sctmom

Our pack had not done songs in so long that I got a lot of strange looks last night when I said "time to sing". Some of the boys knew Tarzan of the Apes from day camp, so they led that for me. I handed out songsheets and we sang the first 2 verses to Home on the Range. A good song for the boys to be LOUD on!

SMT, Did you not allow siblings on Cub campouts? We not only allow but encourage siblings on Cub campouts. Our Webelos have never camped as a den, but even then I would allow siblings. I've seen siblings as young as toddlers and as old as late teens have a great time on campouts.

Twocubdad, one of the options for Outdoorsman is: 7. Discuss with your Webelos den leader the rules of outdoor safety. Using these rules, show how to build a safe fire and put it out.

I disagree. These are to be done with an ADULT. Tenderfoot is not done with an adult, at least not in the troops I've seen and heard of.

If you look closely you see the requirements are NOT the same as Tenderfoot. The Webelos will do all of this with AN ADULT. The Boy Scout does it with his patrol. A big difference. Also, there are ways to get around the camping. It says to present your self as if going on a campout. Doesn't mean you have to go on the campout. The handbook does make it clear that the camping and hiking done for the Outdoorsman badge do NOT count for the Arrow of Light requirements, you must do a DIFFERENT hike. Glad they made that clear, otherwise changing the Outdoorsman would be useless.

Hopefully parents/leaders have camped before their sons get to be Webelos, at least one starting as Tiger this year. The Wolf and Bear books have been updated to include info about family camping and give the boys some credit for camping and taking part in outdoor activities like campfires. I think that the new requirements should help in the Webelos to Boy Scout transition. The boy can still get his AOL without camping but he can't get AOL without spending A LOT of time outdoors -- hikes, campfires, conservation projects, etc.

I posted a thread under Cub Scouts and one under Advancement about the Webelos handbooks. The Arrow of Light requirements have been beefed some, requiring more outdoor activites, not necessarily camping but at least get them outside. No one has to use the books until August 2005 but our pack is going to start with our new Webelos this fall. What impact do you folks on the troop side think this will have?

Our council shop did not have them. The next council over did. That council also has a National Scout Shop. I went there today, talked to the lady who runs the shop, she used to be a Cub Scout leader. Asked her opinion. She said "if your pack doesn't have their books yet, get the new ones, then if a boy joins later you know he will have the same book". I already had a copy of the Wolf book and the Bear book. Got the Webelos book today. I like it! Just posted a different thread about the changes in the Webelos badge requirements and the Arrow of Light. It has more about the characte

This should be of interest to Scouters of Cubs AND Boys. The new Webelos handbook is out. There are changes to the requirements for the Webelos badge and the Arrow of Light. Existing Webelos do NOT have to go by these requirements. I think the rule is any boy becoming a Webelos AFTER August 1, 2005 has to follow these. Some (not all) Other changes: Webelos Badge requires Fitness and Citizen Activity Badges. Arrow of Light requires Outdoorsman badge. AOL also required doing the Honesty Character Connection (a detailed discussion about promises and honesty). NEW requiremen

This should be of interest to Scouters of Cubs AND Boys. The new Webelos handbook is out. There are changes to the requirements for the Webelos badge and the Arrow of Light. Some (not all) Other changes: Webelos Badge requires Fitness and Citizen Activity Badges. Arrow of Light requires Outdoorsman badge. AOL also required doing the Honesty Character Connection (a detailed discussion about promises and honesty). NEW requirements for Outdoorsman badge: Do 2 of these: 1. Present yourself to your Webelos den leader properly dressed, as you would be for an overnight campout

I never said that the Constitution gave us the right to an education. I do believe that society is better if people are better educated. When I talk about the best education for a child, I don't mean that every parent should dictate each and every moment and detail of what the public school system should provide. With a kid in special ed, I know other special ed parents. Let me tell you some of them are nuts! I know the parents that everyone talks about catering to every whim of their child, the parents who ALWAYS blame the teacher or someone else. I'm sure all of you have met them too..at sch

Not only does each child deserve the best education for him/her, but the law guarantees that! Yes, you have the right to get the best education for YOUR child. That is what Special Education is about. Anyone who has ever attended a Special Education meeting, most likly has been given a list of Parent's rights. One of those rights is that the school must provide the best environment for each child. If you think back to your own education as a youngster, don't you rememember field trips and special projects better than anything else? I do. I remember 6th grade when we did radio plays -- we

You said that one of the boys came up with the idea of doing the Fire Safety MB and that the PLC has already voted on it. Sounds like the committee backs up what the boys say. This sounds reasonable to me. The parents of the new boys need to understand more about how Boy Scouts is run. The father trying to call another PLC needs to back out.

