[ViolaMum]

Open Gym sounds like fun! I'd do that in the winter if I had the option. I can understand some kids feeling squeamish about dissection, but my girls have done it.

My oldest (12, almost 13) is getting to that phase where she wants social time with her friends and doesn't want to do structured activities, unless it's officially a class. You could have some of that attitude going on - tweens wanting hang out time instead of learning time.

What is your community like? Why do most people homeschool? I think that makes a difference. If they are doing it for religious reasons, that's one thing in a small town. If they are doing it for more academic reasons, that's totally different. They are going to be less influenced by the town culture and more interested in trying new activities.

FWIW, I grew up in a small farming community/college town (we moved there when I was in 2nd grade) where there was absolutely nothing to do, other than the roller rink on the north end of town. Oh, and the movie theater. (When people asked me where I was from I usually asked if they'd seen Footloose. The original one with Kevin Bacon.) But I went to public school. Even then, it was hard to find friends who wanted to do anything I thought was fun. The culture of the town was such that if it smacked of Big City, it was viewed with suspicion. I called it the Land of Ain't Never Been Done. Art, for instance, was too highbrow, despite the academics who lived there taught at the college. They lived in a small town for a reason - they didn't want the stress of the Big City. Could it be a cultural issue rather than a specific activity that you are offering? Perhaps organizing more social time would work out better?