That's about the age when girls may begin to hide their talents. Your daughter may be engaging in self-sabotage by only reading every third word of a test she was invited to sit for, and by avoiding Science Olympiad tryouts.
Without pushing, you may wish to help her explore the
Science Olympiad website, discuss a time when you may have tried out for something for which you did not make the cut but still found the tryout experience to be valuable, and see if she can reignite her spark of interest.
Attending tryouts is as much about a child deciding if s/he finds the extracurricular to be a good "fit", as about the organizers of the extracurricular seeing which children are believed to be a good "fit". The experiences of acceptance, rejection, resilience, and refining what may be a good "fit" are all great practice for job interviews (including babysitting) and also for the college selection process. You may also wish to reinforce that everything worthwhile and rewarding does not necessarily come "easily" or "naturally" but may take effort, practice, and persistence.
Kids with multiple talents and interests may want to tryout for several extracurriculars throughout middle school and high school. If you are not already helping your daughter collect samples of her work, this may be a good time to begin a portfolio or resume of your daughter's activities and accomplishments, including extracurriculars, contests/competitions, outside classes, and a list of books read.
