AnniePoo

No candy, 'cause we're all trying to lose weight to get under the new weight limits.

Our track has 6 lanes, and we run one age group at a time. We stagger participants for each race so that each scout runs once on each lane. The computer averages the times for each age group, and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place are determined by average time. It goes quickly and the kids like that they get to run 6 times.

I have two Half Dome 4's from REI, and they are a good all around tent. Watch for sales.

No more info specifically about Trail's End products, but Peanut Corporation of America's FDA inspectional observations (FDA Form 483) from January is available at FDA's website at:

http://www.fda.gov/ora/frequent/default.htm

Makes very interesting reading.

Our council generally runs Cubmaster & Committee member together since they need to work so closely together.

Our District Chair doesn't seem to know, nor does the training chairwoman.

OK, so it was definitely last fall, then definitely January-February, now it's March. Does anyone at National really know? It's likely that our council is going to need to schedule NLE's before March, in order to get the facilities reserved.

Any National BSA folks out there who can give us a REALISTIC estimate of when the new Cub New Leader Essentials will be coming online? Is it indeed going to be called "This is Scouting?". Our council will soon be making the fall NLE & CSLS schedule, and I'd rather not waste my time trying to fit in a NLE session, including reserving a training location, that won't be needed.

Thanks,

Annie

I'm only a lowly pack committee chair, but here's my two cents worth:

Budget and spending issues must be completely visible. If you don't have an annual budget, then get together before the end of your troop's fiscal year and make one. Our pack didn't have one when I started, and although it took about 5 hours with my treasurer and (at the time) CM to dig through old records and make one, it only took 10 minutes to modify it for this year. We have a brief treasurer's report every month at committee meetings. If you treasurer isn't keeping excellent records, then they shouldn't be treasurer.

Are parents or other leaders volunteering to help with committee issues? Perhaps no one jumped in to help early on (while the SM "got his bearings"), and she's overwhelmed and has felt like if she doesn't do things, no one will.

Other than the budget stuff, which obviously needs to be controlled better in your troop, please make sure that she's getting the organizational help she needs before you jump all over her.

Oh, and my CSLS session was two nights ago, and was a lot of fun. Had a great group of leaders help me with breakout sessions. We all gave a lot of "real world" information, suggestions, and ideas instead of the same old spiel, and it worked well. And we were done in 2-2.5 hours without having to rush. And nobody looked like they were falling asleep.

My NLE session was last week, and it went very well. I went "outside" the box, not just following the syllabus, and got a lot of good feedback & discussion from the participants, all of whom had never taken any form of Cub training. Turns out they hadn't received a lot of information from their pack leaders, and didn't know about roundtables, etc. I brought numerous flyers, including many I've used with our pack (such as a condensed 6-page summary of belt loop requirements), and others I've made (such as a map of districts within our council on one side, and a list of district/council leaders on the other).

I've found with many new leaders, including those in the class, that they aren't being given basic information. At presentations, training, and roundtables, it is assumed that the participants all have basic knowledge about what is being discussed. Quite often this is not the case, and this really alienates the newbies. For instance, at our last roundtable, someone made an announcement about Klondike Derby. At our Cub breakout session afterwards, I asked how many of them knew what the Klondike Derby was. Only about half did.

So here's what I used in my NLE: Be lively and energetic! Bring stuff in writing that they can read later and/or share with their pack leaders and parents. Bring ideas, outing information, etc. Don't assume they know anything. Don't assume their pack leaders are mentoring them. Be goofy. Bring food.

Still haven't seen the new version of NLE.

The reality is that you will have leaders and/or parents who are smokers, and will need to smoke on campouts. However, there should be a designated smoking area OUT OF SIGHT of the kids. During any scouting event, adults should never smoke in front of the kids.

You should talk to the adults involved and make this clear to them.(This message has been edited by AnniePoo)

We have a committee meeting in mid-summer to set a tentative budget and schedule for the year. Usually the school calendar is available by then. We set tentative dates for Wolf through Webelos II den meetings, pack meetings, Blue & Gold, PW Derby, and other pack outings. Our treasurer puts together one-page yearly calendars that we give to parents that can be stuck on the fridge. When we find out who the Tiger leaders are after the first pack meeting in September, we work with them to set their tentative schedule for the year ASAP to get to the parents.

If I'm changing a den event at the last minute, I call parents. Both this year and last year we had to cancel numerous den meetings in mid-winter due to heavy snow, but we make everything up.

