kari_cardi

I agree with Beavah and E83 that re-hashing the old issues is pointless. I think your best move at this point is to recruit one of the private school parents in a leadership position. Preferably several parents, and I would use flattery to do it. Den leader or assistant den leader of the new den is a possibility, but I would try to find another volunteer/position as well and I would try to not put two private school parents as den leaders together. Right now you have a group within your group. It is easy for that group to be critical and voice 'concerns' when they are unto themselves. Integrate the difficult parents into the pack leadership as much as you can. I bet you will find the critical attitude and threats to leave go away when they become part of the 'problem' side of the issue.

We do what ScoutLass mentioned, where each den is given a number in rotation and keeps the number until they leave as Boy Scouts, then the number is available for the new Tigers. Except like 83Eagle, we only have one patrol per rank. So the den number designation is really only used in Scout Track. I don't think any of our boys wear the den number strip, it is one more patch to buy and sew on that doesn't have any real purpose in our pack.

If we did have more than one den per rank, I would favor a system that gives each den a unique number. I can see that changing den numbers as the pack changes could be a problem.(This message has been edited by sasha)

Thank you! Your ideas sound like much more fun for the boys! I'm going to suggest them at our next leadership meeting.

When I log in and look I do see the new belt loops and pins listed. Our license runs through the end of February 2011.

Historically, our pack does a auction of the cakes and donates the proceeds to charity. We are looking for other ideas. Auctioning cakes takes a long time and we always have disappointed boys in tears. My impression is that Cake Bake is one area where traditions vary widely among packs, so I am interested in hearing other ideas so we can formulate a fresh approach.

TIA!

Thank you! The link provided by Scoutnut is perfect, what I needed. Beavah, I don't have a specific question or problem. Rather, we have several boys with disabilities in the troop and a lack of experience with dealing with issues that arise as a result. So I am in the information-gathering stage to learn more. I did a search on scouting.org with no success, but I knew someone here would have the right links or resources for me!

I would like to learn more about BSA policies and disabilities. I found a reference for advancements, but I am interested more in what are reasonable accommodations for disabled scouts as members of the troop and its activities.

Thank you.

Everything scoutlass said. The more structure you provide for your den leaders, the better they will serve your pack. There are den leaders who thrive and produce a great program without that structure and support, but that talent is rare.

Do you have den leaders? I would make identifying den leaders your first priority. Also find someone to be committee chair. The CC runs the 'board' meeting, attended by the den leaders, asst. den leaders, and other committee members like treasurer. We hold our leadership meeting monthly and review the progress of the dens, work on training, and plan pack meetings and outings. Getting your leadership group up and running is the most important thing you can do both for the pack and for yourself, or you will burn out trying to do it all.

In addition to Youth Protection Training, Cubmaster training, and Bear Den Leader training, you might want to do the online training for the positions for which you are recruiting, like the committee chair. Then when you approach someone for the job and they ask, 'But what do I do?' you'll have an answer. There is good information in the Leaders Guide as well, both to learn and share.

Is your sponsoring organization very active with your pack? I suspect not, but it is another relationship to balance and foster as Cubmaster, at least until you have a functioning CC.

Good luck, I am sure you will get lots of advice here!

Nicely finished plaque with an arrow mounted on it, along with rank badges and pins earned in the Cub Scout program. That's what we do in our pack. Sometimes someone makes the planks, sometimes they are purchased.

Thanks, I found it!

ScoutNut, we've tried that trick. I don't know why it doesn't work for us, but we still lose beads. I think I might have fidgety boys who play with them. I know that natural fiber cords work better for us, and I like the idea of moving the totem to the belt. So I thought we could try making our own leather version this year and see how that works out.

ScoutNut, the idea of making my own is appealing because I think the official version is tacky and hard to use. It is difficult to button and unbutton and the plastic laces don't hold beads very well. We have a small den so the cost isn't as important as it could be.

ScoutLass, thank you for help. I'll check it out!

Can you tell me how to do this? I have leather, I have some leather working tools, but I am not sure how to design my own totem. Does it need to look like the plastic one? Does it fasten to the belt or the pocket button?

TIA!

I can't cram enough information into the templates I've found, so I developed my own using a table in MSWord. Super simple, every month I do a 'save as' of the previous month and edit for the current month. A good chunk of the content doesn't change very much, just dates or what achievement we are working on so this method is easier for me than a template.

