msnowman

Its barely July but I'm already looking ahead to September and beyond, trying to come up with ideas for Pack events. One that I have seen mentioned before and am considering is a Loop-a-palooza...an afternoon (or a couple of hours) with a few belt loops stations where the boys can come, do the requirements for the belt loops that will then be handed out at the next Pack meeting. Have any of you tried it? If so, did some things go over better than others? I know there are some loops that it would be impossible to earn in an afternoon, but have you found some to be far more popular than others? Thanks for any suggestions Michelle CM - P102

OGE - I'm midcoast Maine, as I usually put it "in a tiny town between Bangor and Bar Harbor and 26 miles from everything". YiS Michelle P102

I hate to be a wet blanket for all of you southern people professing to be living in God's Country, but I have to let you in on the truth of the matter.....Maine is God's Country, from our rocky shores to majestic Mt. Katahdin, we get to see the sunrise first, which is just God's way of smiling on his best loved part of the country first. Maine - its not the end of the world but on a clear day you can see it from here. Come up and visit, and see for yourselves.... Michelle (with tongue firmly in cheek) CM - P102(This message has been edited by msnowman)

I know is our small town people just don't seem to care. If they bother to find out about Scouting at all its to use it as a babysitter. Last fall at recruiting we had a number of boys interested in being Tigers but as soon as the parents found out they had to attend everything with their son it was "well, we'll wait til next year then". I feel very lucky this year to have 2 people interested in being Wolf leader (our Tiger leader's son was held back and she is staying with that group). The year before all of the Tigers dropped out after they received their badge. Two of the three parents said to me "Scouts just isn't a priority in our house". (The third disappeared out of school and out of town). Its not just Scouts, the same thing has happened on the Rec league level for soccer, basketball, baseball and softball. We can't make it a priority for these parents and if its not a priority for them, then the boys won't be there. Its extremely frustrating, but I'm hoping the increased numbers we already have signify an upswing. For our family Scouts is a priority for us as long as it is a priority for The Nephew. And he isn't just into Scouts, we have worked soccer, basketball, baseball, swim lessons, 4H and friends in around it. We both are very involved in what he is doing and help where we can, not just with Scouts. Now with him in a Troop and me still in the Pack, we are often going in 2 different Scouting directions. Michelle CM - P102

Our Council is one of those who maintains a merit badge list by district. As a matter of fact I just called them this morning to get a copy of my district and a neighboring one emailed to me. With the size of our home district, there will be some badges that a counselor in the neighboring district will be geographically closer....and with the price of gas......lol Michelle CM - P102

Oh they sure do don't they? April was our Council's Skill show at the local mall. While there 2 of our Tigers completed the requirements for their Astronomy beltloop. However, the bad Cubmaster (me) forgot to buy the two beltloops for our Pack meeting the next weekend. So, after the pack meeting one of the boys comes up to me and says "I thought I was supposed to get my Catastrophe beltloop". He was so ernest, it took everything I had not to smile because it was so cute. I apologized to him for letting him down and promised he would get it in May (which he did). Michelle - CM - P102

Ya'll beat me here. I have been watching this one everyday. This guy is the same age as my Scout, just finished fifth grade. I've been watching it all along thinking "that could be Nephew". Hug yours tonight, I'll be hugging mine. Michelle

Requiring each Scout to provide his own tent and cooking gear will serve to send the less well-off boys packing. That would eliminate my own Scout if his troop did things that way. We have all we can do to make sure he has his uniform, school clothes, shoes every 4 months (do their feet ever stop growing?) and Scout Camp. If the troop required him to have his own tent and cooking gear he'd either be done or be living on peanut butter sandwiches that do not need to be cooked or kept cold. Tell me how long that would make him want to remain a part of the troop. Self reliance shouldn't have to come at the cost of being able to participate in the very program that can give them those skills. JMHO Michelle

Our Pack of 10 has 2 boys with Aspergers Syndrome. One is being held back in Tigers (parents choice, he was held back in school), the other is just starting his second year in Webelos. As CM, my experiences with both boys have been similar to Trevorums. I have found them to be less the goofballs of the group than my own Scout. Mine is the Scout who will fall out of the canoe, trip over his own laces or get conked on the head. He has had "spatial" issues since K and is finally getting the hang of how to manage his body in space and in relation to other things (and people) around him. As he matures, it continues to improve. Hopefully as he matures there will be less goofball moments, but right now they are the things that makes Nephew the fun and entertaining kid he is. Of course, try being 11 years old and carrying around feet that have grown 4 sizes in 12 months. He's in a Mens size 11 shoe right now, so his body is outsizing his coordination. He has grown at least 4 inches since his November birthday and is now officially as tall as I am (okay, so that's easy to do when you only have to hit 5'4"), so I try to remember he won't always be this uncoordinated. Michelle - CM P102 Orland, ME (and loving Aunt/Caregiver to a goofball)

