Question for the teachers and fellow parents.

[Ak Fireman]

I'm planning on taking my 8yr son moose hunting for the first time this year. I normally go during the late hunt off the taylor in 20E, but this year I was gonna hunt the earlier hunt (8/24-8/28) with the hope of getting back home before school started. Recently the school district finalized the calender and the first day will be 8/23. I'm not happy but its time he started hunting with dad so its gonna happen regardless.
So here's my questions- is it better to let him miss the first 6 days of school and go on the earlier hunt or miss 9 days on the longer hunt but let him have a week or two of being in a new classroom? Also, if anyone knows of a earlier cow hunt that has good odds I would be very grateful for a PM.
I'm not planning on letting him shoot but he has been shooting his moms 243 and a 30/30 (managed recoil) off a bench with good success so if the right opportunity comes along then we'll see what happens.

Any advice from fellow Parents on how to keep them interested during a long hunt would be welcomed as well. I've already realized the power that hot cider and a candy bar can have on there morale.

Thanks for any and all thoughts on this-Travis

[skybust]

Is this his first hunt my son is 10 and he has started bear hunting with me last year we will do it agian this year and are going to ND for deer and doves in Sept. I started him on duck and they were short hunts to keep his interest. The best advise I can give you is make if fun for him. For the school item I think I would go with later

[SuperCub]

I always missed the first Week+ of school when I was a kid. Thats Moose season!!! ha ha The only one who didn't like it was my Mom.. I'm pretty sure I learned more about Life around that Campfire than I would have at School! Guaranteed!!!

I doubt you'll have a problem keeping him interested... Let him carry an "unloaded" .22 and he'll feel like he's part of the hunt. That's what my Dad did. It seemed to work!! Ha ha

Sounds like fun!

[AlaskaTrueAdventure]

Concerning letting him shoot...
I have several friends that have taken out a gaggle of grandkids age 10 to 14. They have shot about 10 caribou, 5 moose, 10 black bear, 1 brown bear and 1 ram. As practiced and trained shooters, None (OOO), experienced any degree of "buck fever". In fact, on several ocasions while waiting for caribou to stand up at about 200 yards, the kid would whisper to the grandad "why are we waiting? It's a simple shot and I can't miss!
OK.
Boom.
caribou rolls over kicking, then dies.
So if your kids nerves appear fine, why not lett him take a controller shot is the conditions are right.

And lets em miss a few days of shool. Unles they are are missing physics or chemistry or calc. And for them to miss a few days this week simply provides you with an opportunity to provide some addition parent/guidance influence next week.
AlaskaTrueAdventure/Dennis

[Gary]

As far as missing the first days of school - why not contact a teacher (that will be teaching his grade next year) before school ends this year and ask them what he should study so as not to fall too far behind when he does make it to class? Best bet is to find a teach (or administrator) that hunts him/herself. Have your boy do his studying before going hunting - he won't have time for it while hunting.
Or just ask yourself - what would happen if he missed those days because of sickness? Do you think he would be able to make up the lost ground after recovering?
Have a great hunt.

[spoiled one]

I am a parent of an 8 year old as well as a teacher of middle schoolers. Each year I have a student or two that misses a week or so to go on a family excursion. In this day and age I feel time spent with the family hunting or just on a vacation can be just as valuable and as educational as sitting in the classroom. Lots of lessons to be learned while hunting with dad. Take him hunting while you can. Once they enter high school, missing a few days of chemistry or the upper level math classes will be tough to recover from.

[La Pine]

Take him hunting, the one on one time with him in the woods during his formative years is something you will never have opportunity at again. Go and have a good time.

I'm planning on taking my 8yr son moose hunting for the first time this year. I normally go during the late hunt off the taylor in 20E, but this year I was gonna hunt the earlier hunt (8/24-8/28) with the hope of getting back home before school started. Recently the school district finalized the calender and the first day will be 8/23. I'm not happy but its time he started hunting with dad so its gonna happen regardless.
So here's my questions- is it better to let him miss the first 6 days of school and go on the earlier hunt or miss 9 days on the longer hunt but let him have a week or two of being in a new classroom? Also, if anyone knows of a earlier cow hunt that has good odds I would be very grateful for a PM.
I'm not planning on letting him shoot but he has been shooting his moms 243 and a 30/30 (managed recoil) off a bench with good success so if the right opportunity comes along then we'll see what happens.

Any advice from fellow Parents on how to keep them interested during a long hunt would be welcomed as well. I've already realized the power that hot cider and a candy bar can have on there morale.

