GopherJudy

Welcome mythreesons! I stumbled across here looking for gift suggestions for my son's Webelos II's den & I'm glad I did! Yes, it's a very rewarding experience! My son started as a Bear in Sept 2002 & on March 20th graduated from Webelos II to Boy Scouts & I was lucky enough to be the Assistant Den Leader! I've had great time watching the boys grow & learn & I've learned right along with them! Enjoy being part of a Scouting family! My daughter's in her 3rd year of Brownies & bridges to Juniors this June! Judy

le Voyageur, I don't blame you one bit! Unfortunately (sp?) school & school buses are not like when I was a kid. I think the authority of teachers & busdrivers have been usurped & some kids think they can do whatever they please. Now, i'm not that old, I'll be 48 in May but there were not the constant distruptions by the same students in the classroom & on the bus as my children have to deal with now. I think it's a real shame. In elementary school the older kids looked out for the younger ones, nowadays it seems the older kids bully the younger ones. Too bad all children

Thanks OneHour! I've used them before & in my Yahoo e-mail I just click on the emoticon button & they have about 20 different ones. I've been on other message boards & they have a link to the smilies that you can use in your post! Too bad there are just 3, when you figure out the others please let me know! Judy

My son's B&G was yesterday, everything went well, everyone had a great time & he's now officially a Boy Scout! (Wiping away a tear!) They had a brand new bridge, that they helped make, to cross over on & they were very proud of themselves! So was their DL & I & of course the boys parents! The gifts they received from the pack were the portable stools, so after a long hike they can rest for 5 minutes! (I had posted about gift suggestions a while ago & thanks to all that replied!) My personal gift to each of the 7 boys was a First Aid Bandana, a Boy Scout bookmark, pen &a

I guess some people have too much time on their hands or are made because they forgot to order some cookies! I'll tell my daughter that it's her fault that Americans are fat! NOT! Good Grief! what a world! Judy Proud mother of a new Boy Scout & a Brownie who sold a lot of cookies! I do a "smiley" except I don't know how it's done here!

My advice would be to take the WLOT, it would be more beneficial since you're den will be the next Webelos I's. I didn't take BALOO so I can't tell you about that. At the WLOT I learned a lot & had a lot of fun while doing it. I would make much more sense to talk that course now anyhow. Good Luck! Judy AWDL

Congrats Semper Paratus! That's great! Don't forget to let us know what issue you'll be in. BTW how did you find out that you're going to be in the magazine? Also, how does any unit get into the magazine? Congrats AGain! Judy

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I'll keep the Requirements book, it was only $3.95. I've added the MB site to my favorites & when my son's ready, he can ask his SM about the Troop Library! In fact if I remember I'll ask him if they have one & what they have. Thanks again! Judy

My son will be crossing over to Boy Scouts this Sunday, March 20th, at the B&G. I bought him the BS Requirements Book for 2005. Now, this might be a stupid question but is this book good for several years or do they change the requirements every year & I need to buy a new book every year? Regarding the individual MB Books, is it necessary to buy him every book for every MB my son wants to work on or is the BS Handbook & the Requirement book enough for him to use & complete the requirements for whatever MB he's going to work on? Thanks! Judy P.S. He will be receiv

What we did when my son was a Bear, I bought 8"x11" (approximation) wood plaque from Michaels, a craft store. We did a "Bear" camping scene! The boys glued green felt on the wood. they made a "tent" out of blue felt which they glued onto "tent poles" made up of about 4" pieces of a cut up 3 foot dowel that was the thinnest in width. I found wood trees & canoes (closest to a boat I could find in Michaels!) & the boys painted the trees green (what else!) & the boats brown & glued them onto the green felt. I have a low-temp mini-glue gun that they used under my supervision! I boug

Eamonn, Thanks! I enjoy the training, it's my "adult" night out & I got to meet other people in our District & if it was a Council Training, I met new people there! I'm also on the Pack Committee & help out as much as I can, I'm always asking if someone needs my help. I've been going to Roundtable since November, I didn't know about it & it was difficult to go by myself. The CM/WDL was away on business so he wasn't able to be there. I was nervous since I only saw a few people that I knew from other units & then I found out that I had to stand up & introduce myself!

I must have been the only person who "nagged" the CM, who is also my son's DL, to get trained! I found the training schedule on-line, asked him what training classes I needed to take, if I needed to bring anything special & directions to the school I was going to take them at. I did the Youth Protection on-line & the same with the Fast Start & the CM also gave me the Fast STart video. I'm also lucky in the fact that I always have my parents to watch my 2 children. I've even done the Webelos Outdoor Leader Training & learned a lot, I was very "knot challenged" & had a g

Packsaddle, I'm glad that you like my moniker! I guess I won't waste my time on Larry the Cable Guy! I do love Jeff Foxworthy! You can ask about my name, no problem! I'm the AWDL for my son's den & about a year ago we had a new boy join our den & pack from another pack. Well, his parents weren't the easiest to deal with & are rather nervy. They did cause a lot of problems & I felt sorry for their son, who really enjoyed SCouting. They are no longer with us, they quit in November. Well, I was going around handing out forms & other things pertaining to the den & when

