Scout_Ma'am

When I tried this number, I got a live person who told me she could not take my opinion (which was a resounding yes). Too many calls perhaps?

Try this link... http://usscouts.org/profbvr/fun_awards/

I buy olive pants from other stores. For some reason, our local Goodwill always has a great selection (including the odd pair of scout pants that some female leader has finally said "enough!" to...). My favorite pair were Old Navy brand. Lots of great pockets, comfortable, and, well, cute (I say "looked", because they bit the dust a couple of weeks ago, and I'm still in mourning for them).

If you haven't already, make it policy that scouts turn in the associated worksheets with requests for loops and pins. This prevents parents who think "oh, my son plays baseball, so he can get the baseball loop/pin". Links to sheets are found near the bottom of belt loop specifics. Our pack pays for loops. No firm policy is set, but after going through one Blue and Gold where a den suddenly submitted for a ton, after having done none all year, our cubmaster made it known to den leaders to encourage the boys to do loops regularly, not all at once. I wouldn't suggest limiting awards to ones associated with advancements, though, as the loops are good for keeping boys excited and working all year long.

Thanks, everyone. I appreciate the input!

Hi, all... I've got the script and the diagram for how colors are presented, but can someone tell me where the speaker is placed during the whole ceremony? We'll have two boys carrying the flags (U.S. and den/pack, depending on where we're doing it), and a third doing the speaking. Is that boy on the stage, or with the flag presenters? Thanks for the input!

Wonderful. It brings tears to MY eyes. Thank you.

I want my boys to come to YOUR campout! :-)

This song went over well with our group around the campfire last year (have printed copies): *********************************************** (Tune: Take Me Out to the Ball Game) Take me out to the forest. Let me hike in the wild. Show me a skunk and a few bear tracks. I won't care if I never come back. But it's look, look, at your compass. If it rains, then it pours. And it's ouch, slap, sting and you're bit In the great outdoors! *********************************************** Bits and pieces of sports equipment -- a ball, frisbee, badminton rackets... for the in-between times. *********************************************** I read a not-quite-spooky story right before bed (try your library for something -- "Scary stories for Sleepovers is a popular series), and that was a nice bridge to bedtime. Have fun!

Hi, Just thinking ahead to the next level. I'm reading differing info on when to choose a patrol patch - some sources say 1st year, others say 2nd. What has everyone else been doing? (I know that we still call ourselves a "den", despite the fact we'll wear a patch). And do the leaders wear the patch as well? Many thanks!

The wooden knife is a good suggestion, and one that I learned about in the seminar I took through our council. I'll start the boys with that in the first meeting, then we'll work up.

Thanks again, Eagle92, your reply was fine. I appreciate the input. Thanks, too, Joe Bob. I ended up choosing one from the Scout shop for my son, and checking out some other sporting stores that also had good choices so I can give a list of suggestions to my parents. It should make for an exciting few den meetings in the new year ;-)

Thanks Eagle92. It's an interesting point you bring up about the locking mechanism. Our council seems to go the other way and recommend non-locking knives, saying that if the Scout has to struggle to undo the lock, he may wind up hurting himself. Oh, the choices!

Hi, I'll be working on this with Bears next month, and need to advise parents on what to buy. At the seminar I took through our council, I was told knives in their case should not be longer than the width of the scout's hand. I'm looking for input on what you have used/seen used. Any thoughts on: -a standard Swiss army knife? -knives from the Scout shop? (I'm going there to look today. I see online they have something called the Cub Scout Pal). Any other useful tidbits are appreciated, too! Many thanks!

I'm a Bear leader. In Tigers, the handbook suggests 2 meetings a month. When we moved to Wolves, I kept this schedule out of consideration for all the other activities my boys are involved with, despite the handbook suggestion that meetings become weekly (!). Now that we're Bears, I have been considering upping it to three dens a month (our den meetings are one hour, in the evening), but part of me is hesitant to do this --the whole "overscheduling our kids" thought . I know the handbook says a meeting a week, but I noticed Fast Tracks is set up for 2 meetings a month (though as people have mentioned, those 2 meetings become very achievement-driven, cutting out the "fun" stuff). What are other people doing? Our group meets throughout the summer, so we do get that extra time to get the achievements done, and we always have a monthly pack meeting. How about when we become Webelos next year? Does that HAVE to be weekly? Thanks for your thoughts.