LauraMO

What a timely post: I just finished reading my copy this morning! A very enjoyable book!!! I wish my husband was interested in reading it because he and author Peter Applebome are two peas in a pod. My husband enjoys Cub Scout camping and barely (and I'm stretching here!) tolerates the rest. I can only hope that he will avail himself of the memory-making father/son opportunities once our son graduates into Boy Scouts. FYI: I found my copy at Half Price books for $12 and in excellent shape.(This message has been edited by LauraMO)

My cubs just finished a wonderful week of day camp. In addition to earning their Archery belt loop, they satisfied the archery skill requirements for Bear Elec. 22a. However, they still need to "make an arrow holder." I'll be a den leader at another day camp in a week & I'd loved to see my boys finish this final requirement for the elective. I haven't been able to find any crafty arrow holders on the Internet. Anyone have any cheap & easy ideas?

I've had some luck finding old Cub Scout resource material at used book stores, like Half Price Books. You might find something on e-Bay, too.

Thanks for addressing the technicality of two-deep leadership. Upon my further review of the Youth Protection Guidelines, you are right: I only need two-deep on outings & field trips. To answer your question, yes, my son is a member of my den. Now I know better. Thanks! OK, back to my original question about denner/ass't denner: thanks to everyone who contributed suggestions about assigned duties to these temporary leadership positions. I will take them under consideration and in the mean time I still welcome any more that are lingering out there.

This year I introduced the Denner system to my Wolf Den. The denner arrived 15-30 mins. early, helped with the busy activity & any little bit of set up that was needed for the meeting activities. I'm happy to report that this worked most of the time, but there were times when the denner 1) never showed; 2) came late; 3) or was sent back home with the parent because I didn't have two-deep leadership upon the Denner's arrival & the parent couldn't stay. Next year I want to use both the Denner & Assistant Denner system. I'm looking for ideas on how your den has delegated lea

I'm the chief cook, bottle washer, stain-remover, financial officer, sibling mediator, gardener, diaper changer, mender, mom taxi, school volunteer, and in my spare time a Scouter. According to my husband, that makes me the boss . . . or in Big Fat Greek Wedding terms, the "neck." In my past life I was a certified legal assistant & professional legal secretary. 10 Years working with attorneys is good training for parenthood & Cub Scouts.

Thanks, Bob, for clearing this up.

In leadership training, it was explained to me that one of the purposes of timely filing a Local Tour Permit for our field trips is that if a driver has a wreck in their auto & if their son is wearing the Class A uniform, then BSA would cover the cost of damages / injuries. If this is the case, then are there any BSA Legal Eagles out there who can explain why the permit requires Public Liability Insurance info for each auto that is traveling on the field trip? If BSA is covering the accident, then why do they want to know my drivers' insurance policy limits?

If your Tigers have finished their Achievements by B&G, then by all means, let them receive their Badge. I was in your shoes last year & when I attended my first B&G with my Tiger Den, I discovered that 1st Graders have a really hard time sitting still during all of the B&G presentations. Having them receive their Badges in a banquet setting makes their achievements (and the banquet) seem more important to them. For the next few months work on the Bobcat requirements. Although it isn't a rank it is still a requirement that all Cub Scouts earn this badge before wor

"As with Wolf, no arrow points can be earned until the rank badge is earned." Per the Wolf handbook (pg 9), "Completing electives for Arrow Points generally should wait until after he has earned his Wolf badge, and he cannot receive Arrow Points until he has been awarded his Wolf badge. He might, however, find some electives that he could be completing before he earns the Wolf badge." In short, a Cub may earn the electives while simultaneously working towards his Wolf badge; he just can't receive the Arrow Points until he's been awarded the badge. "There is no limit to the nu

It would be great to have such a website! Let us know when you get it up & running (ha! ha!). In addition to the previously-mentioned resources I would add this Forum. It has become a wealth of ideas for my den activities! We covered the Choices achievements a couple of weeks ago. I typed up on separate sheets 4 out of 9 of the scenarios from the Handbook, divided the boys into 4 pairs, teamed them with a parent & distributed the scenarios. (This was an opportunity to break up some of the rowdy best buddies!) Each team discussed their assigned scenario & wrote down

Having a routine, being mega-organized & keeping the boys ultra busy has seemed to help my Den. I start with a busy activity at the kitchen table that my denner & ADL oversee. About 5-10 mins. after the hour, everyone gathers in the living room to begin the meeting. The boys are extremely rowdy at this point. I get their attention by starting with the "Boom, Chicka, Boom" chant that's found in the Cub Scout How-To Book. It took a few den meetings, but the boys have the chant down & they know that things are about to get started. We dive right into the Pledge & then e

NO!!!!!!!!!!! I'm constantly figeting with it because the buckle won't hold. I don't know which looks worse: a leader walking around with an unlatched buckle or a leader constantly figeting to get the buckle tightened. I washed it trying to get the webbing material "softened" up a bit, but that only shrunk the width so now the brass endcap catches on my belt loops. I'm about ready to toss it in the trash & wear a ladies' leather belt from Wal-Mart.

