Greaves

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"[i volunteered for the Troop committee. I put myself in charge of new family/Webelos orientation] "

That's probably the best way to handle it.

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it's that "part of the problem, or part of the solution" mindset. When I signed my son's application, that's also me signing up to make things better. (and there are things that need made better)

I really like some of the ideas I'm seeing here about how to organize the boys. The feeder Pack has 10 Webelos and another 10 Bears fixin to make their way towards the Troop. We need to get our ducks lined up way before the guys cross the bridge.

I would appreciate your new parent orientation outline. Our Troop CC threw something together for us when one of the families "asked" for one -- one of those "Well, Troop So & So had a meeting with the parents, and told us what to expect, and had a handout for us. . . ."

As a WDL & a Webelos parent, I will tell you we had some concerns in my den about where they would be in a patrol.

These concerns would have been reduced if the Troop had had a plan for the boys that they had communicated to us.

"We're going to have a NSP."

"No, we're going spread them out over three patrols."

"No, two patrols."

"We're going to have a NSP."

(It's not always the Webelos parents' fault)

[i volunteered for the Troop committee. I put myself in charge of new family/Webelos orientation]

One of the boys who just crossed over from my Webelos den to the Troop wrote me a thank-you card for being his WEBLOS leader.

I think he spelled it just fine.

You'll also need someone who has completed Hazardous Weather training (available online).

Our Pack sometimes uses the council camps for off season campouts. Oura is no charge, either. There are also platform tents available, so families without equipment can still go camping.

Once you have the trained people, give them a couple interested parents and have them plan a campout. you know that old adage--many hands make light work!

Someone in your Pack needs BALOO training. this stands for Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation, is about 8 hours long, and covers the basics. It's offered in my council about once a year, and I bet it's the same elsewhere.

"We are very ethnically diverse, with our ancestries hailing from Greece, Puerto Rico, Africa, Slovakia, Ireland, Norway, Italy, and of course, Poland. Most boys are first generation americans with their parents' as legal immigrants."

I would ask the Polish moms to stop being disruptive while we're doing stuff. It's not talking-time, it's gluing time. or sculpting time. or whatever-time. Step in the hallway if you need to chat.

BUT!! We would also do the Languages & Cultures beltloop & pin, and learn a little Polish and Greek and Norwegian and Italian and Slovakian. In the tiger den, parents & scouts are supposed to share in the program, and this is a great opportunity for everyone to find a way to share. Teaach us songs! Teach us numbers! Teach us colors!

Yes, I'm a languages nerd. This den is lucky to have a opportunity like this.

Bad manners is bad manners, but multiple languages is a gift.

In the Pack where I serve, every den leader has a son in that den. I will be the first in (at least) 5 years to break that tradition, as I will be Tiger Den Leader next year without a Tiger in tow.

My son had 3 den leaders in his Cub Scouting career. One dad did Tiger, another dad was Wolf/Bear, & I was Webelos.

Honestly, your den and Pack sound just awful, and leadership sounds unwilling to realise that. I think you should go elsewhere.

With your son being months away from being old enough to officially join the Troop, I would support your changing Packs. Ask the Scoutmaster for a Pack he knows, and one that's likely to be crossing over to that Troop. Your son will have six or ten months of getting to know THOSE boys, with an eye to joining the Troop.

And find out if your council has a special needs district or department or chairman. As your son progresses in Scouts, you should get to know what accomodations your council has. The disability chairman in my council is an invaluable resource for leaders who want to work with special needs Scouts, as well as support for the families of these Scouts.

I think the "Lone Scout" idea is a good one. I would also find out if council has a special needs professional available for advice. There might be a Pack that would welcome this boy, that would really help meet his social needs in a group that understands & accepts.

Remind him that it's the parents that really make the decision regarding which Troop their sons join.

Well, why are the six Webelos joining the one Troop & not the other? It might help the young man feel better if he knows why the decision went down like it did.

beep beep

beep beep

his horn went beep beep beep

(beep beep by the playmates)

Roundtable is absolutely part of training--that's why attending 4 roundtables is an option on the Leader Awards under training. Weird that the RT dude doesn't realise that.

I would expect Roundtable to include a mention of new forms, or old forms being changed. I attended our district's February one, and we were told there's a new health form coming. Nothing was said about the new tour plan.

If you are at Roundtable, you are available to the volunteers before & after the scheduled program.

Welcome to Charlotte.

My son's still a cub, so I don't know the Troops well. http://mccscouting.org/ is our concil website, and has links to the 3 geographic districts. That can put you in touch with adult leaders/trainers for the area & sort of ease you back into the loop.

our Pack gives arrows to the boys who have earned the AoL, and certificates of graduation to the boys who are crossing over the troop without it.

regarding Webelos, there is only one REQUIRED belt loop. Citizenship Belt Loop is required for the Citizen Activity Badge, and Citizen is required for the Webelos Badge.