This is nephew's first year at Boy Scout camp, but after doing Cub resident Camp for the last three years he is an old hand at getting ready for camp. He has been packing himself (with supervision) for the last 2 years. The only things he takes "extra" extras of are socks and tshirts because those are the only things he will change daily or more often if its a wet camp week. He takes a couple of pair of extra shorts besides the ones he gets out of the car wearing, plus this year it will be his Scout pants along with a pair of swim trunks. We subscribe to the ziplock bag method of packing everything. If the shampoo breaks open (yea, it goes and comes back just like it went) then it doesn't get all over the important stuff (like socks and pillow). He packs the sunblock but rarely uses it. The other thing I sent him with first year that he has insisted on taking every other year are extra slides. I make Turks Heads from parachute cord and send him with a bunch. He never comes home with any as he gives them away and everybody knows Nephew has extra slides. He likes the role. This year he will be learning how to do them before camp so he can have the extra pride of doing it himself. Michelle

Thank you all for your helpful responses. I talked with the Troop CC last night. She advised me to end his 4th year when he left the Pack and a new year was started for him when he joined the Troop. So, nephew will be getting 4th year from the Pack at our June Bridging over. Maybe it will encourage our outgoing Tigers to want to earn it also. Michelle

Nephew has now moved on to Boy Scouts - does he lose this full year on his count of perfect attendence? Can we take his CS and BS attendence and combine them (still hasn't missed any active, even taking part in extras)? As far as purchasing the hanger that's no issue anyway, its like what? 12 cents or something? I ask because his first CoH is in a week and if it is appropriate I will talk to the SM (I'm the CM and am still trying to balance that position with concerned Guardian). This may seem like a trite question, but for Nephew it is a matter of pride. He set himself an attendence goal and wants the 11 year hanger (and is still mad about missing 1 Tiger activity). Thanks for any help. Michelle - CM, P102

Well, with a school population of 190 (grades K-8, boys and girls), and an out going K glass with just 6 boys and a 3rd grade glass w/ just 3 boys, I'll settle for the 3 new Tigers we registered today. Yes, I know, the registration forms can't go in until June 1, but today was our Pack talent show and recruiting. Michelle CM - P102

Just for clarity sake - the post monster ate my signature.... I'm a Michelle...just so there isn't any confusion about my gender. Granted, being called a good man isn't the worst thing in the world and I think Nephew would get a charge out of hearing his Tia referred to as a man....I just didn't want to give a false impression. He's sleeping in the next room right now (we just got home from a late movie). I've already started putting in to practice some of the things I've taken from this thread. Choosing my battles on what I feel need to be done my way as opposed to the things he can have free rein on. Like clothes, I found myself starting to tell him he had to hang his shirts and stopped. Who am I to complain if he looks rumpled? If he is content to look that way, that's his call. So, instead of telling him that he had to hang them I simply told him they needed to be put away, somewhere that wasn't his bed or the floor. If I checked I'd probably find them in a wad in his dresser. But you know what? He insists on hanging his Uniform in his closet and chastises me if I get lazy about ironing it. I'm not ready to let him use the iron yet, the shirt is too expensive. But, when he earns his first Troop neckerchief, he will be ironing that himself.

Ed Said "...We decide to take out the garbage because the bag is full. No ethics involved...." I want to come live at your house Ed. At mine we are still battleing the issue of letting the garbage climb up the wall. Its not exactly a matter of ethics as much as developing a care factor higher than zero for household responsibilities. Anyway - I have nothing useful to add to the discussion except to say thank you to everybody. I have found this topic to be very useful as I feel out my role of adult to my 11 year old nephew/new Boy Scout. And no, there was NO sarcasm intended in that remark. I have taken away some very good information from this topic. Eammon - I'm in the "not throwing away what I paid for" boat. I am fine-tuning the are of privledge removal. However, Scouts is not a privledge, it is a commitment he has choosen to make. I try to set him an example of ethical decision making and am trying to show him how to be a decent person. He is with me because he can't be with his parents, but I have had him for much of the last 5 years, as my Cub Scout. We had a major problem over the computer and inappropriate websites which revoked computer privledges. However, he was given the oppurtunity to re-earn trust and now has the computer back. I have shown him I will trust him and he is working to show me he is trustworthy. Again - thank you all for help, even if it wasn't intended that way.

