have a second thought.

What a bunch on ninnies that think this is an issue...go on vacation; have fun; teach the kid about sea creatures and the tides. Seriously, if you think this is setting the wrong message for a kid, you are missing the amazing benefits and learning opportunities that this trip will provide. I would rather teach my child things that I deem as important than totally relying on a system that is designed for the least capable student to keep up.

Do it!

It's easy for us, our daughter is home-schooled and trips out of season are easy. The "educational" value of family vacation outweighs a week in public school in volumes.

Some have said otherwise and I serve for people's rights of speech and every other right but I remain.