msnowman

Well, since Pine Tree Council is so well represented on this thread I had to chime in for Hancock District in Katahdin Area Council. Our district is pretty much just our county...so yea Moxieman, I'll stop whining (well, maybe just reduce) about having to drive 1/2 hour to Roundtable each month. I know there are other Scouters in our district who drive an hour or more each way just to be there.

YiS

Michelle

How about a Pack talent show? We did one a few years ago and it was popular - so much so that I was asked to bring it back again this year. We are a small Pack, so we were able to let parents and siblings also show a talent if they were so inclined. The boys liked showing off what they could do.

YiS

Michelle

Our dens may or may not snack, depends on the DL (and usually on the activity and age of the boys involved). The Tigers almost always have snack where the Webelos I's & II's almost never have snack.

However, we do always have snack after the Pack meeting. Who brings it rotates by den each month. Why do we bother? It gives the boys something while the parents get their questions answered. Then everybody helps set the church's tables back up, put the chairs back and sweep the floor. For us it works.

YiS

Michelle

Local1400 - I certainly do live in a mill town, though I'm not sure I'd ever call it "big".

I do wish they'd come out with the (a) new uniform before Christmas - it would make my shopping soooo much easier.

YiS

Michelle

For myself I'll wait until the 2 shirts I have are falling to pieces. However, for Nephew, I'll get him the new shirt (along with a new pair of switchbacks, his are patched already) when (if) they come available...he likes being cutting edge and setting the uniform example for "his" guys (he's SPL & den chief, poised to be Troop Guide at SM's request when the new boys bridge in).

YiS

Michelle

And if the change in numeral coloring really goes thru Scout shops will have to carry two sets of #'s unless they apply the Unit # color change to Cub Scouts too.

Mine was the comment about double dipping. The part that struck Nephew's SM funny is that Nephew used that term - "double dipping" and figured if he referred to it as such he (Nephew) must know that it is a gray area. Since oppurtunities for Service hours for rank aren't required to be all w/ one entity, those hours will be far easier to fill than the 8 hours for 1 charitable org in your community. Thus why Nephew has opted to do Scouting for Food for our area Foodbank for his MB requirement and and the service project at the upcoming Camporee towards rank (SM approved).

I agree that one can't do too much service for their community. How else will the youth learn that they need to give, not just take?

YiS

Michelle

Nephew is in the middle of this MB right now. His MB service time will be to the food bank that benefits from the Scouting for Food drive. His SM had told him his SfF hours could count towards one OR the other (rank), but not both. The food bank is happy to have any help this time of year, and with the time involved in our area collecting and sorting the food, he will hit 8 hours without much trouble.

Would an area church be in need of 8 hours of service from a youth? They might be willing to let a youth serve w/ adult supervision.

1) I am the Webelos II Den Leader and Cubmaster.

2) The Web II's meet weekly (1 1/2 hours), except for the week of the Pack meeting, as do the Bears (1 hour) and Web I's (1 1/2 hours). Our Tigers (1 hour) meet twice a month plus the Pack meeting as do the Wolves (1 1/2 hours).

3) The Pack meets monthly, the last Sunday of the month (except Nov & Dec when it is is early because of the holidays).

4) During the summer we have a Bridging Over Cookout gathering, take part in 2 different area parades, hold a bake sale and a bottle drive, a camp prep meeting, go to Resident camp (Wolf thru Web II), fishing derby and ice cream social. We run enough things that every boy has a chance to show up for something during each of the summer months.

YiS

Michelle

We had our second Pack meeting of the year yesterday. 6 of our 8 new Cub Scouts earned Bobcat so a new batch of families experienced the Glowing Bobcat Ceremony. Every den did something for the Pack meeting, the Den Chiefs led 2 sing-a-longs, we sang Happy Birthday to a Cub Scout Sister who turned 5 that same day. 1 parent came up to me after the meeting and said she almost had to leave the room because she teared up at seeing her painfully shy Webelos II son talk about Readyman in front of the Pack (with a little prodding from his Den Chief).

YiS

Michelle

We are lucky to have a great COR. He is an active Scouter, as well as active in the church (our CO). He has been our DC before giving that position up to be SM for our brother troop (for which he had to give up his COR position w/ the troop).

