SMT224

As a Scoutmaster, I am always happy when a parent of a new Scout steps forward and offers to help out with the Troop. Some decide to get trained and become an Assistant Scoutmaster or join the Committee. However several are not able to make that commitment, but can help out in other ways, such as driving Scouts to the weekend camping spot on Friday night and then coming back on Sunday morning to drive them back. We have a dad that does repair and maintenance on our Troop tents. A mom keeps track of our previously worn uniforms and helps new parents get their son in a uniform. Another

Just back from our Troop weekend camping trip with the Webelos. Each Patrol in the Troop had developed an afternoon program to teach the Webelos Scout skills and then play games with them. One of the skills the Scouts taught was knot tying. Each Patrol took on 2-3 of the 7 Scout knots. Here were guys relearning those knot they had demonstrated for rank advancement (and then forgotten) with a very serious attitude, as they now had to teach those knots! We helped them as much as they needed in the relearning phase, but stood far back when they did the teaching. They took their task

As much as I like campfires, a fire ban is a fire ban. Although candles are usually allowed. If this is the case, the Dens in your Pack could gather in separate little groups and give each Cub a candle. Then everyone could come together as a Pack and put all the candles on a platform or table. This would really show how brightly the Pack can shine when they get together!

I've found the most effective way to deal with any issue at the Troop level is though the Scout Leaders - SPL & PL's. If I had noted such a theft, I would immediately talk to the SPL and let him have a meetings with the PL's, who would then talk to the Scouts in their Patrol. My message would be: 1) The sodas are gone. 2) I don't know what could have happened to them. 3) Because the sodas are gone, we will not be able to have cake. 4) Scouts are bound to the Scout Law and therefore need to know and understand they are not allowed to touch anything that does not belong to them, whethe

Just back from a camping trip, last night sitting around a medium-small fire at 34F. It rained twice on Saturday, but we nevertheless found a abundance of dead and dry wood near the campsite - far more than we could use. As we stared into the flames & glowing embers, we discussed the alternatives presented here - a candle, LED in water, no fire - and none could do what that fire did for us. Not only were we were warmed, but the fire provided a focal point for our little group. It also cooked our dinner and our cake. Alternatives? No, there is nothing that could have done wh

Hey Beaver - We have a campfire nearly every camping trip, but do not keep it going all the time. We usually have a small/medium sized fire in the morning, especially if it's cold or cool. Depending on the Saturday activity and how early we need to head out, Scouts may or may not cook breakfast over (or in) the fire. The fire is completely extinguished after breakfast and before we leave camp unless on the rare occasion someone is hanging around the campsite for the day. The next time we get a fire going is late afternoon or early evening, and the Scouts make a larger fire for coo

With the loss of the campfire, so goes the ashes ceremony...

Luckily for us we are in a pretty wet area. Nevertheless, we have experienced 2 fire bans over the past 10 years. Both times the Scouts were restless and inclined to mischief. A fire really seems to focus them and keep them in one place and for the most part out of trouble. Not sure if the water LED or a candle could replicate that focus...

I really don't see and LED having the magic of a flame. How about a candle? Or several candles? Or are those banned too?

We often camp in areas with a significant amount of dead fall. I see a well done and controlled Scout campfire as a public service to reduce dead fall (potential fuel for a forest fire) near populated areas. In some areas, not all, this rabid "fire is bad" results in nothing more than an increase dead fall and therefore an increase in fire danger. IMHO that is. And yes, there are those who will point out that the particulate matter in smoke of a campfire is a problem, but how about a forest fire for particulates??!! But back to my original rant... if the trend is less or no open f

Well, we are clearly one backward Troop! We have a sizable fire on every camping trip, Patrols all have their own Dutch oven and do almost all of their cooking in it (as do the adults), and come home with the most delightful bouquet! And yes, starting a fire is a big deal as matches are never allowed.

