NetCompass
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October 6, 1999
by MaryAnn Gardner

NetCompass Craft Idea Collection
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HELP! I NEED CUB SCOUT CRAFTS

Gail Beaver, a new Scouter writes:

"I have been asked to make decorations for the Blue & Gold Banquet and help the boys weekly with arts and crafts. I'm new to volunteering and don't have a clue! Any help would be greatly appreciated."

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I first answered her with the normal responses of :

1. "Visit your local Council Scout Office to find out what literature is available.
2. Attend Roundtable each month and get ideas for activities based on the upcoming Cub Scout monthly theme.
3. Attend Cub Leader training.
4. Talk to experienced Den Leaders.
5. Check the Cub Scout handbooks for ideas.
6. Visit the library.
7. Browse the ScoutER NetCompass category for Cub Scout Crafts...........?"

Even though the NetCompass boasts 400+ Compass Points of topics, with thousands of links, there is no category featuring Cub Scout Crafts. One certainly could (and should) question "Why?" Actually, I have a pretty good answer. The NetCompass is an ever-evolving web site. Since everything couldn't be done at once, in the beginning pages were built with general Scouting themes. Then the focus switched to building web pages with primarily Boy Scout themes. Why was this? The builders were overwhelmingly more experienced in Boy Scouting than in Cub Scouting. (Girl Scouting wasn't even discussed at that point.)

When I joined the ScoutER family as Online Editor for the NetCompass it had less than 200 Compass Points. Many of those web pages were blank categories or redundant ones. Ed Henderson and I, together with our Editor-in-chief Terry Howerton, spent many hours "pruning" the unnecessary categories, re-defining topics, and trying to see the web site from YOUR point of view. Pruning will cause a plant to grow thicker. It worked the same with the NetCompass. It has more than doubled in size since then and now offers over 400 Compass Points containing more than 3000 links.

Other features have been added such as Scouting articles, the weekly NetCompass Comments, the AIS Survey, YOUR Viewpoint, and the PDS series. There is a new NetCompass Newsletter and a contest for you to enter with real prizes offered to the winners. We will probably even have a Cub Scout Crafts category. (Girl Scouts, you'll be included in the craft links. Watch for more for you in the near future, too.)

In the meantime, in the true Scouting Spirit, for all you Den Leaders and Brownie Leaders who don't have time to wait until the web page is built, Gail kindly agreed to help me collect a page of craft links for you to browse. [editor's note: We now have a Craft Ideas Compass Point.] I am also asking you to share your craft ideas with other Den Leaders.