bbng

If you were to ask the Scouts, they do nothing

In this troop, they take on the following roles:

One asst per patrol as an advisor

One asst for the new Scouts

Two assts for high adventure (1 for backpacking, 1 for scuba)

These are pretty much the standing "roles", but as a Scout prepares for Eagle, there is an asst assigned to him as a mentor. The Scouts all know who to talk to for help with their themes: one asst is strong in first aid, another in orienteering, another in cooking, another is an engineer. The Scouts do ask for help from the assts, though they do find it painful to get up the nerve to ask (kind of like with the blue cards).

The troop never has all the help it would like to have, but it always has what it needs. The truth is, the SM and assistants do appear to have nothing to do. The boys love that as they feel ownership as they lead the troop. In reality, they are all active though not as active as the troops with fewer leaders.

Kaji, I think my point was missed. Quite a few of the boys were new to Cubs as Webelos, had new blue shirts, and the families purchased a second shirt in tan. That's two shirts in less than a year's time, and one of them never worn or worn only once or twice. It's certainly their choice, but the shirts are pricey to buy 2 so close together without it being necessary to do so, and families should be aware that it's a choice they make.

Webelos do not have to wait until their second year to visit a troop meeting. It's a good idea to introduce them to at least one troop, preferably more if able, so that they can see Scouting in action.

The troop my son is in has an open door policy. Anyone is welcome to drop by for a meeting at any time. There are drawbacks to this: a meeting may move to a different location (so just showing up means a meeting would be missed), some meetings may actually be COHs (not a bad thing, but not a meeting either), and not knowing ahead means the troop may not have an activity planned that the visiting Webelos could easily participate in. All that to say, the one thing that IMO is most important here is to avoid frustrating the Webelos. Not all troops are this open, so out of courtesy I'd suggest making a call to find out if it's ok to just drop by or if a planned visit is better.

Good luck, and have fun. Webelos is an especially fun time for the boys and leaders alike. Oh, and don't overlook joint activities: troop-den hike, district camporees (Webelos usually may visit but may not always camp over), and other district/council events where the Webelos can meet and interact with the Scouts.

Blue or tan is a choice for families to make while a Cub is in Webelos. My son remained in his blue shirt through bridging, and that was his choice. He liked having all of his ranks, arrow points, etc. on his uniform. However, the rest of the den, even some new boys who had new blue shirts, purchased tan shirts because one person said it would be nice if they all did (talk about peer pressure!). To me, that was a tremendous waste of money, but if the families were willing to pay, then it's certainly an option to change color even if not necessary.

I'm really sorry to hear of what has happened. May I suggest that your wife take that letter to her doctor, asking him if he can set the record straight on this? It might go a long way to helping her out in the event any questions are asked. I agree with all the others; she should be able to stay in Scouting, and so long as the appropriate people are aware of what's up, there should be no problems. I'm glad she is ok now.

I was teaching my children LNT ideals before knowing what LNT was. Simply put, to me it means being respectful of the property (don't carve trees, pick flowers, wander off the trail, toss trash) and of others using it (have fun outdoors, talk to one another, but don't hike behind someone else being loud). These things are simply good manners and safety anyway.

One trail that I enjoy happens to be home to only 6 of a particular wildflower; walking off the trail and stepping on that area would diminish or wipe out that wildflower. That makes the trail less enjoyable. Wandering off the trail also leads to a greater possibility of injury or becoming lost.

Another trail that I was going to attempt, a rather challenging trail, has just closed down an entire portion (as in roughly 5 miles). Why? Vandalism, trash. Therefore, because it costs money and man hours to maintain a trail, the trail was closed because it had been so badly abused. A lot of people lose out now. Funds and volunteers chose instead to work on two other trails, and sometimes it takes years to get a trail in shape/repaired.

Wearing orange. Well, in this state, in many places where I hike, it's the law to wear orange during certain times of the year. The law takes precedence, and quite frankly, to try to blend into the environment seems silly to me. Dangerous too. I'd like to be seen, and I sure do want to know who else is about as well. I've met many people on trails, and people are part of the enjoyment.

I see LNT as a guideline on how to have fun in the outdoors while keeping it fun for myself for future visits as well as others during current and future visits. I like the phrase "take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints", and that guides my time outdoors. Except in my own yard: the kids can pick all the flowers they like and run and yell, but they may not carve living trees and may chop any trees that have fallen for the fire circle that is on our ground. We like fires, like chopping wood and carving and whittling, like digging--so it's known that home is ok for this but on another's property, it's not unless one is invited to do so.(This message has been edited by bbng)

I'm curious. Is the only change in the handbook the recruiting requirement for First Class? If so, I would just make up a label to insert current books so that the Scouts have the requirement and the appropriate leaders could sign off on it when it's met.

