rjscout

I do see a problem with making them do the memorization for the Webelos badge.... it isn't required until the Arrow of Light. Yes, they do need to understand it enough to explain it, but not recite it from memory. That comes from repetition (good to have them say it at every Den meeting or activity). This can be disheartening for the boys.

I am the CM of our Pack, but work closely with the Webelos (my son is first year Webelos scout).

23-25 scouts in a den???? That seems WAY to high, much more than the 6-8 recommended. I would think 3 or 4 dens could be made. I hope you have a lot of parents helping out.

I would love to have a few more parents in my Pack with your enthusiasm and willingness to learn/train.

'fish,

It is great to think out of the box. YOu have a great sounding board here. Find a good leader in your Pack to act as a local sounding board, too. I have learned a lot here, which has sparked even more ideas. I usually use the 'what if' with my son's Den Leader, even after becoming the CM.

Have fun!! and keep asking.

I am surprised that you were able to get BB & Archery beltloops for the boys from a non-Council shooting event. Our Coucil scout shop requires a certificate from the event to be able to purchase the shooting beltloops. I think part of the restriction is to make sure that the shooting event has certified shooting instructors leading the event. Some camps allow a Pack to rent the shooting facilities for Packs to use. We have some Archery and BB instructors (rangemasters) in our Pack to help us run our event without having to worry about one being available.

Check your Council to see when you can attend the Shooting Sports training (separate training for BB and Archery).

Check out http://alpsmountaineering.com/ for some great tents. You can get a 45% Scouter discount through http://scoutdirect.com/. I love my two man Taurus. They have all different sizes of differnt models. I am happy with my sleeping bags, table, awning, backpack and fanny pack, too.

The Adventure Camp Leaders Guide shows these areas of achievement that can be obtained at camp:

WEBELOS BADGE: 6*, 7

WEBELOS ACTIVITY PINS: Aquanaut 1-5, 7; Athlete 2,3; Communicator 1; Forester 3, 4, 7,9;

Geologist 1, 7; Naturalist 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12; Outdoorsman 1-3, 5, 6, 7*, 8, 9, 10, 12*; Sportsman 2, 4.

It is up to the leader to track what the boys actually do. I was the floater for our Pack, so I wasn't with the same rank for the entire stay. It is a great camp and I can't wait to go again this summer.

Basementdweller,

Camp Friedlander is the Boy Scout Summer Camp, which starts with Week 1 (June 20) through Week 7 (August 1). The first deposit is due Feb 8.

Cub World is for next years Wolf through Webelos with each rank being in a different program area (Wolf - fort; Bear - castle; 1st Webelos - Mountain Man; 2nd Webelos - Miners camp). They don't have a week (4 days, 3 nights) for just Webelos. The weeks (Mon-Thu) are Jun 21, Jun 28, Jul 26 and Aug 2. The early discount is usually due around May 11. These dates are not posted in the danbeard.org camping section, yet. I pulled these dates from the Events calendar.

Hope this helps.

I'll brag about the Dan Beard Council Adventure Camp (resident camp) at Cub World. Camp Friedlander, Camp Craig, and Cub World are three of the camps as part of the Dan Beard Scout Reservation of approx. 500 acres (from what I have read). The staff is awesome and the program is a lot of fun. We will go to Adventure Camp, again, this summer. My request for ideas is for one of the District Day Camps (held in the evening, which makes it a Twilight camp). I don't want to take ideas from Adventure Camp for the boys who might be attending both camps. The 2nd year Webelos at adventure camp go on an Outpost, camping under the stars. None of their Pack/Den leaders go with them, just the camp staff.

Camp Friedlander does have the Boy Scout Summer Camp, which I have heard great things about. I hope to experience that as an ASM in the future.

The Resident Camp (Adventure Camp) is broken into rank levels, so there are some differences between Wolf, Bear, 1st year Webelos and 2nd year Webelos, with some common activities. We will continue to attend that. Since I will be on staff for the Twilight (5 evening sessions... 5-9pm), I want to offer my son a good program. Last year was my first year at Twilight and I didn't get to see much of what went on since the shooting sports were separated from the rest. I do want to help make sure that the Webelos get something more exciting than the common CS events. Our Council has talked about trying to have a Webelos Resident Camp, but no announcement, yet. I was hoping to get some ideas that might be used for when Webelos are visiting with Boy Scout Troops, to help get them excited. The Twilight Camp does have BS from local troops helping to staff the program.

