As my oldest son enters high school in August, my family as a whole will no longer be vacationing while school is in session. I may pull my younger two kids out for a trip, but on the whole my family will now be vacationing over spring break, winter break and summer break with the rest of the masses.
I assumed that school breaks really mean no school activities, and we are free to travel or do as we please. Unfortunately, I was wrong!
Orchestra Trip
Last week, I received an email that the high school orchestra goes on an out-of-state trip every other year. And this coming school year is the year. The tentative date overlaps with spring break. WHAT?!?!
I already have plane tickets to Costa Rica over spring break. And, I already booked two rooms for five nights at the Andaz Papagayo Resort at the “old” rate of 15,000 World of Hyatt points per night.
Because of the way the dates work for each trip, I can’t just send my son on his school trip while we go to Costa Rica without him. His trip ends before ours, and he’s too young to stay home by himself.
I know my son would have a blast traveling with his orchestra friends. Except for a 5thgrade wilderness camp and a few camping trips with his best friend, all of his trips have been with us. I understand that there is a lot of value in letting kids travel with their classmates. But, does it have to be over spring break?
I’m sure the trip is scheduled at that time so that students don’t miss many classes. I get it! But I wasn’t expecting a school trip to get in the way of our spring break plans.
Sports Practice
My son is hoping to make the high school tennis team. The schedule has practices starting in mid-July. These practices aren’t required. However, I do believe he will have a better chance of making the team if he attends.
This means that we only have six weeks of summer break in which to travel, even though school doesn’t start until mid-August. Dang it!
It also solidifies the fact that my family really can’t go to the Olympics in Tokyo next year, as the games start in late July.
Taking Family Time Back
I sent an email to my son’s orchestra teacher letting her know that he won’t be able to go on the trip. I told my son about the schedule conflict and even told him our spring break trip destination, which I don’t normally share until closer to our trip. He is surprisingly fine with missing out on the school trip. He figures that wherever the orchestra is going, it can’t be better than Costa Rica.
As for our summer schedule, we are going to have to take our trips within the first six weeks. My son is very passionate about playing tennis, and six weeks is still a good amount of time to travel. For next summer, I’m planning a trip for the first week of June and hopefully a smaller trip around July 4th. One of these years, we will make it to the Olympics, darn it!
Do your kids’ schools encroach on your time off with school trips and sports practices? How do you manage?
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Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
Hi,
Welcome to the world of high school conflicts with vacation! Our youngest starts high school in the fall and we already know that our spring vacation is gone because she has a band trip. On a positive note, we know they only take a big trip every other year. However, our middle son starts college and a March spring break doesn’t correspond with the high school February and April break. Sigh. It might be time to travel without the kids! LOL.