BelieveinScouts

Hello all, I started as a Tiger Leader and have now taken my boys all the way through to Webelos. I used to be great at planning outings. My boys have been everywhere, and done just about everything. We've done the aquariums, zoos, camp-outs, pool parties, corn maze, young eagles, etc. Now that my boys are starting Webelos II though, I'm starting to feel tapped out. I think I've run out of ideas. The only thing we haven't done is Laser Tag, so we'll probably do that. We just went to an Art Museum (Our 2nd) and painted pottery as part of their Artist Badge last month. Now we're heading into Summer, and I'm trying to come up with ideas. I asked the boys and they want to do things they aren't allowed to do under the Guide to safe Scouting. They all watch extreme sports on T.V. and want to repell, cave, etc. They saw the rope course at our BSA Camp and wanted to do that. I had to explain that they would get to do it, but not until Boy Scouts. So, here's my question. Does anyone else have outing ideas, especially outdoor activities challenging enough for Webelos, but that still fit with the Guide to Safe Scouting? We did Orienteering at our Den Camp-out last year. The boys liked it and have done it a couple of times this past year at local events. They were able to just use the map though and didn't have to count their steps at the local events, so I think we'll do that again. We'll probably introduce more Camp fire cooking. We've been teaching that at every camp-out for the past two years as well. The boys always enjoy that too. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated though. Especially team building ideas. Thanks for everyones help.

I feel your pain. I was just speaking to our DE about this recently. I am a Webelos II Leader. My boys are bored with the Cub Stuff. I want to plan more exciting things, but always seem to find my hands tied by the Guide to Safe Scouting for Cubs. A lot of my parents have gotten together on their own and done things as well. They all went canoeing once. We also just happen to have a guy in our Pack that goes Caving. He invited my Webelos on a trip. He was taking his 6 year old son too, so I was pretty sure it would be ok. I had to explain to him and my parents that this is not allowed for Cubs under the Guide to Safe Scouting guidelines. If they did it, it would have to be a non-scout function, with no one to sue if their sons got hurt. They all really wanted to go and agreed that they were going at their own risk. I even had them sign a home made waiver. Our Caving parent told everyone what equipment they would need, and brought along another experienced guide too. We all went and the boys had a blast. He even video taped it with a lipstick cam attached to his helmet and made all the boys souvenir DVD's. I don't regret going, but I also cautioned the parents that I didn't want to go too often because this is something they will do in Boy Scouts and I wanted my son to have it to look forward to. This guy also said he can teach us how to repell, but I told him I think the boys need to hold off and have something to look forward to in Scouts. He's a great guy, very outdoorsy and is just trying to help. His son is a Tiger right now, but I told him that BSA will be thrilled to have him when his son crosses over. In fact, I told our local Troop about him and told them to contact him for help with outings already. He said he'd love to work with them, so hopefully that will work out. That's the problem with Webelos. Trying to come up with activities to keep them interested, fit guidelines, and advance their skills. Oh yeah, and also are a lot of fun. I would love to hear ideas from other Webelos Leaders. Maybe I'm just not being creative enough.

Brag vests and segments? Is the Brag vest the Red vest? If so, most of our boys wear those, but what is a segment? I'm not familiar with that term. Thanks.

Where do you get the Denner Tab? I don't see it on Scoutstuff.org.

Hello all, I introduced the Denner and Asst. Denner program to my Webelo 1's this year. So far, it's working out great. I'm amazed at the effect those shoulder cords have on the boys. As soon as my first Denner and Asst. were elected, they puffed out their chests, and you could tell they were very proud. Both have done a great job this month. As we approach next month, my Asst. Denner will step up as Denner, and we will elect a new Asst. The kid that has served as Denner for us in September took it so seriously and did such a great job, that it got me thinking. After his term, he'll hand over the shoulder cord to someone else and will have nothing to show that he served as Denner. Isn't there a patch or something that I can award to the boys that have already served as Denners? We are letting each boy serve a term of 1 month as Denner, and 1 month as Asst. Denner. We shortened the term to allow all the boys to get a turn. I am still having the boys elect someone. I created a ballot and just plan on removing the names of the boys that have already served each month. I would really like to give them something as recognition for their time served though. Does anyone out there know of anything? Thanks. YIS

