[The Tickle Momster]

We were part of a group that just completely fizzled out this year. We were loosely structured and had a game plan for every week all year. People just wouldn't commit. We really wanted to keep the group low key but we think a couple of things happened. One, there was no financial committment to encourage people to actually show up. I've heard this from other people in other areas. This left 2 or 3 of us to do all the work. We burned out fast.

Another issue was that for the last few years, we had no new members with kids in our age range or younger, so no one to train up. My kids range from 9 - 16. The older ones are happy to help the younger ones but also needed/wanted older kid time. This was difficult to create, in part because the one other family with older kids were VERY inconsistent about coming. This led to my older kids not wanting to come.

It may be that people are just not used to someone planning things. If you are consistent, it may build. Our state hsing advocate says create what you want or need in your community. There are others who want and need similar things. I

I think the board game idea is a great one. For the open gym did you direct games like dodgeball, basketball, etc.? Or did you just let the kids explore? I love the idea of group games with a homeschool group so the kids can learn the basics. Keep trying.

We are now doing nature/outdoor walks a couple times a month. I'm taking my younger two and sharing the location, date & time with friends who have expressed interest. Even if no one comes, we are getting some outdoor time together.

Another reason my older kids don't want to join activities is they now have their own interests AND feel that co-ops etc. make it difficult to complete their lessons. Co-op days took so much time for our family that they could get nothing done and at least one of my kids always felt behind after that.

I hope this helps.