scoutmom

LauraT7, A big AMEN to that! Well said.

By far, the best trainig experience I have had to this date (I'm doing Woodbadge in the fall)was Outdoor Webelos Leader Training. Not to take anything away from the staff on the course, but what made it so memorable were my fellow participants. We got to be 3 Cub Scout Dens for a weekend. As a female, I must say that I was always jealous of my brothers when they would go off on weekends and do scouting stuff. I wanted to be a Boy Scout! (always was a little tomboy) OWL training gave me that opportunity. I went that weekend not expecting to enjoy myself, not sleep well, and miss my son a

Regardless of anyone's personal feelings about going to war, I think this is the time for us all to show our support and thanks to the men and women who have put themselves in harm's way to protect and defend us. My prayers and thoughts are with all members of the Armed Forces.

Boy, I don't feel so bad about the condition of my car now! Actually, I got to clean it out yesterday and gave to the new Cubmaster, 2 plastic tubs filled with Pack records, 1 box of plastic knives and forks, 2 tubs of candy used for prizes for games at Pack meetings, a grocery bag full of 5x7 cardboard pieces, American Flag and Pack Flag and their stands, 2 folding grill racks for use over a campfire, assorted craft supplies and a ream of paper for flyers. Still left in the car are my bag full of training supplies (syllabus, Wolf, Bear and Webelos Handbooks, Scouting and Boys Life Mag

I tried to edit that but it told me I wasn't authorized. I meant to say "it" was cold the first night not I was cold. I was nice and warm at hime in my bed with my down comforter!

Well, my son came back today from his first Boy Scout camping trip. He had a great time and can't wait for the next trip. I was cold the first night (22 degrees) and he was not happy. He was cold and a little homesick and it was "horrible". Thank God Saturday got warmer and he had a terrific time. He rates it an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10! LOL He was so excited and proud of himself he couldn't stop talking the whole way home. (about a 30 minute drive) It's nice to see his enthusiasm and his new found self-confidence. He's already asking his Troop leaders when they can plan a trip to P

I'd wave my magic wand and make all parents willing to volunteer and do so with a smile on their face in a spirit of cooperation! Oh, I do like to dream.......

Thanks for all the good wishes, everyone. Jon is dissappointed that ther is no Troop meeting tonight. (Ash Wednesday) He did decide to go on the camping trip and I think he is lookin forward to it a little more. We went out and bought some new hiking boots and that made him excited. ozemu, Jon was in that frame of mind last year. Everything was boring and nothing was fun. I'm glad he snapped out of that. He, like many other boys, struggles with ADHD and sometimes the medication can make him a little depressed. We've made some changes in meds and vitamin supplements and he seems t

These are the words I heard from my son all day this past Sunday. Our Blue and Gold Banquet was on Saturday and he earned his Arrow of Light and crossed over to Boy Scouts. He was so excited. Sunday, he was reading his Boy Scout Handbook (pack gift to the Scouts crossing over) and he can't wait to go on his first camping trip, because he's sure he's going to catch his first fish, ever! It is so nice to see him this enthusiastic about Scouting. We had a great turn out at the B&G. We had representative from each of the 3 Troops in town and each Troop got some of our Webelos. I am

If the Cubmaster, Assistant Cubmaster, and Den Leaders didn't come to our Committee meetings, they wouldn't exist. In a perfect world, Committee and Leaders would be separate, but for us,this is how we make sure we are delivering the best program we can. More parental participation is desired, but hard to come by.

OOPS! That was supposed to be "teeth"!! Boy is my face red!

OOOOOOHHHH! A subject close to my heart! My son is a Second year Webelos and we are getting ready for cross over (Feb 22). His Den visited the three troops in town (yes, we are lucky!) and he made his decision. He picked a different Troop from the one I would have chosen, but it's his decision. 2 of the troops presented well run, boy run meetings and got our guys involved right away. The other troop consisted of, "OK you boys sit on the floor and I'll tell you about our up coming camping trip". A big bore to the Webelos and to my mind the bigger problem was that it was not boy-run.

mk9750 - don't worry, we're not in the same town! I'm in Southern NJ. I wish I had a Troop locally that made the kind of contact you troop has! I guess in a perfect world we would all have everything exactly the way we want it! I also agree with eagledad that Leader burn-out is a big issue. I've been there and it really saps youe enthusiasm when you feel you are working harder for the Cubs to advance than the boys are working. And I think ScoutNut has a good point when he encourages more interaction between the Troops and Packs. I would love to have the Boy Scouts participate in

