Quit or Leave Her Be

Rae was suppose to have a Brownie gathering with her group. They were doing it as a farewell pot-luck thingy to say goodbye to the P6s girls in the group and school. Rae was just in her first year of being a Brownie and she is only one of the two girls in her P2 class that joined this co-curricular activity. She doesn't have many friends because she is not the sort that opens up easily and keeps to herself more.

In her school, once you are in one activity, you need to explain and reason if you want to quit. They are suppose to take it through to P6. I thought Brownie was a good thing because it helps to work on social skills and teamwork as well as some survivor skills useful in life. She wanted to join because it involves campouts.

Since the past few months, she asked me if she can quit. I had ignored her whims about quiting previously but today, I am reconsidering it quite seriously, never mind if the school requires me to write a letter of explaination. If she doesn't enjoy it, it'll be a terrible few years to P6(Primary 6).

Yesterday's gathering was not a good experience for her. She had the task of bringing jelly for the pot luck so I made plans for my helper to make some colourful jelly with nata de coco pieces. In the morning I placed it in those insulated bento bag and pack an ice pack to keep the jelly cool.
At lunch after school, I brought her a lunch box as she had to stay back for Concert Rehearsal. The first thing she saw me, she almost burst into tears. She told me that the none of the Brownies ate the jelly she brought. She was pretty heartbroken, I could tell. I told her perhaps they had too much food. She said no and said another girl brought a pack of commercial jelly and they all ate that and left hers. So I asked what happened to the jelly she brought then. She said the teachers took them.

I think she was disappointed because she was excited about bringing her own share of food and when they didn't eat it, she felt rejected. As a mom, I was sad too because it is a terrible feeling when you daughter is sad. I would really want to shelter her from all this and I now wonder if it is a good choice about her joining this activity if her heart is not there. Giving up seems like a better thing but at the same time, it would also mean running away from the problem. Then again, she has to do 3 more years before she finishes primary school.