SSScout

Whew! Hot and Humid, but no rain, lots of smiling Cubs. I was the Scout Skills fella, me and three Good Scouts. And about 20 Cubs every fifty minutes..... Flags, knots, ropes, maps, compasses, Left no Trace, Rescue Roping.... But has anyone else out there noticed that the younger Cubs (Tiger, Wolf, ) have a hard time manipulating things? Left over right, right over left... over and under... holding the hand palm down or palm up.... I mean more than one might think was expected... Almost without exception, they are all eager to accomplish the task (fold the flag, tie the square knot) but find it hard to follow the directions. Sure, some are more adept than others, but in talking with other Scouters here, it just seems that the 7 year old of today is less , what, ?handy? than in days before. The skill does come (will it be remembered next week?) but I marveled at the difficulty some Cubs (alot!) had in following the directions, even when I stood right next to them and modeled it (" does THAT knot look like THIS?") and even when I took their hand and turned it the proper way to hold the rope coil ("palm up, BIG LOOPS...") it was still hard for them to copy the motion. Yeah, some of them were "challenged", I could see that in some cases, and in talking with their Den Walkers, but even so, the "average" young Cub just seemed, un-handy... Thoughts? PS: I did receive many comps from the DWs about how I "connected" with the boys, so it ain't as though I was a task master.

Thank you, very much. YiS

"Walk like an Egyptian" on the PA periodically. Pile up straw bales for pyramids and climbing. (straw is cheaper than hay). "How'd the GS get down the Nile? She Pharoahed, Pharoahed, Pharoahed her boat..." Check out the hyroglyfics (sp) web sites for ancient Egyptian writing projects. Metropolitan Museum had/has kid Egyptian craft ideas (did 3 years ago when we had this theme). Wrap someone up in mucho TP for mummification. Have fun...

Thanks for restarting this thread. Proper uniform is important to me. The WHOLE uni is sometimes overwhelming. I invited an adult non Scout friend of mine to one of our Troop meetings (Troop CoH and picnic), and he reminded me that on a previous occassion I had called his Hawaiian shirt "garish" ( I also told him I liked it), and then he gestured toward my uni and said "now THERE"S garish for you!" I took his good natured jibe and smiled. We talked about the uniform's purpose and he smiled and said he knew all that, but it wasn't for everyday wear, was it? Making the Scout aware of the uni's purpose and importance is important, but as been said, it is only one of the methods. As our society has become more complex, more advanced (?), more rich (?), perhaps fancy clothes tend to become more important than they should be. Remember that 'in the beginning', a Scout was ENCOURAGED if not REQUIRED to earn the money to buy his own uni. In many countries around the world, if the Scout has anything that visually sets him apart, it will be a neckerchief and perhaps a particular Tshirt. It is the activities and skills and attitude that should really set the Scout apart from his peers, not just his clothing. Neatly uniformed Unit? By all means, Encourage pride in dress , but make sure the reason behind that pride matches the symbolism in the uniform.

A suggestion from personal experience: Go to your local craft store ( or maybe even the CVS or Rite Aid) and look for twisty shoe laces. They come in multi colors and work like a charm. Slip one on the plastic holder. Award the bead then and there by stretching the lace out, slip the bead on, and swoop, the lace twists back and the beads don't fall off! Place the beads on evenly, side to side. Comes time to take them off, stretch the lace out and they slide right off. Good for CSDC beads , too. Oriental Trading has'em, among other places. Don't forget to repeat the Cub Scout Mantra... KIS MIF KIS MIF.... *(keep it simple, make it fun) YiS

Well, the story is , as is obvious in another thread, more complicated. Adult medals seem not to be affected. Some awards, in the larger categories, are being redesigned and recast to comply. But some of us smaller categories are affected. Stay tuned.

Just to let you know how things went, we (the Troop) got mucho kudos for our color guard. A Brownie Troop , historic horse and wagons and other community groups followed. At the museum site, a Scout read a short anouncement, and the bugling went well. Did the short version as the flags were posted in the stands. AND,(we were not expecting this) a community band rode in a farm wagon thru the parade and when they reached the museum grounds, they played the National Anthem. A fun time was had by all. Much watermelon, strawberries and burgers and BBQ were consumed.

