Scouter&mom

Great Job!! You and the boys should all be proud.

Ok guys, any other suggestions? No one from FL? I am less than 60 miles from the FL line..

He is not a big hiker... too much marching with band and ROTC.. but loves water sports.. Has done canoeing, swimming, BSA Scuba, etc.. even has been whitewater rafting on the Olympic section of the Ocoee River.. he is really interested in a camp that he won't feel too out of place.. our council generally has younger boys at camp.. and he will be on staff there through June.. here in the south, he's grown up waterskiing, snorkeling, and heading to the beach for boogie boarding..

My son who will be 17 next summer is considering attending as provisional a summer camp outside of our council. Our council only holds 2-3 weeks of summer camp, so even if he worked staff there he would be available almost any time in July. Suggestions for camps (especially with intense aquatic programs) that a 17 year old wouldn't feel out of place at would be great. Something in GA, N, Florida, Ala, S Tenn or South Carolina would be our preferred area. We are in SW corner of GA and would prefer no more than 5 hour drive, since he will be attending on his own.

Most meetings, traveling, etc, old style green pants and short sleeve shirt. Depending on temperature I may wear short sleeve tee shirt or either long sleeve turtle neck under it. I know, I know.. but being female, I had a hard time finding a shirt to fit and finally had one tailored, so I don't have huge wads of fabric around my waist to tuck in and being a single parent, I don't spend huge amounts on my clothes. Web belt, tennis shoes or leather boots depending on weather. First pair of socks I can find.

Occassionally end up in my normal professional work clothes, when I don't have time to change.. like last week.

When traveling, I always wear tee shirt under "Class A" so I can take it off when we start setting up tents etc.

Summer camp and on site at campout, if the troop isn't in the public, then I go with green or khaki shorts (the scout ones don't fit right.. and I hate to pay so much and have them remade to fit). and Scout tee shirt. If it is winter, I will wear my scout pants (or my other green pants if I need more than one pair) Around here, you almost always see adults and boys in jeans in camp with scout tee shirt.

A time or two I have even, (please save the flmaing arrows for ceremonies) worn an olive green skirt with my "class A" for formal things in the church (our C0) sanctuary. Sorry but I grew up wearing a dress to church and it just feels more comfortable when everyone else has on dresses and suits and ties.

Judy

We have recognized multiple ranks at the same Court of Honor. One of the things to ensure that the boys get to wear their "new rank' as soon as possible is an informal recognition and then a more formal one. We present the boys with their patch informally during the following meeting, and then present the rank card at the formal court of honor.

It seems most of our boys get motivated to really push for advancement just before 'big' events. Gotta have the higher rank to go to district camporee or summer camp or whatever event outside of 'normal' troop activities. Even my son did this, had his star board of review three days before leaving to go to Jambo. He had the time, was enjoying Scouting, but after the last jambo shakedown, decided he wanted to go as a higher rank, so got his papers together and asked for Scoutmaster conference and Board.

At our CSDC, they seperate the boys into dens by age, regardless of the pack they are a member of. So all the bears are together, and do things appropriate for their age. Each den then has adult volunteers and one or more youth den chiefs. This has been one of my son's favorite jobs, being a "cat herder". He has even volunteered to ride the bus and help there too.

Yes, I firmly believe getting CS age boys where they need to be at the right time is like herding cats... almost impossible.

Pink shoes may not mean anything... As I waited to pick my son up at the high school one day over the summer, I saw a young man with pink and white NIKEs on. He was a large masculine football player type, so I think it was "stylin" to match his pink shirt and not gender issues. My son also says that there is a group of boys at the middle school who wear girls pants/shirts and think it is cool. Or maybe the kid just liked the pink shoes.

but I will say a girl doesn't belong in a CS uniform.. and not all brownie troops are lame. My daughter is assistant leader to her old troop and I know they have carried the girls camping several times and to all sorts of places from museums to camping and hiking.

