IM_Kathy

when my son was in cubs durring the early couple of years they B&G was a potluck dinner... his later years the pack decided to have a catered dinner with a small fee for the dinner. with that we tried to get the boy scouts to do the cooking and such as a fundraiser, but they never took us up on that.

as for what we did... the boys recieved awards, and most leaders tried to stress for them to complete their rank badge by then. and then each den performed a skit or song.

as to when to do cross over, I'd say that really depends on the pack and troops in their area. my town the cross over was done in April. the town my son's troop is in has their packs with cross over in December. I would guess that when you have your cross over may be set that way for a reason and you may want to find out from other members in the pack or from the local troop. My son's troop likes the boys to cross over in December, our January and February campouts are indoors and are typically geared toward building camaraderie, we also have a council wide winter survival class in that time which we highly recommend the boys attend before they tent camp in the winter.

one thought on the gear I have is finding out if your CO or any other church or organization would have some extra storage room that you could use. Then you could store the bags, pads, backpacks, etc... I would number them 1-whatever. while the boy is in troop/pack/den he uses the same number every time he goes out - that way you don't have to mess with washing all the bedding after each outting unless they get wet/dirty.

I personally have no more storage room either... I have my own gear, my son's, and my daughter's plus as Girl Scout SUM I have a bunch of stuff stored for that too... my shelves are overloaded!

I'll to explain this best I can and not too drawn out...

my son and 3 other boys started with troop X where they were given the requirements for "Family Life" and told to work on them at home. These 4 boys started to work on them and had completed a few of the requirements, but were told not to turn it in for blue card until completed.

Now they are in troop Z and troop Z does it correctly where there are MBC for a lot of the badges. I'm even one of them for "Family Life" and these boys are almost completed with the requirements.

BUT, they never had a blue card started so if they now get blue card signed by troop Z SM and dated do I then put in date when they completed each part in which case some will be dated before the SM's date or do I date it when they then come to me to get actual card signed. On some of our outtings and meetings the boys have told me they did 1,2, etc for badge and they dated completion on their worksheets. Or do they have to completely redo all the requirements once they get their blue card from SM?

as everyone else has stated the proper uniform is the blue pants for cubs.

our Pack did allow anything to be worn, but I recommend all in my den to wear blue pants... due to cost and huge growth spurts most of us actually went with buying blue slacks from walmart for the $10 rather than the offical scout pants.

now in boy scouts my son does own 1 pair of offical boy scout green, but then owns a few unofficial green pants as well for those "where are my scout pants" days.

while it wasn't for the cycling merit badge - a couple of our MBC for other badges have requested photos, maps, and the like to show the boy performing such tasks as required for the badge. My son for example has been working on his Fishing Merit badge... at summer camp he did everything but actually catch his fish. So when he goes fishing and MBC is not present (either family trip or troop trip) we take the camera along and photograph it all. Now if he could catch something other than Blue Gill he'd have it done LOL

wow... I'm glad my son is in the troop that he is in. We pay the annual recharter fee and that is it. If we want boy's life then we pay for that too.

for fundraisers we do the popcorn sale and then we have 3 popcan drives - weekends after new years, labor day, and memorial day. From those fundraisers 60% goes directly to the scout's account and 30% goes to the troop.

we charge for each campout - we have a set amount for setting food budgets based on number of meals and then we add in cost of campgrounds (if any) general upkeep (set amount for each trip) and then an extra little fee to help cover the gas for the person pulling the trailer.

when the troop has plenty of money it its account then they will do extras - this past summer they paid $25 for each boy going to summer camp or a HA camp and also paid for each boy's class b shirt.

my son participates in all the fundraisers and the only money I've had to pay is for some of the summer camp. otherwise the rest all comes from his scout account.

my son is now a boy scout so I don't know if his book is still the same as your boys use, but in his book it has elective 5 "spare time fun" g,h,i you can make more than 1 model - for each model he makes he gets credit for. There are a couple more like that in his book.

then in bear they have the same thing, but they also have more requirement choices. the ones they complete but don't need as requirements are awarded as electives.

my son is a den chief for the town we live in, but he is a troop in another town.

