nmstowe

This is coming from someone who has strict dietary rules and sabbath times to honor. It is nice when someone asks about what you eat and what you follow. I have been on many camping trips where the food that was prepared, I could not eat due to it being against my beliefs. I would far prefer someone asked. It doesn't insult me, nor do I find it touchy. Our troop meets at the Methodist Church, but we have only a couple of Methodist boys. Some are Catholic, Presbytarian,Buddhist, and other religions, and there are boys who don't attend church at all. We have visited some of California's Missions and have attended each others church services to see how/what the differences are. I think it has brought us even closer as a troop. We agree to disagree on subject, but still get along. We are all scouts.

Greetings from Northern California. Buckle up and enjoy the ride. It's all fun from the adult side! I was a den leader for 6 years, Cubmaster for 5, Webelos for 4, and too many other things to count. Some suggestions I have are to sit the boys down and have them make up "Den Rules of Conduct" and what to do if they are broken. This way the boys can have a say in it and you can guide the discussion by following the Cub Scout Law and Oath. I was sneaky enough that if they didn't say one of the items I thought should be on the list, I would "suggest" Well, what happens if someone does this? Should that be a rule? It worked well and I had a den of 13 boys. Thank goodness for assistant den leaders and den chiefs! Another thing we did was right after the flag ceremony, (which rotated each week with a different boy who also brought a healthy snack to share) we had each boy stand up in front of the room and share something fun or whatever that they did since the last meeting. They each had 2 minutes or less to talk. It helped them learn to talk in front of groups and they were the den most likely to have a lot to say during pack meetings. After that we went outside and did some exercises for 15 minutes. (Wore them down a bit for the inside activities) Then we came inside and worked on their requirements in their books. We made moccasins, real pvc rockets, a radio, a shelf for their scout items so they wouldn't lose them each week, a cub mobile and a lot of other fun things. We also scheduled some field trips to things like the Saturday morning at 6 am wildlife refuge walk/ with a ranger to see what animal life was up and about. They still talk about that one and they are 16-18 years old now. They earned a National Wildlife pin for it which I paid for and enjoyed giving them to them. We visited the planetarium, discovery center, airport, crop duster, cheese factory and too many other places. But the memories are sure worth it. Probably why I had so many boys in my den. Ask around for people to come and talk. We called the district attorney who had us in for a "legal talk". He also set up a mock court where the boys got to play all the parts- Judge, lawyers, defendant, and jury. He had the baliff come in too.

Most people I asked to come to den meetings to share their work and what they do there came. It's hard to say no to little guys! We had a bridge builder/contractor come in when we made popsicle stick bridges. He helped the boys with structural designs. We had the health department over to talk about alcohol and smoking and what they do to your body.

It all fell in with chapters in their cub books. Just remember to keep it simple and make it fun. KISMIF

And pick all of our brains for more ideas anytime you need them!

We're in Northern California. Long way from you! But I am going to check out the site and see if we can come up with something like it for our guys. Thanks!

One such patch company is called The Patch Place. I believe their website is www.patchplace.com They have a lot of generic patches, but are also willing and able to make a special patch for you. You can also submit drawings for the patch or could have a competition for the boys to draw one for your upcoming event. That would make it even more special to them. Most any place that makes patchs can do one up for you and there are thousands of those shops online. Good luck!

I am interested! Anything that keeps boys attending scout meetings and is a useful tool in keeping their attention works for me. Do you have any prototypes that we can see?

You'd have to be there to understand it. But like any OA weekend, I always have come home feeling good. It feels good when you accomplish a goal set out and the camps benefit from it too. Besides the fellowship and the food! Meeting friends from other districts that you only see at OA weekends and catching up fills the weekend. I guess what our chapter says about Food, Fun and Fellowship just covers it all. It charges all the batteries!

Looks like you have a great program for the patrols. I have been wanting to attend one of these for years, but our district doesn't do them yet. Just remember that the first year of doing one, things do go wrong. It's life and it's a warm up for the following years. Grin and just look around at the boy's faces. If they are smiling and laughing, it's all worth the time and effort that you put into it. Get feedback from the adults and the boys attending to make the next year even better. Have them write down ideas for other events. You might have a couple of old geezers whose brains you can pick for ideas too. Overall I think you are off to a great start. Happy Scouting!

I know that our district has a booklet on all the patches they have had over the years. Does your district have the same available? You can possibly check with National OA site and see what they have to say.