So aren't there laws in your state that restrict sale of knives? Here in GA, you have to be 16 to buy a knife... and some stores won't sell them to anyone under 18. I don't know how the trading post at our camp handles this, never have been in the shop. My son doesn't know either. Never tried to buy a knife at camp. Main thing sold at trading post is sodas and ice cream.

Lisa,

I understand your frustration. But he will do those that he is interested in or sees the reason for, just in his own sweet time. I fight this challenge of not pushing with my son. He is 16 and a Life Scout.. only lacks a finishing up a couple of required badges and sitting down to start getting the approvals to start his Eagle project.. before he was Eagle. He joined the troop at 12, made First Class quickly and then was content to enjoy Scouting with no pressures until just before he was to go to Jamboree in 05 He suddenly decided he wanted to go as Star, so he gathered his paperwork, realized he had done everything, got it documented, and asked for a Board. He actually had his Board on Monday night before he left on Friday to head out to Jambo. Last summer, just before he went to camp for High Adventure, he did the same thing with Life. I know he has several partials that really bug me.. I think the ones that bug me most are his Music and Bugling.. he has had blue cards for over 2 years. He is in Marching Band and plays trumpet.. has played for a number of Scout events too. His middle school BD (who is also asst at High School) and her husband both are MB counselors and were to be the ones for him. He has yet to get them anything showing he has done anything, although he sees one of the two of them nearly every day (just a short gap over the summer since Band has already started back up)

one thing I think is going to help, is getting he and a buddy to work together.. We made it to City Council meeting this week, and are scheduled to get together after church on Sun to get most of Cit in Comm completed. These two are going to work on Communications together too, so maybe they will get done. BTW, the buddy is a bit more compulsive about doing things completely.

Gy,

I am not a jarhead, but I work with them daily. Welcome. I know your leadership will be an asset.

Just remember.. they are Boy Scouts not Marines.

Let them lead. Let them plan. And as bad as we hate to, let them fail. It is amazing what you learn on a wet weekend, because you didn't get your tent up right.

Have fun and again welcome..

Oh yeah, if you ever come to MCLB, look me up. We have lots of scouting opportunities here in SWGA.

There is a way to solve email problem.. We just undertook it recently with another group that was having some of the same problems.. very caustic acusatory emails that went to everyone that had any association with the group.

Set up a moderated web group and email list. You can do this on Google.. each person is invited to join group and has to accept. all emails come from and go to group email.. there they are posted and forwarded to all with moderators approval.. takes a little more oversight, but will solve the flaming emails that are sent in the heat of "childish" anger that we parents do so well sometimes.

Lisabob,

I would let the SM of my troop know and then go for it. I know there are times with our small troop we have had to cancel due to lack of adults. Just last week, I was sticken by a virus the day we were to leave and we had to cancel, because we didn't have enough adults to go. We work with another small troop from about 30 miles away on several campouts to ensure we provide the variety for older and younger boys with limited adults. We are also planning to share a campsite at summer camp for the same reason. Technically they are going as provisional, but not paying the extra charge, since their SM is going on council high adventure trip later in the summer.

Lisabob,

I would let the SM of my troop know and then go for it. I know there are times with our small troop we have had to cancel due to lack of adults. Just last week, I was sticken by a virus the day we were to leave and we had to cancel, because we didn't have enough adults to go. We work with another small troop from about 30 miles away on several campouts to ensure we provide the variety for older and younger boys with limited adults. We are also planning to share a campsite at summer camp for the same reason. Technically they are going as provisional, but not paying the extra charge, since their SM is going on council high adventure trip later in the summer.

One thing I do is collect the tourism brochures (especially the glossy magazines) for state parks, and interesting places close by. The ones done by the regional tourism boards are great. I take these on campouts and to summer camp. When we are sitting around hunting shade, I will pull them out, start leafing through them and commenting on the cool things and places that are "only an hour from home" Helps them think of places and things that they may not have known existed. I make sure I bring them along with my atlas, when the PLC has their planning meeting(s).