As for the MB books, does your troop have a MB library? Ours does, and it's been a help families to know they don't have to purchase them. At some point someone does (troop or Scouts), but just a thought for saving money per family.

I do agree though that Scouting is expensive and understand your concern.

Kaji, I've been in that position and the waiting was very frustrating. Fast start trainings are online and give a brief overview of the program and each position. A call to your Unit Commissioner to find out the name of the training chairman might be helpful, and you could then contact the training chairman to see if they'd be willing to either set up training now or bring training to you. One problem in this district is that many ask for training, complain at the dates it's held, but when it is tailored to their needs and brought to them, they tend to not show up! If training in your own district isn't available, I second going to another district or council. Also, our council offers council-wide training in addtition to district trainings.

Welcome to the forums, and enjoy Cub Scouting!

Are you familiar with Pack Helps? The den and pack meetings are all laid out for you; add the people and supplies, and you're meetings are done. I wonder if this would be a help to you in saving time on planning.

I echo Semper and wish you success. It seems to me that it would be easy, perhaps even necessary, to put Cubs on hold for a time, but I'm glad to hear you are hanging in there and that as a result of that the boys are having fun. What a blessing to them you are, and in turn to their families, and even to us as we read of the bright spot in hard times.

I would try contacting either a Boy Scout museum or a Norman Rockwell museum for help with this. My parents, when visiting a Norman Rockwell museum, were told that the Scout prints could not be sold as they were owned by the BSA. Therefore, one of these two sources might be best able to help out.

What a treasure, regardless of dollar item assigned to the prints, this is!

I'd let it go now as well. More and more, Christmas parties and celebrations have been dubbed holiday parties, and the reasons vary. Enjoy the party!

I'm sorry; I don't how to put a link here that you can just click on. You are right that your comments are offbase due to not being able to view the article (though I agree any one leader doing it all is a set up for burn out).

There is a chartered organization and a group of volunteers, but the then-12-year-old Scout had the idea of the Cub Pack being brought to these children. He was instrumental in making it happen, but many others were involved as well.(This message has been edited by bbng)

I'm torn on this issue. On the one hand, I believe there is a legimate complaint. Den leaders should know about den dues, and they should be informed as to how to collect them and turn them into the treasurer along with how to be reimbursed for supplies. If the pack has only budgeted a certain amount, that needs to be made clear also. It seems that the pack committee didn't do its part in making this happen.

On the other hand, to be a leader for years and simply fund the den and then complain about it...well, this is something the den leader should have asked about/complained about long ago.

If it were up to me to handle this, I'd (1) immediately have the pack leadership get together to work out reimbursement procedures for all leaders beginning today and moving forward. I'd also give this family a scholarship, thanking the den leader for her service, apologizing for her feeling the need to fund the den, and letting her know she is not expected to continue doing so and never was. If she bought supplies for the den, items that can continue to be used, I'd have the pack purchase them now, which ends up helping out the pack (it has supplies to use for the next den leader) and this den leader who will be reimbursed to some extent. But that's what I would do, and I was a CM, and I kept after the committee to PLEASE work these things out.

I've not yet heard mention of a treasurer or committee of any sort. Do you have a committee? As CM, this is not your role. Yes, support the den leaders, but no, don't try to budget and fundraise and solve every problem. That's too much for anyone.

Is this because of the den leader/den dues & pack dues issue?

I'm not aware of anyone providing letters of resignation, though in my experience, even the most frustrated of leaders tend to give some for a replacement to be found and have made their concerns known well in advance of resigning. This way, supposing those concerns are something the pack as a whole shares, they can be worked on and the pack isn't left scrambling for a new leader.

Hey Unc, it's good to "see" you! Congrats on that first edition.

I just did a search and found an illustrated how-to site that also sells kits. You may or may not need the kit, but hopefully this is what you're looking for:

http://www.bookbindingfb.com/

Doing a search on archival bookbinding led me to this site, also detailed, and it even explains how you can create everything, including the cover:

http://www.cs.uiowa.edu/~jones/book/cover.html

This is an awesome story of how one person, a young person at that, had an idea of how to help others, put it into practice, and has kept it going for 5 years:

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051215/NEWS/512150371/-1/NEWS01

I agree completely with this statement:

However I do think it wrong he would use a scouting background for his Declaration of War.

