Our Big Ate is a Star Scout!

Such a long delayed post, I know! LOL!
When our Big Ate first announced at home that there's going to be a Scouting camp in their school, it lacks energy and excitement. Initially they have been told that only those 9yo and above during the event can join the scouting, so naturally our Big Ate was disappointed. The scouting event/ camping was set in October and her birthday being inNovember, naturally she assumed that she wouldn't be able to join. Actually, when she was in the Philippines, she's got no interest with Girl Scouting. With all the many different clubs in her previous school, it was really hard for her to choose since they were allowed only one club per year and in Colegio San Agustin - Makati, there were about more than a dozen clubs to choose from! And, with our Big Ate not being the active kind of girl, she leaned more to the book club and homemakers' club. When she transferred to AIS, there were no clubs at all. The only one they got was the scouting event. I say event because I don't even know if it can be considered a club. We don't know if there will be other scouting activities to happen within the years. So yes, that scouting thingy was just an event, not a club. 

Be it as it may, eventually there had been changes in the plan (as they always are with AIS!) again a few days near the date. This time they said that the event would not include students from Grade 1 - 6, but for levels 1-3, the will only be joining the day camp while levels 4-6 can join the overnight camp. Good enough for our Big Ate at least she still is able to participate. As a mom, I truly believe that activities like these are important to the total development of the child, equally important as academics. This is what I impart to the girls. That you can not just focus in one area of growth. Of course academic excellence is the common measure of parents to consider their children excellent, but I don't believe in this thinking. Yes a child may be very intelligent and may always be the top of her class, but if she does not have any people skills and is not able to interact with other children and not able to express his or herself, I still feel that the child needs improvement. See, I want my children to grow up wise, and not just intelligent... I want them to achieve the right level of maturity to know what is right from wrong, what is good and bad. And this you only learn when you interact with others, children and adult alike. A child needs to have confidence to express his or herself, to be able to relay his message. A child needs leadership ability. Some academically intelligent kids somewhat lack in this area. That is actually how our Big Ate is while she was younger. She is smart but lacking in self confidence. She can easily take on a task but instead prefer to put her head down and just follow others' lead. This is why, extra curricular activities are of the same importance to me as academics. I think being timid and shy hinders a child's development, that's why I want to expose them to the world. This is not a perfect world. There are good and bad in this world. You can not always be perfect, and in order to learn your weaknesses you need others to learn from. Knowing your weaknesses will make you appreciate your strengths, will make you appreciate yourself. 
And so when the date came, I was as excited as our Big Ate. I had not been there with her during school events while she was in the Philippines. This would be my first time to really see her participate in these activities. But then again, I don't know, it just seem that the school has this talent of finding a way to irritate me. No matter how I try to avoid it. When we arrived, we went straight to the registration to claim our Big Ate's shirt which they collected beforehand for printing. Ok, and so her shirt is missing! Nobody can tell me where it is. And the worst part is that there was even one teacher who said "e baka po d kayo nag-submit" (maybe you did not submit a shirt). Hellloooo????!!!! Would I look for it if we didn't submit? We even paid for the printing. Well, before our Big Ate brought her shirt to school, I made sure to write her name on the shirt, exactly my thoughts! I'm sure that would also be the first thought of any mom. We wouldn't want our child's shirt be given away to someone else, or much worse, loose it altogether. And that is exactly what happened!
Ok then, let's leave the shirt. It was a good thing I asked our Big Ate to bring an extra white shirt. So I immediately assisted her to change. This is exactly what I was trying to say earlier. She is really sensitive to these things she does not want  to call attention to herself. So her being in a red shirt when we arrived when everybody else were in their scouting shirts would really get to her. Guess being an OC mom sometimes pays too! Hahaha!
And then came the issue with the scarf and that yellow and green thingy you use so you don't have to tie the scarf into a knot... I forgot what  it's called. But yes, it was part of the fees we paid for and we were told that there's no more left for her. Again, this same teacher who I was not talking too replied "E kasi po late na kayo!". Well excuse me, we are not late. We are just in time, we are just not the first to arrive. And excuse me again, even if we did not come at all, I still expect to receive those items, including the printed shirt since we paid for them. And what is the point of pre-registration and pre-payment if you will not use it to count how many participants are expected and to prepare the right no. of materials? Oh well... inhale... exhale... 
Nonetheless, apart from those little incidents which again will be stored in the "because they are new" box, I was happy that our Big Ate had fun during the day. I came back for her again a couple of times. One was to bring her food for lunch and the next was to pick her up at the end of the day. Of course again, as expected, the event was not well organized. The younger kids were expected to finish at around 3.30, but come 5:30, they are not yet done. I don't know what was the cause of delay but we had to wait more than an hour for the closing ceremonies. 
Again, my thoughts at the end of it all? This day is not about me, it's about our Big Ate and it had been such a happy occasion for her specially since their patrol came out as the biggest winner! Yaaay!! And if only for that, I am more than happy to just forget the day's stress and thank everyone who had arranged for the said activity. I hope there would be more coming and I pray that next time ---- they will be more organized!




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