Hi, If you send me your E-mail address I'll send you a couple of Flyers I made up for all our Schools (over 1000 Flyers) just using graphics and Word Art. I put down my number, but when they'd call, I'd direct them to the appropriate Pack. I don't care which Pack they decide on as long as it gets Boys into Scouting. I also made up a Day Camp Flier, and a Tiger, and Cub Scout Brochure. I'll be happy to share all of it with you. This is the first year we've ever done a Spring Recruitment, so we'll see how it goes. Our DE also went in and did School talks and brought in Council Flyers too. I made sure mine were dropped off about two weeks before he came in. That way it hit them twice, and paved the way for him. We also contacted the Newspaper and they put our recruitment night in the Community Calendar, and we got them to run it on our local cable channel. Just Let me know. Good Luck with your Recruitment. Watch out though. We did such a good job last year, that our little Pack of 30 boys, now has 58!

Thanks Lisabob. I don't really need the Trained Strip to feel like a Den Leader. If they want all of our Leaders trained than they ought to offer training more than twice a year, and a little closer than 45 mins away. We need a Traveling Trainer or something. Most of our Leaders can't even make it to Roundtable because it's a 1/2 hour away. Their kids have other commitments too. I'd love to attend training, but my job calls for working some Saturdays, and everytime they've had it, I've had to work and have been unable to switch with anyone. I said in an earlier thread, our DE asked what we as Leaders would like to see more of, and almost everyone's top response was more accessible training. It's too bad really. Maybe taking our comments back to Council will make something happen. Our District includes two very big cities to our North, and it seems for Council, everything is about them. The Little Packs on the outer fringes seem to get lost in the shuffle. My Cubmaster and I have even discussed trying to get someone Trained as a Trainer so we can do our own Training right here. When we mentioned it to other Cubmasters they all agreed they'd love to see that happen. Hopefully we'll be able to set something up over the Summer. Thanks for your help.

Hello all, I thank you all for your advice. We went on our Field trip and had a great time. The Weather was perfect! No one was hurt, and I'm sure it's something the boys will remember forever. Incidentally, The Pilot that was our contact said that ever since 9/11 they don't make copies of their Flight Certificates and hand them out, or their Medical Certificates. He told me that they don't know which planes they are using until the day they fly. He also said that they had run into this before with Scout Groups, and it was such a hassle they had to go all the way to National Headquarters to get clearance. The only rule they had to follow was no experimental aircraft (meaning not built in a factory, but from a kit. Even though experimental aircraft have to be deemed airworthy by the FAA before they are allowed to fly too). He even gave me the name of the Exec at National. I gave it to my District Exec, and he called him. After talking to him, My District Exec told me that I could get the Make and model of the aircraft on the day we go, and all the Pilots names and file the paperwork afterwards. That's what we did. As for the Tour permits, I think they should have a waiver parents can sign too. I've had a lot of my parents say that the information they want (such as insurance limits) is too intrusive and none of their business. Especially when they are driving their own child. They said they should be able to say "Yes, I'm insured" and that's it. I've had parents tell me they got a loan on their house and didn't have to fill out as much paperwork. LOL I'm pretty sure they were exaggerating. It does seem very personal. I'm almost embarrassed to ask for it. Next year I'm going to ask for it at the beginning of the year, as well as a Class 1 Health form, and just keep them on file for future trips. I hate to see Scouts get a rep among other organizations, like Young Eagles, as being a pain in the neck to deal with too. This Pilot told me that he didn't mind flying the boys, but if we weren't able to straighten this out, they might just stop doing Scout groups all together. That would be too bad, because I know three other Dens in our Pack wanted to schedule their own trips. Thankfully it all went well though. I just hope BSA doesn't get so bogged down in the paperwork that they forget that the boys just want to have fun. The parents are the ones that get them there. If it's too much of a hassle, the parents will stop bringing them. There has to be a happy medium. Maybe parents that want to make sure their child is insured through the BSA on a field trip can fill out the local tour permit, those that could care less, could sign a waiver. I hear the Girl Scouts have them. I've heard people on this forum say that you aren't allowed to have family Camp-outs. Oops. We've had one every year. Each child came with their family and we all camped together and had a ball. We even worked on Scout skills. That was before I knew about the local tour permits, etc. I have to say though, I have no regrets. We had a blast on those outings, and I would have hated to miss them because a parent was offended and decided not to go when I asked for their liability coverage amount. I'm sure next year will go smoother now that I know in advance. I think Scouts needs to remember sometimes though, it's Scouts, not the Military. Chill out.