He has been a great ally for the Pack. For example, after years of the church ignoring the Pack (and the Troop it also sponsors), our COR was able to get us permission to have a display case in the church hall AND got the church to pony up their part of the rechartering fee. He tries to attend all of our big events if they don''t conflict w/ things he is doing w/ the Troop. Blue & Gold, PWD, even our Fishing Derby say him attend and even offer to say Grace and conduct a brief Scout''s Own before the fishing Derby. He signs applications when we need him to, occassionally attends committee meetings and usually has good ideas to offer up.

If we could clone him I''d offer him to those who need a good COR.

YiS

Michelle

If Den Chief training isn''t offered in your district it is one task that is specifically designated as being conducted by the ACM. I had forgotten about that part until I was re-reading the Den Chief Handbook as well as National''s info on ACMs and their duties.

YiS

Michelle

When I first became CM of Nephew''s pack, the tradition was to award ranks in June, at bridging over. Well that totally stunk for the boys - no incentive to get things done, no chance to show off their rank and arrow points, etc. The very first thing I changed, in the first month of being CM was to award ranks WHEN they were earned. Now, we have held off awarding rank until the rest of the den is ready if (only if) the boy ready for it wants to wait. We had one boy ready for Wolf in January which is pretty dominated by PWD. He asked if he could wait until B&G because his dad and brother would there, but nobody was going to be at Pinewood. Sure thing, that''s your choice. Last year we had Bobcat ceremonies in 4 different months. That''s what it took for different boys to be ready, so that''s what we did. We will probably do at least 2 different Bobcats this year.

The boys and their families work hard to make rank. They should be recognized when they earn it, not just when its convenient or traditional for the Pack.

YMMV

YiS

Michelle

Nephew''s troop owns a number of tents (some Eurekas, some Bean) that most boys use on campouts. After a camp out one of each pair is expected to take said tent home to dry. We have one hanging in the garage right now.

On the other hand, some boys prefer to use their own tents. This, however, brings with it the problem of "I don''t have to share MY tent". Yes, I know - not very Scouting, but very teen.

The boys all seem to take reasonably good care of the tents, whether troop or their own. An upside to using Troop tents is that everybody knows how to set them up.

You can suggest XYZ tent, but for many parents telling them that their son must have a "troop specified" tent will be met with resistance....its all in the wording. "Our troop recommends XYZ tent for its affordability & durable, as well as ease of use" will be received by a parent far better than "If Johnny wants to camp with us he has to have XYZ tent".

YMMV, IMHO

YiS

Michelle(This message has been edited by msnowman)

Our Pack''s experience echoes fotoscouts. We found there to be way more down time between races and more things to go wrong. Now when rockets where flying the boys had a great time...it was just the 5-10 minutes between flights that were a killer.

However - if you do go this route, make sure the carriers on the rockets are put on in the correct direction. Some of our were on backwards, causing the rockets to fly off the track when they hit the stopper at the end. That was, without a doubt, the boys favorite part.

Good luck with whatever you decide

YiS

Michelle

Nephew is the SPL for his troop. They have their PLC once a month, on a night seperate from their Troop meetings. Normally it is him (SPL) & the PL (small troop, one patrol) and the SM and runs around 1 1/2 to 2 hours and is at the SM''s. However, last nite it was just him and 2 of the ASM''s (at SM''s request) at our house. The PL and APL couldn''t/didn''t show up, so it was over in about 45 minutes. October''s theme now? Leadership skills.

Women don''t belong running a troop.....wow, I thought dinosaurs were extinct.

YiS

Michelle

"I have a special needs boy in mt den. thank god he is not disruptive but he has problems keeping up with the other boys. I have asked his parent to go over requirements at home with him..... All I ask is Do your Best! but the parent does not take scout serious enough to work with him outside of the meetings. I feel real bad about not letting him earn rank. You really need kids at the same level in a den to make it work." - Pack378

I respectfully disagree with you last statement that you need kids of the same level in a den to make it work. This is precisely where "Do Your Best" comes in to play. Johnny Dyslexic''s best may be different than Bobby A+''s best. When talking Cub Scouts, the boys are their own standards. A den of 6, in theory, will have 6 different "Bests". You say you have a boy who is having trouble keeping up and you feel bad about not letting him get rank. Is he doing his best? Not the best when measured against all the other boys, but the best he can do? If he is, then he has met the standards that Cub Scouting has set forth.

MHO

YiS

Michelle

(This will be my Cubmaster minute tomorrow at our first Pack meeting of the year and I''d like to share it)

Super heroes

Recently I had the pleasure of taking a trip to Disney World with my family. One evening we were talking about superheroes. During our conversation I joked: I am a super hero. I am The Cubmaster. Why does that make you a super hero Tia? one of the boys asked. Because I can navigate loads of paperwork from Council, do 2 full time jobs, and still find time for fun was my teasing reply.

