funscout

Excellent ideas from LisaBob! If she's not careful, her old Pack will have her signed up as a Webelos leader again!

You could also get specific ideas from the troops in your area. My older son's troop does NOT expect the newbies to know how to use a compass, be a good cook, be proficient at knot tying, etc. They appreciate exposure to these activities, but personally, I wouldn't want to over-teach my Webelos, so that they end up bored with the rank requirements for Tenderfoot, Second and First Class. One troop in a near-by town tells their local Packs that they prefer that the cubs NOT cook with dutch ovens, because the troop likes to have that as something special that they teach their new scouts. Keep in mind that boys with NO cub scout experience can still become Boy Scouts, so anything we teach will be better than that!

I agree with LisaBob that you don't want to get hung up on helping the boys earn ALL the activity pins. At the beginning of Webelos 1, I let the parents know which ones we would be doing as a den (definitely those required for Webelos rank and Arrow of Light)and which ones they would have to work on at home, if desired.

I guess I never really thought about having to be READY for Boy scouts. With my older son, we just followed the Webelos book and also tried to teach them the basic boy scout skills that would be needed for participation in Klondike Derby. This is where the Boy Scout handbook comes in handy.

Have fun!

Oops! My older son camped with his future troop at Klondike Derby in January of 2004 when he was in Webelos II. We had all the necessary equipment, he tented with his Dad, and had a great time. Nobody told us we couldn't do this, and obviously I didn't look it up.

I hope my younger son doesn't remember that his brother camped at Klondike when he was still in Webelos!

I think consequences work best in teaching a lesson, when they are natural consequences. When my son was a first-time Den Chief at Cub Scout Day Camp, he was almost "punished" for forgetting his Den Chief hat. The Camp director was going to make him clean up all the litter around the entire camp, but this wouldn't have taught him to be better at remembering, it would have taught him that this woman was MEAN! Now, if my son had been littering, then I would have naturally expected him to pick up any litter in the vicinity.

At Boy Scout camp, when my son forgot an item, he got better at remembering, because the natural consequence was that he had to go all the way back to his camp site to retrieve it. Another natural consequence was that his buddies let him know that were REALLY tired of having to go back with him! If the leaders had simply taken away a privilege, that would not have taught him as well as the natural consequences did.

Disclaimer: Having said my piece about natural consequences, please don't think that I would go to the extreme of allowing a boy to suffer a natural consequence that would be dangerous or unhealthy.

I don't know of any parents who are not leaders who have stayed at summer camp. Any adults who do camp are assigned jobs, so there would not be an opportunity to "shadow" their own son.

Some of our leaders split the week due to work committments. Others camp only part of the week due to family committments. A married couple will often split the week, so there will always be a parent at home with the other kids. This works out well, since the husband can simply move into the tent that his wife had used for the first part of the week.

The last few years, we have probably had an average of 1 adult for every 4 scouts.

I guess I should have known that a simple request for information would end up being political! I used the term "shacking up" because I wanted a short, but to-the-point title. I guess I should have written a very lengthy title, in order to make it politically correct!

Thank you to the following for answering my question:

SR540 Bearver, Sweetspiritpamh, Troop_Dad, ScoutNut

And thank you Fuzzy Bear for your humor! I love it!

Trevorum, I didn't intend to get into a discussion about the morality of unmarried adults co-habiting. We both know we disagree on this (and many other) issues, but that's okay. You live by your morals, and my family and I live by ours. I just wanted to know what the GSUSA guidelines were on this issue, since it is forbidden in BSA.

By the way, one of my Webelos has a live-in pseudo-dad. The man is very nice, and often helps out our den meetings. Although I don't agree with his living situation, it is not, of course, a problem (or my business) at den meetings. If these two adults want to tent together at a campout, then it WILL be my business, and I will very kindly explain BSA policy. I will not be pushing MY morals on them, it will be BSA policy.