I understand your frustration with the den leader's disorganization. Realize that den leaders also have to deal with parents who forget about meetings or show up half an hour late. It also sounds like your Tiger leader is not getting much assistance and advice from the pack leaders.

I think that Tiger den leader is the hardest job in Cub Scouts. I'd suggest that you, your wife, or another parent offer to help out as assistant den leader.

I agree with Liz on this one. I've been on a medication (anticonvulsant) for the last 3 years that has caused significant weight gain, putting me over the edge of the chart. Although I'm active and strong, it's extremely difficult to lose weight on this medication.(This message has been edited by AnniePoo)

We're trying a pack rummage sale for the first time this spring. We're soliciting donations of items from pack families and the community, and have quite a pile going already. Leftover items will be donated to charity organizations in town.

We're hoping it's a win-win situation. People that don't want to have their own rummage sale for a few things can give it to us (we pick it up). We'll price everything to sell, so buyers get good deals. We'll probably also have a brat/hot dog sale at the same time. Best of all, the kids don't have to sell yet another overpriced commercial fundraiser item.

Also, here's some books that might be helpful (all available from Amazon):

The Scout's Outdoor Cookbook

Nature in a Nutshell for Kids: Over 100 Activities You Can Do in Ten Minutes or Less

The Kids' Nature Book: 365 Indoor/Outdoor Activities and Experiences

Go Outside: Over 130 Activities for Outdoor Adventures

Here's a few things we've done at our Webelos camping trips and Cub family campouts, and/or are planning for the upcoming year:

Shoot off water bottle rocket launchers. Frisbee golf. Rocket balloons. Make designs on solar paper. Hike. Swimming (Webelos), fishing, work on hiking sticks (Webelos). Get brown & green paint color cards and have the kids try to find things in nature that match the colors. Teach firebuilding with out a match, even if the kids can't do it themselves on the pack family campouts. Make catapults out of mousetraps.

Have lots games & other stuff (like pieces of rope & knot books) laying around so they can do their own thing a lot of the time (under supervision). We keep about half of the overall time unscheduled, and the kids have plenty to do. We always have healthy snacks available as well.

Just got back from walking the dog. It's -20C outside (without wind chill). Klondike's in a couple of weeks, and it should be above zero by then.

Sounds like they should re-write the rules. I'd suggest contacting the committee chair and meet with him/her one on one to discuss this. Be non-confrontational but firm. Also, offer to do the re-write yourself. Or, maybe you could prepare a draft to have in-hand when meeting with them.

Overall, I'd say that about 45% of our pack's scouts come most often with mom, about 45% with dad, and about 10% with a grandparent who has legal custody. Moms are the primary scouting partner for all of the scouts in my Webelos den.

Cub Scouts are for boys and their adults partner, male or female. Having said that, I think that for many boys being raised by mom alone, or in situations where dad is not a good role model, Scouting can expose them to positive male role models.

Weather is also a limiting factor in many areas. We can't have WB in January/Feb here in Wisconsin because of the cold & snow. Realistically, most events with an outdoor component have to be crammed in from April-October.

Show no fear!!!

I always reviewed fire safety (including not playing with matches kind of stuff) to my pre-Webelos dens right around Fire Prevention Week. When the kids became Webelos, they were allowed to start participating in campfire building during our Webelos campouts, in accordance with safety measures learned in BALOO and Outdoor Webelos Leader training. As soon as the snow melts this spring, we'll work more on starting campfires without a match.

I always reviewed fire safety (including not playing with matches kind of stuff) to my pre-Webelos dens right around Fire Prevention Week. When the kids became Webelos, they were allowed to start participating in campfire building during our Webelos campouts, in accordance with safety measures learned in BALOO and Outdoor Webelos Leader training. As soon as the snow melts this spring, we'll work more on starting campfires without a match.

My first year as a Tiger leader, I picked up one scout before every den & pack meeting and dropped him off afterwards. I also transported him to most of our pack and den outings. He was a pretty nice kid in a bad home environment, and unfortunately only stayed in scouting through the half of the Wolf year, when he had to choose between scouts & karate. His mom, who was appreciative of my efforts, worked 3rd shift and was always sleeping during our scheduled den & pack meetings. I always followed YP guidelines and had at least one of my kids in the vehicle with me also.

Yes. I based my Wood Badge ticket items on theories from that book.