LauraMO

Well, my very, very, very active Brownies have collected lots of patches from events & field trips & are quickly running out of room on the back of the vest & we still have 2 more years of Brownies left to go! Some time ago I ran across a snapshot of a vest that had the Brownie sash sewn to the bottom edge of the vest. I figure the width of the sash would make it perfect for sewing on more try-it badges but what to do with more patches? I've even run across some Girl Scouts who attached patches to some gossgrain ribbon with one end sewn to the back of the vest which hung down lo

A week-long scout camp is the only camping we do in the summer. Tent camping in Texas in July and August is most unpleasant for everyone involved. In addition, our scout families tend to scatter for vacations.

Thank you, everyone, for your comments. For the committee meeting last night I chose to not address the pop-up camper issue. I had to pick my battles for the night so I chose to deal with the travel policy. The SM informed everyone that he and the ASMs will be camping near the patrol camp site for supervision and that the adults, including those in campers (we only have 1 RV camper family -- go figure!), will camp in a remote location to the extent that the campsite can accommodate that arrangement. He specifically stated that the SM and the ASM should be camping like the boys. I guess I

In response to ePalmer84, above, the previous scoutmaster established a policy in October following a campout where a couple of adults left the campsite and took the road less traveled in stead of sticking to the established route. These adults happened to be travling with cell phones containing dead batteries. (Yes, lots of problems with that scene.) The scoutmaster was left waiting for about 2 hours at the home destination point trying to locate these wayward campers. Lack of communication was obvious here. So, the scoutmaster sent an e-mail establishing, in short, that the troop will de

Our troop will be implementing a travel policy and as committee chairman, I have asked for the SM, ASMs & Quartermaster to prepare their proposals for me to present to the committee tomorrow. Does your troop travel strictly during daylight per the Guide to Safe Scouting? GSS, "Automobiles:" 7. All driving, except short trips, should be done in daylight. Our troop has not found this to be practical because in the fall, winter and early spring the sun sets rather early. We leave on Fridays for our weekend campouts, usually at 6 p.m. from our chartered organization's parking

'Got a new scoutmaster who prior to assuming this role would take his pop-up camper to all of the troop camp outs. The troop is relatively new (19 mos. old) and is trying to fine tune practices and procedures. The pop-up camper appearing at all of the camp outs has become an embarassment for some scouters, including myself. It's not an image several of the ASMs want to present to the community or to new recruits. The troop does host 2 family style camp outs host in the spring and fall in which campers are welcome. Now that this guy is the new leader, I'm frowning on his desire to continue

PERFECT! Thanks for sharing!!!

PERFECT! Thanks for sharing!!!

I am a Daisy troop leader. Helping with my meetings is a fantastic 2nd year Brownie (an older sister). To those "bi-scoutal" parents with kids in Cubs Scouts & Girl Scouts, is there a "den chief" equivalent for Girl Scouts?

The DVD is on sale at Target this week for $9.99 along with some other Disney classics (Herby, Apple Dumpling Gang, etc.). I watched Follow Me Boys this afternoon & really enjoyed it! My son liked the war games scenes. I hope I can be so upbeat if I ever find my scouts surprising me with a homemade "scout cabin" & a pan of charcoal biscuits.

This conflicting information about when a Cub can earn his Whittling Chip has bothered me for a couple of years and so Ill take this opportunity to toss in my 2-cents worth. In the Cub Scout Leader Handbook, 2001 ed. it states As the boy advances through the rank, requirements are progressively more challenging, matching the increased skills and abilities of a boy as he grows older. (emphasis added) (Ch. 18-1). The Bear badge is for those boys who have completed the second grade (or are 9 years old). Therefore, you can reason that Bear Requirement No. 19, Shavings and Chips, which includes ear

As always, the Texas Expo is a lot of fun. You could jokingly call it the Scouting Expo, too, because everywhere you turn you see Cub, Boy & Girl scout uniforms. Lots of various scouting merits to be earned and there are usually some speciality patches, too. A couple of years ago it was the "Spills & Kills" patch where the participants learned about the algae kills in lakes & how to prevent them. This year it was the Wilderness Adventure patch wherein the participants had to visit 10 out of 14 stations and at least 6 of those were various shooting sports (air gun, black powder,