I don't have daughters, so I'm not familiar with Girl Scouts' policy on unmarried men and women sharing a tent. My brother kept his daughter home from a camp-out last summer when he discovered that the leader and her live-in boyfriend were going to share a tent. My brother and his wife asked the leader to tent separately from her boyfriend, but she insisted that the sleeping arrangements were none of their business.

Does anyone know what GS policy is on this? My brother is also involved with Boy scouts, so he knows this would never be allowed at a Boy scout campout.

I can't believe a Scouter would encourage a Scout to lie! I don't know much about Wiccan, but if they believe in a higher authority, then that should be okay with BSA.

We just had an outdoor den meeting on a warm day, so I provided a cooler of water in case the boys got thirsty during our activities. A few of the boys complained that it was only water, and not Kool-Aid or juice! I've learned that my family is in the minority for drinking lots of good old water.

Our council does this, too. The requirements have changed over the years. Some years free rank badges were given to all quality units. I think this year units have to qualify according to the FOS formula. When the Advancement Coordinators pick up badges and awards, they are asked if they are a Gold Card unit. This is verified on the computer when they check out.

My favorite gift was an "autographed" framed photo of all the boys in my den. I had no idea that my asst. leader had done that, and I was amazed that the boys kept quiet about it. It didn't cost much, but it sure means a LOT to me!

Our Council encourages Webelos to attend Fall Camporee with a troop. Saturday morning is specifically set up for Webelos to work on acivity badges. The Webelos then choose to participate as dens, or tag along with the Boy scouts in the afternoon activities. This is often the ONLY camp-out that our Webelos bother to go to. I encouraged my 1st year Webelos to attend Camporee this Fall, because I knew that some of them would be in football next Fall, and wouldn't be able to go. My son was the only one of our 12 boys that went to Camporee (along with four Webelos II scouts.) I'm worried that the rest of my Webelos will have a hard time fitting in a troop camp-out between now and next March, because I know how everyone's summer fills up so quickly.

The troop that our Pack traditionally feeds into, has been very accommodating and inviting. The last couple of years we've also gotten cubs from other Packs, because the other troop in town hasn't been inviting them on any camp-outs. We've gotten some new scouts from other Packs, who NEVER camped at all as Webelos.

I took my older son to Camporee as a 4th and 5th grader, and my husband camped with him at Klondike in 5th grade. Our current 4th grader has been to Camporee and he wants to camp with the troop at Klondike next year. I haven't seen a problem with the 4th graders being at troop camp-outs since a parent has to be with them. The Boy Scouts have been very helpful and also haven't had a problem with the 9 and 10 year olds that tag along.

My dens have always included a snack at the end, partly due to hunger, and partly for an incentive. Sometimes if they were goofing off too much, all I had to say was, "boy, I don't know if we're going to have enough time for snack tonight" and they settled down right away!

We used to rotate snack/drink responsibilities through all the den members, but we had too many instances of forgetting, or the "snack boy" not making the meeting. So, now my assistant den leader is in charge of snacks for every meeting, and the parents were agreeable to using den dues money to help cover the cost.

briantshore - I have a boy in my den who LIVES for the snack. One time when my asst. wasn't going to be at the meeting, we forgot to discuss the snack issue. When the boys realized there was no snack, one boy (I'll call him Joe) complained BIG time. He said, "it's not fair that WE should have to suffer from the adults' mistake! (and Joe is a kid who has had a few too many snacks at home, himself) I told him that it wasn't a matter of fairness or not, it was just a matter of forgetting. He then asked if I had any "emergency" snacks on hand! He couldn't believe it that I had nothing but water (from the drinking fountain) to offer them. I assured Joe that he would survive without a snack this one time. All the other boys got over it quickly, but I can see that this kid needs to be warned right now, that he won't be getting regular snacks when he crosses over to Boy Scouts next March.

