travelling vs school

[whymummy]

i really need some opinions on our situation,ds started school last september and has had 4 weeks off for holidays,3 weeks that i took him to spain as i needed a break after being very depressed and not getting on with dh and one week for a family holiday,the school is obviously not happy with it but the problem is dh loves travelling and can only go on holiday when his boss says so going on half term is not always possible,i always teach ds when were away, this year he was at reception so not so bad but the problem is dh wants to travel next year for 2 months and i think is too much for ds to miss school but at the same time i know travelling is great and hell learn lots as well,what do you think and would you take your children off school to go travelling?thanks in advance

I'd go travelling - despite being a school governor. I don't think that at any age we can assume that learning is restricted to what children do at school.

And if the concern is keeping up with the curriculum, then why not ask for guidance on the kind of things that were going to be covered , or even, whisper it, the lesson plans, surf the net and take a "keep up" pack with you?

If you do go, have a great time learning ..

We went travelling for the best part of a year when I was eight, my brother 4 and my sister 2 coming on 3. We had lessons during that time (my mum's bestfriend was a nursery teacher and cam along with her two boys - my best friends)for a couple of hours a day. A bit of English and maths and a lot of stuff to do with wherever we were. Coming back to school was easy - we were right on track and were ahead if anything. Plus we all have the most incredible memories of this magical time. Your ds is only little - so go for it while you can.

hi sue!we`re still arguing about iti fancy peru,chile and bolivia or africa and dh wants to go to vietnam and cambodia

Have fun - I quite fancy South America but the friends we had out there are now all back in the UK. My cousin met her DH when they were both backpacking out there years ago.

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thanks sue
sb34 we will be doing this trip next year,we dont know when yet as depending on the countries we go we have to make sure is not their winter or monsoons etc,so we still dont know,it will be our last trip while the school is on so dh is going to have to plan any future long holidays in the summer,thanks for the advice sb34

As a secondary school teaacher I would be a bit worried about older children having such a long time off school and missing valuable coursework, etc. But, at this age I can't see how it would hurt they're education really, especially if you are planning to keep them up to date, and enrich them with the traveeling, anyway. I would definitly recommend speaking to the teacher and having a word about the topics being planned for the time you will be away. With the numeracy and literacy strategies, and the National Curriculum in place much of the topics are pre-planned throughout schools of what will be covered, when, where and how. The teacher may be able to help with this. Also, what about seeing if you can offer the class something through your experiences - how about your child writing a short postcard of where they are visiting, and a bit about the places they visit - and the teacher could use this in his/her day - do primary schools still have 'news' time built into the day? Also, may be a good way of using e-mail and the Internet to share experiences. Just a thought and might be quite nice for all involved.

If you try to work with the school, regarding the planning, timing, educational aspects, etc. they may be a bit more forth coming, then again maybe the head is jealous ?!

I am not sure what the legal issue is with keeping places open. I know in my last school we had one pupil who spent 6 months in the UK and the other 6 months in Australia - his dad was a cricketer from what I remember. Although the school was VERY overly subscribed he did always come back, so there must be ways around it - I would try and look into this more.

I think the key is that this is travelling rather than a holiday - a big difference IMO.

WOW,thanks a lot claireandrich,that was really good advice,i`m glad i can have the opinions of both parents and teachers,is great!
the headmaster in our school seems quite nice so i will let him know about our plans and if they would like for us to send them stories and information to be used in the class,thank you

We had relatives from Canada staying with us recently and their son who was 11 (and very annoying but thats another story) had to do a project on his holiday for his school on his return.

We also arranged for a friends son to take him into school for a day so he could experience schools in this country (!).

He parents say that he goes back to his school and does a talk to his class etc and that the teachers are very supportive.

Maybe like others have said, stress the educational purpose of the travelling.

Hope you get some more positive support from the school.

thank you olive oil,actually ds went to my nephew`s school in spain for three days,invited by the teachers to help them in their english lessons,he was at school the whole day meals included and he absolutely loved it,is a private school but with a very laid back attitude,no uniforms or home work and everytime my nephew(8)has been on holiday the school wants to know everything about it,i will make the school see that is an educational holiday

sounds a fantastic idea whymummy - go for it!
I don't seem to remember learning anything of great lifelong educational value aged 5 at school (anything that was that important would surely crop up at some later point?)and I'm sure he'd learn loads from travelling about different cultures, languages, animals etc.
Bet the teacher is jealous

thanks willow and gumdrop i dont know how i missed your posts,theyre really helpful,gumdrop i will follow your advice too,willow your message is very reassuring
thanks morocco!!ds and dd loved morocco,they even learnd a few words in french and arabic from playing with moroccan kids in the beach,sukram

I read an article once in which a couple took their 2 children 10 and 8 travelling for a year. Their friend had died from a heart attack, they'd come into some money and they decided it was 'now or never'. They had a fantastic time, the children were given pocket money in the different currencies and had to spend it wisely, working out the exchange rates (maths), the mother read to them (English) and their geography and history skills were covered by them being in the different countries. Their self confidence increased as they had to learn to adapt to different social situations quickly and they learnt more about each other as a family.

It sounded fantastic and I've always had it in the back of my mind to do that with my family if the money/opportunity presents itself.

The school was fine about it too so I'm sorry if your teacher's being sniffy. I think most would agree that missing chunks of education when you're in your teens is not such a good idea but surely no one can argue that a few weeks/months or even a year makes much difference at infant level!

hi gem,thanks for your message,ill love to go away for a whole year,thatll be great,no arguing about wich countries we`re going to,we could visit everyone,well not everyone but quite a lot,thanks again

Took my dd (6) out this year for two weeks in June, did feel terribly guilty although the school were OK about it. We took a homework pack with us and she did a diary and scrapbook. I am doing the same the next year - family life and travel are so important too.