Thanks SR540Beaver. I appreciate your comments. Our problem is that we have no committee. We are the largest Pack in our area and we have a very hard time getting our parents to volunteer for anything. I'm serving as a Den Leader and as the Asst. Cubmaster, Day Camp Director, Recruiter, Webmaster, etc. Our Pack is primarily run by all the Den Leaders. Our Cubmaster is also serving as a Den Leader. His Wife is also a Den Leader. They are a great couple and we all work very well together. I've heard of Packs with Committees, Trainers, and Advancement chairs, but I've never actually seen one. All the other Packs in our town are smaller than we are, and do less than we do. I have taken all the training online that I can. Sent in all my forms to Council and have yet to receive a Trained strip. I've taken the Fast start training for each level. The Leader Specific is only offered a couple of times a year, and so far, I've had to work everytime. It's also being held at a Venue 45 mins away. Our District Exec asked all of us what we wanted to see more of and local training was at the top of the list. Even our Roundtables take place a 1/2 hour away and starts at 5:30pm. Getting off around 5:30pm there's no way I could make it in time. Even when we've gone on Skiing Trips, etc. I've e-mailed Rosters of attendees to our District Exec and never had anyone mention filing a local Tour Permit. The only reason I found out was by surfing our Council Website and seeing it under forms. My Cubmaster did attend Leader specific training and he said they didn't mention it in the class he took. He didn't know about filing a local Tour Permit until I told him. Obviously we have a communication gap here. I'm going to mention that to our District Exec. He's a really great guy and is always willing to help me muddle my way through. I try not to get discouraged, but it's hard sometimes. I always feel like I refuse to have my boys miss out on some great experience because of paperwork. Even if it means e-mailing my poor District Exec 10 times, I make sure it all gets done so the boys get to go. I wish someone had told me sooner. Lisa Bob suggested getting all the info at the beginning of the year, and you can bet I will next year. Even my son has made me promise not to be a Leader in BSA. He's tired of seeing me spend all my time on Scouts. He loves Scouts, but he told me that he wished we could just show up once a week like everyone else. Bless his heart. I'm sure I'll help out, but I think that's about it. I love Scouts, and I think it can be Life Changing for a Boy. I think it can give them a whole library of wonderful childhood memories. It's just the little stuff that gets me. Some of the Posters on this Forum are so hard core, I think you'd never be allowed to take the boys out of the Den Meeting room. LOL I'm sure it will all work out fine. We may rent a heated Cabin and just do an overnight to get the boys used to the idea that it is possible to do outdoor activities even in the Winter. Hopefully, it will open their minds to the possibility, and soften them up for future events. Thanks for everyones advice. I find this Forum to be tremendously helpful. As you can see, getting info isn't always the easiest thing to do in our neck of the woods. I appreciate being able to get it here. YIS

Hello again, Thank you so much for all of your suggestions. I agree that I don't want to over prepare them. If I take them Orienteering a couple of times before they cross, I don't think that will over prepare them. Most of them seem to forget everything I teach them 10 minutes after I teach it anyway. LOL We've worked on knots a little. I know that Webelos is their own program, but most of my boys seem to see themselves as "Boy Scouts in Training" now. I've even heard them call themselves that. They think they are the Big men in our Pack now. I've been their Den Leader since Tigers, and I still have seven of my original boys. Because of that, we've never repeated a Field Trip (I'd heard of Scouts quitting because they only went to the Fire Dept and Police Station every year). I try to keep it fresh and entertaining for them. I'm always trying to re-invent the wheel so every year is different so they keep coming back. I appreciate the suggestions. We're going to really implement the Denner and Asst. Denner program this year. I'm hoping that will help them transition into a Patrol setting. It should be fun. If I run into a problem, I'm sure all of you will be the first to know. Thanks again.

