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Tinyswife
My family is complete
Member since 4/07 1819 total posts
Name:
Cathleen
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Re: Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
Posted by mnmsoinlove
Life is too short. Kids are only young for such a short period of time. I think making family memories is just as important as school work. I kept my daughter home last year for a mommy and me day. This up coming year we are going to Hilton head early Oct and she will miss 2 days Next year she will miss a week for disney.
I agree with this...life experience is just as important. The school my son goes to always gives me the work that he will miss even if its just one day. I always send a letter weeks in advance. Last year his teacher gave him a vacation journal that he got to draw pictures and write all about his vacation. She loved it!
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Posted 8/7/16 10:23 PM  |
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EricaAlt
LIF Adult
Member since 7/08 22665 total posts
Name:
Erica
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Re: Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
We took DS out in Kindergarten and 1st grade and the funny thing is the teachers were better about it in first grade. School policy is you're not supposed to give work, but the 1st grade teachers did last year and DS was all caught up and was fine.
We are planning on going away this winter as well the end of Feb and DS1 will be in 2nd grade and DS2 will be in Kindergarten. This is the last time we are going to do this bc I did hear 3rd is much tougher.
Anyway, go and enjoy and do it while you can. Just make sure you keep up with the work even if the teachers don't send anything with you. Take the books and you can find lesson plans on their website anyway. We made sure we took DS up every day to the room at lunch and did work.
Totally worth it!
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| Posted 8/8/16 8:25 AM |
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Hofstra26
Love to Bake!
Member since 7/06 27915 total posts
Name:
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Re: Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
I have NO problem taking my kids out of school for a vacation. I'm NOT going to spend thousands more and deal with insane crowds just so they don't miss a few days of school. In the grand scheme of their education, a few days here and there will NOT make or break them.
We took our DD out of 1st grade for Disney, she missed 6 days and we'll be pulling her again this year in 3rd for 7 days to do Disney again. She's an excellent student and didn't miss a beat when we pulled her so I won't hesitate to continue to do it.
I know many disagree and won't pull their kids and that's fine, but I don't have an issue with it. Our vacation cost 1/3 of what it would had we gone during a school break and we didn't deal with any crowds. To me, that is SO worth them missing a few days of school..................elementary school especially.
ETA - EVERY teacher she's had so far has said flat out, don't feel bad AT ALL pulling them for vacation. Her 2nd grade teacher specifically said that there is more to life than school and that making lifelong memories and being with family is equally as important as the work she does in school. It's all about balance.
And I couldn't agree with her more! 
Message edited 8/8/2016 9:21:33 AM.
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| Posted 8/8/16 9:19 AM |
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Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
Yes. A million times yes. I've done it and will do it again. No kid remembers the week they spent in 4th grade. They will remember their awesome vacation. And yeah, not all careers allow you to be off easily for family vacations so you take them when you can.
Awesome vacation with family once a year > week in school.
Message edited 8/8/2016 9:22:05 AM.
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| Posted 8/8/16 9:21 AM |
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BriBri2u
L'amore vince sempre
Member since 5/05 9320 total posts
Name:
Mrs. B
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Re: Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
Posted by Tinyswife
Posted by mnmsoinlove
Life is too short. Kids are only young for such a short period of time. I think making family memories is just as important as school work. I kept my daughter home last year for a mommy and me day. This up coming year we are going to Hilton head early Oct and she will miss 2 days Next year she will miss a week for disney.
I agree with this...life experience is just as important. The school my son goes to always gives me the work that he will miss even if its just one day. I always send a letter weeks in advance. Last year his teacher gave him a vacation journal that he got to draw pictures and write all about his vacation. She loved it!
I'm on this boat as well. Life is too short to not enjoy it or to be forced to have to deal with crowds when you want to take a vacation.
IMO missing a few days out of the school year will not make or break a child. They can miss an entire week from catching the flu or whatever, I don't know too many parents who are making their kids do work while they are miserable like that.