Three true stories::: I am working as the "closer" at my transit service. I sign the last drivers in (1am) and put everything away and lock the doors. 10:30pm, I get a call on the "private" line (still don't know how they got it). Lady wants to know some transit travel info, how to get from here to there. I start to oblige, then ask, "Why are you going there?" She says, "Oh, it's not for me, my son is taking a special advanced XYZ class at the college tomorrow, and I'm calling for him". ((!??)) "How old is your son?" "15". "Will you be going with him to the class?" "(laugh) Certainly not!" "Then shouldn't I be speaking with him?" "(silence)" "Ma'am?" "Just a minute (in the back ground) JAKE Come here! This man wants to talk to you!" "Hello?" "Hi. So your taking a class at XYZ tommorrow?" "Yeah" "Do you know how to get there?" "Yeah, I guess so" "Have you been there before?" "No" "Is your mom going with you tomorrow?" "(guffaw) No-o-o-o." " So can I help you with the directions?" "Okay" ...and we had a good conversation after that. Never heard back how the class went. I am a tour guide for American Youth Hostels. We have a teen bike tour leaving to bike around Cape Cod. I get a call about 6pm the night before. Dad wants to know if they can bring the girls bike over to my house and can I check it out. Sure. They arrive, I check it out,adjust this, tighten that, point my finger, speak to the girl (14) and see she really does know a little about biking, but this is the first serious tour she's gone on. Dad asks if she can ride around here to check out my adjustments. I give them directions and the girl rides off, WITH THE DAD FOLLOWING IN HIS CAR. Half an hour later they are back. Dad has a thought, asks, "what happens if it rains?" I say "they get wet". Girl smiles, says she has a poncho. I assure him our tour chaperons are well trained and the tour is well mapped, nice places to stay at night (hold out the brochure). They called a month later and thanked me. About two weeks ago, I announced to the local Scout world that I would counsel a MB. I get a phone call and the lady on the other end announces "my son wants to earn that MB, what's your schedule for classes?" I said it depended on the number of Scouts that want to earn it. Was she going to work on it, or her son? She said "(giggle) no, I don't think I will". "Well then, don't you think your Scout should be calling me? I'll be glad to arrange things with him." That caught her off guard. "I'll tell him, and he will call you." Haven't heard back yet.

We have just been informed that PRAY will no longer administer our religious award medals because the CPSC now requires that all children's jewelry be tested for lead and meet the new lead free (low value) test. They cite real high costs and hassles. This will affect all other faith medals as well, and by implication ANY metallic jewelry like item hung on a child must meet the same requrements. http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/pbjeweltest.pdf http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml05/05097.html "Child" appears to be defined as age 12 and younger, but even so... Any thing else out there? We may go to (shudder) aluminized Eagle awards?

G2SS are/is guidelines/rules. As in all things, the rules/guidlines for my family may not be the same as my neighbors'. Like many on this forum (and elsewhere in Scoutworld), I played soldier and cowboys and indians. Hoppalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers and John Wayne were often on our TV (and Dave Garroway. Dates me, I guess). Good guys catch and kill bad guys. I "died" my share on the playground. But this is a different time. When I teach Archery at CSDC, I make sure the boys realize that I want them to have fun and they can get great satisfaction in mastering the bow, but to also realize the responsibility they have to use the bow correctly. Serious business. Toy guns DO look like REAL guns, even if they are painted orange. They are made to look real. Some less then fortunate children have taken up the REAL gun and used it as a toy without (I think) realizing the reality of their actions. Families grieve accordingly. I pray your Scouts and children are not ever in that group. The Lazertag and paintball games are INTENDED to be as real (even when they are not) as possible WITHOUT ACTUALLY KILLING YOUR ""ENEMY"". It is INTENDED to be emotional, as emotional as the real thing. The participants play at killing, even if the players or game promoters protest to the contrary. The same is true with egames like 'Public Enemy' and 'Full Metal Jacket' and 'Grand Theft Auto'. To win at the defined game, one must kill and steal and lie. These "games" do not practice the skills and do not promote the goals I want for my family. Scouting does. These games do not. Can you improve your hand-eye coordination, teamwork, judgement, cooperation, and strength and stamina without using a goal of trying to kill someone? I say yes. When my son or his Scout buddies talk about such things, I engage them and get them to see the other possibilities. Some time back, I related the story of my encounter with a toy gun. It was a nice cool fall day and I was on my motorcycle, coming around a left sweeper, when I looked up to my right to see a person aiming a rifle at me from the top of an embankment. I nearly laid it down right there, but I had presence of mind to keep it up, come around and turn up the driveway I had just passed. I found a 10 or 11 year old boy, holding a very realistic looking TOY gun. I whipped off my helmet and told him, in no uncertain terms, that if I was anyone else, he'd be on the ground, that gun would be in pieces, and I'd be talking to his parents. "It's only a toy, mister!", he said. I told him I didn't know that, that he nearly caused me to have an accident and hurt me by his actions , even tho it was "only a toy" and he should NEVER point ANY gun, toy or real, at any living thing again... I rode off. I hope I scared him a little. He should be about 40 years old now... It is a differnt time. We cannot allow our children to consider the idea that it is FUN to needlessly cause injury to ANY living thing without challenge. That said, my son has earned the Shotgun MB and Riflery MB is on the horizon. I want him to be knowledgeable but to realize the purpose of these weapons lies in his heart. Liz?