Good Special Ed teachers know this. They have the kids active, let them squirm in their seats. My ADHD son does not do well in the cluster seating. He learned at an early age to ask the teachers to move his desk away from the others, it was distracting for him to be that close to others. Crowded classroom with lots of "stuff" around distract him. Each child learns differently. Standard classrooms and teaching methods do not take that into account. My son is doing better in middle school because he changes classes. As he says "I don't have to sit and listen to the SAME person ALL da

If you can get a microphone, let the boys use it for skits. They all like to talk into a microphone AND everyone can hear them better. Don't be afraid of letting them read the parts to a skit. There are even some skits that don't require talking, maybe a sign or two helps. This is good for a den like I had this past year -- the boys would NOT talk in front of the group for anything! But I didn't give up, the skit for Blue & Gold was a silent skit (I held up a sign with the name of the skit so people would now and one dad did the one speaking part). I also would get them up at the

As a new cubmaster, here's what I'm doing right now. Our pack doesn't sound like it's in the shape yours is in. Some of these things I'm doing because the previous Cubmaster did them and it seemed to work. 1) Pack buys program helps for all leaders. Also, will hand new leaders the Leader handbook the night they sign up. 2) Getting records up to date -- each den handles their own den dues and attendance. We don't do attendance awards or recognition. We don't have pack dues. There are forms in the leader handbook for Class 1 Physical (health forms) and for parent survey forms. You can

My son is ADHD. Was diagnosed at 6 1/2 years old, after a year of testing, counseling, asking, trying all sorts of things. Was put on Adderall. Saw immediate results. We have tried at times to take him off the medicine and things went bad. Teachers said they could tell the moment he walked in that he had not had his medicine. Was he dull? No, just different. Now he only takes the medicine on school days. By 7 or 8 in the evening it is pretty much worn off, but not as bad as if he had no medicine. His grades aren't perfect but he can do his best with the medicine. He does take the me

The requirements are now in the new Cub handbooks.

Thanks for the update. So sad that an adult can act that way and the other adults can't see a problem.

Eaglefoot, can you give us an update? Has more taken place since then? Hope it all works out for the boys to get a good scouting program.

The small cub scout knife at the scout store is a great size and a good price. I noticed that my kid would try to cut things with his knife in such a way that it would close up on him. I know that was not the proper way to cut, but it happens. He prefers his small lockback. They also make a nice knife holder to be worn on a belt. I like that so that you know that kid has his knife and smaller kids have a problem carrying anything in their pockets.

Dsteele, no one in our district had ever heard of that CD until I mentioned it a few months ago. They had NO idea. No room for a pinewood derby track, we are talking over 400 families in the cafeteria in a 2 hour period -- along with school supplies, PTA, etc. I have done this in the past and took a PWD car. I took mine because it was too nerve-racking for my son to have everyone handling his. I'll ask a few parents if we can use their cars to display. I do have a toolbox from last year's Bear den. Might be able to get a bird feeder from last year's Wolf den. Have my son's brag

Everything I've ever seen says a den is 6 to 10 boys. The leader handbook should have some information about that and the why's behind it. Perhaps the dens could split into 2 groups, meet together for an opening ceremony, then divide up for the main activity, then come together for closing cermony/snack time. They could still do things like field trips as one group. It doesn't mean the boys will not get to see their friends ever again.

This is the school's open house, not sign up night for scouts. It's the day everyone shows up to find out who there teacher is and get the list of supplies. There are about 600 kids at the school, K-5th grade. I want to get families invited to the first pack meeting that is before Scout Night. We will have Scout Night later.

School Open House/Registration will be here in a few weeks. I want to have a display to recruit Cubs. Need some ideas. Prefer to NOT be outside because of the heat. I will have one lunchroom table, maybe two, inside the cafeteria along with other displays. I have a display board with some pictures on it. Will have a flyer with short description about Cubs, info about August pack meeting and when is sign up. What else? Display a uniform? Books? PWD car?