rjscout

Why not teach them how to make the Turks Head. it is hard at first, but after a few practices, they might be able to pick it up. I have talked to a few WDLs who have done this with their boys. I hope to do this at summer camp where we will have a lot of new Webelos.

I guess we were taught wrong at OLS on Sunday when reviewing the Religious Knots and Medals. My apologies.

Sorry if this was mentioned (I didn't see it)....

If the knot is worn, the medal would be pinned over the knot when wearing the medal. Thus, both can be worn.

I don't think the Pack/Den leaders have a legal right to deny access by the other parent without legal documentation. It should be up to the parent to be there in time to retrieve the scout before the offending parent attempts to. I would go above and beyond to protect my child, but I can't expect someone else to go against the law when my word is only one side of the story. I hope that I don't have to run into this from any of the three sides.

I was wondering when the handbook will come out on Kindle. I don't have one, but I know a few people who swear by them.

... and don't call me Shirley.

I like the old switchbacks. I jumped at the chance to get two more when there was a BOGO (buy-one-get-one) offer last year so that I would have extra pants/shorts for summer camp. My wife thinks they are a little short for shorts. My first pair did start pilling some from rubbing on something (I can't remember what it was). I haven't looked at the new pants, yet.

Our Council is doing a Webelos Weekend this spring. The original post said that it is for Webelos 1 and 2. But there are very few 2nd year Webelos in the spring, since they have Crossed over of given up scouts. Then they mentioned that Bears are invited, since they will be Webelos in just a few weeks. I think it is a GREAT idea. I am hoping or a good turnout. I haven't experienced a Webelos Weekend before.

The face-to-face conversation is important, but the words are a bit harsh. I was very eager to jump in when asked to help, but if someone told me

"I need you to be the Den Leader for the Webelos Den starting in June. This is what you will need to do and I and the CM will be there to help you get started. Will you do it?" I think I would have said 'NO'. Convincing someone to do it is one thing, but PUSHING them is not a good way, IMHO.

I don't have the answer, but hopefully I can learn more before my Pack runs into this situation.

I haven't experienced this, yet. I would think that each council would have it's own interpretation. Your best bet would probably be to call Council or District to get their take. Other peoples opinion may not synch up with your Council.

Some Tigers come into the Pack during Spring Recruiting, which the main focus by Council/District is to get more boys to go to summer camp. We had 3 new Tigers on our weekend resident camp during the summer.

Our Council and District have weekend overnights that are very comparible with the Weekend Resident Summer Camp, other than being just a few hours shorter. I asked our Council Camping Executive if these would count toward the Outdoor Activity Award, but he said that they do not (I think they should). I think part of the Outdoor Activity Award requirement is to get more boys into Summer Camp. I have attended both Spring and Fall events that felt just like the Summer Resident camp, other than the boys slept in tents in the Spring and Fall, but were in the Castle at Cub World in the summer.

Maybe somebody from National that might read this might give a better light on the requirements.

Pack15nissan, I think you did the right thing. I am amazed how adamant some scouters get with their opinion of what is right. The Pinewood Derby can get heated, but hopefully not. We had some issues in my first year of running the race where folks were mad that they made the racers out of the Pine Car kits, and not the BSA kits that were given out 7 weeks prior. We told them that they could race, but would not qualify for trophies and District races. I think we lost a few of those into the next year, but we also retained a few. We know that we stated the BSA kit rule several times, but they weren't paying attention. We stated the rule even more after that.

I love the Pinewood Derby... for the excitement of working on the car with my son, and seeing the excitement of the boys at check-in and as the race gets started. I got my start as a Cub Leader by volunteering to HELP (how did I become the CM so quickly after that signup?).

We hope to have some open races for the enthusiastic parents and siblings so that the boys will be able to spend more time on the car, or even learn the building techiques by watching the work being done by Mom or Dad on their own car. We might have an old track setup for the boys to do some of their own racing while the open race is going on. The boys may, or may not, like to watch the open race.

Best of luck to everyone for having a fun and successful race.

This is one of my favorite awards because it covers so many different areas, and it looks great on the uniform. It isn't hard to get, except that a lot of boys just don't go to summer camp. I have been bragging about it and trying to get more boys to attend summer camp. As Cubmaster, I am actually going to Resident Camp during the week, Resident Camp on a two-night weekend, and helping with Twilight Camp, just to try to get more boys to attend at least one of these. Some Den Leaders tend to miss the summer camp requirement (I did too when I first started reading about it for the first time).

I would love to see every boy in the Pack where one of these on their right pocket flap.

Maybe a snazzy ceremony might add to the desire of the boys. Let us know what you come up with, if you don't mind.

I agree... why burn the plans... share them.

When my son was a tiger, he wanted a shark (tiger shark painted with Bengal stripes). there was no way he could cut that out. I did use my bandsaw to get the rough shape, then he used a rasp and sandpaper to make a little smoother. As a 1st grader, he lost interest in getting it REALLY smooth. He loved doing the painting with stripes. It wasn't the fastest and it wasn't the prettiest, but he was proud of that car. there were a lot of cars in the Pack that made his car look slow.

As a Wolf, we started with a coping saw, then rasp file, then sandpaper. He did some, then I did some, through each step until it looked done. But it looked like I made it. As a new ACM, I decided to buy a new kit and had him do 90% of the work, including all the painting. I did work with him closer to show how to smooth the burrs off the axles and wheels, how insert the axles, and how to use graphite. I wanted him to be a little more competitive, but I didn't expect him to win.

this year, my son is a Bear and I am the CM. I didn't like to see the cars where the fathers had better tools an know-how go really fast, and the other cars go really slow. I took the knowledge that I learned last year and shared the speed secrets with the rest of the Pack. We even had several workshops to help the boys who needed it. This year was the most competitive race we have had in the three races my son has been a part of. He again did most of the cutting, filing and sanding (still a little rough) and the painting. I had him go through the smoothing of the axles and wheels, himself, with my guidance. Somehow he won his rank, again, but not the Pack race.