Does NCS have suggestions as to what to offer for various levels?

I had heard that most troops focused more on 5th graders, so we haven't attempted to get the 4th graders involved with the troops. I have been anxious to get more familiar with the troops. So far, I have been passing the troop info to the WDL to have the 5th graders visit the troops.

Last year, I volunteered at Twilight Camp to help with Shooting Sports, so my son went along (one of three types of Cub Scout Summer Camp that we attended, including Adventure and Fun with Son). I was asked to help with Shooting Sports, again, this coming summer. I asked my son if he would like to go (cutting down to one or two, instead of all three types) and he said that it depends on what the events are. I guess he got a little bored with the standard events that happen at Cub Scout Summer Camp. Does anyone have any good ideas of what would keep the interest of a 2nd year Webelos Scout (I didn't want to say Webelos II)? Being so close to Boy Scouts, I think it should be something to help entice him to think more about crossing over.

Thanks for your help. I'll probably pass some of the ideas to our Webelos Den Leaders, too, to get some ideas for Den activities through the year, or for extra summer activities.

to mom: Here's your sign.

I like the patches, but not multiple for a single event.

Our October District Cub-O-Ree commonly sees below 40deg for the overnight low. Haven't dipped below freezing, yet. The big problem is that a lot of families don't have bags to keep them warm that low.

I like the hiking award at the Troop meeting!!!!

This is AWESOME!!!! I am so impressed. Thank you for sharing this with the rest of us.

I see a lot of scouts who wear the World Conservation award above the right pocket. I do like it there, but I doubt that will ever become official. Other than rank, that seems like an important enough of an award to have a permanent place. I think part of the reason there are scouts with it located above the right pocket is that the Badge Magic has an 'Official Placement of Insignia' sheet that shows the World Conservation award above the right pocket.

I love my Taurus 2, but I haven't started backpacking. I'll get one of the lighter tents when my new-Webelos-son is ready for backpacking. I have enjoyed all of my Alps Mountaineering gear that I have purchased. Great reviews from some Boy Scout Troops that I have talked to about their Alps Mountaineering gear. Hard to beat the discount for scouts at scoutdirect.com.

I thought I would check my training records. I had the same problem trying to login. I reset my password 4 times. I found the problem when I went to the FAQ section. Due to changes to the system, after May 31, you must login the first time with your e-mail address as your userid. I did this and then it asked for a new userid. My old userid could not be used. Now to remember another userid.

All of my training records were intact, though.

I think the plaid Webelos hat looks much better than the Tiger, Wolf, and Bear rank hats. I do prefer the hat that comes with the t-shirt for Webelos.

As for the plaid of the neckerchief, I liked it when I was a Cub Scout, and I like it now. Maybe that is part of my Scottish heritage coming out, although I would feel strange in a kilt. Wouldn't pass the YP guidelines.

That's how I did it too. Glad that I did it like a few others. Great minds????

That sounds like some major liability, probably with no scout insurance coverage. I have the land to do that, but I don't think that I would risk it.

Eagle92,

Yes, that is what I understand, but sometimes it is hard to get someone for the timeslot you desire. It helps to have someone in the unit that will be there.

We had Whittling Chip offered as part of our Fall Cub-O-Ree. We were told that the age limit is 8 years old. We had a few Wolves who earned their Whittling Chip that weekend. I haven't seen the age documented anywhere, so I am going on hear-say.

Perhaps different councils have different use of the guidelines. When I was taking the archery training a few weeks ago, we were told that by renting the Council Camp shooting facilities, the shooting event became a council event, even if there is only one Pack there.

Don't forget the assistants:

ADL - assistant Den Leader

AWDL - Assitant Webelos Den Leader

ACM - Assistant Cubmaster

What kind of price break do you get at the Lodge Outlets? I was thinking of heading to Gatlinburg later this summer and stopping by an outlet in Sevierville, TN. But Bass Pro has 20% off all CDO's in stock. I am hoping to start off our new Webelos with some outdoor cooking this summer, and I wasn't sure which way to go. I will keep an eye out for garage sales and flea markets.

If the boys can't sing about underwear ("God bless my underwear..."), then national shouldn't be selling it.