jens3sons

My oldest son's first year in the pack, dens only performed if they felt like it. This continued 1/2 of his second year when I then became the committee chair. (It took me about 1/2 that year to form a good "working" committee etc.) Boys were dropping like flies because the pack meetings were to "business-like" and not enough fun. Now we set up a rotating schedule for den assignments which include set up, greeters, flag ceremony, song, skit, activity, and clean up. We do try and keep in mind a time schedule for different achievements the boys need to earn (such as Webelos 1 needing to do

In our pack, B&G has always been in February, and it has always been the focus of the birthday of Cub Scouting. This is the first year we will be handing out advancements, and doing the AOL and crossover at B&G. Our boys always crossed over at the November pack meeting prior to this, but our District and the "powers that be" are now requiring the boys to wait longer to cross over. I think we have come up with a reasonable plan to still keep the focus of B&G and yet have a special time for the boys who have earned their AOL and are crossing over. We are still going to follow the

Teachers usually don't want their class rooms getting "messed up", however, in our school, the dens have used one of three rooms 1. the art room, 2. the music room, 3. the combined gym/multipurpose room/cafteria. That at least gets you into 3 different spaces, and if the pack was to split nights (say the tigers, wolves, and bears one night and the Webelos 1 and Webelos 2 the second night) that would help cut down on some of the noise. Also, another suggestion would be to have a Troop work with the Webelos 1 & 2 at their facilities. Most recruiting troops will help out webelos earning t

Lisabob, and Scoutnut, although you both have agreed you are pretty much on the same "page", I just would like to send a word of caution to Lisabob. I come from a pack that the outgoing CC was trying to recruit a new CM for me prior to me taking over as CC...her was of recruiting was saying to the potential CM that you just need to be a Master of Ceremonies. Basically he just needed to show up. Not the case at all. Programing is a HUGE part of a successful Pack Meeting. The Cub Master really needs to have a handle on what is being discussed for the upcoming pack meeting. My current Cub M

cajuncody, If your pack hasn't yet invested in the book, you might want to try and pick one up, called, Ceremonies for Dens and Packs. It is a wealth of information!

Mbscoutmom, Like I said, I got tired of doing about 6 committee meetings over the phone! I got a bit upset at one pack meeting where I had asked for one parent to volunteer one day, that I didn't know what was required yet, but I would get back to them in the future about it, just please say you could be at my disposal for that day. One mom took up 30 minutes of a pack meeting with endless questions that I didn't have the answer for. Finally in frustration I had said (at that point I was also "acting" cubmaster), "Look my name is in these notes 11 times for questions to please contact

I just pulled out my unit renewal application instructions. In it it states for Pack registration: "Packs must have:....Two committee members, or one committe member and one Pack trainer..." These are two positions that a person does NOT hold another position that is stated on the charter. I do (as CC of my pack) require one den leader from each den to attend the committee meeting, and if they can not attend they need to get one of their parents to attend. Back in the beginning, when I first started as CC, no one would show up, and I found I was doing 6 committee meetings by phone, an

Lisabob, Good question about the booster seats, and quite frankly, I don't know the answer to that one, and mentioned it more as something to consider. As far as checking the status of a driver's license, there is no way for us to check that. As it is, I am surprised at how old the computers and programs that we work with are! (But then again, a lot of that is based on that we are working for a non for profit organization.) All I know is, it is my name that is signing off on those applications, and if every "i" is not dotted and every "t" crossed, technically, if there was some sort of

Working in the scout shop, and being one of the persons to approve tour applications, I can tell you, that one adult in each car is fine, but the one seat belt per PERSON is required. We always check the # of adults and # of boys attending, and if the seat belt # 's are not the same as the # of people attending, you can bet your bottom dollar the tour application will not be approved! I have turned down applications for that very reason until they can secure another driver with all the necessary requirements. Have a great trip! (Don't forget, if the cub scout isn't 8 yrs old yet, he still

I wasn't going to post anything, because I thought there had already been some great comments on this post, until I read about "assumptions"...I'm sorry, but my opinion is, the man (Seattle) IS the DISTRICT MEMBERSHIP CHAIR...holding a district position, and KNOWING what is going on in his district! If he chooses to use the words "holes" and "weak" it is most likely a trend he is eye-witness to in his district and is most likely the proper words to be using! I am currently the CC for my sons pack, and always thought eventually I would get to a district position after I was done as CC (I

Mbscoutmom, Our pack is chartered by the Elk's Lodge (now there was no way we could possibly all fit in the Elk's Lodge for a pack meeting, and now their building is torn down to make a new one) We have always met at the school, and have been chartered by someone else for the longest time. The school (especially if it is the school a good portion of the pack attends) should not deny you usage of the building, however there is a lot of paperwork to fill out usually. I can tell you the PTA ALWAYS gets precidence of usage of the school, so sometimes a different night needs to be figured o

I know of a dad in our area, who is a LOT more involved in scouting than this father is (has always held a district position as well as positions in the pack/now troop). One of the things I have heard him say was "I don't care how long you choose to do this, but I am going to be in it for the next 20 yrs!" He just really enjoys the scouting program. Many other parents have heard him proclaim this as well. From my own experience, even if my kids chose not to continue on to Boy Scouts, I think I would still be involved on some level myself, because I really enjoy the program as well. I thi

My3sonz, I agree, a great meeting will keep your spirits going, and help with not burning out. I am sure each of the 7 boys in your den really appreciate you taking an interest in them and maintaining their den! Just a suggestion; the boy who wanted to quit, and now his father doesn't think he will; I would suggest talking to the father about what wasn't working for the boy and what his suggestion are for the den. It might also be a huge door opening for you to find an assistant den leader ;-) (quite possibly the way you got roped into it...hehe) Good luck, and don't forget to use your

Maybe have a heat titled "Big Boy, Big Girl"? It would be a heat for the parents to race their own car. Our pack also has a "Little Brother, Little Sister" heat for the siblings of the scout.