Thanks so much for your replies. I got a lump in my throat and my eyes teared up while reading each of your messages. The boys do have both grandmothers and 2 aunts who live about 45 minutes away, and another aunt in a different state. They are closest (emotionally) to their maternal grandmother.

Also, with the boys all being 2 years apart, it worked out that the younger two both currently have a teacher that their older sibling had at the time of their mother's illness and death. So, these two teachers were already aware and remembering, before I had a chance to remind them.

ccjj - thank you for responding from the child's (now adult) point of view. My heart aches for the little girl who was you, without your mother.

Gopher Judy and Dan Kroh - I am so sorry that you and your kids had to suffer your loss. It does seem to help a bit to know that others out there are going through the same thing. My friend's oldest son went to a group counseling session at school for a while, and I think it helped him to see other kids his age who had also lost a parent. After a few sessions, he begged his Dad to let him quit, but at least he now knows some other kids who have a similar family situation. I will be thinking of you and your kids on the upcoming "parent's days." I love the idea of a memory book for the boys. The youngest of my little friends had just finished 1st grade when his mom died, so they all have memories, but they will fade, if not preserved.

One more thought... I thought it was illegal for minors to use tobacco products. I know it's illegal to sell tobacco products to minors. Oh, the gray areas of rules and laws...

GTSS page 28 says, "Adult leaders should support the attitude that young adults are better off without tobacco and may not allow the use of tobacco products at any BSA activity involving youth participants.

Some in this forum take "may" to mean "it's your choice." Now, in my family, if I tell my kids that they MAY NOT do something, it means that the activity is NOT allowed. If I tell them that they MAY do something, then they DO have permission to do so.

It seems obvious that the Scouter in question knew he was doing wrong, since he kept his troop numbers covered up and waved away the mild reprimand that was sent his way. That sends a bad message to the scout that it's okay to do something wrong, just make sure you are sneaky enough about it so you don't get caught.

Kraut_60, I'm not sure what else you could have done. Someone with higher authority would have had to be the one to reprimand this adult. He knew he was wrong, so he certainly wasn't going to stop just because a fellow Scouter reprimanded him.

You show great character in claiming responsibility!

A friend's 3 son's will be getting through their second Mother's Day since their mom died of cancer 2 years ago. Last spring, the middle boy, then in 4th grade, had a really rough time, and missed a lot of school around the time of Mother's Day. The teacher for the youngest boy encouraged him to give the gift (that he'd made in school) to his father and he was okay with that. The oldest boy was in Middle school, so no Mother's Day gifts were made.

The younger boys go to the same school as my younger son, so I'm going to remind their teachers to be sensitive to the fact that these two have recently lost their mother. Does anyone have any other ideas to help these guys cope with their sorrow around the Mother's Day holiday? (I'm specifically talking about school. Dad and the boys will spend the actual day with Dad's sister and family, and they will stay home from church, since Mother's Day will be talked about.)

I realize the same can be true for fatherless kids on Father's Day.

Thanks, Cheerful Eagle. Some of the boys already have the khaki shirt, but that is a good idea for future Webelos 1 dens.

Although parents with both cub and girl scouts might like a combined awards ceremony, I don't think anyone else would like it. As it is, in our Pack, the younger boys get fidgety listening to the other den awards. Also, since it's usually on a school night, most parents would not want to have an even longer Pack meeting, in order to accommodate the parents who also have girl scouts.

My Webelos 1 son just looked at the computer screen and let me know his feelings about girls in cub scouts. With a really disgusted look on his face, he said, "No Way!" He started to complain big time, so I relieved his mind, and told him he didn't need to worry about girls joining his den.

We had my son's 10th birthday party today at a bowling alley, and coincidentally, there was a party of same aged girls there, too. When I jokingly mentioned that we could join up with the girls, all of our boys looked at me with horrified faces and said, "No!!!!!" I was tempted to join the girl's party, since they were much quieter, less rambunctious, and MUCH more mature than our group.

