kari_cardi

Do you think the real issue is that the dad doesn't want to repeat the Tiger year, considering the adult partner requirement? I think a frank private discussion with the dad is in order, to find out why he wants his boys together and hopefully come up with a solution that meets the needs of everyone.

dg98adams, we give awards (Bobcat, maybe a belt loop) to boys who fill out an application and pay the fee in the fall before the paperwork hits the council office, giving an award to a boy who joins as part of the spring membership drive feels the same to me. Is there a magic date when all new apps are delayed to June 1? Is the issue around prorating membership fees? Snow White, yes, that makes sense to me, with the exception that if a Tiger is 7yo now, he should be able to move forward without waiting for June 1, no? Since the requirement is to be in 1st grade or 7yo? And definitely,

When can scouts recruited in the spring begin to work on advancements and earning belt loops? I was thinking about having them work on Bobcat and belt loops now, and begin working on other rank advancements with their den after June 1. This would fit in well with what the pack is doing at the moment, most boys have earned their current rank badge and we are doing various belt loops to finish out the school year. Is the answer different for boys going into first grade and starting Tiger Cubs?

Scoutnut, that is a cool idea, especially with the savings of almost 50% over the normal Lifetime membership fees. Alas, though, she is but a sophomore. She is bridging to Ambassador in a few weeks, hopefully she will continue with GS and we can consider the Lifetime membership as a graduation gift.

We just went through a similar situation in our pack. We changed our policies as a result. We will buy up to 10 belt loops and pins per scout each year. Any more than that, we will announce as recognitions but not purchase the actual awards. We came to this decision after considering that 1. Parents are Akela and 2. Anyone can purchase any of the Cub Scout belt loops and pins at our local scout shop without any paperwork. In the current situation, we simply explained that the pack could not afford the cost but the parent was welcome to visit the scout shop to purchase the awards. Th

Thank you for the congrats! My dh and I are still exploring these ideas, we especially like the multi-tool and the scrapbook ideas. I figure it would be a great gift to keep all of her photos and letters safe and together.

So many good ideas! Thank you for your help! I'm thinking about a scrapbook that would display her pin as well as the letters and photos from her project.

I'm sorry, do you have a problem with my question?

My daughter has earned her Gold Award and is being recognized in a few weeks. I'd like to purchase a keepsake gift for her. Any ideas? I browsed the online GS shop and was disappointed in their selection. She has the patch and will be receiving her pin. TIA!

My thought regarding the suggestions to put the wine or beer in another container for transport to the campsite: I would be very upset if I found that my son's leaders were cited for transporting open containers of alcoholic beverages, an activity against the law in most if not all states, during a scout camping trip. Even if the wine had an onion in it.

We do a crossover ceremony at the last pack meeting of the year. The boys walk over a short bridge that is conveniently located near our meeting place, and the CM hands them their book and neckerchief for the next rank. I like it because it lets the boys know that they can start working on requirements for their new rank. It also acknowledges that they will be attending summer camps as their new rank. This mini-ceremony takes nothing away from the Webelos to Boy Scout crossover, in part because traditionally in our pack, only the Webelos II families attend that ceremony, which also inc

Is there an official policy in regards to publishing photographs of Cubs on the web? I'm seeing more and more of this, especially on Face Book. It was a little disturbing to me to see my son's entire Arrow of Light ceremony on Face Book last spring, he happened to be standing next to the son of someone who is my FB friend and so was included in every shot. And this experience has been repeated several times as scout parents and leaders publish photos from camping, pack meetings, field trips, etc. On the one hand, I would like to know when photos of my sons are being published on the we

Thanks everyone, for your suggestions! We haven't had a chance to test any of them out thanks to all the snow we have right now, but hopefully we will be meeting soon!

I've tried that several times. It didn't work for us. I can't speak for the other boys, but I know my son doesn't mess with them, just his normal activity at den and pack meetings was enough for them to work loose and fall off. Any other ideas?

How do you keep the the beads on the strings? We've tried various methods of looping the strings through the beads, knots, changing the strings to waxed cording that holds knots better, everything we can think of. But I still have a den of Tiger Cubs with empty totems that should be full, asking for replacement beads. So what do you do with your Tigers? Wolfs too, same problem.

We do a potluck for B&G and organize it in a similar manner to many other packs, it seems. We buy the entree, drinks and dessert and assign either starches or veggies to families by den. To cover the cost of the entree, we charge each family a small fee. Our intent is to cover about half our food costs and generally we do so. We call by tables for serving and then everyone who wants seconds is welcome to return to the buffet. I like potlucks because they accommodate many different eating styles and allergies. We've talked about doing pizza for pack events rather than potluck, for

Patches don't bother me. Sure, as scouts get older, getting a patch for camping isn't a big deal anymore. That is as it should be, part of the process. But I don't think of participation patches as rewards, I consider them to be mementos of an event shared with other scouts having a good time. That's what I tell my sons and my den. Their brag vest is a history of sorts. It's cool. I am not, however, a fan of the Tiger Cub Immediate recognition or the Progress Toward Ranks for Wolfs. I think the plastic emblems look cheap on uniforms and the beads never stay on the strings. Plus th

Thank you Lisabob, evmori, adamsdwa, and Cubmaster-Fred for answering my questions and giving me information I needed to know about jambo.

I asked if it was usual for Webelos to fundraise for Boy Scouts. Is that really complaining, or is it rather looking for input to understand how things work in a new venture? This is the first organization with which I've been involved that asked potential members to fundraise with them. More commonly, new members are initially carried by the current and previous members, and by the time the new member is a former member, he/she has also contributed to keep the funds flowing for the new crop of new members. Yes, we could decline the opportunity to do fundraising. We were told if we di

Is it common for Boy Scout troops to require Webelos II scouts to participate in fundraising for the troop? My son, as you may have guessed, is a Webelos II and was told this by the SM. He put in hours selling Christmas trees which is the primary fund raiser for the troop. Then he was told that he had to participate in selling mulch this spring, an additional fundraiser for the specific purpose of paying for a trip to the National Jamboree in two years. If he didn't participate, he would not be allowed to benefit from any more troop fundraising efforts. He also sold popcorn for the pack.

I have been doing monthly neckerchief slides with my Tigers. We've used PVC pipe as the ring portion, and have used a variety of materials like foam, wooden craft shapes, hot wheel cars and polymer clay to make the decorative portion. I can often use supplies leftover in our supply closet. Making slides takes us maybe 15-20 minutes. Sometimes a slide is started in one meeting and finished in the next. We have used hot glue guns most of the time. A parent ALWAYS mans the hot glue gun and is stationed at a table away from the main activity, scouts are sent over one at a time to have their