If you believed "one hour a week"....then you might be a CS Leader!!!!

Starwolfmom, Obviously you know the pack needs help, and I commend you on your willingness to step up to the plate! Although the Cubmaster is supposed to decide what direction the pack will "go" and the CC is supposed to help make that happen, it sounds as if the CM doesn't have a clear picture of what way to make the Pack go. When I took over as CC, there really wasn't a working CM. It was primarily "I'll show up and Mcee until you can recruit a new one. It was at that point I had to have a vision of what a CM should be like and recruit accordingly. Once I found a great CM, and ac

Dear Jack, Three years ago, a boy signed up, and his father was the Tiger cub leader, and they bawked about immediately selling popcorn. I (the CC)I let the situation be, and they didn't sell a dime of popcorn. However the next year, this same man became the Cubmaster! I knew I was going to need to "change his mind". I came up with a great saying! "Everyone knows Girl Scouts sell cookies...we sell popcorn!" Then I go on to tell the parents that I am sorry, but our ONLY fund raiser for the year comes right when they are joining. I ask them to keep it simple, to please go to one tabl

Its Me....Remember, Webelos is a time to help the boys transition from Cub Scouting to Boy Scouting. I believe there are 3 citizen merit badges in Boy Scouts (right now I can only think of Citizenship in the Nation and Citizenship in the World, but I believe there is one more...possibly just Citizenship). I believe some of these are require to earn rank(s) in Boy Scouting (although, I am just really starting to learn about Boy Scouting). But again, just to remind you, it is a time for the boys to start getting an idea of what Boy Scouting is all about.

delearyus, During pinewood derby, we have a # of things going on all at once during the races. We have a bunch of dads that like to get all "techy", and so we have cameras pointed on the track and at the finish line that is shown as live time on huge screens on each side of the track, along with the finish line results. We also set up a station where the boys can make a chocolate car, siblings and boys can watch movies, and along with the movies, we had another station playing The Three Stooges. Last year our committee was also able to find chocolate race cars and popcorn tins that were ra

As a parent who has a son that has repeated a grade, I can tell you only what we decided to do and why we decided to do it that way. We had him go into scouting along with the rest of his grade. If he had started a year sooner, the boys who were in the same grade would've been questioning why he was a year a head of him in scouting...thus giving us no privacy of the fact that he repeated kindergarten. The only "downfall" point that I have learned regarding him starting a year later with scouting, is that he will have one less year to complete his Eagle rank (which we talk about all the time

Greying Bear....thank you, thank you, thank you for giving the address of where to send donations. My first thought in this was the children have nothing to occupy their time. I wanted my boys to do something for them...as our pack is well known for their service projects on a local level, and yet all the news stations were saying "cash is best". Yet, I wanted something a bit more physical for them to do, and I wanted it to relate to the children, as the boys can relate better. What I needed most was an address as to where to send stuff, and now I have one thanks to your post. I have a co

We do a very small version of regatta, and we don't hand anything out at that pack meeting, because we have it at our "June" pack meeting which is our smallest attended pack meeting because of graduations, 1st communions, baseball, etc. As far as pinewood derby goes, each boy receives a certificate of participation, and a goodie bag. The goodie bags don't cost a dime because we canvas the area for anything having to do with cars for donations (gas stations, car dealers, auto repair shops, auto parts stores, car washes, etc.) We even get the bags donated to us! Free advertising for them, an

I have a # of ideas going through my head to help your financial ituation out. First though, to answer your question of popcorn. We do something similar to what EagleInKY does, but on a smaller scale to motivate our boys. Each year we purchase one boom box. It looks like a "big ticket" item, however is usually inexpensive. For every $25 dollars a boy sells, he gets his name on a piece of paper to be put into a "hat" at the end of popcorn sales. Our Kernnel has figured out a way to also use the time and money earned for boys at show and sells (table sales) to be included in it. At the en

It is always good to have more than one person with BALOO training at a campout anyways...if your son was to get hurt and need medical attention or came down with a flu and you needed to go home...everyone would need to go home. There always needs to be a BALOO trained person present during a camping session. My suggestion?...Grab a buddy to go with you to the training! ;-) Happy Scouting!

I have to echo both Acco40 and uz2bnowl on sentiments regarding den chiefs. We have had a couple that were no good, and have had them replaced, we have 2 currently that can't imagine not seeing the boys through cross-over and have long since done what is required of them. I have to say, the boys just LOVE their den chief. My son is in a den with one of the better den chiefs, and it has helped on a number of different issues. The boys are more interested in Boy Scouting and are constantly asking him questions about Boy Scouting (thus helping my % numbers of boys crossing over). Two, at tim