Tami the Mom

Our pack and troop share the same number, but different CO's. We're close only because we are the only units in our town. The Boy Scouts often come to CS events- B&G, Crossover, but lots of times it's only the SM, and not even his sons, who are scouts. We're trying to forge a better relationship with them, but we often feel like they don't want to waste their time with us little kids. I would say you should absolutely try to form a good relationship with them. Better to start off on a good footing than try to fix hard feelings later.

With 2 kids going in to 6th grade, one in Boy Scouts, one in Girl Scouts, all I can add to this thread is that I pay the same amount for registration- $10 per year, and about the same amount on camps, uniforms, and activities for both. Much of my son's expenses are comped by the Troop's sponsor. I would wonder how much money is invisible on the national register for Girl Scouts. We raise money as an individual troop. We sell cookies the same as everyone else, but we can also do a dozen other fundraisers that keeps our money within our troop. We buy our own supplies and such. Maybe that e

(This message has been edited by Tami the Mom)

If he fills up the whole sash, when you want to display them later, I would rip out the shoulder seam and lay in out like a V. He sounds pretty motivated! Great for him, and you!

We got our son the tan shirt for Christmas just before he went on to Boy Scouts. We bought it a size bigger than he needs just yet so that he won't need another new one next year. He's going to wear this one until he can't buttin the buttons anymore! Luckily he has a younger cousin who should grow into it about the same time he grows out of it. Hmmmm....I should have made my sister pay half. Sure, now I think of it.

Sixth grade here is the end of elementary school. Four of the girls are in the same school, one goes to another school. We may end up waiting one more year if we have to, but they really want to go next year. They are hoping to have time for another big trip in a few years.

Ours is set for the second week of school. Last year we got about 20 new boys, but only 7 or 8 of them finished the year. We usually have the Boy Scouts come and play with the boys while we talk to the parents. The big problem we have seen is putting an ending time on our flyers. If we say we'll be there from 5-7, people come in at 6:50, expecting to sign a few papers and skid out of the parkinglot without listening to a word about the program. Then 3 months later they call the CM complaining about things they didn't know were expected of them. So this year we aren't putting a finish tim

My girls are going into 6th grade, they are 10/11 yrs old. I have 5 girls in my troop, so we're planning on taking my van. We just went to JAM camp in June and had a great time. We're pretty excited about Hershey. We like chocolate, so we're pretty motivated!

Has anyone gone to this? We found out about it too late to go this year, but my troop wants to go next year. For 5 girls and 2 adults coming from the NY/VT border, we need to raise about $1500. So, before we go insane trying to raise this money, I was wondering if anyone has done this trip, and was it as much fun as you had hoped? TIA!

My daughter has ODD. Also ADHD, OCD, post-traumatic stress disorder, reactive attachment disorder, and is bi-polar. These are things you cannot *fix*. You can get help with meds and a good counsellor. However, a bad counsellor can set you back years. One thing that helps my daughter stay on task and not get upset is to keep a routine. By letting her know what is going on and what is expected of her, she can move from one activity to another without too much upset. What you describe sounds like a boy who is newly diagnosed and not yet into a therapy/med regimen that works yet. Sendin

I think kicking him out is not the way to go. All you are really teaching the other kids is that if they don't like someone, they can dog him out and set him up so that he gets kicked out. That's loading a powder keg you can't control. Better to sit down with the whole group of them, ADHD kid included, and let them talk it out. Chances are ADHD kid won't say a lot or he will get defensive. Let him know that he can choose to be part of the group, even if it means he has to put every ounce of his focus into cooperating, or he can choose to leave. You said his mother being around only makes

We don't serve a meal at pack meetings. We have snacks on a table, and after the meeting, while the adults are cleaning up and putting chairs back, the kids can munch. We just have a couple of bowls of pretzels and chips, and a jug of juice. If we tried to do a dinner too, we'd end up with nobody staying for the meeting. We have our pack meetings on Wednesdays at 6. There are always people who will complain that it interferes with dinner. These are the same families who can't make it to fundraising DINNERS or to parade float prep at 9am on Saturdays. One excuse or another. You can't make every

That doesn't seem like *helping* to me. Our DE is terrific. I have gotten to work with him pretty closely, and I know that his job hinges on building membership. One pack in our district didn't recharter, so now he has to find 35 new scouts to fill their hole. Now if they get a new CM in January, they now look like a new pack, which is good, but it looks like he still has those 35 seats to fill. Still, going behind your back like she did, it sounds like you have an over-zealous DE on your hands. Has anyone called her and asked her not to do that- that you can't have leadership there, and

As a parent, I could not imagine signing my kids up for scouts and NOT being asked for dues. Money makes the world go around, everybody knows that. However- since you've never asked for money before, you may face some initial resistance. All you have to point out is that your denleaders have been paying for everything, and it's time for that to stop. We charge $35 per year, which covers registration, Boys Life, and helps with expenses. Then we end up doing about 6 fundraisers per year, including popcorn. We make fundraising and dues mandatory, because otherwise, parents just don't bother

How long? - 5 days- 8-4 Monday to Thursday, 9-4 Friday, then a family picnic/BBQ and a campfire program, done by 8pm How much? - $85 if you register early, $95 if you sign up later What act.? - swimming, archery, crafts, games, nature/science, scout skills Lunch provided? - no, but we do provide white and chocolate milk every day, as much as you want. We do 3 weeks of camp, with weeks off between. We had 250 kids this year. On Friday we have archery competitions, this year we did a raingutter regatta, and we send our Webelos across the road to the Boy Scout camp for a tour. We sp

My son just moved up to the Troop in February. Of the few meetings I attended, I would say maybe 70% of the boys were in uniform. The rest were in regular clothes. In our Pack, we encourage all the boys to get a class A shirt, neckerchief, slide and belt. We have seen behavior improve when a boy puts on a nice shirt. We would never refuse a boy to participate in something for lack of the tan shirt, but if we're lining up for pics for the newspaper, the kids with their full uni on get the front row. My son has told me he is proud of the badges and awards he has on his shirt. I like

I've only visited a few times, but I have been involved in Scouting for several years. My daughter is a 3rd year Junior Girl Scout, who already has her Bronze Award. I am her leader. My son is on his way to Tenderfoot, just crossed up to the troop in February. I am still active with the Pack. I also just took on the role of Cub Roundtable Commissioner. I have spent the summer working at CS daycamp, training as a back-up director, and working in the office. We had almost 250 boys over 3 weeks of camp. I'm looking forward to getting and sharing lots of ideas with Scouters from all over.