He crossed over a couple years ago and started out with the troop in our town... he was very unhappy with that troop and was talking about quitting and I asked if he wanted to quit scouts or that troop - he said that troop... so we went troop shopping. 3 other scouts (2 from his old den and 1 a year older) left along with my son and joined this other troop. They are all enjoying this troop and it is what they expected when they moved up to boy scouts.

My son still loves all the things he did as a cub scouts and enjoys the program we offer here for them. So when his SM asked if he'd be interesting in being a den chief he said he'd love to, but wanted to work with his old pack. The currect cubmaster is also the Webelos den leader and was wanting a den chief. When he heard my son was interested he jumped on the chance.

I think it's a great opportunity especially for troops/packs that are "towns" So often they think that if they live in town x then they need to be with troop x. My son does not push the boys to join one troop or the other, but he does let them know what his troop is doing and if it's a webelos welcomed event he invites them to come along. If they ask him to come along to attend an event that is with his former troop then he will go as well... although he's not as happy about that, but he knows he's there for the boys and saying he won't go because it's that troop would not be the "scouting way"

I know 2 years ago there was a den chief from the local troop for a local den. Currently I don't think there are any - only 2 dens have chiefs one is my son and the other is also from my son's troop.

>>> "The reason that mothers traditionally took care of children is because after nine months of pregnancy plus labor, delivery, nursing, and weaning, we're much less likely to kill them."

if swimming is "so important" then why is it not a required merit badge for eagle, rather than 1 with a choice?

personally I do agree that is that important and that is why I told my son - you ARE doing that merit badge. And that is why I worked with that one boy to teach him to swim.

but on an individual level, if for eagle they are given the option of earning the hiking or cycling merit badge instead of the swimming; then why are they not given those same choices for rank advancements? to me if it's that important than make it that important.

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now as to the marbles - and basically to all the cub belt loops... the current cub master here awards tons of them... when my son was a cub all the leaders and CM back then realized how easy they were to earn and how expensive they were to buy. We told all the parents that if they wanted their son to recieve the belt loops we'd fill out the proper forms and turn them in but the parent was paying for them. None of the parents did - they all agreed with us that earning the progression beads, rank badge, and arrows were enough recognition their boy needed.

I wasn't positive on number 1 because that's not a reason here, but several years back it was in national news - just wasn't sure if it was still a reason.

as to number 2 - yep that's going on here. and those in the scouting community know that it isn't being done fairly. The sports teams that are town rec teams are not charged a thing. We were told they were charging us fees because of the need for cleaning after (cub/boy/girls follow the rule of leaving things better than we arrive), damage to the building and grounds (I'd have to say those balls being kicked, thrown, and hit in the gyms do much more damage), and finally paying for the heat/cooling. which I understand the latter.

thankfully we have found other resources for our traditional school lock-in - a nearby church is letting us use their facilities... it's not the perfect building, but it's a whole lot better than not having the event that the scouts look forward to.

we also use 2 other large buildings for our pack/unit events... the biggest pain is that the school is the best place for needing a stage. They use to allow us to use their mikes too. With the buildings we now use 1 has a really low and small stage... the other is very tall and has to be put up and down (basically very heavy/strong tables)... if we have a scout that needs wheelchair accessiblity - we can't use either of those stages, only the school's has that access.

basically we are doing the best we can out of the situation. it's given us a great chance to "use resourses wisely"

I just wish the school could see as much good in the scouting programs as they do in the sports programs. although it is interesting any time they need a color guard we're the ones calles - maybe we should tell them to ask the baseball team LOL seriously I would never do that.

some foil meal links...

http://www.macscouter.com/Cooking/FoilCook.pdf

http://www.djmorton.demon.co.uk/scouting/meals/foil.htm

as to what I'm personally had...

the hamburger with onions, carrots, peppers is good...

but what I think the boys will like the best is Simple Pizza Pockets.

take pita pockets (already sliced)

have pepperonis and canadian bacon or ham (all precooked meat so it's ok if it doesn't get cooked long enough)

add some pizza sauce

add some cheeze

and wrap in foil

only has to be in long enough to melt the cheese and toast up the bread a bit.

as for the off topic question... it depends on where you are and your schools rules.

