The fall-out of fall

By Suzanne

Sand, sun, beach... Summer vacation is just a reservation away. And I'm ready. I'm so ready!

Wait, I'm not ready. I am the family reservation agent, and I am the worst family reservation agent in the world. I procrastinate something terrible. I have a million things on my plate and in February, summer vacation seems a world away.

So when I sat down this week, decks cleared, to make summer vacation plans, I discovered that, of course, the entire planet was way ahead of me and all the good summer houses and early summer dates (pre-peak prices) in the Outer Banks were taken. Except, you know, the ones that cost $10,000 a week. Well! I'll just whip out that $10,000 bill I've been saving for a rainy day! ::thunk:: 

Or we can take the only almost-affordable houses left (you know, the leftover ones that no one wanted) in peak pricing time a mile off the beach and drive to the public parking every day. This wouldn't be so terrible if I hadn't had my heart set on sitting comfortably on the deck while I watch the kids play in the sand. If we take a house off the beach, we won't spend nearly as much time ON the beach and everyone will be cranky for a different reason, but cranky doesn't fit my fantasy image of my week at the beach.

And so I finally concluded that taking the kids to the beach this summer wasn't the greatest idea in the world. Instead, I'm taking them to the beach in the fall. Not only are beach houses drastically reduced in price, but the crowds will be thinner and the temperatures bearable. This means taking the children out of school for a week. My kids are straight A students with no outrageous behavior problems (you know, that they exhibit AT SCHOOL), so I know they can catch up. They also aren't prone to frequent illnesses, so a few days lost from their allowable days out of school shouldn't hurt them, either.

However, it still means they'll miss a week of school. I remember when I was a teacher a family took their kids out of school for a week to go to Europe. At the time, I remember feeling a shade of annoyance since it meant organizing makeup materials for the student and some extra paperwork. Now, as a mother, it also means quality family time by taking vacations at a time of year that is more affordable and less crowded --and I bet that's why they went to Europe when they did. Yet I wonder how other people will react -- condemnation? Or maybe a little wishing-they-were-going-too? Or maybe I shouldn't even care. Maybe my mommy guilt is acting up again.

Have you ever taken your kids out of school for a family vacation? How did others react, and how did you handle it?

Comments

[Peggie]

I took my kids out of school for two weeks when they were eight and eleven. They are not straight A students (never have been) but it was the best time of year to have the Disney experience and I don't regret it a bit, never have. We had the most wonderful time. California was cool and Disney was a breeze. We didn't have to wait for more than ten minutes for any ride and it is the only time in the now seventeen years I've been a mother that my children didn't fight. Ever. Seriously not once. Really I'm serious.

[yrobinson]

We have a timeshare in Florida for the first week in November. My kids are young but I predict they will be taking a week of in November for a while. Like you, my kids are bright and will catch up. And the family time is worth it.

[liz]

O.k., I can totally see that now. I am a teacher with a 2 year old. Personally, I think it is a great idea. If I wasn't a teacher, I think I would consider the same thing. Your kids are good students, and I am sure they will be able to make up the work. Just ask them ahead of time. Let them know that the weekend you come back they are going to have to really buckle down and do some double time on their homework/schoolwork. They'll make it up. Kids always do. The teacher might be a little annoyed, but just let them know when you are going so they can put the work aside for them as they are teaching.

[Nicola]

Thought you'd find it interesting to know that when we moved away from Britain last year they were in the process of enacting legislation that would result in a fine for taking your children out of school during term time. A lot of parents take kids away on package holidays in the off season, as its much more affordable, so the government decided that it was time to put a stop to that. Probably means that a lot of kids won't be getting holidays anymore, which is an important part of growing up and learning about the world around you. But hey, they won't miss any days in the classroom.

[Rosemary Grace]

Good for you! My parents took me out of school for a few days here and there almost every year, usually to fly from Scotland to California to spend Christmas with my Mother's family, or for some other horizon-broadening trip abroad made possible by my Dad's work as a professor.

The silliest fuss was made when my mother pulled me out of a school day trip to an ancient Roman site that my family had just spent a week visiting (so I'd been through 3 different museums on the same subject) and took me to see a Shakespeare play instead, so I got more variety. Even the other mothers were in uproar on that one for some reason.

Maybe their teachers will be impressed if you take your kids to a local museum and get them to make a little project on what they saw, it could be a fun family crafts day.

[Kris]

I'm not there yet with my kids. My first is entering Kindergarten this fall, and I'm dreading being married to the public school schedule. So, good for you for planning a vacation in the fall. It really is the best time of year for it. Even if the teacher gets a little annoyed, she'll get over it.

[elise]

I did it once during a year that my kids were not out sick that much. After 10 days of ANY absenses (whether you have a doctor's note or not) we get a letter stating that we now will always need a doctor's note. Usually they have so many sick days that I really can't. Our school district gets very annoyed when people pull kids out for vacations, but the only full week they give off is Christmas to New Years, no spring or winter week long breaks. So if you want a family vacation during the school year you HAVE to pull them out of school. Maybe your guilt really comes from having different standards in the past (for the family going to Europe) and now that you are wearing different shoes you see how it can be. Let go of that guilt and just do better about not judging in the future. I always try to use the 10 years from now test. Will it matter 10 years from now? It won't matter that they skipped school, but they will still probably remember the fun family vacation that they had with you!