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IM_Kathy

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Everything posted by IM_Kathy

  1. ok here's question... Held elections - SPL elected and he has boys come talk to them about if they want a position. Mother tells SPL that her kids need a position for their rank - he correctly tells her that the boys need to ask. So she tells boys to ask and they do. More boys asked than are needed for position. So SPL asks those wanting QM - will you be able to attend the upcoming campouts? To those wanting Librarian - will you be able to attend troop meetings? SPL took their answers and each scouts past history with doing their jobs when they had positions. Her boys did not get a
  2. our fundraisers boys get 60% troop gets 40% key to staying in the black is having treasurerer that keeps good records. when balances given it's $x in boys accounts and $x in troop account... troop only spends what is troop money. if something important is needing bought and there is not enough money in troop account then boys will do a special fundraiser where all the money goes toward that purchase.
  3. as a survivor I'll give some advice... treat him same as any other scout... but be watchful! watch for change in moods they can change quickly - if parent/guardian is not present let them know how it changed and what was going on when the change happened as those are things that therapist and parents need to know as these can help with learning what triggers the boy. also be mindful of him developing inappropriate behavior - depending on the abuse he could now enjoy sexual behavior. while the majority of abused people actually do NOT become abusers themselves the introduction to sex a
  4. dutch oven big meals... roast with veggies pork chops with green beans and carrots mexican lazagna quick meals... grilled bratwurst with baked beans and chips makes a nice lunch my favorite breakfast is scrambled aumlet if you want any recipes let me know
  5. normally I would say don't judge just by 1 campout especially if it's a camporee, but WOW!!! the reason I say don't judge off a camporee is that it's not always the troops fault things get disorganized. For example we didn't get a schedule for our fall camporee until the SM SPL meeting that friday night. While I wasn't able to be there the leaders that were said that there was so much going on that the boys were constantly on the move as there were patrol games, troop games, and merit badges offered. Our area has been over filling camporees for a while now which is why our troop has go
  6. we teach both - we only award totin chip card because there are some merit badges at summer camp that require the scout to show their totin chip card. if boy has lost his card then he needs to buy a replacement at the trading post (not expensive) and we will sign it. If a boy has not earned it before his first summer camp (most have) it is taught by our older scouts on first day of summer camp.
  7. we only cover cost for vehicle pulling trailer (if we are using trailer) since pulling the weight takes more gas. typically cost per boy is $20 that covers the site, their food budget, and adult food budget. Only time adults pay for anything is when it is for something special like skiing and such.
  8. here they get mailed to Scout Master, which I'm currently in that position. I then bring the unopened letters to the boys eagle board for the members of the board to read. and to make sure I do not open them the boys address it to them C/O me or put down eagle letter on bottom corner of envelope.
  9. with my sons first troop we had to really work hard to get them to transfer his account money to his new troop. their belief was that most who switched troops dropped shortly after and then the money would end up with that troop rather than them. Our final agreement was that once the boys (a few of his friends switched too) paid first summer camp payment they would transfer over the money. with my sons troop now (only the 1 troop change) we will transfer to another troop. the only time someone can get money out of account is when the family has paid for say philmont trip and there is o
  10. troop uses tool box for 1st aid case keeps things organized and easy to get to very easy - kept right inside the trailer door. troop also has smaller kits to be taken on hikes and such. me personally I have my own 1st aid kit in my wilderness survival kit as well as a full kit in my vehicle.
  11. wow - all my boys above 1st class have earned that paul bunyan award and didn't even know of such an award. just what are boys are expected to do as part of their learning: learn, teach, and use. I personally HATE the SM/ASM training that I was forced to take. For 1 thing the only thing I really learned was how NOT to teach anyone anything. You can't just stand their and talk. Use a powerpoint or hold up ropes and have people watch. My patrol had quite a few that were very experienced - it was a waste or our time. We had a few that were clueless. Yes it was those of us that w
  12. what is the reason for the label of female leaders??? my cubbies over the year made bird houses, tool boxes (boys still have them and even see them carry their tools when helping at eagle projects), catapults, displays for their pinewood derby cars, mail holders, recipe holders, and my memory is forgetting a bunch of others I'm sure... and probably the most "female" was actually one of their favorites to do - they made stuff bags/laundry bags using sewing machine. they thought it was really cool. got to pick out their own fabric and did all their own sewing - was just watched over
  13. I have had a scout where I wasn't going to be signing his scout spirit section... I sat down with him and had him read the section that the requirement sends them too - it talks about how scout spirit is something that can be measured by the scout and by others and how it's something that's lived not just in uniform but outside of scouts too. Then I had him read the scout law with the explainations from his handbook and that when he got to one that he's not doing very good with to let me know. I had already picked out 3 that he wasn't following at all recently - he found 2. I told him my 3r
