kari_cardi

I'm not a fan of Yahoo groups as a message board. I've used Proboards successfully for several different groups. It's free (with a banner ad at the top), the boards are somewhat customizable and users do not have to have a yahoo email account to use them. www.proboards.com

Do you have pie irons? We borrow them from the troop. You can make sandwiches like ham and cheese or grilled cheese; pizza pockets with sauce, pepperoni and cheese; or mini pies with pie filling. Use cheap white bread and butter on the outside for all of these, or cheap whole wheat bread. The good bread really doesn't seem to toast as well, no matter how much I want it too! Another campfire snack idea is a peeled apple on a stick. Roast it like a hot dog, then roll the hot cooked apple in cinnamon sugar. A great snack for hot days is homemade ice cream. There are all sorts of r

May I ask how the patches were sewn onto the shirt? By hand or sewing machine? Usually when I see fabric give way in the manner you describe the sewing was done by machine with a needle that was too large for the project.

It's also possible that the requirements were met by the scout participating in a different program and were entered all at the same time. My son recently earned Sportsman. He did swimming at scout camp, basketball through a winter sports programs, volley ball and golfing during pack meetings, etc. I didn't go back and look up dates but entered the date I recorded everything. It would be challenging to do that activity pin in one week, but it looks like he did. A brief chat with the parent usually clears everything up. And if the boy didn't do the work, do you have a plan of action.

From the administrative side, we give membership ID numbers and parental email addresses to the troop for the transitioning scouts. The troop takes care of the rest. Their new apps should have the email addresses but we find that it is useful for the new parents to start receiving emails before their scouts crossover, so they are up to speed on upcoming events. Crossover is the troop's responsibility, and we did our AOL ceremony several weeks prior with the pack.

Minute-to-Win-It games are great, but we did find that many of the parents did not want to participate. The pack activity that had EVERYONE involved? Was a mock snowball fight with new rolled socks that started with a sneak attack on the parents by the scouts. It was a blast!

I'd be offended if someone gave me unsolicited advice on how to parent my children. I've offered advice when asked, including recommendations for professional services. I would not hesitate to become involved if I thought a child was abused or neglected. I strive to lead by example but I know I am by no means perfect and I know not everyone agrees with my approach. We do talk to the adult partners of scouts who have behavior issues, but our discussions are kept very specific to how the scout's behavior impacts his den, his pack and himself as a scout.

I agree with what Ann said, I would tell the den leader what happened in a calm, firm manner and expect an apology. I would also start looking for another den. It may be a misunderstanding and it may be fine to continue with the pack you are in. If you do decide to leave, I think it is important to let the Cubmaster or the Committee Chair know why you have left the pack. They will appreciate the information. As a den leader and pack leader, there are boys I like and boys I don't like as much. I am careful to make sure that I NEVER say anything disparaging about any boy in the pack in

In regards to the Bear parent who won't step up and be den leader, it might be useful to talk to her to find out WHY she won't volunteer. It might be an issue you can work around, like she is uncomfortable in front of large groups. Or it might be something you can't help with but then you know and you can move on. Also, would it be helpful to separate the Webelos scout and his grandmother? While den leaders usually lead the the den for their scout, it isn't a rule. Boys will often behave differently/better for someone who is not their primary caregiver. I understand it might not be w

Good for you!

I'm attending a COH next week that is also a ECOH and Webelos crossover and FOS presentation with a potluck dinner. We are breaking all the rules!!! But we are not, because of our troop traditions and the agreement of everyone involved. Expectations are everything. I am sure that if we had a Varsity Team, any awards would also be presented to them at the COH and no feelings would be hurt or toes stepped upon. It would make what promises to be a long night even longer though...

Actually, Eagle92, sewing as hobby is experiencing a new popularity, as evidenced by the number of new sewing books and blogs being published. The internet has been a prime factor in its resurgence, replacing Mom as a source of sewing wisdom. And in the past couple of years, men who love to sew are also showing up with blogs and on message boards. All this to say I have hope for the future and for DIY skills in general.

Scoutfish, you can buy curved needles at a fabric store too, but they aren't really necessary. A 'sharps' needle works great but I usually pick whatever needle is handy in my pincushion. As long as the needle isn't too long and is sharp, not blunt, it will work. Issues in sewing on patches comes up here and in our troop/pack so often, I am seriously considering putting together a YouTube video on the topic.

It took about 10 minutes to hand sew my son's POR patch on the sleeve pocket of his uniform without sewing through the pocket and losing use. It's the same issue as sewing rank badges on the front pocket, if you want to use the pocket you have to hand sew, if you want speed (though not necessarily ease) then machine sew through all the layers or remove the pocket, sew on the patch, then put the pocket back. Or remove the pocket and sew the patch on the sleeve. Honestly, I think the real issue is that sewing is a lost art. We are spoiled by cheap disposable clothing and lack of skills.