Last year when DS was in K, we took him out for a week to go to Disney. I asked his teacher for work and she gave me the sheets she was planning on doing that week for him to do. I asked her well in advance so she knew. She told me to make sure he enjoyed himself not worry about completing the worksheets.
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| Posted 8/8/16 9:26 AM |
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jamnmore
LIF Adult
Member since 6/16 989 total posts
Name:
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Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
I am in the minority. I would not take my son out of school for vacation.
My son is special needs and has been in full year schooling since 2 years old. We schedule our trips and activities around school. But this is our choice and what works for our family. For my son, missing even 1 day of school is devastating and destroys his routine. You need to know your child and what's best.
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| Posted 8/8/16 10:00 AM |
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oneday
<3
Member since 5/05 4319 total posts
Name:
Pam
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Re: Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
Posted by jamnmore
I am in the minority. I would not take my son out of school for vacation.
My son is special needs and has been in full year schooling since 2 years old. We schedule our trips and activities around school. But this is our choice and what works for our family. For my son, missing even 1 day of school is devastating and destroys his routine. You need to know your child and what's best.
In a situation like yours, I totally agree - you don't want to make it harder for him! Or you.
We took DS out in 1st grade last year for 4 days for a Disney trip. I considered just calling him out sick but I wrote a note to his teacher to tell her what we were doing and asked if she could give us his assignments and homework and we'd have him work on it while we were away. I was very worried she'd give us a hard time or wouldn't be willing to give him his assignments as I'd heard of some schools being so difficult with it.
She wrote back saying she knew we were going as DS told her (glad I didn't try to make up a story. ) She gave him a small packet to work on and just said to have a great time.
I still had to call the school to tell the office. They asked Why he was out and I told them. The woman made sure knew it was an unexcused absence but said to just bring in a note when he came back.
He did his work while we were there (with some fighting but we have that every night with homework) and it did not cause an issue at all.
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| Posted 8/8/16 10:13 AM |
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AScottWolf
I <3 our squish!
Member since 11/10 2237 total posts
Name:
Adriana
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Re: Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
I think it depends on a few things..
* the kid
* the length of time
* the time of year
I'm way ahead of myself but I plan on going to Disney in 3 years. My son will be going into the 1st grade. Although I'm not Board of Ed or DOE I work in a school and my busiest times of year are Sept and May. I work year round.
I plan on going to Disney in October, maybe for Halloween. I'm not paying double the rates to go somewhere in the heat or when every other person is also going on vacation. Also, for me, it's 1st grade. It's not like I'm taking him out during testing or Regents exams.
For me, it's not so much saying that a vacation is less important then school. It's about balancing life, personal/work/school/family. Imo, missing 1 week of school isn't going to cause him to fail the marking period or year. If it does then there are other concerns going on.
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| Posted 8/8/16 10:32 AM |
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JandJ1224
Member since 6/06 5911 total posts
Name:
Jannette
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Re: Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
Yes we take our kids out of school for vacations. Our last trip was to Alaska and was amazing. I have no regrets.
Unfortunately my husbands vacation picks are limited and we have to go when we can.
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| Posted 8/8/16 12:02 PM |
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evrythng4areason
And then there were 4
Member since 1/10 5224 total posts
Name:
Kayla
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Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
I'm a teacher and I say it's fine.
Heck, I'm most likely taking a few days off next year to take my own kids to Disney, and I have a friend and her husband (both teachers) taking off a week this fall to go to Europe. And we all teach ms/hs
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| Posted 8/8/16 12:16 PM |
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Millie3
LIF Adult
Member since 7/13 1280 total posts
Name:
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Re: Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
Posted by Hofstra26
I have NO problem taking my kids out of school for a vacation. I'm NOT going to spend thousands more and deal with insane crowds just so they don't miss a few days of school. In the grand scheme of their education, a few days here and there will NOT make or break them.
We took our DD out of 1st grade for Disney, she missed 6 days and we'll be pulling her again this year in 3rd for 7 days to do Disney again. She's an excellent student and didn't miss a beat when we pulled her so I won't hesitate to continue to do it.
