Our rotation tried to include 6-8th graders and that lasted about a year and a half. They did NOT like it and wanted to be in the youth Sunday school class. Even some of the 5th graders thought the lessons were too childish (gotta love that age group). We tried modifying the lessons but they still didn't seem to like it that much. So now the age groupings include the 6th graders, but the 7th & 8th are now in the youth class.

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Interesting. Our pre-teens and early teens like our workshops. Perhaps it is the curric you were using? Or weren't modifying enough for older kids.

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I've got a group of kids we ask every year what they think about doing workshops. Their only complaint is when we have to broadly grade them with younger kids. 7th & 8th graders don't often enjoy being around 5th graders.

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My early teens will turn their noses up at art projects that are too simplistic. But they love games workshop, theater, computer lab.