Having a den size of 6-8 boys is certainly ideal but it may not be a reality for many of us. My Tiger Den started out with 8 boys then we grew to 12 boys as a Wolf Den. We had a heart-to-heart conference with the parents and managed to get a fantastic scout parent to volunteer to serve as the den leader when we split mid-year. However, only 4 boys transferred into the new den and promptly 2 of those quit. The fantastic scout parent preferred Pack leadership positions over that as a den leader so we dissolved the 2nd den. Last year we were a Bear den with 12 boys. Yes, the meetings

My Webelos' favorite is . . . "He jumped from 40,000 feet and forgot to pull the cord . . . " My goodness it's a loooonnnnnnngggg song!

Thanks for all the suggestions!!! I ended up at a craft store yesterday that had on sale a plastic 6-drawer rolling cart. My son and I sorted various colors into 5 of the drawers. For the 6th drawer, I bought a set of drawer dividers so he could stash away all the little Lego characters, wheels, windshields, steering wheels, etc. We spent almost 3 hours sorting 1 big bin, 1 good size cardboard box, a shoebox & the stash underneath his chest of drawers. We still need to tackle the bottom of his toy box & what's been tossed in his desk. Yep, I think 16,000,000,000,000,0

OK, this isn't a scouting-related post but we all have sons & this forum is an excellent resource. So, here goes: My son has 16,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Legos, or so it appears from a quick glance at his bedroom floor. I'm looking for some good organization & storage ideas. His collection is beyond the little Legos table you can buy at Toys R Us. Help!

In addition to the Den Chief handbook, consider using the Den Chief Service Award as a guide, too. The requirements can serve as a road map for what types of activities your Chiefs need to do.

Welcome aboard!!! I remember feeling quite frazzled after my first few den meetings. My boys acted just like your's and I suspect we're not alone. I've been a leader for almost 2 years. I eventually figured out the recipe for my den meetings & the key ingredient is to keep the boys busy, busy, busy, busy! Boys are very active & so they will find anything to keep themselves occupied whether it's the planned activity or off in search of something else, like playing chase. Moving the den meeting from our school cafeteria (where they just felt the need to run! Argh!) to my house

Until the parents can get to the scout shop, they can download a copy of the requirements from www.usscouts.org/advance/cubscout/intro.html Of course, this download lacks all the illustrations & background info a Cub may need for many of the requirements, but in the mean time it can serve as an easy band-aid until they get the handbooks.

For this month's "Soaring to New Heights" theme, we had our Cubs rotate between 2 really fun stations at last night's den meeting. At the first station, the Cubs launched film canister rockets fueled by Alka Seltzer tablets & a little bit of water. They loved the sudden POP! and seeing who's lid went highest & farthest. See www.wtsmith.com/rt/projects.html for the instructions. At the second station, each Cub filled a plastic 1-qt. soda bottle with a little water, stuck it onto a PVC launcher, & fueled the bottle with air pressure via a bike pump until WHOOSH! off th

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Arrow of Light; crossing over (or bridging over) ceremony

And is "green soap" a/k/a Palmolive dishwashing soap?

My pack his hosting our first space derby next month and so I'm surfing the net for derby ideas/tips to share with my Cubs. Several posts suggest that lubricating the rubber bands "prolongs the bands' life and power and will help reduce the possibility of breaking during the competition. They can be soaked overnight in castor oil. Or mix two parts green soap, one part glycerine, and one part water and rub the mixture on the rubber band about an hour before racing." I know caster oil doesn't cost much, but is there any reason why I can't use veggie/canola/baby oil?

After my Bear Cubs finish earning their badge, they will begin working on their Whittling Chip cards. The parents & I plan to present our sons with their first knife during a den meeting that will be dedicated to knife safety & use. We would like to present the same style of knife and, if possible, maybe have the Cub's name engraved on the knife. It seems the sky is the limit in terms of knife styles, sizes, and uses. What do you recommend as a beginner-size knife that would comfortably fit into the palm of a 9-year old boy? The Scout catalog has several knives for sale, but