In our family the clash between these very real demands on our time has been intensely stressful. As our synagogue has tried to make religious school "fun" and "meaningful" the content has shifted from a focus on Torah and Talmudic study, or bible study and Jewish law, to one of Jewish ritual and a repetitive discussion of the holidays. Since we talk in depth about each holiday at home, our children began to rebel. Saying that they didn't see why they needed to choose religious school over other activities since they weren't learning anything, and demanding the ability to sleep in at least one morning a week.
Since I didn't have a good answer for them, I started homeschooling our Hebrew curriculum and stopped fighting with them three days a week. It's been great for our family. We've learned some very interesting things together and our children have been inspired to ask some fantastic questions. But we've had to give up a lot too. Our kids B'nai Mitzvot will not be held in our synagogue, since minimum religious school attendance is mandatory, and we feel somewhat disconnected form our Jewish community because of our alternative choices. As a result, we've begun working with our Rabbi on some compromises that enable the kids to stay with soccer and sleep in sometimes but still participate with their religious school peers. Stay tuned to see how it plays out!