We do the same as FrankScout, every car wins a certificate for something, and sometimes that something is hard to find. We still have a Best of Show, though, that can be a problem. I tend to be biased toward originality. Last year we had a car that was built (again) with the help of grandpa who knows the formula for a fast car. We gave the scout Best of Show not for the shape of the car or the fast wheels, but for the completely original handpainted scenes of Cub Scout camping that circled the car. No other car came close to that artistic eye.

The year before, we had three cars that were pretty equal in terms of design and adult help. We chose Best of Show by eeny meeny miney moe, no lie.

I was in cub scouting for at least 2 years before I realized that there were manuals for the leaders other than the Academic and Sports Program Guide and Leader Helps. The internet has vastly improved my knowledge and satisfaction with scouting.

Our recruitment is up as well! We are very happy about this as we lost more boys than usual last year.

Our pack loves belt loops. We do several every year as a pack. Focusing a meeting on a belt loop lets the leaders pool resources at the end of the year when we are all feeling a little burned out. We also use them at the beginning of the year when we have new recruits joining up, any attempt to work on ranks leads to frustration as the new boys have to play catch-up. This way, everyone learns new things and have an award to show for it.

We pay for any belt loop earned during a meeting or camp, one time only. We also cover up to 10 total per year. After that, the parents can buy them if they want. Belt loops and pins are not restricted items in our Scout shop, anyone can purchase them.

Sounds like he had a great time, and worked toward advancements as well. My question based on experience with my young Boy Scout - did he change his socks? Personal hygiene seems to be a challenge for first time summer campers!

How awesome that OneCall worked so well for you, jamist649! May I ask, how did you chose which phone number to call for each scout? Some of our cubs have multiple home, work and parent cell phone numbers, especially if their parents are divorced.

'If one is worried about the nutritional loss from canned goods over time, one can be rest-assured that 90% of all the nutritional value is take out of the food at canning time. Dried fruits, meats and vegetables have had their water removed, not their nutrition.'

I must disagree. Canned food retain the majority of their nutrients and several nutrients, like carotenes and lycopene, are actually more available after the canning process as compared to fresh fruits and vegetables. The protein content of canned meats is virtually unchanged. Here is a reference in case you want to read more. http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/98fr/032598c.pdf I do agree that proper storage of canned goods in a cool, dry, place is important for safety and quality.

Dried fruits and vegetables have lost a good amount of their water-soluble vitamins with the water that is evaporated during the drying process. Vitamin C and the B vitamins are the ones most affected. Since drying changes the density of the food, dried fruits and vegetables still remain a good source for all the nutrients even though they are not the same as fresh.

As far as cutting food costs while camping, as said before, the best way is to reduce dependence on convenience/prepared foods and cook from scratch. I make my own pancake mix, baked goods, spaghetti sauce, etc., much more cheaply than I can buy them, and they taste much better. However, it does require more prep time and cooking skills to do so.

If you can debunk the myth that dutch ovens and other cast iron cookware can't be washed with soapy water, I think you would be doing everyone a favor. I've cleaned out too many rancid, gross DOs and skillets that were cared for under the 'NO SOAP, EVER!' rule.

We are looking at SOAR, thanks for the recommendations! We've also started working with Google groups, setting up a group to see if it fits our needs.

It sounds like we all struggle with the same issues - too many ways to communicate, no single effective way to reach everyone.

I'm working on our plans for next year (we follow the school year for the most part) and I am thinking about communication. What is your primary means of communicating with the pack parents? Newsletter, emails, handouts? Have you added texting to the list? What works best for your pack and your leaders?

We do a monthly newsletter but I'm not convinced it is effective, and it takes time to put together. And we have to email it and hand out paper copies to cover everyone. It does seem like a good way to share information that doesn't fit well in another format. Events are handled primarily through Scout Track emails. We have several families that have limited internet access, and texting would suit them better I think but it adds another step for the leader sending out the information. Among the leaders, we've shifted to Facebook messaging as everyone has an account and it is easier than email.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

In my experience, not allowing siblings in Tiger meetings can be a hardship for the family thanks to the adult partner requirement. And also in my experience, accommodating siblings isn't a big deal, we have a medium size den in a medium size pack and sometimes it is my kid coming along too. But it is important to clearly set expectations. Siblings don't participate in everything, they don't earn advancements, they don't wear uniforms. They also don't fill out an app, pay dues or sell popcorn. Tag-a-long siblings doesn't seem to be as much of a problem in the older dens, as parents can do drop-offs or siblings become old enough to stay home alone, or whatever.