1) some schools have banned boy scouts from using their facilities because of boy scouts stance against homosexuality and the like. In fact they don't just ban boy scouts - they ban any organization that does not allow any and all members to join.

2) our schools allow it but they charge such a high usage fee that non-profit organizations cannot afford to use it

if this was my boy or another boy in the troop that I was looking for a councilor for I'd buy one of the MB books and start calling people that I think would be up to the task... for First Aid I'd check with EMT's, Doctors, & Nurses. And if talking with an EMT I might also grab a Emergency Preparedness book. If any of them said they would be interesting in helping out I would then arrange for a coffee trip and sit down with them and let them know what the troop needs, let them look through the book, bring the sign up form and if they agree and fill out the form leave the book with them and let them know that some of the scouts will be contacting them to get their help.

there are plenty of people out there that are capable to do this sort of thing... but, if they have not any involvement with scouting they may not know what is required for them to volunteer their time. Getting in touch with them and letting them know the steps will surely bring several in.

my son's former pack (now in boy scouts) finally changed their "cross over" to December where the rest of the packs have it. The rest has stayed the same...

they recommend the following...

new scouts - Bobcat by November

Webelos I - try to get Webelos badge by Nov-Dec

Tiger, Wolf, Bear ranks completed by B&G in Feb

and then the TW&B get their elective beads or arrow points at the end of the year cross over which is in April.

once they cross over they can start the next level... when I was a den leader except when they were webelos I got the boys together every so often during the summer and we worked on Electives for the up coming rank because if we did work on requirements it never failed that we would get a new scout in the fall. But then as Webelos we worked those 2 summers on some of the pins, but not ones that were required for the Webelos badge or the Arrow of light. Also as a webelos if they didn't miss a meeting (or if they did made up work at home) and completed the family member at home they would earn the supper 20 badge... I had 2 of my boys earn it.

For my scouts if they knew the goal for them as a den and as an individual... T,W,B goal was for each to earn their rank badge and at least 1 elective bead or arrow point - but each boy they set their own goal on how many elective/arrows they wanted to earn... my son wanted to earn 4 arrows each year and he actually earned more than that each year.

I think having the boys set their goal really helps them. And as they progress I reinforce by saying things like "oh wow, now you just need to complete 2 more electives to make your goal" or like "hey NAME, you were working so hard on your goal earlier and you've slowed down, is there something I can do to help you reach it?"

I couldn't find any with Lion in them, but I did find these 2 that had a couple of verses you didn't have so thought I'd pass them along.

http://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/song/tom_the_toad-248.asp

http://www.bsatroop780.org/entertainment/song_t.html

the only thing I would want removed is the swimming requirements for 1st and 2nd class. While I'll agree that this is a very important skill to learn, but not everyone can do it. And while you can get a medical pass if it's because of a medical problem... what about the scout that's parents couldn't afford swimming lessons? or what about the scout that nearly drowned when he was 3 and has been afraid of the water sense then? I'm all for these requirements for the swimming merit badge obviously. And I'm alright with teaching the reach and throwing rescues as part of rank... just don't like them required to swim just for those ranks.

oh, and those 2 examples I gave I've dealt with... my son was the one that nearly drowned and it took until he was a webelos before swimming without a float. He's now 13 and finally completed these requirements. The other boy I took the the local Y as I was a member and he would come along with my son and I worked with him until he could do it... took about 5 months, but he finally got it. Not sure what would've happened had someone not stepped up and found out the reason he had not gone up rank.

all the other things I don't want to see touched... although I'd love to add things. Along with learning the compass I think they should require learning to use a GPS. I think they should include making a signal fire as well as the cook fires. I also think they should focus on the knots even more including learning to tie the bowline with one hand (and if you have 2 arms learn to tie with each of them).

