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Sparkie

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Everything posted by Sparkie

  1. Hi DLW73078, First off, i'm glad your looking at all your options. I used to be a Cubmaster for a pack your size for about 4 years. One item i used quite successfully was "the Wall of Shame".. ok, so i only used that term to myself. I took a large display type poster board that folded in half so i could prop it up on a table (like a book). I made a bunch of fleur de leis with each family name on it. One half of the board was titled something like "Helping the Pack Go!" families fleur de leis who were already helping the pack were placed with their function below their name on that
  2. Welcome to the world of Scouting.... LOTS of gray areas!
  3. At summer camp, we inform the scouts our "official" uniform is a troop t-shirt, and we use the (BSA) salute. However, i'd like to note that if we were at a troop meeting and a scout forgot his scout shirt and wore his t-shirt instead, i would expect him to use "hand over heart" since the t-shirt is not the official uniform of the evening.
  4. Congratualations to your son yarrow! (and to you for surviving the process )
  5. Welcome to the campfire Kurt! It's always nice to see new people Sparkie (your neighbor in Mt. Prospect)
  6. Well sort-of Welcome back Bob White !!! Sparkie(This message has been edited by Sparkie)
  7. Our Council changed the name from Pow-Wow to Scoutfest a couple years ago. I was informed it was due to the fact that "Pow-Wow" referred only to cub scouts (?). So, they changed the name. In addition to the break out sessions, they have all the one-day training classes scouting offers, and there is a midway (of course) for purchasing all sorts of stuff. I also heard they started allowing about 1/2 hour down time around lunch so leaders could socalize. Sparkie
  8. First of all i'd like to welcome you to the forums! glad to have you here. I too think your agenda looks good. Being cubmaster for 6 years i've had my fair share of B&G's. Our B&G is held on a Friday night. Our agenda does not includ a review or announcements. My review is more in the form of thanking all the individuals that ran programs; basically, anyone that volunteered. The only announcements made are for those activities happening prior to the next pack meeting. I guess i have a different take on the B&G. I see it as a social occassion to honor scouting, and a great f
  9. To answer question #1, i would have to ask what shirt they are wearing. The yellow womens shirt may be worn inside or out (notice it's sewn straight across the bottom). The mens tan shirts (with a mens shirt cut on the bottom), in my opinion should ALWAYS be tucked in. Now that's not to say that a women cannot wear the tan shirt, in fact, all the women in my pack wore the tan shirt. JMO Sparkie
  10. Welcome mjengels, glad you found us! You'll be able to get all your questions answered here.... and sometimes get more information than you bargained for!
  11. I would recommend he start out as a Merit Badge counselor... and work from there. Not a whole lot of time committment, but enough to stay connected.
  12. I second that!! Alot of great ideas. Back when i was cubmaster, we would go out after Pack meetings to a local hot dog joint that had a game room for the kids, and they also served beer... for the adults. Since i never had time for dinner, we usually always went there after the meetings to eat... ok, and do a little drinking. A second shirt attire was always necessary. But i started calling it Pub Scouts (instead of Cub Scouts), needless to say i laughed when i saw the Beer MB! Sparkie
  13. When i was Cubmaster we gave them the Super Achiever patch. The first time it happened, I asked the committee to approve giving the scout a brand new Boy Scout handbook (I presented it at our B&G). It wasn't going to break our bank, and i thought it was an appropriate gesture on behalf of the pack. The following year we had 2 scouts accomplish this feat!
  14. Hi Encourager, Okpik is the Inuit (Eskimo) name for the Arctic or snowy owl. It's the BSA's cold-weather camping program started at Northern Tier National Adventure Base in Ely, Minn. Here's a link if interested... www.ntier.org/okpik.html. My significant other is on staff at our council.
  15. Welcome! Alot of us started out the same way Don't expect to know everything at once... it's a process. If you're having fun, and they're having fun, your doing great! It's when all that stops you should worry. I'd like to recommend any training you can get (packs usually pay for it). I've done all training except for Okpik and Woodbadge. Enjoy the scouting trail with your son... you won't regret it!!!
  16. An Astronomy night hike is popular at our Summer Camp. Also, the Rocket Launch... usually held at the end of the week is well attended. And, in my opinion quite amuzing as a spectator .
  17. First, i must admit i was not aware that popcorn is part of Quality District requirement, and I'm the council popcorn chairman. I am happy with any sales a unit does, even $100. Every scout has someone they can sell to, everyone has a family, everyone has one special neighbor. Two items per scout is not an unreasonable request, every little bit helps. Also, it doesn't sound like a crime if $30 of $100 leaves the scouting community... 70% stayed! Since i became popcorn chairman, i find it amazing how many units in my council do not support popcorn, wreaths or FOS, that in my m
  18. SemperParatus, I thought that knot had to come off until they earned their Ad Altari Dei. I realize the religious knot is exactly the same for cub scouts as for boy scouts, but i thought it had to be removed until the boy scout religious award was earned. Yeeesh, and i'm a religious counselor! Isn't the AOL the only cubscout award that can remain on the uniform? Thanks in advance for the clarification! Sparkie
  19. Our Council used the Theme "Knights of the Round Table" one year. At the end of the week, all the scouts were "knighted". Each units leaders were asked for a knight name for each of their scouts near the end of the week. I tried to pick each boys strength that week and tied it into his name. The boys played marbles, chess, made donuts out of biscuits (watch out for peanut allergies!), we had archery, wall climbing, water sports, leatherwork and a "slay the dragon" obstacle course (knock down the dragon with a beanbag, shoot the dragon with a nerf-shooter... ok not so medieval slay the dr
  20. Correct, except the Religious award should be received at a church/temple service. It is the religious knot that is presented at a pack night.
  21. OmegaEagle, I must echo SemperParatus' concerns. Please do not pull him away from his buddies, this is not a contest. Cub scouts should be FUN, if you rush him thru, it will not be fun. Please trust me on this i've seen it happen. Have you asked your son what he wants? Sounds silly, but a great way to open a line of communication. One of my sons is 16 (the other is 12), i constantly had his back covered, i.e. "do you have what you need for the meeting?, did you do this, did you do that?". Unfortunately, all it did was make him more dependent on me. Almost every time he asks me a qu
  22. We've had "Scoutreach" at our council for a couple years (before 2004). It's pretty draining on the funds. I have also been told it teaches nothing about scouting, just kids getting together to play soccer (i.e. theres no camping program). I think this is a great idea if it combines the 2 activities, unfortunately i do not see my council doing this. There are no "troops", they do not get involved with the popcorn sale or other council activities. I think i might educate myself a little more the next time i go to council. I'll let you know more specifics, instead of heresay. YiS
  23. That was a great show Dan! Here's a link for anyone interested: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/
  24. Our family trip this summer was to Mt. Rushmore. The evening lighting ceremony was done by scouts. I can't say for sure if it is done by scouts every night, but for some reason i think it is.
  25. Eamonn, i would venture to say it's a phase. My little twerp turns 16 on the 16th . He is a sophmore, and almost always takes a nap when he gets home from school (and the sleeping 'til noon... ditto). I find it difficult to fault him since he's getting up at 5:30am to catch his bus at 6:30am. I'm just afraid he'll get his days and nights mixed up like when he was a baby. He also spends alot of time in his room (i did too). Don't let it bug you, if this is our biggest complaint about our kids... we got it made!
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