Family travel gets much more affordable after Labor Day, once kids are back to school. So what’s a traveling family to do? Consider taking the kids out of school for a family vacation rather than waiting for the next school break. Here’s what to consider and some tips to help you decide if it’s the right move for your family.
4 Tips for Taking Kids Out of School for Vacation
->Let’s start with the basics:
Classroom Time vs. Family Vacation
Elementary School vs. Middle School vs. High School
What’s Educational Anyway?
What Will the School District Say?
Why Can’t You Wait Until Spring Break?
->Now on to the 4 Tips For Taking Kids Out of School for Vacation
1. Talk with the teacher first.
2. Don’t ask the teacher to do extra work so you can go on vacation.
3. Offer to have your child do a report or presentation on the trip once you return.
4. Start early.
Classroom Time vs. Family Vacation
Every school year since my kids started preschool, they missed at least a few days of school to travel with me. Our kids are grown now and they will tell you that missing school for family trips was a good thing.
Yes, it cemented our family bonds. But it also bolstered their in-class learning. My son was far more engaged in his fifth-grade lessons on Mayan culture because he had previously visited Tulum Mexico.
My daughter, who announced “I hate history” when I told her she would be skipping a few days of school to go with me to Colonial Williamsburg, ended up majoring in history when she got to college.
Elementary School vs. Middle School vs. High School
It’s true that it’s much easier for kids to miss school during the primary grades. If nothing else, it’s easier for us parents to help them continue to learn when the lessons are teaching basic addition and subtraction rather than geometry or calculus. (Or is that just me?)
But we continued to take our kids out of school throughout their high school years. I always gave them the choice. My daughter was always ready to go, although she once made a difficult choice between end-of-the-year parties and a trip to Hawaii. (She picked Hawaii.)
My son, with his AP classes and plan to become an engineer, grew more and more reluctant as his school years passed. Only once did I force the issue.
His uncle, my husband’s brother, was getting married in Mexico on a Thursday. My son was torn but agreed that he had to be there. Unfortunately, missing a week of chemistry in his junior year meant that he got his first (and only) B that semester. He did not agree to skip school to travel with me again.
What’s Educational Anyway?
Some parents define educational travel as family trips to historical spots or vacations jam-packed with museum visits. But I believe that travel is, in itself, the education. Even a trip to Disney World can be educational.
Little ones learn to wait in line to board a ride. Kids in first grade can count the number of people who fit into each car while kids in second grade can practice reading the signs. Slightly older children can learn to read a map and figure out how to get to the next ride. Middle school kids can use their math skills to figure out a lunch order for everyone that stays within the family budget.
Read More: How to Make a Trip Educational Without the Kids Knowing They’re Learning
What Will the School District Say?
Unfortunately, in the years since I was taking my kids out of school for vacation, it’s gotten much tougher. Public schools are cracking down on parents and unexcused absences. Some have even threatened to prosecute parents for their kids’ truancy. Keeping kids in classrooms is a big deal to public schools that get state money based on school attendance rates.
So the first step on this road to an affordable family vacation should be checking with the school district. Getting arrested when you return from your family trip would kill the vacation afterglow pretty quick.
Why Can’t You Wait Until Spring Break?
Family travel during the school year is So. Much. More. Affordable. Even if you are lucky enough to travel free with points and miles, those points and miles will buy more during the school year than they will during the high travel times like school holidays, spring break and, especially, Christmas break.
So, before you buy those plane tickets, check out these 4 tips for taking kids out of school for vacation.
1. Talk with the teacher first.
Your child’s education shouldn’t suffer so the family can have a more affordable vacation. If your child already is struggling to keep up with classwork or isn’t a good student generally, think about whether traveling during school is the right thing to do.
If you would miss your brother’s wedding, it’s one thing. If you would miss a great deal on a trip to Disney World, it’s something else. Or, at the very least, limit the trip to a long weekend so your child only misses a couple of days of school.
2. Don’t ask the teacher to do extra work so you can go on vacation.
Don’t ask the teacher to give your child classwork assignments to complete during the trip. Not all teachers have lesson plans sketched out that far ahead of time.
Even if your child’s teacher does, why should she have to work harder so you can go on an affordable family vacation? (This tip comes courtesy of every teacher I have asked about this. Ever.)
3. Offer to have your child do a report or presentation on the trip once you return.
This can be the official “educational” part of the trip. Depending on the grade level, a child can draw pictures, take photos, write a report, make a video or create a powerpoint presentation.
And, of course, she should do any make-up work she missed while you were gone.
4. Start early.
It’s much easier for a kindergartner to miss a week of school than it is for a junior in high school to miss even one or two school days.
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Our old elementary school actually had an official policy that teachers would no longer prepare work ahead of time for students who traveled. Too many times, the kids would return without having done any of it. One classmate who went overseas for a month officially withdrew from the school and then re-enrolled when they returned so that there would technically be zero absences.
That’s fascinating, Michele. Do you know why they put that policy in place? Where there so many parents taking their kids out of school that it was a burden for the teachers? Regardless, I think it’s a good policy. Kids can make up whatever they miss when they return. Frankly, I wouldn’t want kids to have to spend hours on homework during a family trip. They should be tuning into family and exploring their surroundings, not doing homework. But that’s just the opinion of a slacker mom!
So true about starting young, it is also really easy to find some educational aids at your local news agent or department store eg, handwriting, first word and maths work books.
This is what we have been using as we took our 5 year old out of school for 2 weeks this year.
Good tips. There also are a lot of education apps available, although I like the idea of little ones getting used to writing with a pencil vs. scrolling with a finger.
When I request an excused absence for travel, I include an itinerary highlighting the educational events we will experience. My third grader is readily excused for trips.
Our high schooler is another matter, especially when taking math courses. It’s far more difficult to keep up with high school assignments to travel. I want what’s best for him — and sometimes rely on local friends to keep him if missing school will affect his education (or extra-curricular sports) too much. We always ask, though, and almost always work it out!
Agreed, Karen. We have done the same thing with our high schoolers. But when they have acquiesced and traveled with us, it did them no long-term damage (although, like those of us who work for a living) they did have to work a little harder to catch up when we got home.
No, no, no. Taking kids out of school to travel is not an acceptable reason to feel Mommy Guilt. You will have plenty of real reasons to feel guilty over the rest of your son’s lifetime. Taking him out of school (especially kindergarten) to travel should be a source of joy. It gives you extra special family bonding time. And I guarantee he will learn something! Have a great, guilt-free time.
Our son in in kindergarten, so this year will be the first “missed school” for a trip situation. I feel a little guilty but moms feel guilty about everything, so I’m just going to ignore it. 🙂