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We went to the Veterans Memorial in the park next to the library. On the other side of the library is a historic home and the local historical society. The memorial was full of engraved bricks. We asked the scouts to find a brick with their name on it. We asked them to find a brick with a woman's name. We asked them to find a brick from a certain way. It was challenging to keep them engaged. The really just wanted to run in the park. I think we might start next meeting by running laps or a game of tag, get them tired, then ask them to sit down and listen for a minute.

We set our pack dues equal to the annual registration, so this year they went up to $24 per year. I am trying to re-charter right now, so I am asking everyone to pay $60 for the year $24 + $24 + $12 = $60. We offer four ways to pay: (1) sell popcorn, (2) write a check for the entire amount, (3) pay $5/month, (4) request a scholarship. No one has requested a scholarship yet, but we would fund it from the pack budget. I believe we could request help from council. There was a guy from council at our recruitment training who said he would help us, but he recommended that we require the famili

I want a pilot teaching aviation, an engineer teaching engineering and a journeyman teaching electricity, too, but that is not what is being taught in the Cub Scout STEM/NOVA program. In the Cub Scout STEM/NOVA program, we are teaching boys, very young boys. The teacher will require intermediate to advanced skills in being able to manage, inspire and engage children and only novice level skills in science, technology, engineering and math. So yes, I am totally OK with a cube dwelling code monkey teaching my scouts as long as she is good with children. I am an unemployed data analyst, and I

I've gone family camping with my pack before, but it was a council event at a winter lodge. I did not take any responsibility for the other scouts in the group. They all had parents there. Everyone was responsible for their own meals. But our pack is finally getting big. We are going to try some tent camping this summer. It seems like more work than its worth to me.

I have a boy who wants to be a scout. He does not meet the joining requirements. He is not in first grade. He is not 7 years old. He is 6 years old and he is sort of re-taking kindergarten. It's not called kindergarten. It's called pre-first grade. He will turn 7 in May. That is the end of the scouting year, but it is similar to the other tiger cubs in the pack. It seems to me that this boy warrants an exception to the rules. I know I should just ask my district executive, but I want to ask you first. What do you think? Would you sign this boy up? Or would you send him away and in

I went through with my plan. I bought 12 neckerchiefs and I made 12 slides. I used 1/2 inch PVC pipe, and I cut it to one inch lengths. I painted them navy blue. I attached a small key to the ones for the den leaders because they are the KEY to our success. I attached a bit of ROPE to the ones for the assistant den leaders because they tie up our loose ends. And I attached a small BATTERY to the slides for our pack committee because the keep us charged up. It was a big hit! The leaders really seemed to appreciate it, and the cubs seemed a little jealous, so now I'm trying to think of s

You are correct. It is unclear. I think most packs do it the way your pack does it. It has the advantage of giving most of the boys the opportunity to earn all four pins. I do it the way you describe as your preference because the first time I awarded these pins, I really did have a brand new tiger cub that came to all our summertime events. This way, he will have the opportunity to earn the Webelos pin twice. You are also correct when you say that Cub Scouts "rank up" on June 1. Cub Scouts do not "earn" their rank. It is confusing because they do earn a "badge of rank," but their ra

Recruiting is up for us. We had nine families show up for our fall registration night, and all nine wrote me a check when I said that everyone who could pay tonight would receive a flying monkey. That was a silly incentive that the council included. They were a big hit, but now I've got to deliver them. Of the nine, there were three tigers, one wolf, one bear and four Webelos. I've never had so many Webelos answer the call. Oddly, they are all fourth graders, that den was already full. We only have ONE fifth graders. actually all our dens are full now, but splitting the dens is too painful. Ca

We organize three events as a pack, but if a boy can't attend one (or any) of them, we let him count any and all of the council- and district-organized events: camp, Mud Cubs, Cub mobile race, etc. Family vacations put big holes in their summer calendars, so we make it easy on them. We just want them to do scouting, too!

