mtm25653

Good luck, and thank you for taking this on - it will be more rewarding than you can imagine. I had one autistic boy in my Webelos den - 1st grade reading level and very shy. I structured things so there was no reading/writing required at den meetings (his mom would read his handbook to him). He gradually got more involved, and earned his AOL. Five and a half years later, he is almost a Life scout and has been to Philmont. He will look you in the eye when he speaks to you now, and will initiate conversations with boys and adults in the troop. I have 2 Eagle scout sons (and one Life workin

Make sure the Webelos PARENTS understand the boy scout program. I have a glossary of terms and a chart showing the cub scout/boy scout differences (e.g., dens v patrols, camping, uniform, frequency of meetings). Make the PARENTS of the new scouts welcome in the troop - encourage them to volunteer (find them a job). The biggest factor I see in boys staying involved in scouting is their parents being involved.

Our school has a service requirement as well - some ideas where under 18s have volunteered: Local music festivals (or other local festivals) Animal shelter Food banks Local youth sports leagues (assistant coach for young kids' teams) Various church programs (mission trips, etc.) Habitat for Humanity - 16 to work on the house, but younger kids could volunteer in the office or make lunches for work days Also, library reading programs, non-profit nursing homes/programs for the elderly.

Committee Chair Most dens meet 2x per month (one meeting may be a den outing), Webelos sometimes meet 3x per month. Pack meeting once a month. Pack activities in addition to pack mtgs - Oct - pack campout, Dec (no pack meeting) - parade or party, Jan Pinewood derby, Feb - Blue & Gold, March/April - district cub campout, May/June - Pack campout. No pack meetings June and July, but 6 or so summer activities. 2 day camps, resident camp, Minor league baseball game, bowling, movie night, local historical site, swim party, 4th of July activity.

I would not "expect" that the boys in a den with a den chief would "automatically" cross over to that troop, but if the den chief is doing a good job, the boys will WANT to join his troop. A good den chief helps with activities, teaches skills as appropriate (like knot tying), leads games, acts as a big brother/friend to the boys in the den, and inspires them to want to act like him. Some boys are naturally good at working with younger boys (my middle son was like this), but all den chiefs could benefit from training - the den chief training/handbook gives the scout some tools to use. The

Thanks, Beavah, for the clarification. The legal type stuff I quoted from before is from my council's policy (linked from the online Youth Protection training) - though I don't know for sure that it is legally correct, I suggest that people look at (and save a copy) of their council's policy, to give them guidance.

Beavah, I'm confused - you said following my advice (in my council, call the SE) could be a problem, and then you gave the same advice (refer the matter to the SE). Also, I'm a little concerned that you expect untrained people to evaluate the validity of a child's complaint of abuse based on his emotional state ("there's no boy sitting there crying") - does that mean if a child calmly tells you he/she was abused, they are not telling the truth? I disagree strongly with that, from personal experience.

(hit enter too soon.) And, we have an informal policy that the SPL and ASPL shouldn't both be in band - if they are, the troop may decide to have 2 ASPL's (one not in band) so there is hope of some leadership being available at fall campouts.

Make sure the PLC has a copy of all relevant school calendars when they do their planning - including the band schedule (that's a big one for us, too.=)and big local events. If the PLC plans something big, like the Webelos camping with you, on a weekend the adults realize will have a conflict, the adults should point that out to the PLC (that's a good learning opportunity for them.) In my experience, the PLC will reschedule some things (like the Webelos) and decide to go ahead with whoever is available for others (like camporees.)

Go to the BSA online training site http://olc.scouting.org/ and take the online Youth Protection Training. When you get to the part about your council's child abuse reporting requirements, select your council, download your council's procedures, read them, then FOLLOW THEM. For my council, it reads: CONTACTING THE COUNCIL The Boy Scouts requires immediate notification of a Scout Executive whenever information about possible child abuse in the Boy Scout program is uncovered. The current policy for after-hours notifications is to wait until the next business day and call the Scout Offi

Do you have any parents with scouting experiences (particularly Eagle scouts) or any parents with older boys in the pack? I look to those 2 groups first to find leaders (if no one volunteers) - both groups know more about scouting than new parents. I have never had an Eagle scout turn me down when I ask for help, and rarely has a former boy scout. Scout parents will usually also see that it''s "their turn" to help, unless they have much younger siblings that require care.