Hello again, I appreciate all of your comments. They are always helpful. I think we will rent a heated Cabin. No disrespect to my Boys, but I don't think they are ready for Winter Tent Camping yet. Maybe next year. I do have to say though, I think a lot of these Guidelines must be the reason a lot of Den Leaders step down. My Den has gone on almost a Field trip every month from Sept-May for the last three years. We always found someplace to take the boys that went a long with our theme. We've had a Den Camp-out every year too. I never filed Tour permits because I didn't know I had to. Now that I know, I wish I didn't. When I signed up as a Tiger Leader, they told me Scouting would take up about three hours a week. Hah! Every year it gets more complicated. Now it takes me three hours to fill out the paperwork involved. After all of this, I just want to help my boys be well prepared when they cross into Boy Scouts, and then I'm done. I love my guys, but this has become a full time 2nd job. I love it. Honestly I do. I wish I could quit my real job and just be a Scout Leader and get paid for it. That's not an option though. It seems everytime I come up with a good idea that I think will be fun for the boys and help prepare them for Boy Scouts, now I run into a mile of Red Tape. I wouldn't bother at all if it weren't for the kids. I know that we live in a Society that sues over a nosebleed, but all this Red tape is a real kill joy. By the time we get to the activity I'm already sick of it because of the paperwork. Then I have to remind myself to shake it off so the boys don't see it in my face or attitude. I just wish there were a simpler way.

Hello, I am a Cub Leader from SW Ohio. I have 10 boys that will start in Jr. Webelos next year. I read some posts recently that spoke of Cubs not being ready for Boy Scouts when they crossed over. I've also heard comments from our own Troop Leader that some Cubs cross without even knowing how to use a compass, etc. We've introduced the boys to compass use on our camp-out last year, but only as part of a scavenger hunt to find their Breakfast. They were given clue cards that said things like "Go North for 130 paces". That worked out great ant they had a lot of fun. Bless two of my parents for staying up until 1:30am the night before to walk the Campground and plot out the trail. This year I plan on introducing Geo Caching, and orienteering. Members of the Miami Valley Orienteering Club were kind enough to send me Topographical maps of a local orienteering course. Unfortunately, I have no sense of direction, so one of my Dads, a former Army Captain, is going to help out there. Someone (please forgive me for not remembering your name) from this forum was kind enough to e-mail me the Compass Game which I plan to use as well. My question, (sorry for taking so long to get to the point) is what else do Troop Leaders think are essentials for Cubs crossing over to Boy Scouts? As we enter their last two years of Cubs, what things should I really focus on so that they're ready? Camp fire cooking (Heaven help them, I can't cook)? Knot tying? What do you think? Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks for all your help. YIS

Hello, I am a Cub Leader in SW Ohio. I've been with my boys for 3 years. Next year we start out trek down the Jr. Webelos trail. I've read some items in this forum about Webelos not being prepared for Boy Scout Camping when they cross. I would really like to make certain that my boys (10 of them) have all the skills they need when they cross over. In that vein, I'm interested in putting together a Winter Camp-out for them. Unfortunately, I've never even thought about going camping during the winter before, and am just starting to research it. My boys are all 9 and 10 year olds, so I don't want them to freeze to death either. They might be a little young to be told to "suck it up" like they told us in the Air Force. Has anyone here ever done a Winter Camp-out for Cubs? If so, what activities were appropriate so they had fun, didn't freeze, and learned something? What type of place should we stay in? I saw another Pack that did a Winter Camp-out in a Yurt that had a heating device. What gear do they need? Any information, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This Forum has always been so helpful. Thank you in advance. YIS