I also wish they'd focus more on cooking over fire than with camp stoves. we had a campout that was a small group going and we didn't need the trailor, well someone forgot to put the propane tank pole on the list and it didn't get put into the back of the pickup. Of the 5 boys there only 2 had a lot of experience with cooking over actual fire - luckily 1 of those was already the cook... but the other 3 and even the SM got to see how good the boys could adapt and how well those 2 had learned that skill and how important it is.

If you're wondering where those 2 learned to cook over fire - those 2 (1 was my son) use to be in another troop that hardly ever camped out and so me and the other one's parent would take them out camping and that's all they ever did. It's also all my girl scouts ever do unless it's raining - then they are allowed to use the campstove under the dining fly.

never did one of these but it sound interesting. and you made me dig out my son's old Bear book.

just in looking through here are some of my ideas: (hopefully requirements haven't changed since my son has bridged up)

5 - Sharing your world with wildlife - have a naturalist come. include building a birdhouse - boys love to build

7 - Law Enforcement - mainly why I mention it is because it's sometimes just feels bad to ask an officer to come speak to a small sized den. but if it's a big group I think it would be easier to get organized.

9 - cooking - depends on where you are and what you have available. even if they can't complete this whole requirement they could do a part of it for their snack time

11 - be ready - if your having a police officer there you could also have a fireman come and make it a safety fair

16 - muscles - since the boys love to move around so much mix this in

other things from requirements/electives... whitling chip and learning basic knots

you've got some great ideas... I love to hear people already planning a year ahead of time!

I was a helper when my daughter was a daisy... I was her leader part of brownies and juniors, then took some time off, and became a leader again when she was a cadette and am still her leader - my troop is senior girl scouts (9th graders) and I'm also the SUM and my troop helps quite a bit with the younger and new troops at the beginning of the scoutting year with helping at first couple of meetings... it's acutally a lot of fun - although I will say I'm glad my troop is older now as it allows for so many more chances to do different things. although as they get older it does get a little harder to work around schedules.

during the 2 years of Daisy's the girls will work on earning their Daisy pedals... the center is for learning the promice, and each petal represents a part of the law. They will also be able to work on the new Journey awards... right now there is only 1 book for each level published, but they are set to release a new one each year until there are 3 available for each level.

while I agree with letting the girls help plan ceremonies and ideas for activities... it is hard for scouts that don't have an older sister to know exactly what all should be done... so if in the first year you do all the different ceremonies then by next year they will be able to have some ideas of what to do this time.

for the daisy's and their reading ability I would recommend only getting books for the leaders.

a suggestion I give all new troops is that with Juliette Low's birthday (Oct 31) have a girl scout birthday party... make a bunch of sticky notes of craft supplies you want to keep in stock for the troop: couple boxes of markers, several bottles of glue, couple boxes of crayons, etc... and have the girls and their adult pick a sticky note to buy and wrap up for the party. There's a great little story that has you pass right and left and on and on and on... then the gift they have at the end they open and that item goes in the troop craft box.

there are tons of great websites...

http://forums.delphiforums.com/GSLeaders/messages

is a message board in delphi that is just girl scouts and has as much info as this site has for boy scouts

http://www.scoutingweb.com/scoutingweb/index.htm

is a website with just about everything - it's the site I go to first when looking for something for girl scouts - even has some boy scout stuff too

http://www.epilogsys.com/ScoutingWeb/SubPages/DaisyPetalIdeas.htm

daisy petal helpful guide

http://server.ellenbecker.net:4271/Recognition%20Equivlents.htm

is not a site you will need as daisy, but as you move up along the way you may end up with a mixed level troop and this site is very helpful in letting you know what can go with what pretty easily.

with the discussion on "boys don't care about advancement"

In our old troop we had a boy who was still sitting at Tenderfoot while in 8th grade... we had our new 6th graders already working toward their 2nd class rank. He even sat in on some of the rank class work and he understood and could do it all, but he didn't want to get signed out or go through board of review. He just wanted to come to meetings when he wanted to and go camping with the troop. There was nothing anyone could do to motivate him - he had no interest in becoming anything more than what he was.

