IM_Kathy

biggest thing we do is having scouts that have already completed all those requirements teach the younger scouts. Although we do have some boys who are either terrible teachers or just don't want to, but the boys that do we use a lot. It also helps the younger scouts get to know the older boys.

BSA has so far (as stated) solved the medical marijuana issue. what's got me posting is the talk about valium which is a benzodiazpan... I, myself, am on a benzo medication. When taking these types of medications as they are prescribed (time and dosage) you do NOT get stoned off of them. They do what they are suppose to do. A lot of benzo's are prescribed for an anxiety disorder or the like... which is why I am on mine. Trust me, you'd rather have me around when I'm on them then off of them - heck you don't usually see me out of the house if I'm not on my medication. So a blanket statement that if someone is on X,Y, or Z medication they should not be working as a leader tells me that you don't know what the heck you are talking about. Sure, if someone has gotten a hold of a lot of medications and taking them not as prescribed or isn't actually prescribed them, then yes there is an issue. It could be a drug addiction, and if abusing medication then the person should not be allowed to lead a group of kids. And yes, every time I attend summer camp I'm questioned by camp staff about my medication, and my doctors note of of diagnosis of PTSD with anxiety. Biggest question is what can I do and what can't I do... best answer is the other adults in our troop already know and we have everything covered. And then when they ask about my sleep med I let them know I do not take it if it's going to storm over night because I already know it's not a good idea to be in a ravene during a major storm on that stuff, plus then I'm very easy to wake up (if I even fell asleep) to be listening for storm signals to get everyone up. The only real thing I need that is "special" is a table with back against the wall in the dining hall. The other leaders go to the all camp campfires and I chill out at our campsite. I avoid the pool during open swim. But with all of that I would have more adults and boys complain if I didn't go to summer camp than if I told them I couldn't. Our boys that went to Philmont were upset when I told them I wasn't allowed to go because they don't allow anxiety disorders on high adventure trips. If they didn't have that rule I would've done my best to cut the weight to be able to go... oh well.

my son took the red cloud 110 for his 2 week philmont trek... made it the whole way without a problem... and has returned with a still usable pack for other backpacking treks. And he's still a growing 15 year old. biggest thing is to make sure it fits good and practice a lot with loaded pack - only people who had issues were those that hadn't practice with their pack regularly.

ty for the info. My son just returned from his philmont trek - he had a great time, lost even more weight than when he was training, but so far no hack - I'll be keeping my eye/ear out for it though.

my son's troop just marks the tent and the bag - put duct tape on the zipper pulls and put the tent number on the tape with a marker - nothing fancy, but nothing that could mess up the tent

ScoutNut... Girl Scouts structor does have Units and/or Communities. there's National, Council, Unit, and sometimes a Community. in these parts each troop are part of a unit. Basically in BSA terms... the Unit is the pack and the Troop is the den. Larger Units will sometimes break it down to communities... so if the unit covers a large area they will break it down to different towns, schools, neighborhoods, or however they want to do it. I've just turned over the job of Service Unit Manager which would basically be Cubmaster. I have this final year of being a Troop Leader as my daughter is finishing high school this year and I said I would stay through her years. I'm involved with the Hartford-Carlisle Unit in Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa council.

it would be possible if you have enough adults to run it and enough space. basically you'd have a Boy Scout Troop, a Cub Scout Pack of the different dens, and a Girl Scout Unit with different troops for the age levels. now being involved with both for several years I can see where some activities could be combined especially with the younger girl scouts and cubs as well as the boy scouts and the older girl scouts. The biggest issue is getting each all set up. Technically you wouldn't have to have your own girl scout unit - could join another unit but if you want things under one roof then better to be own unit.

my son's troop has a larger trailer than some troops, but I've seen even bigger. Biggest issue the troop has is that we don't have a lot of storage space in CO building - so we keep all camping equipment in the trailer. When we go without the trailer we take out what we need and leave the rest. we do have shelving to help things organized and lots of plastic totes to keep things together than need to be kept together. We also have netting that runs across the shelves and straps down with bungies to keep that gear from falling out. We can fit everything we need for any campout. can even fit 2 canoes in there it done correctly... and have also put in bikes, but if it's a large group going with bikes we have a leader with connections and can get another trailer just for bikes.