The original question was "Do D&D and Scouts contradict each other or complement each other". I play an on-line game similar in structure and content to D&D. In it I play a ranger (someone who tracks prey) and a tree hugging druid. Now to me those are very scouting toons to play. However, the key there is Toon. Its a game, D&D is a game, just because you play this game doesn't make you a Satanic cult Idol worshipper (Now American Idol? How's that for a cult?). My newly minted Boy Scout plays both the On line game I mentioned above as well as D&D (and Yu-Gi-Oh in his Web I days). On more than one occassion those games have been an ice breaker he has used as a way to strike up a conversation with another youth. On that merit alone the game has some merit. I don't worry about playing a Role Playing Game turning him into a bad person or the next big cult leader. Games have their place at camp and at Scout outings as has been well established previously in this thread. Do all of their games have to meet with adult approval before they can be played? If so, you can be sure that some of them that you don't approve of are being played out of view/earshot. Our Council camp lists electronics on the "do not bring" list for each camper though I have never known of one to be confiscated from a boy. To the groups that ban handheld games, did you also ban Yu-Gi-Oh cards s being inappropriate? My Scout's school has, but the Pack didn't, they were allowed at 'appropriate times' such as while gathering or visiting after meetings. Michelle - CM - Pack 102

When we first joined the Pack (Goodness was it really 5 years ago?) the tradition was the hold rank until bridging over in JUNE of all things. All the hard work that was done in the meantime was only recognized with progress toward rank beads, etc. A boy who earned his Wolf badge early still couldn't have it until June. That was my Scout, earned Bobcat in November and Wolf by February and only was given Bobcat at B&G. When I was asked to be CM during his Bear year the first change I made was when rank was handed it. I am a firm believer in giving it out when it is earned. So for the two Bears we set the goal of B&G. My Scout was still ready by the end of November but asked me if I'd wait so he could get it with his friend. OKay, I had no problem with that since it was his request, not a "Committee choice". B&G that first year saw rank go to the Bears and the Webelos. The Wolves were ready by April and got their badges then. This has been the way things have gone every since, with the exception of AoL. We are small so we like to do things big for them. They like to be the center of attention and to earn ALL of their pins so they set their goal as mid March to finish up and move on to Boy Scouts. This year our Tigers weren't ready til March, but they got their badges when they were earned.

Rixkids says "Doesn't there need to be a true belief in "a God" to be a scout?" Rix - while I won't disagree that Scouting requires a true belief in "a God", who is to say that you have to go to an organized church to have a true belief? A parent is the leader of their family, why does that have to exclude the family's spiritual life? Home worship is an important part to many families. Michelle CM - Pack 102

Besides the fact that he is the Lone WebeloS (The S doesn't make it plural, it is the Scout part of WE'll BE LOyal Scouts), there is no reason he should be shortchanged on his crossover. Have you talked to your Pack leadership as well as the Troop? Maybe they have something they'd like to do for just him. It would seem to be that as a sole Webelos his ceremony will be able to be focused on just him, as opposed to having to split the time up amongst several boys. Good luck to you and your son as he prepares to move forward. Michelle

Our Troop is too small for a New Scout Patrol (about 14 boys all together, only 2 from Cubs this year and 2 last year), but there is a younger patrol (with an older Scout 'guide') and then the patrol of older boys. Because of the troop size both patrols work together quite a bit. I think Boy Led is a great idea, so I'm not having trouble letting go in that respect. Heck, Nephew wanted to try running a meeting just to see what it meant, he planned and conducted our December Pack meeting (and was well received). KENK - we have one boy with AS in our Pack, his father is the ACM, so I'm familar with some of the issues you mentioned. As others have said, if you have a good SPL then hopefully he should be able to make things a bit more comfortable for your son as things arise.