I can't imagine buying a pre-built car. that is the half the fun. The other half is the excitement of the boys when they check-in their cars and when the races are starting. We had one boy who got last place in every heat. I gave him the Cubmaster Special trophy for his great sportsmanship, as he still had a GREAT time. That's what PWD is all about.

Infoscouter,

Yes, it is strange. I have seen the requirements in each rank handbook, and I have seen it on the U.S. Scouting Service Project, but I wanted to get the official scouting.org reference to send my Den Leaders. That's when I found the reference with the missing Wolf and Bear.

Thanks for checking!

Have the rules changed for the Cub Scout World Conservation Award? I looked up the award on scouting.org, and the description states:

"Webelos Scouts can earn the Cub Scout World Conservation Award by earning the Forester, Naturalist, and Outdoorsman activity badges and taking part in a den or pack conservation project."

I recall reading that Wolf and Bear scouts could earn the award, but that is not listed on scouting.org. I was hoping to get a full description to send out to my Den Leaders. We have awarded this award to the boys in a Wolf Den last month, so the scout shop is (was) allowing the younger ranks to receive the award.

Does anyone have any knowledge on this?

I don't agree with the double standard theory. The Popcorn sales are to help raise money for scouting. The 'scout accounts' that we have are to be used for Summer Camp, where the boys get 10% of the funds raised over $300. The 2nd year Webelos are (potentially) Boy Scouts before the 'camping fund' is used. If we exclude their use of the 'camping funds', they could decide to not sell popcorn in their last year, which could reduce the overall funds that we raise. I have not problem passing along the 'camping funds' for them to use at the Troop. Those who do not continue don't get their account because they won't be camping as a Scout.

I guess part of the idea of transferring any money would be how the fundraiser was setup. We told our scouts that anything over $300 of popcorn sales, a percentage of the additional sales would go into a camping fund. We have some Webelos who are crossing over with some $$ in that fund/account, so we are talking of giving them Scout Bucks that can be used for camping with the Troop or at the Scout Shop. Those who are not crossing over will not get the funds.

That is interesting... you taught IOLS, and now you are taking BALOO. I took BALOO 17 months ago, which was integrated with the IOLS class. I showed up Saturday morning and participated in most of what IOLS was doing through the day. Our Webelos leaders also use the IOLS for their training (not required to camp Friday night, but do camp Saturday night, but who would want to miss out on the fun?). After my BALOO, I couldn't wait to attend IOLS. I am not familiar with what is required for the Webelos part of the training that is different than the Boy Scout Leader part of IOLS. I guess I'll find out in May.

Let us know how the class went.

Moxieman, thanks for the info. I am trying to introduce Webelos Den Camping to our Pack (only a little camping with a Troop has been done so far, mostly day outdoor activities). I want to do some foil cooking for that camping. I need to do some practicing to make the boys enjoy the experience.

Great idea, Moxieman. Have you tried any of these recipes with the foil pack laying on top of the charcoal embers? I thought that was one of the reason for the dense veggies (they used cabbage for the outer layers at my BALOO training). Will the Reynolds recipes work OK on the coals?

They do look tasty!

Stosh,

This is exactly why I am pushing to get the WDLs to IOLS. I think there is a breakout session for the Webelos part, but I have not done that training, yet. I was in a BALOO class in Oct '07 that was integrated into the IOLS class. I was disappointed only in that I hadn't signed up for the entire weekend. I did take my BALOO training to increase the camping that we did as a Pack (Pack camping, Council Camping, District Camping, and Summer Camp). Our Webelos have done a little camping with Troops, but not much and not most. It had been over 30 years since I did any Boy Scout camping (one year of scouts with only two camping trips... not enough so I lost interest). I have spent a lot of time doing a lot of reading and I am excited for our IOLS training in May. We actually have a Webelos District event two weeks later where Bears are invited (since they will be Webelos in just two weeks after that). We will get to experience our first Webelos camping. I plan to soak up all the knowledge that I can. I have done some other camping in the past, and I want let my son, and the others, experience the great Outdoors.

I don't agree with Outdoor Training without being outdoors. How can you teach someone to camp without actually camping first. Doesn't make sense to me.

Thanks for all of you great advice.

I have been looking at doing a Cubmobile event. I have seen some races documented where the boys push the carts, and other where there is a ramp starting gate. We talked with a Soap Box Derby Dad who mentioned trying to borrow some Soap Box Starting gates. Still in the thought phase, so I am interested in more info.

I am gung-ho on the Webelos Camping, but I definitely don't want to jump to the full Boy Scout level of camping. I am the CM and plan to attend IOLS with the interested WDLs. From no Webelos Den Camping, I do want to give the boys a step up experience. I hope to get a closer tie to some of the Troops in the area to give the boys more exposure to the Boy Scout level with the Troops.

I had thought that having younger siblings might keep the camping closer to the Pack Level, so I wanted to get some feedback. I am sure there will be requests for younger siblings. We have a few older siblings who are in Troops, so those might be helpful.

I love reading the various views. This site has helped me to learn so much in helping to improve the Pack.

Thanks to all!!!!

True, the logic can go either way. The arrowpoint is the front of the arrow, so the Bobcat should go first. But we use the Arrow Point as somewhat of a symbol for Webelos(the other ranks have the pawprint), so moving toward the arrowpoint with rank also makes sense. It really depends on how you want it to go. I have not heard a a standard direction.