Here's my $.02 worth: From my experience, there has not been a troop (3 in our town) that has approached anyone in our Pack regarding Webelos transition in the last 3 years. I have personally requested a den chief from 2 of the Troops and have been told repeatedly that there is no one available. (They're too busy with sports and band and other activities) We currently have a den of 13 second year Webelos who will be ready to cross over in Feburuary (maybe!) and we have visited one of those troops. That was done last spring and our Webelos Leaders initiated that contact and it could no

EXCELLENT!! You go, ScouterPaul!

Boy, this thread took a big detour. (and personally, I don't care who you share your tent with, but do it on someone else's thread ;o -Joke, that was a joke. Please don't anybody attack!) I don't plan on staying after February as I have made some commitments at the council level. Everyone in the Pack is aware of that and I am looking forward to moving on. I love Scouting,and working with the boys, but I'm not always so fond of the parents. Sometimes we parents make being a Scouter a difficult job.

I thought you folks might like to hear how this situation worked out. Before I "officially" went to our DE, I spoke privately with an individual that I know and respect from our local council. I explaind the sitiation and asked for advice. The advice was to talk to the CM and document the incident for the Pack records. Well, after we talked, the CM decided to resign. Not because of anything I said - no threats or anything like that- but because he realized he was wrong and he didn't have the nerve to stand up in front of the Pack and tell people he was wrong. Our next camping trip

Thanks, NJCubScouter, I appreciate your comments. I did refer to sexual meaning not harrassment. And just for the record, I do not condone "humping", even while dancing, as the correct conduct for a child. And I think that is my biggest concern. We are talking about children. At least that is the impression I got.

In my opinion, any act that includes "humping" has a sexual meaning. I would be concerned about this boy and I would have contacted his parents immediately. I do not agree that he should be removed from Scouting entirely, but perhaps a suspension might be in order. I'm a little surprised at the responses from some of the members who generally seem to be much more conservative. I don't see this as a situation to be taken lightly.

Oh how sweet! Congrats to you and your wife. Laurel is a beautiful little girl and what a pretty name! Health and happiness always.

I believe the event is called "Beach Jam" and is held in October and May. You can contact the people at Maury's Pier for information. We have never gone as a Pack, but I have heard from others it's a fun weekend.

I started with Den Leader Basic Training and Youth Protection. The next year I went to Webelos Leader Training, Outdoor Webelos Leader Training (OWL), which included Youth Protection,and Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation (BALOO). I also was trained in Safe Swim Defense and Safety Afloat. After all that training I was invited to join the District Training Team and have served as staff for several training sessions including another OWL session. I have also received the new Scouting Fundamentals as well as Specific training for Cubmaster and Pack Admin. I have now been to no less than

Thanks for all of the input, everyone. I guess I knew all along what I have to do, but I wanted to get your collective opinion. I don't think handling this on a local level with the CO and COR will do us much good. Our CO is very uninvolved with the Pack and basically the COR only signs the Charter. Not the best situation, but it has been working up until now. We have made efforts to involve the CO more with the Pack, but we don't get much response. OGE, yes, other adults were ther and saw the incident. Thank you for pointing out what should have been obvious. I have no choice

I recently had the worst experience of my Scouting career - not that long, a little more than 4 years. Our Pack went on our Annual Family Camping weekend recently and was it ever a disaster! Friday night began with no power to the pavillion we reserved at our Council Camp and no flush toilets. There was no power to the camp at all. Then we had one of the most horendous thunderstorms I have ever experienced. Did I mention that I was fighting a horrible cold/sinus infection? And my tent leaked? And the power company wouldn't come out to check the power until it stopped raining. Well,

Experienced Uniforms, I apologize for being overly sensitive to your remarks, but I just came off a disaster of a Family Camping Weekend and I've been feeling very un-appreciated. (But that's another post - please check it out under General Topics - I's appreciate your comments) You are right that you can not gain a person's inflection from the written word. I often hear condesention and superiority in some of the posts I read, although that may not be the intention. And I do know what an emoticon is, but I took yours as being smug. Not your intention, my interpretation.