Hi Katydid! You must go crazy with all the moving & then having to remember all of the cutoff dates. I think even the city (as in NYC) has different cutoff dates! A friend of mine in elementary school to high school started kindergarten in the city & their cutoff date was Dec. 31st! I remember her birthday was December 18th! We graduated from high school in 1975 we were both born in 1957, my birthday was in May though! Eek! a "few" years ago! Now, if she started school on Long Island she would have had to wait til Sept 1963 to start kindergarten & would have graduated high sch

Welcome jteamnmj! Wow, sounds like you're having a great time in England! And you're going to France! It's a great experience for your family, to experience different cultures! Too bad you can't post any pictures so we could see where you've been in England! I'm new & I don't know if posting pics is allowed. Take care & have a great day! Judy

Too funny packsaddle! I'm in the middle of Suffolk County, exit 60 off the LID (Long Island Distressway!). My parent's upgraded their cable to IO so maybe I can see Larry the Cable Guy & hopefully without my 2 children around! I usually don't get that much of a chance to watch TV but I'll see if I can remember to check this out. It will save me a ride into Queens! Judy

Hi jteamnmj! That is a tough question & I don't know the answer but I'm glad as I read other posts that your son will be promoted to the 2nd grade. I'm glad that your son is so enthusiastic about Scouts & that you & your husband are too! I have a question for the other forum members regarding the age/grade thing. Now most school districts here on Long Island the cut-off date for entering kindergarten is December 1st. My son was born September 1994 & started kindergarten September 1999, about 5 days after he turned 5. So all of the children born from January 1st to Dec

We only have pack Pinewood Derby, that's in place of Pack Night & in January. All of the boys get their cars/boats as Christmas gifts at December's pack night, we have someone dress up as Santa & give them out. But we too have some parents who don't follow the rules. When Mark was a Bear one of the cars was disqualified & it was one of the boys in his den. The CM picked up the car & noticed that the wheels & axles were not legal, he used a car from Michaels & the axles are the width fo the car, not the 4 nails you get with the official car. Now our CM has 1 inspection a

Hi Dug! Welcome, I'm new myself. I'm not understanding why you're saying that your troop isn't "By The Book". I'm still involved in Cub Scouts as my son crosses over to Boy Scouts in a few weeks & from my understanding of Boy Scouts is that is supposed to be "Boy run" (I hope that's an appropriate term), build leadership & confidence, the boys learn new things, have fun, go camping & hiking etc. So what is it that your troop does different? Judy

Eamonn, I agree, I would hate to see the BSA uniforms being made in a foreign country. I always try to find merchandise Made In America but unfortunately (sp?) it's not always easy. I think it's a shame that businesses manufacture things in foreign countries & it's more of a shame when they outsource their customer service departments, etc. to foreign countries! We should be proud if something is "Made In America"! On another note, my son's den wears the whole Webelos tan uniform! When we've gone to visit Boy Scout troops I believe all of the Scouts had on Boy Scout pants! I know the

I don't think Git R Done is sexist or racist but it doesn't sound right because being from Long Island I don't particularly (sp?) care for the work "GIT" used in place of "get" or "got"! I never heard of Larry the Cable guy, I guess I should get out more, so I've never heard of this saying before. I like "Get It Dunn" or "Got It Dunn", Falcon93 said they were going to spell "done" like their town name of "Dunn". I think that would sound better but it is up to the boys what they want their logo to be. I'm glad that the boys came together & worked as a team! Judy

I don't think the boy should have been made to take his earring out, especially if it was a small one & it could have gotten lost if he took it out. If the earring was a big, dangly one, I'm not sure if boys actually wear that kind, then he should have not even worn it with his uniform. My son is still in Cub Scouts & I really don't see the boys wearing earrings & if I did see boys that young wearing them I think it's stupid. Sorry if I offend anyone with my opinion there. As for other body piercings - eyebrows, nose, tongue, etc. - I think that's inappropriate to wear with th

Hmmm! Another sticky situation. My son (5th grade) has Yu-gi-oh cards & Pokemon cards too & he plays them with his friends occassionally, he's never brought them on a campout. I have no clue as to how to play these games but I don't think he's ever encountered a problem. Probably because of his age, when we had gone camping & after everything was done & the boys had to go to bed, they pretty much went to bed because they were tired. The parents stayed up a little later but were rather tired too & went to bed. I had even brought a deck of playing cards for when the boys went

Everyone, Thanks for your ideas! I'm going to e-mail the DL the suggestions & see what he has to say. I probably doesn't help that I bought Mark the handbook cover, the red loops & the merit badge requirement book already! I love going to the Scout Shop! I usually give the boys a little something from myself & this year I'm giving them a Boy Scout pencil & pen & the first aid bandana. Thanks again & I'll let you know how things turned out! Judy

Texas Scouter, How did they sew the names on the handbook black bookcover? I already bought one for my son & it didn't look like you could sew on it! Thanks! Judy