I guess this is another reason I prefer (not require) hiking mb hikes be part of a Troop activity. If everyone is on the hike, everyone gets through it. Left on their own, some Scouts may not have had the motivation to complete the hike. Our March camping trip included a 14 mile 2,700 elevation change hike, and although it took all day, everyone did it! We had lunch on top, lots of breaks, and made sure everyone had plenty of water and drank it. On the other hand, we were 2.5 miles into a 10 mile hike last June, and it became obvious that some Scouts had not brought enough wate

singlemom - Thanks so much for coming back and posting again. It is clear that you very much need to be listened to and need to be heard. This was clearly a very difficult time. I've been a leader in Scouting for over 15 years, and a Scoutmaster for more than 10 years. In that time I've seen all kinds of things, the vast majority of it very positive. But sometimes negatives occur too. We deal with these quickly and transparently. If the action falls outside the Scout Law, then it must be dealt with immediately. If there were a Scout in our Troop that outright beat up a yo

Old - 2nd Class requirement 2g - On one campout, plan and cook over an open fire one hot breakfast or lunch for yourself... New - 2nd Class requirement 3g - On one campout, plan and cook one hot breakfast or lunch... What happened to the open fire?? And do they now not have to eat it? And while I'm ranting, why in the new requirement 3f do they not need to light the fire? Apparently they do not need to light the stove either? What, are we afraid someone might get a burn? How else do you learn?

"...singlemom's only solution is to move on to some other activity for her son..." I completely disagree! Such nonsense only propagates the OP notion that all of Scouting is lousy nothing but a "Mens Club" where boys are beaten on a regular basis. For this particular boys self esteem alone, he would be far better off to either go back to the Troop and stand up for himself, or find another Troop. It may be that he would be welcomed back to the Troop and may even become good friends with the boy he got in a fight with! It happens!! But if he walks away now, what pattern does th

singlemom - As a Scoutmaster in a Troop with several boys with single moms, I am sorry to hear of you son's very crummy introduction to the Boy Scouts. As your message implies, you could very well run away and never have anything to do with Scouting again. I can see how tempting that is. It sounds like you are convinced that what happened to your son will happen to all boys with a single mom, so therefore none should join the Boy Scouts. If you've read the other responses to your post, I'm sure you know how wrong that is. I can certainly say that boys in our Troop who have a

They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned... but I'd recommend staying out of the way of a mom driven to see her son make Eagle. Little remains in the carnage of her wake... and sadly truth can be one of the first casualties!

I would be much more comfortable to have the hikes be part of a Troop activity. The problem with having the kid just walk around on his own or with mom and dad, is how do you know he actually did all 5 10-milers and then the 20-miler?

We integrate 5 10-mile hikes into our annual camping trips and do a 20-miler every other year. We have quite a few Scouts that get the Hiking mb as we are doing the hikes anyway.

We have 7 Webelos crossing over in April. They will be joining two established Patrols - 3 will join the Dragons, 4 will join the Cobras. Who decides who goes in which Patrol? Not the Scouts, Leaders, or Parents. The Sorting Hat decides. The Sorting Hat was instituted and became popular back in the days of the first couple books of Harry Potter, and has now become an established part of the Troop culture. At their first Troop meeting, I'll put 7 slips of paper in the hat, 3 labeled Dragon & 4 labeled Cobra. The Scouts come forward before the Troop, a slip is pulled f

I have two sleeping bags. A winter bag, rated to -20F and a summer bag that's good for temps above 50F. I usually take the summer bag May to September, and the winter bag October to April. But that will vary depending on temps. I find it's better to have the winter bag open or sleep on top if the night is warm than to sleep cold in the summer bag. I sleep much better warm than cold!

I guess I'm really not trying to make access a huge deal and get all hyper about it, I just would prefer to limit access to the Troop, and not do a wide broadcast of the photos. Limited access appears to be completely opposite of what many of the web photo sharing sites want to do - that is to share widely! I appreciate the info provided here, and am leaning toward Photo Bucket, although Picasa is interesting as well.

I can remember going hiking and backpacking with my buddies when I was in high school without any real plan. We'd just head out and go where we felt like it. We see a mountain that we hadn't climbed, and we do it. We'd get on top and maybe see a lake off in the distance and go there. We stay for a while if we could catch fish, if not, we'd go somewhere else. We explored, and it was really fun. We'd finally head home when we ran out of food. The idea of such an outing today is outrageous! We file a hike plan and follow it. We let someone know where we are going and when we expect t

Thanks for the info. I guess I envision on-line photo access for the Troop -- Scouts and their families and Scouters. I really do not want anyone else to have access to the photos. I do not care if those who have access copy or save the photos, in fact it's fine if they do. Myself and other adults take lot's of digital photos on outings and at Troop events. I would like the Troop, especially the Scouts and their families to be able to see these photos.

Does anyone share photos of Troop events & activities on the internet? If so, how? I've been looking at Flickr, but wonder if I can control access to Troop members only. Are there better ways to securely share photos? Thanks!