Thanks! One question: what would qualify as a Leave No Trace-related service project?

Our Wolf Den put together a small Halloween Party (& earned a nifty Arrow Point in the process). The party was a blast! The boys did the mummy wrap relay where a couple of boys get wrapped in TP; then the goblin relay (hold an orange between chin & chest & pass it along). We then had the boys blindfolded & took them in small groups to my garage for our version of Frankenstein's Laboratory. These were our ingredients: Children's teeth (dried corn) Ears (dried apples) Eyeballs (peeled grapes) Frog Eggs (cooked tapioca) Eels (Old El Paso whole chili peppers) Brai

Yikes!! I don't like this news at all! Where were the author's heads of they updated the leaders' manual & A-OK'd Tigers & Wolfs to use knives? Ironically, I recently presented to my Wolf Den that they had to be Bear Cubs to earn the Whittlin' Chip card & thus were not allowed to use knives at our family camp out or at our Pack Pumpkin Decorating event. There isn't any mention of knife safety (or use) in the current Wolf Handbook. Maybe an update is in the works.

Please add me to your story distribution list.

Each month my Wolf Den participates in 2 den meetings, 1 field trip & 1 Pack Meeting. I typically do not schedule den meetings the week of a Pack Meeting or the week of a field trip. I leave Thanksgiving & Christmas Holidays alone as well Spring Break. In June & July, I try to plan at least 1 or 2 outings. By Aug. we do an end-of-summer watergun fight in my backyard & then right before school starts, we get back into the swing of regular den meetings. I poll my parents at the beginning of the school year to see which night works best. Whatever night gets the most vo

I tried a local nursery this morning who referred me to the local pet store, who referred me to a couple of nurseries across town that "might" have what I need. I'm at a point where I don't want to spend an hour or two driving all over for just charcoal dust.

Tomorrow night my Cubs will be making the Rain Forest in a Bottle project featured in this month's Program Helps (8 OCT 2002). Among the ingredients is charcoal (finely ground). I'm having a hard time finding this in stores. I finally tried Petco, where a small box of "carbon" costs a fortune (remember, I have 14 boys & it's anyone's guess who many will show). Does anyone know if just crushing plain ol' charcoal briquettes will work for a terrarium, or should I just skip this ingredient?

Hang in there. For one of my Aug. den meetings (back when I "only" had 8 boys registered -- now I'm up to 13!), I, too, had 3 boys show. In many respects it was nice because the meeting wasn't too loud & the boys had a good time working on the meeting project, but I understand your frustration after all the prep you did for the meeting. Your next meeting may very well be different -- like all 8 show up & someone decides to bring along a friend or younger sibling to make things more exciting. One thing I do immediately after every scouting event is to send an e-mail to all my

Our Pack Cub Master assumed the position last January. I was immediately impressed on how he 1) started the meeting on time, 2) made it fun instead of constantly shouting "Signs Up!" to get the boys' attention, and 3) ending the meeting promptly at 8. My Pack Meeting "Excedrin Headaches" are a thing of the past! Lately we've had games at the beginning of the Pack Meeting. The boys who show up early get to practice which cuts out some of the horseplaying. The games begin at 7 and end about 10 mins. later. So far this extra fun has been a big hit & I hope the games entice more fa

What's the craft recipe for the tin can lantern? 'Sounds like something my boys might like.

Here's a pre-den meeting busy activity that fits the Jungle theme: make animal collages & earn Wildlife Conserv. Pin Req. # 6. My Wolf Cubs did this last week & managed to stay busy enough to not get into trouble as I was gathering the rest of my materials for the den meeting / answering a swarm of questions from parents. My assistant & I tore up catalogs, coupons, newspapers & magazines for every imaginable depiction of animals, tossed them into a cardboard box, handed the boys some card stock & glue sticks & told them to pick one species to make their collage.

By all means, let him earn some extra fun awards while he's chipping away at his Bear badge. It'll be a while before he earns his badge, so it is especially fun for a Cub to go home after a Pack Meeting with a new award in hand. I agree with sctmom, don't feel pressured to do everything all at once. One thing you & your son may want to keep in mind, is that there are opportunities to fulfill multiple requirements with a single activity. By example, Bear Arrow Point 9b & Art Pin Req. #1 require the Cub to visit an art museum & discuss some of the exhibits. Bear Arrow Poin