What time of year did you pull your kids out of school?

[Gregandmel]

My post is below regarding the downsides of pulling your kids out of school. Now I'm wondering that for those of you that HAVE pulled them out, what time of year did you do it?

We are planning a trip for next year (son will be in 4th grade) and I'm trying to determine if there is a better point in the year to do this. He struggles a bit in school, but does fine with some intervention. Probably why this will be our LAST year we can pull him out.

OUr options are September or May (due to work schedules). Is it better to do it in the beginning (like late September) as they are reviewing things from the prior year, or is that a risk because they might be learning new concepts that he could fall behind in and not get caught back up? Or would it be better to do it early May, towards the end of the school year, thinking that they wouldn't be learning a ton of new stuff since school is out at the end of the month.

What are your thoughts? I know a lot of people have pulled their kids out, so wondered if anyone had any advice on the timing of it all. Your input would be appreciated!! :-)

[deedeenmickey]

I would do it in September. That way they have more "catch-up" time. We have taken our daughter out up until this past year (9th grade). We cannot do it anymore. It is getting too hard for her to catch up.

[Hull-onian]

We usually do Columbus Day weekend, because on Monday the schools are closed. So we go, Saturday-to-Saturday loosing four school days. It works great for us.

[the other micki]

I'm pulling my DD14 out of school the last week of April this year. I'm hoping this will work out. Standardized testing is over and they tend to not teach new concepts so late in the year. Plus, there's lots of field trips, parties, etc. during the last month or so of school. My DSs are homeschooled, so she's the only one I had to worry about!

[Dulcee]

My parents always pulled me out around Easter so we could combine it over the break we already had. That had to stop once I hit high school as I just couldn't manage missing that much time anymore.

My vote would go to September though. My sister pulls her son out every September for a week (he's in 2nd grade). The begining of the year tends to be easier to catch up. Good luck..

[tink179]

We usually pull our kids out in January. We've done that on all of our trips. This time we're going in September for 10 days. Can't pass up the FREE dining! It will be my DS's 9th bday and my 30th bday. My DH says you only turn 30 once! Nice guy!!! This trip ended up being cheaper than our trip in January. September crowds I hear are a lot lower than April. My vote would be for September!

[Jeri]

We always do October because it works best for my Husbands work schedule.
We would not be able to do September or May even if our schedules worked because the school does the state testing the end of September and sometime in May. You might want to check when your school does them.

We are asked that they not miss during this time because if they don't have certain attendance numbers for them they lose funding.

[yellen97]

I dont know what week school ends for you (we go all the way till the END of june). But if you finish in the beginning of June, May might be a good choice- as long as they don't have final exams and the standardized testing is over, the last couple of weeks of school are useless. We are going June 13 so my dd will miss 5 of the last 9 days of school (they end on thurs. june 24). She is missing a trip to the local park, and possibly field day, but disney is more fun than that!

[tinksmom02]

We go in September. Actually, last year DD missed the 3rd week of school, and will again this Sept. Like someone else said, I find it's easier for her to make the work up then, it's usually just review stuff.

[RedSoxFan]

Our first two trips we went during Thanksgiving Week. They only had school on Mon/Tues so it really wasn't a big deal.
Last October we went the 3rd week of October because they had Thurs/Fri off.

[Tygger7]

We pulled our DD, who was 15 at the time & a freshman in high school, out for 2 weeks prior to Memorial Day weekend. We have to work around my husband's work schedule, and May was our only option. The nice part was that we arrived back home on Friday of Memorial Day weekend, so we still had Sat/Sun/Mon to recover from our trip.

[GottaLvDisney]

We're lucky in this respect b/c the school my kids go to has a conference that all teachers attend every year in September. The kids have a short week where they only have school Monday, Tuesday & a half day Wednesday. Fortunately for us, this coincides with free dining and not-so-crowded parks (usually).

I think I'd still pick September even if they didn't have the conference week, though, b/c typically in most schools around here they're still doing mostly review stuff in school and typically haven't had any big assignments just yet (reports, etc...)

[disneyfan328]

in 2007 we pulled our Kindergartener and 2nd grader out of school ( our older DD also missed a week of her first year at college ) and it worked out fine for everyone. This year we are going 1st week of May. I'll have to let you know how it goes, but the school seems ok with it and both are good students ( oldest DD is not able to make this trip) all of our standarized tests are over so we should be good!

[DawsonAR]

We have done towards the end of the year the last two years. The teacher said they were actually slowing down and review skills learned through the year. This worked well for us.

[FaithTrustPixieDust]

We have pulled them out in October for a few days. We think it's a good time to go, but there is a LOT going on back home that we've missed in our absence.

The advantage of pulling them out in September is that you can try to take advantage of discounts or free dining. I would be hesitant to pull them out at the beginning of the year, because they are just getting ramped up. Plus, I want the teacher to know us very well before we tell them we're pulling the kids out to go to DisneyWorld!

We have some friends who have pulled their kids out in early May. By then, our schools were done with the big standardized testing that they do, and most teachers are slowing down, reviewing, having parties, etc. The downside is that your child might miss some fun events- field day, field trips, class parties, etc.

No solid answers here, but just some pros and cons to mull over!

[Gregandmel]

I think I may go with the May dates then. Our schools here get out right around Memorial Weekend (usually we have our 3 day holiday break, then come back for 1 day! Go figure). anyhow - I just think he won't be missing quite as much and at this point, the kids are ready for school to be over, so I'm sure the teachers aren't going to start teaching them some complicated things!! But I'll be sure to check with the upcoming 4th grade teachers to get their thoughts as well. Thanks so much for the insight! If he were a "strong" student, I wouldn't be putting so much thought into it, but I know since he strugges a bit, I have to take everything into consideration. After this trip, we'll probably end up going as soon as school gets out at the end of the year. THANKS!!!!

[Belster]

As a teacher myself I would recommend May. This is the end of the year and little or no work is missed. Not to say that students don't work in the month of May but the environment is much more relaxed then say September right when the teacher is getting to know the students through assessments and such.

I will say though, October is my personal fav.

[PrettyMinnie]

I would think May because the school year is winding down. There isn't much going on. And honestly if you prep correctly and make sure your son stays on top of his work either before or after your return, he should be fine whenever you do it. Good luck!

[GoofyMom09]

I would do it in May. I am a teacher and the beginning of the school year is really busy with reviewing important information, teaching new concepts and also establishing routines and procedures. But I would check to see when the standardized testing is and plan around it. New England is in the middle of changing the standardized testing so that it takes place in September instead of March, so double check in your area to make sure. Have a great trip!

[Nini5055]

At the beginning of the year, I took dd over labor day weekend. We left on Thursday right after school, so she really only missed one day.

Now I am taking dd out of school (2nd grade) for two days (Thursday & Friday) the first week and then for three days (Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday) for the following week. That way, she is not missing a whole week at one time. Her teacher liked that approach as she can be with her class at the beginning of the first week and at the end of the second week. LOL...I think I am confusing myself!!!!!!

I just think my dd's school is not quite SO overbearing about taking time off...AND my dd is now doing quite well in school!!!