My son only attended 2 years of public school. In kindergarten, I was totally against it. It was against school policy and we never did it.
In first grade, when I realized the school wasn't a good fit and lots of other families were pulling kids for vacation, we actually took mini trips during the week every month or two.
I think it depends a lot on circumstances and the particular child. Some kids really need some mental health days. Some kids need the consistency of being there every single day the teacher is teaching. Some trips are wonderful learning experiences. Especially in the early elementary years. Once you hit jr. high, I do think attendance becomes very important.
We just did a 2 week trip and we went to Gettysburg and Washington DC. I can't imagine a teacher telling me we couldn't do that trip (we are homeschooling this year). Even my 4 year old has come back with a fascination and understanding of US history I didn't even know was possible.