Thanks for any and all thoughts on this-Travis

[AKBighorn]

I didn't take either of my boys out of school for hunting until they were in High School. They each knew far in advance what the plans were and that they were responsible for getting with thier teachers in advance for work that was to be done while they were gone. Every teacher doesn't have lesson plans to far in advance but they were all willing to work with the boys. In the end, the boys didn't skip a beat on thier school work but they sure valued thier time in the field. Personally I'd go later and allow your son to be there for the start of school.

[FamilyMan]

Field trip with Dad is the best

Each year I have a student or two that misses a week or so to go on a family excursion. In this day and age I feel time spent with the family hunting or just on a vacation can be just as valuable and as educational as sitting in the classroom. Lots of lessons to be learned while hunting with dad.

:ditto: The school doesn't ask my thoughts on the educational-ness of their field trip to Carls Jr. (I'm serious) so I don't ask them before I take a kid of mine out hunting, missing school. I'll guarantee you that my field trips are more worth missing some classroom time over.

You asked for tips:
- gear'm up better than you are/have. If they're not warm and dry, ain't no one going to be happy.
- lower your sights on what you can accomplish afield. Shorten expeditions; allow for a plan B sooner turnaround if the kid is looking challenged. Make'm stay afield while they're not happy and they'll make sure to not come again.
- have fun. That's the main thing. Bringing meat home HAS to take a second to this.

my 3 cents.

[Stickeen]

I have kids coming back late from summer vaca all the time. I see no problem with it. Especially if he's hunting and has some stories to tell. If he was a new kid down here and came to school late because he was moose hunting, he would fit right in, might even be envied a bit.

[Milo]

At age 8, there is nothing he is going to miss that week in school that he will possibly even remember. A week hunting, different story. I took my kid a bunch when he was young. I'm glad I did because now he has things like trigonometry to deal with and really can't afford to miss.

Do it now, because it will only get harder and harder to pull him out of school.

[Brian M]

Starting late or taking time off in Sept shouldn't be a huge issue if you have a teacher that is willing to work with you and if your kid is willing/able to do the extra work necessary to get caught up upon their return.

The next time that the calendar comes up in Anchorage, I sure would like to see a lot of folks get involved in testifying before the school board concerning the earlier and earlier start dates. Lots of writting comments were submitted during the past two calendar sessions, but at the Board meeting I went to, I was the only one testifying in person. I didn't gather that the concerns of the hunting community mattered much to them (despite that being the main issue in well over 50% of the written comments), but if we could fill that room with parents concerned about lost hunting opportunities for their children, we just might make some sort of a dent. Unfortunately, as Anchorage goes so goes the rest of the state. We were the first district to move to a mid-August start, and now the rest of the state has followed suit. It is a crying shame, as many parents are unwilling/unable to pull their kids out, thus many kids are missing these incredibly important formative experiences in the woods with their families.

[Ak Fireman]

Thanks for all the replies. To answer some of the questions this will not be his first hunting experience. I have taken him out on some half day hikes for deer on Douglas and even overnight-ed last August at treeline. Last spring he was able to climb high enough with me to get on a grouse. The deer hunts were just trial runs. We did spot a couple the last time but they were out of reach and he was done climbing for the day. I hope to do an overnight this spring for grouse and let him try his new north face bag and then some more overnights for deer before going for moose. I was really hoping to do the earlier hunt in the hope of being back for the start of school or if the caribou were in maybe staying a day or two and letting him take one. The later hunt has a higher chance of success for moose with it being a longer hunt but it will be a little colder nights. I did talk to his current teacher and he said the later hunt would be his choice so that my son didn't feel left behind or like the "new kid". My wife and I are both very involved in his schooling and he is above average in everything so missing school isn't a problem. I'm thinking the later hunt might be the one.
I like the idea of the unloaded 22. I plan on letting him shoot every grouse we see while in the ARGO so we are bound to have a great time.

[trailblazersteve]

I have taken my teenage daughter on 2 different 10 day hunts in mid Sept. No problems except that a couple of teachers tried to dock my daughter points on a few projects. Brian actually gave me some helpfull advice and all was resolved. Make sure to get all the advanced work that you can (as stated above, some teachers didn't seem to be as organized as they should be and could not provide the next weeks work) and stay on your child at camp to get it done. Also make sure that you stay on it when you get back from camp so in Nov your kid can't say the reason they fell behind or have a low grade was because of moose camp. My daughter did not use this excuse but her friend that came along did. Even know both of them skunked their dads by shooting 50"+ moose. This year is my other daughters turn to go to moose camp. She is 11 and counting the days, just like her old man...

[Teacherman]

I'm a science teacher in the Valley and I encourage my students to take part in experiences like this! There is no better education than spending a week in the woods (science teachers opinion). As for start dates, I loved my start date in WA when I taught down there, Sept 8th on average! I always got the first 8 days of my deer bow season off.