Sketches of BSA insignia are used in 3 of 4 corners, and there is no apparerent reason for that in his blog, the declaration, or the write-up of the movie he's selling.(This message has been edited by bbng)

Yes, 6 MBs may still be worn on the long-sleeved shirt. Most Scouts around here only have short-sleeved shirts though, so I've not seen this done.

Thanks Semper. It was a good weekend for my son on so many levels.

Yes, the troop has COHs 4 times per year in addition to monthly BORs. The only thing in this troop that I've not agreed with is this one area: wearing the sash incorrectly.

My older son is not new to Scouting, but he is new to merit badges, and to make a long story short, he was unable to fully participate in his most recent camping trip (the activities, that is--he went on the trip). He asked an asst SM if he would work with him on the camping MB, something he though he would be able to fairly easily as he loves to camp and rarely misses a trip. He also asked if he could help out any Webelos visiting. He came home so excited and searched out the merit badge book, choosing more to work on. Why? He was so incredibly encouraged to have items signed off on, and I know the MB counselor, and there is no way anything was signed off on lightly. Also, a Webelos preparing to bridge asked for help building a fire; my son was happy to help. He said the Webelos' mom came by to pick him up and was apparently full of praise for her sons' new-found skill, and that in turn had my son feeling pretty good about things. This is all good stuff, and I'm very happy for my son now wanting to do this, and all it took was an adult leader who was willing to make some time and give some opportunities to a boy who wasn't too sure of this whole "merit badge thing".

Now, why groan? He asked me if I'd buy him a MB sash. I laughed and reminded him that he has one already and it's in a drawer because he won't wear it. He said, "but not that one, the one that goes on the belt". I told him there was no such thing, that while he had his Scout Handbook handy (something he actually found useful this past weekend--lol!), he should look up proper uniforming. The thing is, the sashes tend to only be worn during Eagle COHs, and they are usually worn on the belt. Yes, I know, that's wrong--but I'm leaving this one up to my son and the troop. I gave him info, pointed him to the resources, and that's all there is for me to do.

Yeah, I groaned over that sash issue, but I'm still chuckling over a Scout who is now looking for some MBs so he can fill up his sash. Now this, sash aside, is what makes Scouting great. I know that my son's confidence is growing, that the leader who worked with him cares about him and my sons knows it, that the young boy who learned from my son though this was cool stuff and my son learned he has something to give as well as to learn ... gotta love it.

Our troop recently had a rock-climbing afternoon in an indoor gym. Only a few Scouts were interested, and it was learned that many were afraid of climbing. It was surprising to me at least who was. This would not be a good troop meeting night for this particular troop.

Pow Wow costs $20; if registration is late, it costs $25. There are no extra costs; all materials are included as well as lunch, the patch, prizes, and a CD of all course materials. It's worth the cost, though it's hard to get people to attend, and any extra costs would make it harder still particularly as our council has made it a priority to keep training free or very low cost (low cost for supplementals other than Woodbadge which is $150).

I and 2 other CMs (the one before me and the one who came after) all enjoyed signing the cards and chose to do so. The den leaders were split--some wanted to sign the cards asking for DL signature, others said it didn't matter. If I were advancement chair, I'd simply ask what the preference is.

Welcome to the forums!

Tents

Backpacks

Sleeping bags

Lanterns, flashlights

Knives, whetstones

Compass, whistle, fanny packs

Camp chairs

Long underwear, fleece tops, wool socks

Gloves, knit hats

Mess kit, cup, eating utensils

This year, a dutch oven is wished for as well as a Leatherman tool. Birthdays and Christmas are super times for camping gear. My hope is that as merit badges are worked on, that leather working tools, tools, and other items will be added as interest is shown in specific areas.

Oh, and slides and belts, which are often lost, get replaced thanks to Santa. Field guides, the Field Book, binoculars, cycling gear.(This message has been edited by bbng)

I just don't agree with these exceptions. The committee is fair to have expectations, but it is truly ok to re-evaluate the purpose of the policy and see if it's whats' in the best interests of the Scouts.(This message has been edited by bbng)

This particular part of LNT makes an otherwise fine and respectable program, one that I support, practice, and teach to my children, seem silly. It's a good thing that is carried just plain too far. For safety's safe, I deliberately wear clothing or carry a pack that is visible and do the same with my children. When going on outings with Cubs or Daisies, it's so much easier to know where they are when they are in uniform or at least dressed in brighter clothing. In my opinion, keeping kids visible beats hollering for them--now THAT would not be respectful of others!