the YMCA's in this area will work with families that cannot afford swim lessons our summer camp has a learn to swim option that boys can participate in also check with swimming MB councilors to see if they are willing to work with a boy trying to learn to swim. I've taught 2 boys to swim and even 1 adult who was going to Sea Base and needed help to pass swim test. When I was a member at the Y I just had the person come as a free guest or as one of my kids (always left 1 at home so it was correct number LOL) or if going to public pool when I didn't have a pass we just came up with an agreement on what they could afford as to if they paid for me to get in too or just them. The adult I taught I actually met through girl scouts and she saw me working with my troop and teaching 1 scout. She had the financial means, just didn't want to take a class with all kids so she paid for me to get in and also made a donation to my GS troop for our trip a few years ago. if the boy is able to pass the 2nd class then he can swim - he just needs to work on endurance and pacing himself. Key to passing swim test is knowing it's not a timed event - so take your time so you don't wear yourself out. Find the stroke that allows the scout to keep head out of water the most and exerts the least amount of energy (most boys I have that struggled once they switched to breast rather than crawl were able to pass)

none of our boys qualified this year. I wasn't aware of the changes as I'm not a MBC for it. Boys that qualified years ago said they don't think they would've qualified with new requirements. I don't know enough about archary to know what bows and what not we had at camp... considering the boys who did take the class were not boys that normally shoot bow that may make a difference. I know 2 boys are going to go to Bass Pro classes and see if they can finish the qualifying.

I will have 2 scouts working on this badge soon. They already know where they want to take their 20 mile hike and I'm fine with it's location. The best part of their 20 mile hike is it's on a bike path that has several places for them to rest up as well as places to meet up with adults along the way to check in that aren't walking the whole way. Almost everyone in my son's troop does the swimming MB and they are all fine with the 10 mile hike, but when they see the 20 they say "no way" of the 2 - 1 boy is unable to do swimming due to health reasons so is doing the hiking and the other boy has already done the swimming but wants to earn some more MB so that when he gets his Eagle he can work toward palms... he's an older scout and very knowledgible in all his scout skills... so having them do it together is a great thing.

the camp my son's troop normally attends has staff do inspections of campsite - as another poster mentioned that tents should be uniform so the boys have always kept their tents closed when they are not at site. They have plenty of time later in the day to open it up if weather permits to cool it off a bit before bed.

what do you do when a parent says that on this campout or summer camp they want their boy to finish T,2, or 1 rank... and then the boy has no interest in doing it? most of the time we leave it up to the boys to come up and say I want to work on X, and then we set him up with an older scout to learn it or if he already has it then we have him demonstrate the skill. when a parent requests I will say hey Scout your parent mentioned that they'd want you to do X and if they say yes they'll do it then I do as we normally do, but we have a few scouts that say they don't want to or they will do it later and never do. of course when we return and parent finds out the boy didn't do it the parent gets mad at the adults on the campout. I always say it was offered, but the scout didn't want to do it. You'd think this would get the parent to have a talk with the boy, but instead there are a few that stay mad at the adults. so, any suggestions? are we doing it right? I mean you can't force a boy to do what they don't want to do.

when we send boys to these classes they don't take their books - they come back to camp site and go over what they did... if it's a skill they can perform (knots etc...) then they perform it and then get signed off... if it's something else like (hike etc...) we ask them about it and based on their answers we know that they have completed it or not. The boys always go as pairs and often an adult will go along, but not always... so this is how we know that they have the skill done. the one thing I like about our summer camp is that these are offered seperate from badge time, and we also have plenty of free time where the boys can go over these things at camp site.

as to the hats... is that for all scouts or scouters or does it mention a difference for women? women do not have to remove hats in many situations where men do - mainly because in the olden days where they were pinned on. Now saying that I always do as they boys are suppose to since I am suppose to set an example. But just curious.