Sportsman requires 4 different belt loops, (2 team, 2 individual) but there's no way to use that data to find units who need supporting.

and the other belt loops in the Webelos program provide just another option towards the different activity badges.

there are probably things the 2 dens can do together, but I would expect their meeting plans to cover different things.

Are the 3 boys coming to den meetings?

I'm expecting some boys in my den to earn their AOL by December--so they get the cool 2010 AOL badge.

We will award the badges at Pack meetings as completed, then have a hoopty-doo Indian arrow ceremony/crossover on the OA dance team's schedule in the spring.

I would suggest explaining to the mother what the Pack expects of her--that is, that SHE is expected to be her son's buddy. There's a reason Tigers are required to have an Adult Partner--so the volunteer leadership can lead the group, and the AP can manage the kid. (well, that's part of it, anyway)

Depending on her response to a clear explanation of the expectations, they stay or they are suggested to look for another Pack. They're new--maybe they just need to have things clearly explained so they can get on board. And maybe she'll stomp off in a snit. Either way, you've made your Pack's position clear.

I really liked being the Advancement Coordinator for my Pack. It really helped me get to know the people (adults and youth) and the program. (I'm Webelos Den Leader now)

We use Scouttrack. It's wonderful. The den leaders update the boys' records, and the AC updates council & does the shopping.

Before Scouttrack, we used emails, and a week before the Pack meeting, I'd send out the email: "Email me any advancement information." Stuff not in by the deadline go to the next month. Print out all those emails, staple them together, and enter what's necessary into Scoutnet. I kept them in an expandable folder for the year.

I didn't use spreadsheets, but that's because I never learned Excel.

Thomas54 said: Greaves your comment drips with ingratitude towards your son's charter. He could earn and be awarded the Baptist religious emblem to distinguish himself as a Baptist.

Drips ingratitude? Really? I thought I was stating my opinion plainly, without emotionalism. Sorry about miscommunicating there.

We support our CO. My son participates in the church's clean up day, the LAMB drive, the canned food drive, and so on. We attend Mass on Scout Sunday.

But we're not Catholic, and we don't pretend to be. If a Catholic emblem were part of the unit's traditions, we wouldn't be part of the unit. Why would we run under false colors?

(BTW, He has earned his religious emblem. He wears the square knot, and doesn't wear the medal. I think he lost it.)

My son is a Baptist in a Catholic unit.

I would not have let him join it if he had to wear a patch identifying him either as a Catholic (because he's not) or a Baptist (because he'd stand out.)

I'm a W2DL this year, and I have 2 new guys. This thread was so timely. (Most of our guys have enough activity pins for the AoL)

I gave my new boys the Fitness & Citizen worksheets (from meritbadge.org and elsewhere) and talked to the boys and parents about what the Webelos Badge will take. I also made sure the boys know that the den will help them with the flag ceremony requirements, and anything else that needs to be done in a group. (Flag ceremonies are a big part of Boy Scouts, and more practice is always good)

I know the worksheet just prints out the requirements from the book, but a boy who is working independently (or a parent who is helping) could benefit from a fill in the blank approach for "who is the president? Who is the governor of your state?"

I think, as den leader for the 5th grade boys, that includes all of them--even the new ones. I think there will be enough of them to have meetings after crossover as long as they want to keep meeting.

I hope all the new guys go to Webeloree. They really need the camping, and earning the activity pins offered would help them feel successful, too.

A Scout is Trustworthy.

I am a Webelos Den Leader, and I always have boys doing things outside of den meetings. If a Scout tells me he put on a life vest, jumped into water over his head, and swam 25 feet, I'm going to accept his testimony. (If a boy says, "Oh, I did Aquanaut," I'm going to ask him for more details.)

Handyman is another one that a den leader doesn't see happen. Ha, can you imagine calling up the den leader to come watch a boy change a light bulb? when boy tells me "I changed a lightbulb," and I ask him about turning the switch off first, it's not re-testing on the requirements, it's a conversation.

I would encourage you to let your son and his den leader have these conversations. Remember, we're warming them up for the Troop.

I printed the BSA emblems, and let the boys look at them all. Each boy got one nomination, and then we did secret ballot (put your head down and raise your hand) voting.

I was surprised that the winner won by a huge margin.

Our pacj used to be a waist-up uniform pack. When the CC (me)and the Cubmaster decided to expect dark blue shorts or pants, there was some hardcore pushback from a few families, so I get what you saying. (We don't expect official Cub Scout uniform pants.)

When we were getting the word out to the families, I started wearing my uniform correctly, and required my son to wear the uniform correctly. Leadership sets the example. (My son doesn't like to wear his belt, but I tell him there's no reason to receive any belt loops if he doesn't wear the belt.)

We have a few den leaders who wear their uniform shirt and jeans, and no one fusses at them. But we are slowly making changes--the Pack is practically born anew every 5 years, as boys move on to the Troop. As the Old Guard graduates, the new ideas take root.