At our May Pack meeting, we are planning on having the parents "award" their son with his new neckerchief, slide, and handbook. The Tiger parents will stand behind their son, take off his Tiger neckerchief, and replace it with the Wolf neckerchief. The Wolf and Bear parents will do the same when it's their turn. We have the parents pay the Pack for these items (unless boys will use older brother's gear), and one leader purchases everything, so we know that all the boys will have what they need for that night.

My question is if there is anything special we can do for the (current) 1st year Webelos who don't need anything new, since they continue with Webelos next year.

I hope Patrick Kennedy gets help for his addictions before he has a more tragic accident like his father did. And, why didn't he have to take a breathalizer test?

I hope I'm not in trouble for using "back pack mail" at our local schools! When any of my scouts miss a meeting, I find it more convenient to simply drop a note off to their school, for them to take home to their parents. This saves me a bunch of phone calls in the evenings when I am busy with my own family.

I know my situation isn't like the bulk "back pack mailing" that the article talked about, but it got me thinking!

I'm in my second go-round as a Webelos Den Leader. I wasn't able to attend Webelos Specific training with my older son, but I did go to the training this Fall, now that I'm Web. 1 leader for my younger son. I wish there was a way to be considered "fully trained" without taking the Specifics course each time. I didn't learn anything new, due to my previous experience as a Webelos Den Leader. Also, I had already taken Leader Specific for both Tiger and Cub (Wolf/Bear).

My first time through Leader Specific training taught me a lot and was very worthwhile.

The paper work/record keeping can be a bit overwhelming, so make sure the new leaders understand that. Also, let them know that they will be learning as they go, and to be sure to ask experienced Scouters anytime they have questions.

Good Luck! I'm sure you'll do great!

After reminding your Asst. Leader that the girls need to do the activities, not the adults, maybe you could ask her to help you get a feel for which girls are showing good leadership, teamwork, etc. You could give her a clipboard, pen and chart, and give her the assignment to observe the girls, but not to interfere, because you want to see what the girls can do on their own. Maybe this would help her realize what they CAN do, and will help remind her that she shouldn't be doing the work for them.

Our Pack "graduates" the Webelos II den towards the end of February, and they go to their first Boy Scout meeting the beginning of March. At first I wasn't crazy about my 10 year old being in a group with teenagers, but he loved it, and he has matured SO much since he crossed over 2 years ago. I'm glad he had March-June to experience Boy Scouts, before going to Summer Camp in July. All but one of his patrol-mates went to summer camp that first summer, and the one hold-out couldn't wait to go the next year (it was his mom who wasn't ready for him to be away from home!)

LisaBob, our troop is offering a two-level week-long campout this summer, where younger scouts can stay at a base camp and get a traditional camping experience, while the older scouts can go back-packing for part of the week. This will allow all scouts to go on the trip, but adds more of a challenge for the experienced scouts. Could your troop offer a camp-out close to home in March? Then, if the weather is going to be too extreme for the new boys, they could participate during the day, but not stay over night.

When my younger son becomes a Boy Scout next March, I am planning on volunteering to be a liaison between the troop and pack. I'd like to make sure the Webelos-to-scout transition is a smooth one.

Not having been through Boy Scout leader training, yet, I don't know if this is a possibility or not, but could the new boys each have an older boy assigned to him for the 1st camp-out, so they would have one scout they knew they could go to for help? I know all the scouts are supposed to be helpful, and questions should go to the SPL, but I think it would be helpful to have an assigned "big brother" to keep an eye on his new scout. Our troop uses new scout patrols, so that PL would be too inexperienced to help his patrol mates on the first camp-out. Last year, one of our new scouts was miserable throughout the first camp-out, because he couldn't get warm and was too shy to ask a leader or older scout for help. If he had had an older scout assigned to him, he might have been willing to confide in him. This boy dropped out of scouts soon after the camp-out. (he had not had any previous camping experience with his pack)