In our current troop all the boys are interest in advancement - it isn't even something that we have to work to make happen. The boys will come up to the leaders and say "I'm ready to show this..." or "I'd like to do this... do you have some suggestions on how to do it."

on the discussion on awarding badges...

Our old troop only awarded at COH which would've been fine, but they only had a couple a year and if you missed it you would have to wait for quite a while to get it.

Our current troop they will award the badge (merit or rank) at a meeting, but they keep the cards and mother pins until COH so that all the boys will be recognized again and will then have their cards for their records.

My son loves the way our current troop does it because he gets to wear his new rank right away. With the old troop it was possible to have earned 2 ranks before getting either of them.

I personally don't care as long as if it's only given at COH then there needs to be one every couple of months.

Be Prepared For A Happy Holiday (Merry Christmas or whateve) And A Happy New Year!

cookie price and profits do vary from council to council... so I can only speak of what my council does.

Our cookies are $3.50/box and the troop gets $.40 for each box which would be about 11 to 12%

but in saying that you may say, that's nothing compared to what a boy gets from popcorn sales.

But, our council also has camp credit seperate from this amount. I don't have my sheets from last year to recall the exact amount but as I recall my daughter sold 200 boxes and got something like $100 (like I said I can't recall totalling - ask me again in a few months when our sale starts again) that can be used for summer camp.

So if a girl does attend summer camp she does get same, if not more than my son gets from selling popcorn. Add in the fact that the cookies pretty much sell themselves, it is a great fundraiser for them.

"You have your own desk & filing cabinet just for scout related paperwork."

thank god I'm not the only one like this, but I have a whole lot more than that if you go into the non-paperwork...

1/2 closet for Servie Unit storage, 2 tubs of craft stuff, a shelf and a file cabinet for all the paperwork... then there's the 2 sets of shelving full of camping related goodies.

I sooooo wish girl scouts could get a trailor like the boy scouts do! It would sure help me empty at least 1 of those sets of shelves LOL

another thing to add is...

so use to having your handy tool at camp that you just constantly carry it...

and I can take that a step further by completely installing a garbage disposal using only my handy tool.

then today at a flag ceremony practice for tomorrows school program the Cub Master asked one of the teachers if they had a screw driver - I wipped out my handy tool and asked philips or flat head?

Hey Roy,

when I was a den leader and just a co-leader for girl scouts I couldn't begin to count the number of girl scouts that would attend a pack event and tell me that they wish girl scouts did these things. So, when I was asked to take over being the leader and then also Service Unit Manager I took steps to fix this.

it is hard in girl scouts in that they talk so much about letting girls do the things they want to do... so you'll have crafty girls, musical girls, sporty girls, camping girls all in girl scouts and then you need to find activities that will provide a good mix for all to enjoy. It's not possible to always get all of those into 1 event, we do try to get a couple of them.

the not allowing men is totally based off of the area you are in. men are allowed to be leaders as long as they have a non-related female with them. there are stricter rules when it comes to camping, and those can be a pain in the behind... unfortunately we are stuck with the national safety-wise rules.

but on the same token there are a couple of rules I ran into with cub scouts that I thought were all screwed up... I lost 1 webelos because when we were going to summer camp his dad didn't want to go, but his step-dad was willing to go, but the rules for our camp was that a boy could only stay in a tent with his actual parent. They didn't allow step-dad. We were working on juggling around tents to have the boys stay in a tent together, but he wasn't a camper and wanted to be with his step-dad. to me if mom and dad were okay with it, then what's the big deal?

the best camporee's that I've been to have had at least 1 activity that was either for the Scout Master's to do or was included in.

Summer camp we have scout master golf - they have to make a golf club to use

our last camporee they did a scout master race - run to a sack, grab item, put on, run to next, and continue... turns out the new scout uniform is a skirt, blouse, scarf, and a purse... they looked lovely LOL

another camporee they did stretcher races and one of the legs was carrying the scout master... several scout masters had better hope they don't go down, some are very hard for the boys to carry.

while I agree the camporee is for the boys and that's what we are there for - I have to say the boys have a blast watching, laughing, and cheering all their leaders along the way.