Kudu: Thank you! I agree, card trading ain't the wide game I know. "Capture the Flag" The usual, played with a 'flag', a 'jail', a defined area, and teams. "Jugs" Like CtF, but with a 'Pantry' of water filled gallon jugs (any number) for each team to retrieve and carry to their pantry. Tagged opponants must SIT where they are tagged and wait to be rescued by their own team members. Tagged jugs are carried back to team pantry. Winning team has collected all the jugs. "Jail Break" Police and crooks, police tag crooks and send them to any of several jails, crooks tag prisoners and they must escape holding hands, running together. Police can retag crook train. Tag head of train, ALL go back to jail. Tag one, everyone behind him goes back. " Steal the Bacon" Adjusted rules to accommodate a much larger playing area. Caller calls out single or numerous opponants to StB. "All First Class Scouts. GO!" "Anyone born in JANUARY! GO!" " If your name begins with T", etc. Bacon may not be in the same place as before, but must be placed in plain sight. "Amoeba" In a strictly defined area, "IT" tags whomever he can, and they hold hands and try to collect everyone else. Either IT or the amoeba can tag others. Last one remaining is winner.

I need some opinions... Our Troop has been asked to "color guard" the flags in a parade for our local museum. The parade terminates at the museum, natch, but there is no flag pole at the museum. What they want us to do, is , with appropriate ceremony, place the flag poles (US and State) in stands at the band stand on the museum grounds, where there will be a festival thru the day. Note: the band stand will be used by several acts, and there is no plan for a 'band' to play the Star Spangled Banner at the flag placement. Question 1: would it be appropriate to bugle "Call to the Colors" as the flags are dropped in the flag stands? All 45 seconds of it ? a shortened version? Or only do the commands to the color guard and salute the flags and PoA as usual in a meeting? Question 2: There is no "official" closing for the festival, so we anticipate just waiting for the museum folks to say "g'bye" and then we retrieve the flags and go home. Thots?

LSMFT = Little Scouts Make Fine Tigers MiFKiS (Cub Scout Mantra) Make it Fun, Keep it Simple.

Here comes the email from our CSDC PDirector: listing supplies he is ordering... "4 - 40 lb bags landscaping river rocks" and then the yellow paint that will be used to make them highly visable . They have to be collected so they can be used again. Targets, range defined and roped off, proper backstop, it will alternate days with slingshot. Archery all days. Should be fun...

Fellas, the trend is there. If we forbid rock throwing as a safety issue, then why not make it a CONTROLED activity? "A new area introduced in 2007 for Cub Scouts only. Scouts throw rocks in our specified rock throwing range at a variety of targets and are overseen by a trained range official." ((quote from a CSDC brochure)) Just a coupla Councils that list RT as a CSDC activity . NB:: It is always listed as a "CS ONLY" activity! Great Rivers, Pittsburgh Area, Patriots Path. Blackhawk Area, NCAC.... Love the rock skipping... My record is 11. Too bad you can't go out and get the good skippers back (or can you?)

I like twocubdads idea, it agrees with what I do at CSDC. I first set up aseries of maps I've collected from various sources and show how maps are a SMALL representation of the real world. I start with a map of the universe(!) I got from National Geagraphic. This connects to (shoop!) a map of the solar system (Mars! Earth! Jupiter!) which connects to (shooop) a world globe,and here's North America and the (Ta Da!) U S of A! but globes don't fit very well in the pocket, soooo... we invented a way to FLATTEN the curved Earth and (shooop) here's a map of the world! Let's see now, can we find the U S of A? Aha! And here's where Maryland is . Let's enlarge the little Maryland so we can look at it (SHOOOP!) Okay, who knows what THIS part is? Right! the blue is water, ....on down to the location of our CSDC. The park service gave us a couple hundred maps of the park, nice location sites, trails, map symbols, the Map Key, Scale. we orient that (SHOOOP!) to see where we are. "Okay, when I count three, I want everybody to point NORTH. ONETWOTHREE!" Talk about agreement about which way to go. We give out small working compasses (about a buck a piece from Oriental Trading. Yes there will be some defectives, order extras ) which are ok for whetting the whistle and mini treks around the camp. We divide each Den into smaller groups and go for a mini trek. Go due EAST twenty paces, then due South twenty paces (gotta talk about paces!) then due WEST twenty paces, then due NORTH twenty paces, where are you? Tigers experiment, play with the magnetic qualities. Webelos take it more seriously and we talk about better compasses, and declination. For the BL, the CSs need to do more, but we give them the basics and they can go home with the knowledge. KiS MiF