I know many disagree and won't pull their kids and that's fine, but I don't have an issue with it. Our vacation cost 1/3 of what it would had we gone during a school break and we didn't deal with any crowds. To me, that is SO worth them missing a few days of school..................elementary school especially.
ETA - EVERY teacher she's had so far has said flat out, don't feel bad AT ALL pulling them for vacation. Her 2nd grade teacher specifically said that there is more to life than school and that making lifelong memories and being with family is equally as important as the work she does in school. It's all about balance.
And I couldn't agree with her more!
My 3rd grader will also miss 7 days this year, I don't think the teachers mind
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| Posted 8/8/16 3:36 PM |
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Bridex100
Two Under Two Mommy
Member since 3/08 10420 total posts
Name:
Momx100
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Re: Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
DS missed 1-2 days in kindergarten and 1st grade. We will probably tack on 1 day to some long weekends in 2nd grade. I personally would not pull out for a whole week.
Our school has multiple random long weekends for teacher work days so we often travel then. I think there are plenty of days off of school to travel. Last year we traveled Columbus Day, Xmas, Spring Break and summer break. DH had a conference in Orlando so DS missed 2 days and we went to Disney.
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| Posted 8/8/16 5:12 PM |
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Hofstra26
Love to Bake!
Member since 7/06 27915 total posts
Name:
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Re: Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
Posted by Bridex100
DS missed 1-2 days in kindergarten and 1st grade. We will probably tack on 1 day to some long weekends in 2nd grade. I personally would not pull out for a whole week.
Our school has multiple random long weekends for teacher work days so we often travel then. I think there are plenty of days off of school to travel. Last year we traveled Columbus Day, Xmas, Spring Break and summer break. DH had a conference in Orlando so DS missed 2 days and we went to Disney.
There are plenty of days off from school however, when schools are off EVERYTHING from hotels to airfare is double (if not more)what it would cost when school is in session. I'd rather them miss school and save thousands on my vacation.
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| Posted 8/8/16 6:33 PM |
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BargainMama
LIF Adult
Member since 5/09 15657 total posts
Name:
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Re: Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
Posted by Bridex100
DS missed 1-2 days in kindergarten and 1st grade. We will probably tack on 1 day to some long weekends in 2nd grade. I personally would not pull out for a whole week.
Our school has multiple random long weekends for teacher work days so we often travel then. I think there are plenty of days off of school to travel. Last year we traveled Columbus Day, Xmas, Spring Break and summer break. DH had a conference in Orlando so DS missed 2 days and we went to Disney.
I try to tack on a day to a long weekend vacation too, or we just go on school breaks. My 11th grader only missed 1 day of school last year, and that was because we went to PR for Easter, and tacked on another day beyond their vacation. It DOES stink in terms of pricing, but I try to use a lot of miles/points. Being that my oldest is in high school, it's hard to pull from school.
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| Posted 8/8/16 10:19 PM |
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ali120206
2 Boys
Member since 7/06 17790 total posts
Name:
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Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
We are pulling my son out for Disney. I would probably not do a full week but, I have no issue tacking it on to other scheduled days off.
There are a lot of weeks this year in October and November that he has short weeks this year between Jewish Holidays, Columbus Day, Election Day, Veterans Day and Parent Teacher conferences so it was easy just to take him out for 3 days and make a week out of it.
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| Posted 8/9/16 8:36 AM |
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Bridex100
Two Under Two Mommy
Member since 3/08 10420 total posts
Name:
Momx100
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Re: Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
Posted by Hofstra26
Posted by Bridex100
DS missed 1-2 days in kindergarten and 1st grade. We will probably tack on 1 day to some long weekends in 2nd grade. I personally would not pull out for a whole week.
Our school has multiple random long weekends for teacher work days so we often travel then. I think there are plenty of days off of school to travel. Last year we traveled Columbus Day, Xmas, Spring Break and summer break. DH had a conference in Orlando so DS missed 2 days and we went to Disney.