  14. ok I can see this with swimming, lifesaving, climbing, shotgun, and rifle. Where as a specific setting and training is required and a location has this and offers such a thing. for example - around here only place the boys can do shotgun or rifle is currently at summer camp. I go to a local shooting range myself and I asked the guys there what they are certified in and they meet BSA requirements so I asked them if I brought buy merit badge books would they read through them and see if they would be interested. And guess what - they are! Boy can contact and set up times - arrive with
  15. to me it's unacceptable as a parent and as a SM. now given that - son's previous troop had hike and campout planned: boys were told to treat it like a backpacking trip - to carry the items that they needed. parents were told that it was a test to see how well the boys would do with this - to see if they would pack and carry what they needed. that their safety would be met so if they threw their sleeping bag into trailer they would be given that, or if they some how got wet and threw dry clothes in trailer they would be given them, but otherwise nothing was coming out of the
  16. our patrol boxes only hold plates, cups, silverware, mixing bowl, cutting board, and the like. stoves are kept out of any storage container and have own place on trailer shelving. lanterns have own box that is padded and safely holds all our lanters. we do have 1 lantern that is kept in single carry case for when we are not plopping and just need 1 lantern we have seperate totes that each hold: utensils, pots/pans, food items, etc... when we are not plop camping with trailer then patrols and their cook have list of what is needed and they go in and pull out what is needed
  17. we've had similar issues in past... we've been working on building patrol bonds. patrol meetings - seperate them in room enough that they aren't distracted by other patrols at campouts - make sure each patrol has their own work station, each patrol does a patrol activity that people not in that patrol are not to participate in (can be a game, a hike, pioneering project, etc), each patrol puts on a skit or song at evening campfire. now when they have general free time they are still able to hang with who ever - we were quite surprised that this past campout they decided to all pl
  18. one that stands out was a night I brought my son to the church to load up and head off for a campout... my son goes up to one of his buddies and his dad and asks if he could ride with them and I hear his buddy say "what your mom isn't coming? It's more fun when she's there." and he comes up to me and gives me a hug and is asking me to change my mind and come along. I couldn't go on that one as I had a conflict with girl scouts... plus at that time I wasn't SM so I wouldn't go on every campout just so my son could go on some without a parent.
  19. >>> This kind of thing is obviously a goal set by adults, not boys
  20. I remember when my son was a new crossover - troop was going to do a coffee can campout. as in all that they could have for cooking their own meals would have to fit and be stored in a coffee can (nothing to keep things cool and everything cooked over a cook fire with own mess kit). My son being new and not having cooked over fire but once before got home and figured out different things he would be able to take without needing kept cold and would fit - he then went to store with me and bought the different things he would need. Then each night he pulled out his mess kit and tried cooking o
  21. Beavah - my comment on the cooking requirements taking 3 campouts was inreference to can it be done in 5 months. I'm assuming if doing it in 5 months they are doing the 1 and done. in my son's troop it can be done in 3 months though... first campout they are given a helping position in the meal - as they do this they are taught how to use the stoves and how to build a fire. they see what is cooked - told how they can use different methods to cook different styles (dutch over, foil packs, on the stove) the young scout is told to practice cooking at home - help out mom/dad and then do
  22. we had this issue the first time our pack had blue and gold catered - after that we gave tickets to those that paid and they turned in their ticket when they came up for food. No tickets sold the day of - den leaders got numbers sold from their cubs and turned that over to the pack leader in charge. We also had a time stated for dinner and a time stated for awards and entertainment so that those that did not want to eat (or pay) could show up after the dinner for the awards and skits. Doing that with tickets and stated times made 100% difference and we kept doing it that way when we catered
  23. find out what the girls want - is easy answer, but if none of them have camped as a troop before then they have no real way to know if they would enjoy it or not. my girls didn't want to camp until we went and camped. we tented twice a year and cabined once - summer camp was totally up to them. the summer before our next year of camping in south dakota we camped 4 times as a troop that summer - we wanted to try out different tent arrangements for comfort and packing. And that was even as high schoolers. many have only family camped where they have to find their own fun to do while
  24. actually I think the 10 activities would be easier to get done in the 5 months than doing all the other requirements. Only 3 need to be an overnight camping. what takes our scouts the longest is the cooking requirements. 1st class they are patrol cook, 2nd class they are patrol assistant cook, and tenderfoot they are used as a helper by their patrol. so that right there is 3 different campouts. if you have a patrol full of new scouts this could take some time - if you have a few patrols all with a couple of new scouts it goes smoother and will take about 3 campouts for each scout.
  25. we had some crossovers whose parents used this for reason to have some MB during meetings. we tried a few. For me it was a few too many. biggest issue was the fact that they were doing badge A in which 5 boys needed and the rest had nothing to do - many just quit coming. we have now gone back to the way we've always done things and attendence has picked back up and the excitment has returned. As SM I show up 30 mins early every week and expect to stay 30 mins late - this allows any working on a badge to know that the room will be unlocked and they can get with their MBC then. The onl
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