Try this link at usscouts.org from knots: http://usscouts.org/awards/knots1.asp For district awards in your council, you''ll need to talk with the districts - do your districts have websites? Or talk to the DEs. For unofficial (fun) awards, try this link, also from usscouts.org: http://usscouts.org/profbvr/fun_awards/

If you have a nearby university, call their entymology dept - I did that years ago and found out my 6 yo had found a black widow spider, with a variant coloration.

If you have a nearby university, call their entymology dept - I did that years ago and found out my 6 yo had found a black widow spider, with a variant coloration.

If you have a nearby university, call their entymology dept - I did that years ago and found out my 6 yo had found a black widow spider, with a variant coloration.

One of the fatalities was from a sports camp in Texas where my son worked this summer - swimming in Lake LBJ - water temp was high, they didn''t have the issue of drought/low water which was mentioned as a factor on the news last night (they had floods much of the summer). Boy had a non-specific symptoms - fever (not extremely high), headache, achy. Camp sent him home I think day after symptoms, family doctor put him in the hospital, died about 10 days later (after camp ended). The only thing I''ve heard is to try to prevent water up the nose - the amoeba goes up the olifactory ner

Both of my boys (separately) were in a combined Wolf/Bear den, not because the pack was small, but because of geography - the pack was spread over 3 school districts, probably 45 minutes from one side to another - this den was located in the center - if they hadn''t been combined the boys would have been in dens a long drive on rural roads away. That den existed for proabably 8 years - typically a Wolf parent was ADL, and became DL when their boy became a bear. I don''t find 7 and 8 yo boys significantly different developmentally - at least they are a lot closer than 6/7 or 8/9. Since mo

The dens don''t have to be the same size, as long as both are reasonable - we recruited 12 Tigers, from 2 schools - it worked out that there are 5 from one school and 7 from the other, so those are the 2 dens. It sounds like you have 14-17 Wolves. At 14, I would aim for dens of 8 and 6 or 7 and 7. At 17, 7 and 10 or 8 and 9. You probably don''t want a huge den and a small den. There are a lot of ways to split the den - I would first ask and see if the families in the old den can agree to split themselves, then divide the new boys as needed. Or, have the den meetings on different day

I don''t have the article in front of me, but the SM''s wife was quoted as saying she wasn''t worried about the troop because they were scouts, and she knew they were prepared. They found their way out Monday morning. This story was our SM minute last week.

I don''t have the article in front of me, but the SM''s wife was quoted as saying she wasn''t worried about the troop because they were scouts, and she knew they were prepared. They found their way out Monday morning. This story was our SM minute last week.

We have actually registered some teachers as merit badge counselors (e.g., band director for music)

Our new DE came to the troop meeting this week (so he could get cub applications from me) - he was impressed that most of the ~40 boys were in complete uniform. I looked around and commented that there were 6 leaders in complete uniform (SM wasn''t there - normally there are more leaders in uniform) and that those 2 facts were related.

Try a conduct candle - light a candle at the beginning of the den meeting. When things get out of hand, blow it out. When the candle burns down a certain amount, the boys get a reward - something they want to do, be it go bowling, have ice cream, whatever. (Light a similar candle at home and time it, so you have an idea when to give a reward - maybe the length of 2 meetings to start, then increase the time.)

When my son was patrol leader, they loved cooking without utensils so much he asked to get a piece of slate - they used that frequently to cook over an open fire.

But could you ask 1 den to move, particularly if the other pack''s meeting place or time is more convenient? (I''m in a rural county, so our packs are a 15 minute drive apart.)