my den meet 2 times a month and several times we would have a special weekend activity. we started with summer camp after Bears as Webelos. During the summer we met once a month for a few hours during the day (I didn't work during the summer) and we did everything we possibly could outside. I offered 18 pins - some where done with programs with area conservation programs. We also included doing some service work for those programs. Family member they did at home and turned into me. Aquanaut they did at summer camp or worked on their own and turned into me. The pins required for Webelos badge and AOL we did during the school year where they were less likely to miss and made sure parents know that was the pin we were working on so they would make sure they would be there. I had parents with different skills help with different pins or an activity from the pin. I had 1 dad do the engineer pin. I had 1 mom that brought her sewing maching and I brought mine and the boys made stuff bags as one of their crafts without wood - they actually enjoyed it though I think the key was that it was something they could use with camping. the only thing I would do different is that I would arrange visits to more troops - we only went out with the troop in our town (we only have 1) and that was where we all went, but later had to go through a process to move to a different troop. at the end all 3 of my scouts earned their webelos and AOL... 2 boys earned all 20 pins... and all 3 had a blast and are still involved in boy scouts - 1 is at life, 1 is at star, and 1 is 1st class (but close to star)

when I filled out the form I listed the family members that were allowed to pick up my son... included me, my spouse, my daughter, and my husband's family members... in the not allowed were members from my side of the family since we have no contact with any of them and would not be a safe thing. I took it as an "in case of emergency" and grandma shows up to pick up my son due to it they have her on the list. No one at the troop level knows grandma but they could look at ID and see her name on list and okay it. But when I have already made arrangements for him to get a ride home with another scout and their parent - I let the leaders going know that. Since we don't live in the town of our troop some of us from our town will do that on occassion and the leaders would prefer to hear that from a parent than from the scout.

my son has not done NYLT and I don't know if he will - though I would like him to, it's his choice. But if he does I know it is a temporary patch, but you can only wear 1 temporary patch at a time and I know he's been saving that spot for his philmont patch he'll get next month. So if he decided to do NYLT he'd have to pick between those 2 major patches just doesn't seem right. And since he's looking into going to the 2013 Jamboo then that spot would be filled too. another question... I know once you turn 18 you wear adult uniform and no youth insignia - does that include temporary patches? He'll turn 18 at the beginning of his senior year and is looking forward to being an ASM for that year and I'll be getting him a new uniform and decking it out for his adult role, but wondering if he'd still be able to wear his jambo patch and his philmont patch?

basically the boys do everything but fill out and file tour permit, the also don't make the reservations when needed. the patrols figure out who is cook and assistant, make their duty roster, plan their meals, the cook does the shopping, cook their own meals, clean their own dishes, etc... we have some very good cooks in the troop too! adults have our own patrol - the only time a boy gets to eat anything from our food is when they come over for a taste or we have left overs. with awards and c/h the SPL has the SM and advancement cordinator come up - AC hands awards to SM, SM announces, SPL hands awards/cards. when a scout is wanting to work on an advancement they usually approach an adult, adult appoints a boy that is great with that skill to teach, when scout has it down they return to the adult to show off and get signed off.

I leave in the morning with my girl scouts for their trip to San Antonio... then I'm home for a week... then I leave on Father's Day for summer camp with the boys... then my son has about a week and a 1/2 before he leaves for philmont, but for that I'm just driving him to and from the train since they don't allow anxiety disorders on HA trips - oh well.

my son's troop uses Eureka tents and never ruins a tent within a year - most are several years old. We really only buy more because the troop has grown. BUT, 1 troop rule is NO cots in troop tents. So the boys prefer the canvas camp tents so they can have the cots for summer camp. I always bring my own tent based on the weather and if I have a tent mate. As a female I don't always have a tent mate. In the winter I like to have a small one as I'm usually the only female that will tent in the winter, otherwise if we aren't backpacking in I like to have a cot to sleep on so I'll take my larger one and I allow cots in my tent. But then I also buy cheaper tents on sale and don't worry too much if I rip up the floor. The other female that will tent with me and I both have cots that have bar legs that go across the width of the cot rather than 4 individual straight legs that are more likely to rip up a tent. and if the camp were to try and charge me for using my own tent, I would not be paying that bill. our camp has gone to giving a discount for using your own tents, but that is only if everyone in the troop does it... until they require everyone to use their own tents I don't see our troop switching. And if that happens we will have to buy a few more tents as almost all our scouts go to summer camp while on a weekend trip only 1/2-2/3 usually goes and with just a night or two we will fit those tents tighter when needed.