There are plenty of days off from school however, when schools are off EVERYTHING from hotels to airfare is double (if not more)what it would cost when school is in session. I'd rather them miss school and save thousands on my vacation.
Our district has 3 non-holiday long weekends and they also tack on extra days to regular long weekends. Our district had half day Mondays until last year and district decided to have full day Mondays and have multiple extra long weekends.
Our vacation sweet spot is 5 days so if school is out for 4.5 days, DS may have missed a half day or 1 day for travel. No premium costs since the rest of the country has school.
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| Posted 8/9/16 9:13 AM |
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NervousNell
Just another chapter in life..
Member since 11/09 54921 total posts
Name:
..being a mommy and being a wife!
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Re: Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
We are going to do a trip in Oct this year.
The way the Jewish holidays fall this year they are in Oct.
So there is a week where they are closed on Monday for Columbus Day and that Wed for I believe, Yom Kippur?
So the only day I'd have to pull her is Tuesday. Which, even in first grade, I HATE to do it. I feel guilty and stressed about it. Like do I lie? Do I call her in sick? Do I tell the teacher ahead of time? Do I tell her it's for a trip? I feel like such a bad person doing this. I was always such a goody 2 shoes in school, with perfect attendance!
And I can't even play the "life experience" card because we'll be lying on a beach, drinking margaritas while she plays in the sand. Great life experience right? Very educational!
Meanwhile it will probably be a very slow day at school, since they are off Monday and then Wed. So it's an odd day that falls in the middle.
So we'll leave Saturday and return Wednesday night.
She will only miss that Tuesday.
Airfare was fine- not at all pricey. The resort was also a decent price- didn't seem like school break prices at all for that stretch of time. Worked out good.
When I looked for Spring break this past year the airfare was INSANITY as were the hotel prices.
Message edited 8/9/2016 12:08:59 PM.
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| Posted 8/9/16 9:25 AM |
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oneday
<3
Member since 5/05 4319 total posts
Name:
Pam
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Re: Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
Posted by NervousNell
We are going to do a trip in Oct this year.
The way the Jewish holidays fall this year they are in Oct.
So there is a week where they are closed on Monday for Columbus Day and that Wed for I believe, Yom Kippur?
So the only day I'd have to pull her is Tuesday. Which, even in first grade, I HATE to do it. I feel guilty and stressed about it. Like do I lie? Do I call her in sick? Do I tell the teacher ahead of time? Do I tell her it's for a trip? I feel like such a bad person doing this. I was always such a goody 2 shoes in school, with perfect attendance!
And I can't even play the "life experience" card because we'll be lying on a beach, drinking margaritas while she plays in the sand. Great life experience right? Very educational!
Meanwhile it will probably be a very slow day at school, since they are off Monday and then Wed. So it's an odd day that falls in the middle.
So we'll leave Saturday and return Wednesday night.
She will only miss that Tuesday.
Airfare was fine- not at all pricey. The resort as also a decent price- didn't seem like school break prices at all for that stretch of time. Worked out good.
Don't feel bad. Especially for one day when yeah, they probably won't be doing too much.
I'm the same though - felt guilty for taking the time off.
I wouldn't suggest lying. My DS spilled the beans anyway (didn't know till I sent in a note) but I would have felt so silly if I had lied.
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| Posted 8/9/16 11:36 AM |
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ohbaby08
Winter is Coming
Member since 10/07 1718 total posts
Name:
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Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
I see no problem with it. We try to schedule it for weeks when they have a random day or so off, so they don't miss 5 full days.
Like this year, we are going away the week of Columbus day/Yom Kippur, when they will only miss 3 days and nothing new will be taught.
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| Posted 8/9/16 11:53 AM |
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BargainMama
LIF Adult
Member since 5/09 15657 total posts
Name:
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Re: Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
Posted by NervousNell
Airfare was fine- not at all pricey. The resort was also a decent price- didn't seem like school break prices at all for that stretch of time. Worked out good.
When I looked for Spring break this past year the airfare was INSANITY as were the hotel prices.