from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts when you Scout bridged over? Its been about a month and so far I think Nephew and I are making the transition graciously. He knows he can practice his skills with with me before he has to show his progress to "the guys" and get one of them to sign off in his book. When he asks "can I" or "who does" I refer him to his 1 - PL or 2 - SPL or 3 - his Eagle Scout Hero. I am trying really hard not to do the work for him as far as finding answers. Instead I try to give him the tools to get the answers himself. He knows I am willing to work with him as he practices his skills and help him be prepared for meetings and such, but that he has to do the work. I know its working because this past weekend I told him You can go play Diablo if you want to or go play with (generic next door neighbor child) His answer? Or work on knots. He has nearly mastered all of the required knots thru First Class. I promised to teach him how to do a Monkeys Fist after he masters the required knots. The hardest part for me in this whole transition is that I dont have a say. I was his Adult partner for Tigers, ADL for Wolf, started as DL for Bears before becoming Cubmaster. And I dont mean having a say as far as what the boys do. Thats the BOY lead part of it. I mean having a say about when campership forms get turned in, when registration cards for camp go out, etc. Nephew had his first Scoutmaster Conference for his Scout Badge 2 weeks ago and of course made it through without a problem. When we got home afterwards he is talking about it and says to me Tia, only 6 more to go. He has his sights set high and it is a goal he has set for himself. To make it happen his wants to go back to swim class so he can be sure he can pass the swimmers test at camp this year (he just started learning to swim 2 years ago so he could pass aquanaut, but still isnt comfortable with it). I told him Id make sure he got to the Y if thats what he wanted since its Maine and by the time you can swim in the ponds he will already be at camp. Is there something else I should be doing to be supportive of my new Scout? I go to the meetings and make myself better known to the other parents, committee members etc (no, the Pack and Troop arent close but it is a small town so everybody knows everybody else and their business). I have dropped him off just once at a meeting and as he becomes more reliable I will do so more often so he doesnt have Oh, Tia is watching in the back of his head. The reliable part I know will come with some time and maturity, he is still only 11 and in the 5th grade, he didnt suddenly become 100% reliable simply because his shoulder loops changed from blue to red. He is his patrol scribe, so he is getting better at taking notes and always has his notebook (and scout book with him). Thanks for any advice Michelle - CM, Pack 102, Orland, ME

As has been said, don't get too discouraged. Council lost my change of position when I went from Bear DL to CM. It took my DC several tries to get it straightened out....patience is a virtue, just not always one of mine. YiS Michelle

Since we are an extremly small group, we all meet once a month at my house. I'm the CM and yes, I know that by the strict letter I shouldn't be running the leader's meetings. However, our CC and I talk almost daily (nice thing about a small group) and we both talk with our 3 dens leaders frequently outside of the normal meeting times. I plan and run the leaders meetings simply because I am a compulsive planner. However, there is tons of back and forth. I simply try to make sure that nothing gets left off of the printed agenda that I give to each person. I also make sure there is plenty of time for everybody to present ideas, issues, etc. We use the time to discuss upcoming events and to set the Pack calendar for the next few months (we do 2 concrete months at a time, with future months pencilled in). We discuss and address (as well as we can) issues inside the individual dens. This month we are going to do a craft that I learned at Powwow so that the DL's can do it with their groups before our Dec pack meeting as part of a Pack-wide display. I think the CC and CM should be able to work together, as it makes things run much smoother. With our group everybody does at least 2 different things (we only have 3 families not represented on the committee in some fashion and it isn't for lack of trying to get them involved). No one person should totally run any single part of the Pack. I generally even review my Pack meeting agenda plan w/ my CC and den leaders so they will know how that's going to run too. Lots of talking and communication...that works for us. YMMV Michelle

My nephew loves to make his own slides, he has a collection of about 30. We've done this since he was a Wolf and he is a Web II this year. Some of his favorite are Pez heads that we hotglued a pvc ring to. He has a set of holiday ones since you can find a wide variety of dispensers. Just yank the tops off. Go to Home Depot and by the pvc ring that fits a woman's pinkie finger (1/2 inch I think). They are like 19 cents a piece and can be glued to nearly anything. He also has slides made from a single domino (the pips add up to 8, his age when he made it), a pair of die (that add up to 9, see above) and his favorite are two wooden chess pieces (the knight) that he glued nose to nose and then trimmed w/ gold paint. All of these we have glued to the pvc rings that I mentioned earlier. My favorite of his is a hunk of deer leg bone that was aged in the ground for several years and found accidently during yard work. Its very cool. YiS Michelle

The Blue to Khaki debate is now raging in our Pack. I have advised our Web I leader several times that the choice is not his or mine as Cubmaster (or even some parent committee) to make. It is up to the individual Scout's family. This had irked the Web Leader as he feels the boys should have to "earn" the Khaki shirt. I told him he can do as he wishes with his son and that's the extent of his shirt power. On a side note, the Tigers in blue may reduce the number of Blue shirts making it to Webs but won't remove it completely. LDS Cubs aren't the only ones that don't earn Tiger. Many boys join in 2nd grade and will have room on a blue shirt for the Web diamond as opposed to needing the oval. just my 2 coppers Michelle CM - Pack 102 Orland, ME