kari_cardi

A water obstacle course is fun. Have each family bring something to contribute like buckets, sponges, hoses, sprinklers, etc. Let the boys set it up and time each other running races. Also, scouts like cooking their own food. There are several good threads about easy meals that cub scouts can help with or do on their own, with supervision of course.

Thanks, ScoutNut. I understand your point, but I am not getting definitive answers from council. And yes, I am talking to the right people.

Now I am confused again. Sort of. Eagle92, I have asked. I'm still asking. I thought maybe different viewpoints would help me.

Thanks to both of you! I think one of my problems is the differences between council and National. Any thoughts on whether WELOT/IOLS and BALOO are needed for Webelos leaders to go camping? (This message has been edited by sasha)

I've been trying to follow our council guidelines over the past few months on required training. I'd like to have my groups fully trained and compliant. What I read and what I am told often do not agree, so I thought I would try asking here as well. I suspect I'm not the only one confused. And if there is an online resource that is the ultimate authority that you can refer me to, I would be ever so grateful. 1. This is Scouting is required for new scouters, but not for scouters who have taken it before. Correct? 2. Do scouters need to take Fast Start training for their position

I think the unit-to-unit mentoring idea has merit. One of best nights I had in scouting took place at a cookout where we realized that there were leaders from 4 area packs who all happened to know the hosts from other activities. I've had similar experiences at birthday parties and at the YMCA pool. Pack leaders want help, they want to talk about their experiences and what works for them and what doesn't. We have a district commissioner. I've met him a half-dozen times or more. I don't know if he has anything to offer us, because he always shows up without notice at pack or den meet

I think the goal is to provide the benefits of being a scout with the convenience of having it all under one roof at the same time. IME homeschool families prefer daytime activities and to include as many kids as possible in each activity. The person organizing it has not mentioned anything about a charter organization. She has said that she is looking for interest to share numbers with each council and that neither has approved the new units yet. I want to reiterate that I am NOT the organizer and do not plan to sign my family of scouts up. We are very happy and very involved in our

Has anyone heard of this or a similar idea? Was it successful? A local homeschool group is trying to start up a scout group that would combine a Cub Scout pack, a Girl Scout troop and a Boy Scout troop. They will meet at the same time/place and combine as many resources and activities as possible. The group is still at the interest stage, so it doesn't actually exist yet. I'm intrigued.

When I have asked the manager at different fast food restaurants if I can have some extra condiment packets, straws, etc for scout activities they are always given freely and with a smile. No need to take extra during visits and stockpile, and it serves as a better role model for our scouts. Minor, to be sure, but the little things add up. Cool site, I have some first aid kits to re-stock and an order here will fill the bill!

I am so sorry that your stepson has to face the loss of his father. I wish strength, peace and grace for him and for your family in the coming difficult days. When my niece lost her father to cancer (my BIL), she said that she appreciate the support of a grief group at her school. Maybe your stepson's school has a similar group.

Except, of course, in some councils supporting documentation IS required, as I previously stated.

Does the scout want to learn to swim? You posted about what the mom wants and what the dad wants. I wouldn't do anything unless I was sure that the scout wants it. I know that you probably have done this, but I thought I would mention it. For example, is not being able to swim an excuse to avoid the pressure of advancement from his Eagle dad? You could also help the scout find a way to earn the money for swim lessons, like cutting grass for a couple of weeks.

Our scout shop requires a certificate from the event to sell the Archery and BB Gun belt loops and pins. The certificates are handed out to the boys who earned the awards on the last day of camp/cub-o-ree or other district/council event. All we do on the pack level is show the certificate, pick up the award and hand it out. The parents can purchase the belt loops or pins as well, as long as they have the certificate.

Did you see this comment in the 'What First Aid?' thread by TAHAWK? Interesting. http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=321484 GI complaints happen for a lot of reasons and the cause can be hard to pin down, especially in mild cases that do't require hospitalization. I'd suspect the quality of the canned meat over the can dates as an issue, canned meats are frequently recalled.

We do, we have a committee person in charge of snacks for pack meetings. We try to pick snacks that go with the theme that we think the boys will like. Sometimes they are simple, like pretzel rods and juice, and sometimes more elaborate like decorate your own cookie.

Den displays have been hit or miss lately, but we have plans for the next school year! We will make den banners to place on tables at the pack meetings to showcase what each den has worked on that month. The hard part for us is remembering to hold onto projects because once they go home, they don't come back.

Did you look at their training calendar? Pretty empty...

83Eagle, we handle Tigers in similar ways. The primary difference is that I act in the role of parent coordinator for the first couple of months. I have found that after running meetings for a month, parents find the idea of den leader to be much less intimidating.

Not much of one and not for new Tigers...

Thank you for that recognition, SP. And to be clear, we don't fold up. We have one or more activities each month in the summer. We especially take advantage of district and council offerings for camping and shooting sports, which are an important part of the cub scout program that the pack can't offer on its own (past Family Camp, which we also do).

I agree with what Lisa listed as the problems. The solution I've offered to my pack is that I act as Tiger Cub leader until we have someone who is comfortable volunteering. The program stays strong and new parents are not overwhelmed with learning about scouting while trying to lead a group of boys and parents who are also learning about scouting. In my experience at recruiting leaders for all levels, parents are more likely to volunteer when they've had some time in and have a better idea about the commitment. I can appreciate that both as a parent volunteer and as one of the pack leaders

We give crossing Web IIs nothing more than a handshake, a smile and a promise for a fun year as they move up to their second year. I think we must be the only pack that doesn't hand out anything, not neckerchiefs, slides, books or anything else at crossover. The boys and parents don't seem to care, I think it is all about expectations. We used to give handbooks, but so many were lost over the summer that we switched to giving out books at our first fall meeting. Anyone who wants to work on requirements over the summer uses online resources like merit.org, which most of us use anyway.

Seattle Pioneer, You are preaching to the wrong person and diagnosing problems that are not here. We are a vibrant, longstanding pack that does recruit a strong Tiger den each year, and we add boys in other dens as well. We just don't do it all in the spring. I'm sure that as the DISTRICT and the COUNCIL improves their recruiting efforts (much left unsaid) and their offerings for Tigers, our spring recruitment efforts will also improve. We have no problem getting boys and parents excited about joining scouts. There is no reason for Tigers to join NOW versus in the fall, and the paren

Seattle Pioneer, We've tried spring recruiting for two years now, and there just isn't enough incentive for kindergarten parents to sign their boys up in the spring in our council, district or pack. They can do twilight camp with a parent, but parents want a drop off camp program. Our pack doesn't do a lot in the summer, efforts to provide more summer activities were met with low attendance. So that leaves us in a situation where unless we have a Tiger parent who has an older son as a scout, we have to recruit a den leader from the new parents. And I'm not saying that a new parent can

I'm the CC for our pack, and the most important thing I am doing is making myself obsolete. When I started, there had not been a CC for several years, we were short den leaders and the CM was overworked. The program suffered. I have worked hard in the last two years to recruit new den leaders as well as committee members for as many functions as I can. I am also documenting every thing I do so that the next person doesn't have to invent the wheel again. I created all sorts of forms and templates as well as flyers. It is so much easier to crank out a flyer for the B&G if you have the