He did it!! and did a good job. My scout I was asking about had his first board of review Monday night and did an extremely good job. He was able to answer questions that were asked even when they required an opinion. I feel like he actually did a better job than the other boy that also had a board for Tenderfoot that night. With a little leading on a couple of really tough questions, he did great. His answers were very thoughtful and not just off the top of his head. He did mention that he wasn't sure how high a priority scouting was in his life right now, since he is also involved in some other things. When I mentioned that we were hoping to improve the program offerings for the older boys and that he really could help in areas like teaching how to put up a tent, and then asked him to think about committing himself to "one more year", he lit up and seemed to really consider that he might want to stay involved a little longer.

I am so jealous....... I would have loved to see the rain and mud.. We are living in a dust bowl.. It has rained here twice in the last three months.. (we normally get 4-5+ inches a month). and one of those rains brought tornadoes. If we don't get some rain, the lake at camp will be dry.. it was way low last year, and we are now over 12 inches behind for the year.

Look at it as an adventure.. Our boys still talk about the camps that the tents were floating. In fact last week, they were stressing being prepared for campout and bringing raingear although no rain was predicted. The two oldest boys were discussing the campouts that they awoke with the tent as an island in the middle of a lake of rainwater..

We have a young man in our Scout troop who has Asperger's syndrome. He has real difficulties with conceptual things. Concrete things are okay and physical things aren't an issue. I wish I had the singlemindedness and concentration that I see when he is involved with something he is interested in. Anyhow, in verifying that he has met the basic rank requirements, like the first aid questions that ask "tell how you treat.... an insect bite or sting" I have asked him the question, gotten a blank look, then asked "have you ever been stung by a bee or wasp? how did you treat it?" and gotten a very detailed answer on how he got rid of the wasp nest. I am pretty comfortable that if he or I actually got stung, he would know what to do. But how do I sign off on requirement, if he can't tell me? It isn't a physical communication issue, but a comprehension of concepts.

Yes, his family is supportive, but he has 3 younger brothers, including one who has autism. They are spread pretty thin dealing with four boys and a college age daughter and Dad works rotating shifts at a plant that is continuing to cut employees. I don't think they really want to push for alternative or extension since he sometimes isn't very interested in Scouts. He is 16 (nearly 17) and is a state competition swimmer and on his high school golf team.

John

I think it is great you went with your daughter's troop. Keep going with them. Many years ago when my daughter was in juniors and I was the troop leader, we didn't get to do as much outdoor stuff as some of them wanted, because I didn't have adults that would help. With 12-18 girls with only 1 or 2 having any outdoor experience and our assistant leader was like the girl you mentioned about bugs, I wasn't brave enough to try to educate all of them at the same time. My daughter was lucky enough to have her previous leader take back over as she moved into Cadets and they got to do lots of outdoor stuff. She stayed in Scouting and is now in her fourth year as a registered adult (the last two have had sporadic participation, since she has been in college 200 miles away with an intense schedule). As I type, she is in Switzerland at Our Chalet (the GS world center in the Alps) volunteering for six weeks. Close friends of mine are struggling trying to keep their daughter involved, because the troops in their area are not very "outdoorsy" and that is what their daughter wants to do. They have actually considered driving 40+ miles for their daughter to be in a troop that camps and goes outside.

Remember girls may be silly and giggly, but will do the outdoor stuff if they are encouraged. And many will fall in love with the outdoors.

Judy

Mr. DeWitt,

My prayers are with you and your family as you struggle. Don't forget to count your blessings in that you are located near GREAT medical facilities. The research being done and the level of care in the area is the reason many people from far away travel there for medical care. Many people from my area travel the 4-6 hours to your area for medical care.