That's because most places don't have off for Jewish holidays.
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| Posted 8/9/16 8:00 PM |
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NervousNell
Just another chapter in life..
Member since 11/09 54921 total posts
Name:
..being a mommy and being a wife!
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Re: Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
Posted by BargainMama
Posted by NervousNell
Airfare was fine- not at all pricey. The resort was also a decent price- didn't seem like school break prices at all for that stretch of time. Worked out good.
When I looked for Spring break this past year the airfare was INSANITY as were the hotel prices.
That's because most places don't have off for Jewish holidays.
Yeah that is what I figured. It worked out great for us
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| Posted 8/9/16 8:59 PM |
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MrsS2005
Mom of 3
Member since 11/05 13118 total posts
Name:
B
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Re: Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
I don't think it's that big of a deal to miss a day or two, but I wouldn't pull a child out for a week. To me, school is a priority, and while I don't think my child would be harmed by missing a week of school, I also don't want to send a message that it's okay to skip school. DH is really opposed to taking the kids out of school for a vacation.
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| Posted 8/10/16 5:10 AM |
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Xelindrya
Mommy's little YouTube Star!
Member since 8/05 14470 total posts
Name:
Veronica
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Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
I am a fulltime working mother. Yes my husband works too.
We WORK.
Therefore our vacations are important to us.
We take a vacation one week every year. That vacation is set by me and depends on where we are going for the best price and time of year. This year it's Disney. Guess what. That means during the school year is the best time to go for price and crowds. She will miss a week of school.
If she can't handle missing a week of school we are doing something wrong as parents. Not the schools as educators but us as parents.
If She can't handle missing a week of school, I wouldn't let her miss a week of school. Thankfully that isn't an issue for us. She's going to miss during Halloween when frankly Elementary schools do diddly squat. OOh don't dress up, no candy but lets be real the kids are all hyped up. My only concern is this is the first year of testing for my kid. Its the only thing she can't miss. Otherwise, meh.
Message edited 8/10/2016 9:49:35 AM.
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| Posted 8/10/16 9:48 AM |
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NervousNell
Just another chapter in life..
Member since 11/09 54921 total posts
Name:
..being a mommy and being a wife!
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Re: Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
Well, you all DO know that the state FROWNS upon unexcused absences.
I love when I get to use this picture!
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| Posted 8/10/16 9:51 AM |
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Bebelove
LIF Adolescent
Member since 8/12 742 total posts
Name:
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Re: Missing Elementary School for Vacation?
Posted by NervousNell
We are going to do a trip in Oct this year.
The way the Jewish holidays fall this year they are in Oct.
So there is a week where they are closed on Monday for Columbus Day and that Wed for I believe, Yom Kippur?
So the only day I'd have to pull her is Tuesday. Which, even in first grade, I HATE to do it. I feel guilty and stressed about it. Like do I lie? Do I call her in sick? Do I tell the teacher ahead of time? Do I tell her it's for a trip? I feel like such a bad person doing this. I was always such a goody 2 shoes in school, with perfect attendance!
And I can't even play the "life experience" card because we'll be lying on a beach, drinking margaritas while she plays in the sand. Great life experience right? Very educational!
Meanwhile it will probably be a very slow day at school, since they are off Monday and then Wed. So it's an odd day that falls in the middle.
So we'll leave Saturday and return Wednesday night.
She will only miss that Tuesday.
Airfare was fine- not at all pricey. The resort was also a decent price- didn't seem like school break prices at all for that stretch of time. Worked out good.
When I looked for Spring break this past year the airfare was INSANITY as were the hotel prices.
you are so funny. I usually write a note in the beginning of the year stating the dates of trip, and then another note just before . The kids tell their teachers where they are going, we could never lie lol. The teachers we have had so far have said just let us know ahead of time . We are going away for a long time but with all of the fall holidays it works out to 7 days missed. It's early enough in the year plus my kids have done a lot of work this summer.
Message edited 8/10/2016 10:36:22 AM.
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| Posted 8/10/16 10:32 AM |
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