Sanforized cotton is simply cotton that has been specially treated to reduce/eliminate shrinkage. If you are trying to match up fabrics, I would look at the weave, weight and color. Do you have any links? Also, this brings up a related question. Are handmade uniform pieces 'official' uniform wear?

For our Cub Scout pack and troop (I have boys in both), I think it is pretty cheap but costs still add up. Cub Scouts: $370/boy/year Dues - $90 Uniform - $100 Summer Camp + physical - $145 Misc - $80 (camping, special pack meetings, etc) Boy Scouts: $520/boy/year plus extra time for fundraising Dues - $15 Uniform - $150 (Class A and Class B required) Camping/Activity fees - $100 High Adventure fee - $120 Summer Camp + physical - $160 Scout Parents/Leaders: est. $550/year (we figured this out once for budget purposes) Uniforms Printing Gas Vehicle

Lisabob, that is so funny. My son was packing for a troop camping trip a few weeks ago, and was lamenting that he didn't have any zip-offs to wear as the expected temperatures were 68/35F. I reminded him of the centennial zip-offs I bought him two years ago when we outfitted him for Boy Scouts. He wore them all weekend and multiple times since. So I think he would agree with you. ;-) The main reason I prefer less than full official uniforming is fit. It is more of an issue with adults than the boys, but not everyone fits standard uniform sizing. I personally can't find uniform pants

We used Minute to Win It for a pack meeting. Big hit! We chose Junk in the Trunk, Movin' On Up, A Bit Dicey, Nose Dive, and Rapid Fire. We chose games that were inexpensive and sanitary for groups. You can find descriptions and videos of all the games on the MTWI website. We had the MC call the time and rotate boys through different stations. The boys really had a good time and it was easy to do.

I think I would look for ways to make them feel more involved, rather than focusing on what makes them different. They are Tiger parents, have they led any meetings or otherwise contributed? The whole problem would go away if everyone knew each other better, I think.

Pack Family Camp is the highlight of the year for my pack, or at least it is for me. :-) I'm not sure why planning needs to start a year or so in advance. We pick out a tentative date and location at our annual planning meeting, but it often isn't secured and confirmed until a couple of months before camping. Our activities vary, but always include lots of down time for the scouts to explore, work on different scout skills, and most importantly it seems, EAT! Different packs, different leadership styles, different ways of doing the same event. :-)

We do whatever makes sense. Our dens all meet at the same time and place, so it is easy to mix and match leaders and dens. I like to do at least the first half of the Tiger year unless there is a parent already in the pack who wants to do it. It helps the new parents become oriented to scouting and feel comfortable with the den leader role before asking for volunteers if an experienced leader works with the den. We had a situation last year where a Webelos scout was reluctant to continue scouting with his mother as his den leader. So she switched with another leader, someone who had been

You could try baking your bread in a clay oven baker or a dutch oven with water poured over the top. I like my results best when I spritz the loaf right before I put it in the oven, and I arrived at this simple solution after trying all sorts of ways to get steam into my oven. Have you tried the 5-minute-a-day artisan bread recipes that were so popular a year or so ago? I like this whole wheat version best: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx Even if you use your own bread recipe, the baking methods work well.

I'm in the process of confirming den leaders for next year, and looking for some new people too. While I agree it can be hard to talk to individuals during meetings, I find that I can often catch them before or better yet after meetings. Seldom do I get to have a full discussion at that moment, but it's ok because I've started the process, made myself available for questions, and can follow-up by phone, email, or another short talk later. The people who say no, say no right away. The people who want to say yes often need some time to think about it, talk to spouses, etc., so it all works o

We have a cub who likes to work on belt loops and pins. He and his brother work on scout projects every weekend with his mom and his grandfather. They don't do sports or anything, scouts is the main family activity. And his mom doesn't have access to the internet, so instead of entering completed items in our online tracking program as they earn them, she saves up the information and puts it in all at once, usually in the spring, usually for B&G. It DOES look suspicious, but when we've had a friendly chat, it is clear that her son is very interested in scouts and does work hard to earn

After running into a similar situation last year, this is what we came up with. 1. Parents are Akela and therefore are allowed to 'sign off' on belt loops and pins. The exception is any requirement that involves interaction with the den, pack or den leaders. For those, the advancement chair double-checks with the den leader to ensure the requirement was completed properly. So, in other words, we verify what we can and let the rest go. 2. The pack will buy a maximum of 10 belt loops or pins per boy per year, and we buy each belt loop or pin only once in a cub scout career. After