Did they sell'em to him for the price THEN, or the price NOW? We had an old time hardware store nearby that would price the goods and that was the price until they sold the item. Old lantern chimneys, grass scythe, mower parts for the 1947 Troybilt, if they had it still and you needed it, that was the price.

In our area, model rocketry CAN be considered "fireworks". Depends on the venue and situation. AND on the consequences of the model rocketry. If, for instance, you launch a MR (powered by an explosive motor, like Estes type, on a sufficiently large property and it lands in the property, no problem. BUT, if it lands on someone else's property, it could be treated as an illegal firework. ($$$$ liability!). That's page 32 in my G2SS. Not to be done at any of the public parks round about. But this year, our CSDC is to be held on an IWL property, and a MRClub will be doing a demo. All cleared by the Council, the IWL, and the county firemarshal.

Gee, my Buster Browns were handed down to another Cub when I outgrew'em. Mom got me another pair ("my dog Tige in the heel!") . How in the world did a Scout shoe survive in new condition? Were these "collector" items to begin with?(This message has been edited by SSScout)

Okay! Cub Scouts have a new projectile to gain proficiency with... ROCKS! Just learned that this new "range" sport has been active at several Council camps and will be offered at our CSDC next month! Cub Scout Rock Throwing (at targets!)! BB Range Officer is appropriate, so I am told. What say ye all?

The Shooting Sports Director is the fellow in charge of a Scout Summer Camp Shooting Sports Program, that is to say, all of them. Gotta have the Camp School Course. The Range Master (or Range Officer, I've seen both terms used interchangeably) is in charge of the particular Shooting Sport: archery, BBs, Slingshot, .22s, etc. At CSDC (at least in our Council), the RM is in charge of the particular Sport. It is an adult. No RM on site, no archery, etc. He/she can have many jr. assistants (Scouts), and adult assistants but only one Boss RM at a time. Need a seperate RM for each SSport, each range. Scout assistants DO NOT run the range. He/she is in charge of layout, setup, running, opening, closing, approving the awarding of the Beltloops and pins ( the Packs do the awarding!) and safety and discipline on the range. The SSports course for RM is given by Council and overseen by the Program Director, who usually looks for a SSD with certification from a larger group, NRA, NAAR, IWL, etc. to do the class to BSA spec. Use to be an Archery RM, haven't been retrained in years. Lotta fun, but alotta work and you got to be on your toes with them Cubs. Especially the "challenged" Cubs, another topic...(This message has been edited by SSScout)

Hey, Hal, What a comment that would make about BSA's commitment to Urban Scouting. And minority outreach. What was that discussion awhile ago about our newest Chief Executive's view on what Scouts are interested in?

The large scale of the NatJam is one of it's attractions. But, a point well taken. Perhaps we could take a suggestion from Scouts Canada, which have more regional Jamborees. The eastern one is 5 August in Camp Samac, NE of Toronto. See www.ccjam09.com

I know, let's require Scouts to be able to tie certain knots... and hike , oh, say, 50 miles total in two years time, and ummm, maybe know how to treat wounds and accidents... and perhaps be able to find their way with a map and a compass. Hey, and be able to signal a message to someone a far distance away, say, without batteries... Just a thought...

Wash foot, dry thoroughly, place DT over plantar wart. Replace and repeat about every three days. Wart dissapears in a month or less. Place gauze over wound, DT strip over it. Water proof. Stays there until you get home. DO NOT use DT for wrapping package. Post Office will reject it, as it will peel off in their machines. Double it over, place inside Scout hat, place Scout hat on gorilla costume, worn by Scout in parade (and necker and large Scout shirt). Scout gets hugs by every teen girl along the route. Place INSIDE bike tire, to reinforce torn tire and protect tube to get home. Red Green, Red Green. "we're all in this together"