Missing school in kindgarten

[crzgrl66]

Check with your school district to find out about their exact policy. We took our 3 boys 5,8 & 14 out for a week last October for a cruise. At first we were told that vacation was not an excuse, but from the principal we found out that the kids could go on "independent study" for the week and as long as they returned their work the day they went back to school, it would be excused. In California, the school loses money for each day the child doesn't attend so they frown on missing days, but they get the money if they are on independent study. ;)

 

BTW - our kindergartner is moving on to 1st grade with no problems even though he missed a week.

[SelectSys]

Speaking as an elementary school teacher, I agree that the time spent with family experiencing new places and cultures is worth the days out of school. As long as the teacher is aware, there shouldn't be any problems. The reason the principal made an issue of it was because we're not really supposed to condone vacations during school. It's true that the absences will not be excused, however, if your child doesn't have a lot of other absences throughout the year this won't be a problem.

 

I hope this helps.

 

The real reason that public schools and teacher's unions object to these trips is that they lose money every day the kid is absent from school. Our district's web site even lists how much money a student "earns" by attending each day.

 

Private schools never hassle kids for these visits as they collect the money in advance and everyone attends by choice. As a result, these schools are very "customer friendly" and will go out of their way to help families with vacation-related absences.

[theAdmiral]

The real reason that public schools and teacher's unions object to these trips is that they lose money every day the kid is absent from school. Our district's web site even lists how much money a student "earns" by attending each day.

 

Private schools never hassle kids for these visits as they collect the money in advance and everyone attends by choice. As a result, these schools are very "customer friendly" and will go out of their way to help families with vacation-related absences.

 

 

True. We public schools need the money. I merely wanted to answer the OP's question from an educator's point of view.

[ginger2000]

Thanks for the replies everyone...My only concern was her missing a week so soon after coming back from Xmas break. Also, we get back on a Sunday and there in no school that Mon & Tues. Her current preschool allows previous students to come back that first year so we are fine there.

The principle at school mentioned to all the parents that vacation is NOT an excusable absence. Can ya tell she scared the %^&$ out of me????

 

I really would love to see the day when a teacher or a principal ever told me such a thing!!!!!!

My kids (now gr 3 and JK) miss school for our vacation every year for about 8 school days end of Jan/early Feb and will continue for as long as we can. I give the teachers plently of notice of our departure and every year put a little folder together of homework. Mostly they focus on keeping a journal every day of what they did and keep up their reading. This past year my son in grade 3 was finishing a unit on different bridges...so in Curacao, he took lots of pictures of the pontoon bridge and was able to do a little "report" when he returned.

Catching up is not a big deal....and don't even worry about kindergarten!!!!

[Bowie MeMe]

I took my children out of K, and through elementary school for travels and family moves for summer employment. My girls are grown now -- one has a Master's degree in biology and the other has a PHD in neurochemistry. Guess it did not hurt their education too much.

 

Having taught for 30+ years, I would not make a big deal out of it with the school. Inform them a couple of weeks before, ask teacher if she will hold the work until child returns. Basically, don't ask and they won't have to give the school line of can't go. The reason that schools have tightened up the rules is that the state governments rate school on their attendance rate and anything under 92% attendance is Unsatisfactory.

[cacruiserjen]

We're in California and can get "Independent Studies" for our kids. This means the teachers have to give them their school work and homework in advance of our trip and they have to turn it all in to receive credit for it. Some teachers get "huffy" about it, but I don't care. We aren't doing anything wrong and the benefits of travel way outweigh any missed class time!!! And family time is so beneficial as well.

 

However, with our now jr high and high school kids we have to plan around dates and such that are important (finals, state testing, sports, etc.). This year we will be doing Independent Studies for the full week and a day before Christmas break to take a 10 night cruise. Then they still have the remainder of the break to get work done and for a post cruise visit to Disneyland and such.

 

But for a kindergartener, I really wouldn't stress. For us, our own kids almost never had a sick day or missed school for appts, so taking them out for vacation wasn't a big deal. Enjoy your trip!

 

Jen

[WineDown17]

I know there are strong opinions on this one! The following is our situation.

 

We are taking out 6th grader out for 2 weeks for a European cruise starting Friday.

 

The teacher was fine with it, and I gave her the itinerary on day 1 of school- she has been giving hin assignments about each place, and must keep a journal of his trip.

 

She thinks it is wonderful, and that he will learn more on this type of trip than in 2 weeks of classroom studies. (We are in one of the top school districts in the country).

 

I know he will catch up quickly, and never thought twice about it.

[nothriver]

Educationally, I was able to travel all I wanted with my son until he was started Jr High school - 7th grade. Part of the issue was that at that time we moved from a rural school where my son was at the top of his class to a suburban district where he is just above average. It really does depend on both the student and the school but in general, I feel through early elementary, travel is more important that school. Upper elementary you need to make sure you child won't get behind. Then it gets so much harder for kids to make up missed work when they are older. Enjoy traveling off season when they are young!

 

If the teacher is willing and able to put together a study packet - great. Packets are great to keep the kids busy in the airport, lol! I think however, this is time consuming for the teachers. You can probably make up your own educational packet on your own. For example, we are going to Alaska and we've been stocking up on picture books and early readers on whales, sled dogs, and Alaska in general. You can do crosswork puzzles etc, to reinforce whatever you've been reading about. Sometimes if a teacher is resistant to kids traveling, it is because they don't want any extra work! If you can assure then you'll be doing the educating while you are away, they might be more supportive.

 

Our schools get money for the kids on a yearly basis. I'm not aware of them loosing money from daily absenses. My son is in high school and they are very lax, all they need is a phone call to excuse an absense. Other schools in our area require signed notes from the doctors office if kids miss even an hour of school, crazy.