I have to say I really like our council's summer camp. while we do not have troop/patrol cooking but eat in a dinning hall, I do like that they limit the number of MB time slots and offer lots of free time. Instead of using those time slots for T21 classes they do it during free time allowing newer scouts to pick and choose what they attend and gets them to explore each different area of camp. The one thing that they did change this year which did cause us to have a few of our older scouts not return is that they dropped extreme team - which is where the group heads out for a couple of nights using their survival skills and learning even more. This year my son is attending, but is also doing Philmont a few weeks later... so he is only doing 2 MB's this year and doing a lot of hiking with a buddy since he was planning on doing extreme team. Other things I like is that none of the "class" type of badges are offered. Depending on the badges a boy picks he'll leave camp with no more than 4 badges... and they make them do the work rather than just show up and get signed.

the one thing I would suggest is since he seems to know what he wants to figure out which of those things is most important. He may not find a troop that fits everything he is looking for, so what are the things he wants most? Would he rather go camping different places every month but never have a typical HA BSA trip or the other way? I would also mention that if we went with a troop other than with his den that he will make friends. My son switched troops after a year along with a few other scouts, for a few months his little group of 4 stuck together with everything. This summer all 4 are going to Phimont and none of them are tent buddies with each other, in fact unless it's only a few boys from his patrol he normally doesn't tent with them any more. And now he has a huge group of friends from another town/school. Other than football season (big football rivals) you never know they went to different schools since they are such good friends. We've even had a few others from our town join this troop so the original 4 has grown.

I understand all this imprinting stuff that is being talked about, but given my life growing up and my life now it is not always true. Based on my past I should be a drunken abuser who was already involved in my kids life in ways to hurt them... I'm not! And I didn't marry someone that was like my family growing up. Did I have someone in my life like a scout leader that showed me what to do? I had softball coaches, but other than telling me to choke up on the bat when I had 2 strikes I didn't learn much from them. So I taught myself. I taught myself how to cook, clean, wash clothes, take care of my car, mow the grass, use the snowblower... etc... Now that I'm an adult and can look back on it all I'm amazed that I made it out alive... and I look at my kids and know what NOT to do. I don't know how to parent - I only know how NOT to... so I just make sure I don't do those things and try to fill in the pieces. And now I sit back and watch my 2 high schoolers and I think we've done a great job so we just need to keep it up. They both can do anything and everything they need to do to take care of themselves, but also to help others and they both do. I don't even have to direct they to go help a younger scout or student - they're seeing it and stepping up before I even see it. I don't remember where all I was going with this... guess just going to say that while negative things happen to kids it doesn't always mean things are going to turn out terrible. And sometimes I think people having that thought does as much harm to them.

our council has a winter survival class that is put on at a college ROTC... all scouts must attend this to winter tent with the troop. It goes over gear but also about survival skills like finding fire items with all the snow and building emergency shelters etc.. our winter activities right after cross overs we do cabins so that the new scouts get to experience the winter fun, but have a warm dry place when needed. This allows them to see what gear is working for them and what is not and to make adjustments so that at the next campout they are able to meet the goal of 24 hours outdoors. meeting prior the SPL will go over packing. He'll have experienced campers go over tips that they have learned... putting warmers in your boots over night with your good gloves sutck in them with opening going into boot... having a spare comfy gloves and hat to wear to bed... packing more socks then you think you will use. making sure you stay dry and have gloves that just soak up and get wet... packing warmers and how to use them. And we go over how we use the buddy system 24 hours during the winter... so you hang with your buddy through out the day and pay attention to each other to watch for signs of frostbite and hypothermia. as for heading out scouts are to have their winter gear on at arrival so that the hats, gloves, boots, snow pants, etc are visible. someone mentioned food in sacks... at summer camp the boys use totes under their cots so they all have totes and they are to use those for food rather than plastic sacks.