Hello all, I am a Cub Scout Den Leader for a Bear Den. Actually, they just earned their Bear Badges, so I guess they could be considered Webelos now. Anyway, we are trying to take a field trip to participate in the Young Eagles program. If you need more info on them check out this link: http://www.youngeagles.org I was looking at our Council site and found the forms for a Local Tour permit. It asks a lot of questions that I don't have answers for. Like the Insurance coverage amounts on everyone's car. I didn't know. I actually had to call my Insurance Company and ask them what my coverage amounts were. If I had that problem, than I imagine most of my parents will also. Everyone is driving their own child, in their own cars. We are caravanning over to the Airport. The Airport is 15.59 miles from us, and should only take us 24 mins to drive to. I printed off the consent forms for all my parents to fill out. I also printed off the Flying Permit form for our contact at Young Eagles. I mailed it to him yesterday. It asks for copies of their Flight certificates, medical certificates, etc. Our Contact called me today. I told him I sent that form. He said they won't know the make and model of the Aircraft being used until the day we fly. He also said the pilots won't want to provide all the copies of the certificates etc. He was able to give me their EAA. I told him to provide what he could for me, and that I would take it from there. He also said they've been through this with the Scouts before, and had to contact a person from the National Headquarters to straighten it all out last time. He's going to try and find that persons name and get back to me. He said the person from the National Headquarters said all of that other info (copies of certificates, etc.) wasn't necessary. The link to the form I'm talking about is here: http://www.danbeard.org/pdf/General/23-672.pdf He said the only thing they weren't allowed to do was fly Scouts in Experimental Aircraft (planes built from kits). They will not be using any experimental aircraft for our group. I want to make sure that I file all the appropriate paperwork, but it seems like this is a lot of hassle. The trip will consist of the boys going through a little Ground School program, they'll get to use the Flight simulator, and then they'll get to go up in an Airplane. I'd also like to get this straightened out because I know that our other Leaders all wanted to book trips for their Dens as well. It says that I need to file my Local Tour Permit at least two weeks before our trip so I'm running out of time. This should be an awesome Field trip for my boys and I'd hate to see them miss it because an I wasn't dotted, or a T wasn't crossed. Thankfully, our District Executive is awesome. I E-mailed him and he's going to look into it for me. We've never filed a local Tour Permit for any of our field trips until now, so this is all new to me. I've been a Leader for three years now too. I'd hate to think of all the cool trips we've taken, that the boys might have missed out on if I had filed all the appropriate paperwork and run into miles of red tape. We live in a medium size town, in between two big cities. Most of our field trips take place in one of those two big cities. It takes probably a half hour to 45 mins to drive to all of them. Even our Council Campground is 45 mins away. How does everyone else feel about this? Are we supposed to file a local Tour permit for every trip we take? Even if it's local? I've never gotten consent forms from the parents before because their parents are always with them. Am I doing this all wrong? If it's this much hassle to take a field trip, I can see why some groups don't take them. We go on about one field trip a month. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hello all, I have been a Cub Scout Leader now for three years. I started with my son in Tigers. Before this, I have no Scouting background whatsoever. Each year, the requirements get harder, and I feel less and less equipped. This year was our Bear year, and I had to go out and find subject matter experts to do the teaching for me several times. That's fine with me. I think it changes things up a bit for the boys. I don't really have an ego about where they get the information they need, as long as they get it. I'm very nervous about Webelos. It looks as if the program changes drastically, and the requirements are going to get much harder. Theres a lot of talk on the web about Webelos to Scout transition, but not so much about Bear to Webelos. Can any of the Den Leaders out there that have already made the jump, give me any advice? How do I explain the program changes in a way they'll understand? I had a really hard time getting them to understand this years requirements with one from God, three from Country, Four from Family and Self for a total of 12. They didn't understand why there were 24 possible choices then. It really threw them when I explained how unused requirements from achievements could be turned around and used towards arrow points. They've all got it now, and we're only a couple of months away from finishing our year. Our last couple of months are almost free months. Is there any skill I should focus on to prepare them for Webelos? Any advice, tips, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I just don't want to let the boys down. Every year I've tried hard to make it fun and interesting to keep them involved. I've tried to keep it fresh with field trips to new places. I'd hate to lose them now because I'm not quite up to the task. Thanks for your help.