I'm a Latter-day Saint, but I volunteer with the school pack because I don't like the limited program I have experienced in other LDS packs. I am also the district membership chair. We have 12 LDS packs in our district and 11 non-LDS packs. None of the LDS packs are doing any recruiting and only half of the non-LDS packs are doing any recruiting. I'm going a little crazy. I want to help SO much, but they won't even answer my email, and there is so much to do that I can't help people who won't even talk to me, so if one of my LDS Scout leaders said that she was interested in recruiting, I

It seems to me that the only real problem is that the boy is complaining. You might treat that as a discipline issue. it's very disrespectful.

I want to do a leader recognition ceremony. I want to present each leader in the pack with a neckerchief and slide. The Cub Scout Leader neckerchief is $8. The neckerchief slide is $7. If I could find slides for $1. I think I could go ahead with my plan. Any ideas?

What does GTA stand for?

Because if a girl can do it, then it can't possibly be worth doing...

"...the use of the name 'Girl Scouts' inflicted psychological damage on the boys..."

I read somewhere that I ought to have pioneering stakes made from hickory. I'm assuming that is a hardwood. I asked at my lumber yard, and they have only Douglas Fir, spruce and hemlock. I think those are all soft woods. What I read said that I was definitely not to rely on tent stakes, not long enough. Pioneering stakes should be 30-inches long. What do you think? If I keep looking around, can I find hickory? Should I try? Has Douglas fir worked for you? Have tent stakes worked for you? What do you use for pioneering stakes? Thanks for the help.

My son wants to earn the Cub Scout tennis belt loop and pin this summer. I am thrilled to help him do that. I don't really know anything about tennis beyond my high school physical education class. That is I remember how to keep score and I know the difference between a forehand and a backhand. Requirement 3 lists several things that sound very interesting that I would like to try, but I don't know what they are. Has anyone else taught this stuff? Do you know what they mean? Here is the requirement: Practice for 30 minutes in up to two practice sessions developing forehand techinqu

I agree. The slide and the belt buckle are two things, too many.

My friends have given me conflicting information, so I had to go look it up after all. From BeAScout.org: "It's a coed program for teens and young adults ages 14–20 (or 13 and have completed the eighth grade) who are just like you." Sorry, Baden.

Thanks! My daughter is an active Girl Scout. I mostly want to get her registered as a Venturer so that she can get the scout discount for the Horse Trek (council activity), and we could go to Jamboree together and work on merit badges. You know, all the stuff I didn't get to do when I was her age. I know there is a Venturing crew in the district, but I think their meeting place is a 45-minutes drive from our home, so I might register her as a member of that crew, but she would likely make meetings rarely. We'l see, maybe someone will start a crew here. Maybe I will.

I could probably look up the answer to this question somewhere, but I would rather ask my friends. When can my daughter join Venturing? Does she have to turn 14? Is it a grade level? What if there is no crew in town? Can she register as a lone scout?

I'm doing recruitment this fall, too, but I'm in Cub Scouting. I have never allowed the membership policy of the Texas office affect what I do in my Oregon town. It's not in the any of my training material. It's not on the registration form. It is not part of my program. I don't see any reason why it needs to be a part of yours if you don't want it to be.

I heard the story about how the Girl Guides got started almost immediately after Baden-Powell started Boy Scouting. Boy Scouting came to the USA through James West (or whoever), and I always wondered why he didn't bring Girl Scouting, too. Girl Scouting was brought to the USA by Juliette Gordon Lowe after she met Baden-Powell. I thought it had something to do with North and South. James West was working in New York, and Juliette Gordon Lowe lived in Georgia. Well, today, I finally read the story (while looking for something else). James West had the same "problem" Baden-Powell had.

I still don't know who my district commissioner is, but I was just recruited this week to serve on the district committee as the membership chair.

The only beads on my den doodle are the ones that I have awarded to the boys. They do earn a bead for attending pack meeting, in uniform and bring a parent. Yes, we built a cub mobile last year. Actually I assigned the building of the cub mobile to a dad in our den. He did a great job. It was really fast, and we won! We were going to race it again this year, but we weren't invited to the race. That is, I'm not sure they had it. Communication break down between one end of the district and the other.