However, since then I have thought more about this line The Cubmaster as Super Hero. How can that be? A Super hero works alone and I surely do not do that. A super hero never makes mistakes and always has the right answer. Again, definitely not the case here. So what is so special about being The Cub Master I wondered.

Here is what I came up with.

I am The Cubmaster.

I can leap cases of popcorn in a single bound.

I am The Cubmaster.

I can start a Pinewood derby race with a single phrase.

I am The Cubmaster.

I can turn clear Bobcat essence into magic, glowing Cub Scout Spirit.

I am The Cubmaster.

I can shed a tear when a boy finally reach that elusive goal he had set for himself.

I am The Cubmaster.

I have been given the chance to play a role in many boys lives, for the lastwell I have just started my 8th year in Pack 102.

Then I realized,

I do not do any of these things alone.

Without leaders, there are no dens of boys to sell the cases of popcorn to step around.

Without leaders, there are no dens of boys to care about the Pinewood Derby.

Without leaders, there are no dens of boys to carry the Cub Scout Spirit and the magic.

Without leaders, there are no dens of boys to shed a tear of joy and pride for.

Without leaders, there are no dens of boys there is no need for anybody to be The Cubmaster.

And without parents there are no leaders.

Every person here is already a leader and plays many important roles in the lives of their children.

Every person here is a super hero to someone.

YiS

Michelle

The single most useful piece of training information I ever received was simply "BSA does NOT stand for Baby Sitters of America". With my first group of Bears I spelt out my simple expectations of them - to them and their parents, along with consquences - Standing silently w/ their Scout sign up for 15 seconds for a 1st offense, calling their parents to pick them up for a 3rd offense, that sort of thing. Treats were earned, not automatic, etc.

However, all that being said - go to training. Both you and your husband, as well as the boys will benefit greatly from you being trained. Don''t wait until you hate the boys and they are so out of control that you can never get them back and lose the ones that truly want to be there.

YiS

Michelle

Nephew's troop gives them out at CoH, unless (as happenes occassionally) one was overlooked at the CoH. In that case the SM acknowledges the badge earned and then hands it out at the next Troop meeting.

I was never a Boy Scout (being female and all, that is kinda obvious).

Nephew wears his uniform to and from meetings and doesn't mind running into the store in it...though he is probably thrilled that he doesn't run in to any of his friends.

And for the record - Gay to Nephew and his peers (13 or so) means stupid and uncool.....for them it doesn't have anything to do w/ wrong or bad...just stupid and uncool....'cause of course everything must be cool (or Sick and Swanky in Nephew-speak).

As a WDL & CM, my advice to our soon-to-be Boy Scout parents is to "stay away" from camping trips (not troop meetings) for the first year. This gives their boys time to become "one of the guys" without having mom or dad there to bail them out. One of my Webelos father is like "Billy's" mom - "no, you don't have to do it Son, I'll do it for you". For his son to really be a part of the troop when he bridges Dad pretty much is going to have to stay away because geez Son sure knows how to manipulate Dad.

And yes, I practice what I preach - Nephew has been a Boy Scout for 2 years and my participation on camping trips amounts to dropping him off at the meeting place at the assigned date and time. Okay, so if they are at a local camporee I usually swing by, visit with the SM for a minute, say hi to the boys and then leave. Now that he knows he can do it himself, he has asked me if I'll go to Klondike next winter with them as one of the adults.

YiS

Michelle

This is on my must by list for Nephew (13). I told him about the book and he says he must have it. Anything to get them reading and outdoors more.

YiS

Michelle

Thanks S3 - I can't wait to try that to stop the spinning.

YiS

Michelle

Okay - I think I understand the hat pin thing now - on an uniform item such as the campaign or expedition hat simple, clean and neat for pins is better - thus the universal emblem for adults and the 1st class for youth...since they are very similar there is the show of uniformity there.

Other hat pins like council, philmont, OA, etc are for collections and would be displayed as such, though using a cap of some sort...kind of like Cubs (rightly or wrongly) do to their caps with their Sports & Academic, popcorn, pinewood, etc pins. Where these pins are far more colorful and cluttered they detract from the uniform look.

Am I close to understanding?

BTW - Nephew's SM would like to see the whole troop go to expedition hats. Maybe the new SPL/PLC will consider the idea...they sure would look sharp.

YiS

Michelle