kari_cardi

jblake47 said 'The money kids spend on blue jeans is very comparable to scout pants, but no one wants them. A durable shirt from any good sporting goods store is going to cost pretty much what a new uniform shirt costs. Well the patches can be taken off and put on a new shirt, the belt doesn't wear out nor do the socks very often. Necker, hat, all don't need replacing unless lost.' Respectfully, there is a lot of privilege in that statement. Some kids spend $40 on blue jeans. Mine don't, nor do the kids of most of my friends. Some kids spend $25-$35 on a single shirt. Mine don't, nor do t

Our pack keeps going back and forth on pack t-shirts. Parents like them because they keep the official uniform shirt/pants nice. Uniforms are the most expensive clothing many of our boys own. It's tough to watch a boy use paint wearing a $30 shirt. OTOH, when we've had pack t-shirts, the scouts seem to wear them for everything, despite instructions to wear uniforms to meetings and t-shirts for outdoor activities or as requested. We handed out t-shirts this year, and I am pretty sure that there are boys who don't have official shirts since they are new and hey, why buy a shirt when they can wea

Kosher? Probably not. Practical and effective? Yes. If I had continued with my Tiger den, we would have made our own again. Instead the current den leader hasn't used the immediate recognition at all, nor has the Bear leader because they dislike the plastic as much as I do. So I figure something that works is better than not doing it at all. I am not uniform police at all though. I am a stickler for rank badges being earned and worn properly, but immediate recognition totems feel more like belt loops or such to me.

blw2, I don't like the immediate recognition totems either. We made Tiger versions last year from leather, using pre-cut shapes in an arrow point design that we stamped and punched with holes for the strings. I loved that my Tigers could make them with a little help.

I think it sounds like you have several challenges ahead of you. First is helping the parents be Tiger Cub partners and not just chauffeurs who stay in the room. Ideally, this expectation would have been set at recruitment. It doesn't sound like that is the case here. So now you need to set expectations. I agree with the others, the friendly but direct approach is best. I am going to guess that your pack is active during the school year and takes a slower approach in the summer. I'd chose a couple of the most likely parents and give them specific assignments to run meetings in the next few mon

Hey, if you are a woman, the assessment moves directly to #3. Impossible to be a BSA Eagle scout, and no amount of GSUSA experience as a youth counts. So your scenario really only applies to male scouters, with a small nod to the possibility of Venturing females for #1.

My son's Family Life counselor was male. He was also the scoutmaster and the MB was done as a class during troop meetings, but that is a whole other issue! I agree with AKdenldr, it is one of the MBs that women would feel comfortable counseling even if they cannot contribute to scouting in other areas. moosetracker, there is no Cub Scout rank that requires a library card. That is one requirement that can be chosen for a total of 7 out of 16 requirements for the Webelos Communicator activity pin. Hardly a limiting requirement. But I do see your point about family involvement or rather lack

We don't have pack meetings in June, July and August, but we do have pack-wide activities including resident camp and twilight camp. Special events like Pinewood and B&G are the pack meetings for that month. Pinewood is held on our regular meeting night. B&G might be our regular meeting night, or it might be on a Saturday. Depends on the schedule and what the leadership decides.

We do a casual, fun leader's meeting in June or July. We do a cookout and the whole family is invited. We put together the general calendar through the next summer at this time, and rough out a general direction for the pack. Usually the CC has already figured out much of the calendar scheduling around holidays and the local school calendar. We have certain events that happen at the same time every year, and try to match up those events with themes and the 12 core values. If 'Responsibility' works better in October than November, for example, I have no problem moving it. During the school

Have you tried laying it all out for him? 'These are my expectations of your behavior, these are the things we will be able to do if everyone cooperates and works together, our goal is to have fun and be good scouts and if you don't have the same goal, then you are welcome to sit to the side and watch.'

The Buff headgear does look interesting. I wonder if a flat seam would be a problem. With a seam I could copy the concept in about 5 minutes at home. Bart, it comes in various fabrics including wool, which should meet your warmth requirement. And one style-idea comes down over the ears.

I think the cotton/polyester poplin looks better, it has more shape and takes a press better. The nylon supplex feels better to me, and breathes better too. It doesn't wrinkle but it doesn't hold a crease either, since creases are really intentional wrinkles that makes sense to me. I'd probably chose the nylon supplex for camp.

I don't value one scouter over another based on the program they work with, but I've been at the receiving end of this prejudice. I think it stems from the general view of Cub Scouts as a feeder organization for Boy Scouts. If one program is the warm-up act to the other program as the main event, I can see why Boy Scout leaders hold themselves in higher honor. Also, BS leaders generally have more stuff on their shirts, which obviously means they are better leaders. Right? RIGHT? Thankfully most scouters I've met are not like this.

Basement, it wasn't like that when we started with ScoutManage last fall. I'd like to talk to the owner about the situation before we switch to another provider, but I agree, I'm not comfortable with the current situation.

camilan42, I appreciate your viewpoint as well whether or not I agree with it. However, I do want to point out that scouters have reasons other than cost for not wearing uniform pants, perfectly valid reasons, like lack of pants that fit for function.

"The use of the uniform creates a sense of camaraderie, a sense of equality and a sense of pride by way of public expression of the badging they have earned and insignia to which they belong." And these goals can be met by wearing the uniform shirt without the uniform pants, taking the argument right back around to the OP. My family has enjoyed riding in an annual bike tour of 3000 cyclists. We had camaraderie, equality and pride based on participation wristband. That feeling was based far more on what we did together than what we wore to do it.

Thanks! I'd really prefer to contact them directly than through FB.

Does anyone have direct contact information for Lee or even a general email for Scoutmanage? Thanks!

My understanding is that the jeans were for casual wear, not for uniforms. I looked at them when they first came out, they were reasonably priced for jeans. They didn't fit my two boys though, one is skinny and one is husky. Otherwise I'd snap them up at $5/pair!

Does the registration process have any sort of quality control? If an app for a 9yo 6th grader is submitted for a Boy Scout troop, will the system spit it back out or accept it, I wonder. Who wants to volunteer to try it?

SaintCad, thanks for your response. I did figure it out, everyone met training expectations, we are good!

I've been looking for a pair of pants similar to the uniform pants to wear. I'd love a skirt too. I'm also in the process of taking apart and resewing a uniform shirt to fit me. I'm short and busty and BSA uniforms don't fit me at all. I've tried the last few iterations of female and male uniforms. I have a similar issue with other tailored clothing and generally make my own or stick to styles and clothing lines that I know will work. I'd sew my own uniform if I could find similar fabric, I wish it was an option. I do have a pair of switchbacks, too, that don't fit. The amount of topstitc

Initially, I was going to refer you to the online scout shop at scoutstuff.org. When my local scout shop runs out of participation patches, I find that I can often find the patches I need at the online store. I can't find a 2012 Scout Sunday patch in the catalog right now either, just a discontinued 2011 version. And in my experience, that means that the local shop won't be getting any stock soon. My other favorite source for participation patches is thepatchplace.com. There is a wide selection of patches and service has been great. The patch size is a little smaller, the design isn't as

This is why we keep the two ceremonies separate. It's not awkward if AOL and crossover are held at two different times. We celebrate AOL first with the pack. Then we have crossover with the troop(s) though everyone has chosen the same troop for the last 5 years or so. This approach has the added advantage that scouts who earn AOL actually get to experience the highest award in Cub Scouting for a week or two as Cub Scouts rather than immediately becoming Boy Scouts.

So sorry for your loss, Scoutfish. I hope you find the song.