I agree with the others that there are many things you can do, perhaps even while you are battling your illnesses. As an Assistant Scoutmaster for a small troop, I would love to have someone to take over any portion of the paperwork. Emails and keeping records would give me some much needed breathing room. Our SM had a heart incident a couple of years ago, now he is back to doing much of what he did before. Staying involved gave him a focus outside of his medical issues, which was beneficial to his mental state as he struggled.

Although your son wants you there, this could be a great growing time for him to develop the confidence to function without Dad there as backout. My son has actually told me, he does not want me involved in OA. That he wants it to be his own thing. Time involved in Scouting can give your son the break from illness that he may need.

All in all, do what you can, and encourage your son to take some time for himself to be a boy and not just the kid with a sick dad.

Judy

down in SWGA

Our OA Lodge has done call out on Wed night following Vespers. Families visiting for family night were invited to attend. We have members with flaming arrows arrive by canoe from across the lake as the beginnning of ceremony too. Lodge hosted Ice Cream social for those called out after ceremony. Big hit here in the hot steamy south. Ordeal is done on a weekend in late fall. (Mid Nov last year) That way football is almost over and it is cooling off enough that cheerful service may be done without the risk of heat stroke.

This year they are going to have call out on Sunday night (first night of camp). I am not sure why, unless they had too many complaints from parents of boys not called out that ceremony went too late, since they don't start until after dark (9PM).

To further add to the confusion..

most US military branches don't salute indoors.. so when the colors are presented indoors and/or the Pledge is spoken, the right hand goes over the heart (no salute)

and the color guard wears their cover (hat) even indoors when presenting/retiring the colors.

We just discussed this last night on the way home from Jr ROTC Honors night.

My daughter did the overnight at the Lost Sea with her Cadet GS troop (a real adventurous group of girls) and they all loved it. She dug out her pictures of them all muddy to take with her to GS World Center in Switzerland next month. It was one of the highlights of her years in Scouting that she wants to share. At 21 she is still proud of that night.

Cost for our council was $1250. It included bus transportation to Atlanta, overnight Amtrack into DC, three days touring (including baseball game and $$ allowance for meals), Jambo itself and plane flight home. Our council was allotted for 2 troops, but only had enough for one. What hurt us was the dates more than the cost I think. Council had payment plan beginning 12+ months out. Local schools started early. Some before Jambo ended and almost all by the end of the week. It is hard to get home Wednesday night at nearly midnight and start school the next day. Oh yeah, those days are unexcused absences for the kids too.

Does your district sponsor a Webelo-ree? Ask the people who planned it what games went really well.

The ones our guys liked and that we did at a big campout for all the Boy Scouts and cub scouts and families sponsored by our CO were active ones. We had a brief nature walk- scavenger hunt. 10-15 minute walk and each group lists as many signs of animals as they find.. everything from deer scat to hearing the woodpecker and the mosquitos. We had a bean bag type toss. We even had them do stretcher relay races. Wanna see excitement? Get four Web I's to carry a leader on a stretcher in a race without dropping.

Have any of your Boy Scouts been to NYLT? Get them to get out their book and come up with some games.

We even had the Webelos lead a sing along, for showman activity pin.

It was a great weekend.

WOW... I can't believe all the people ESPECIALLY the professionals that think they "own" the schools they recruit from. None of the schools (except one church school) sponsor troops. Almost all the troops and packs in this area are sponsored by churchs or civic organizations. At an elementary school night, you may have three or four packs represented. All the leaders seem to be willing to encourage the boys to sign up, that joining is more important than which pack they join. We try to get them in the pack that they will feel comfortable with and will be able to get to the meetings. I think that some schools have more boys join one pack more than the others, but I think we all have a pretty mixed group. Our pack has boys from 5-6 schools, including two different county school systems and a couple of private schools. We are even brazen enough that some of these boys attended schools in a different district at the time they joined. These were kids that lived right on the line and found "their perfect fit" pack in the other district.