Bookemdano

Forgot to add that we had a knight's obstacle challenge course set up also.  Had to ride stick horse, lance thru moving hoop.  Big ball (cannon ball) thrown at "castle walls" to knock em down.  I don't know where they got it, but they had to use their swords to slay a big inflatable dragon.  They had a blast with it.

We had a Knight theme for our Day Camps last year in the area.  Here's some ideas of stuff that our kiddos made

Sword - grab some PVC and Pool Noodles, the noodles slip on the pvc easy enough.  Put a joint at the end for a handle

Shield - our guys had already cut and put handles on, but they were made out of the lite wood house siding.  They had 4 cardboard templates and we just spray thems on the wood.  The kids could then color or decorate em however

Helmet - Big KFC bucket painted white (or whatever you'd want)  Cut a hole for the eyes and let em decorate all the want

Tunic - Pillow cases that we cut a head and arm holes in, go to town with a marker

They also made small catapults from plastic spoon and wood sticks

Hope this helps!

If your school has a morning meeting, take a box or 2 of donuts with your contact info and some Scout info on them. See if you can talk to the teachers/principal and let them know what you are all about. Everyone loves donuts and might give you the time of day if you give them some sugary goodness.

Ask if you can put up a display at lunch time in the cafeteria area. If they'll let you, set up a table with a display of pics taken at different outdoor events that show the fun stuff your troop does. Maybe see if your council office has some freebies to leave on the table like pens/pencils, neck lanyards, and etc. Get or make some flyers with your meeting date/time and place and leave a few on the table. Walk around the area and see if you can see anyone that might enjoy Scouts and just talk. Some kids will talk, others will laugh at you just be prepared for it.

Some kids just may need a little info to get them the push they need to sign up. Have a prospect night where your other Scouts can show some meritbadge stuff and maybe a small cookout.

Might work, might not. That's some of the stuff I did as a military recruiter during HS visits.

You could also look into doing a Cubmobile race. Even though we had some epic crashes the boys had a great time. Just make sure you have some helmets for them.

To add onto the Star Wars type theme...you can always look up the local 501st, Rebel Legion and Mandalorian Mercs. They are Star Wars costumers that do charity events.

One space daycamp we did our director got some pvc pipe, t fittings, and the pool noodles and made lightsabers out of em.

Try this website for the tracking sheets

Our number were fairly close to last year for most of the kids. Mine almost doubled what he did last year. Overall our Cubs sold about $200 short of what we did last year. SM said he couldn't get most of his boys to go out and sell. He had a couple that really stepped up tho. Mine sold more as a Bear (he went and got all the sales, I didn't do it for him) than most of the Scout boys this year.

Not everyone is on facebook. Or they are, but never post pictures of their children. It is a sensitive subject. I would ask the parents for permission before posting photos on facebook.

I could use some advice.

I have a parent who took almost all our pictures at our Cubmobile race today. I asked her if she could upload them to our Pack's Facebook. She asked me if we needed to do a media (or like a modeling) release for the kids. We have NEVER had to do this in the past and I don't know if anyone else has had to deal with this issue. She also said that her kid doesn't want his picture on FB. I have no problem with not putting a picture of him online but I don't think its fair to tell other parents they can't put a picture of their kid online just because hers is in the background or its a group shot.

We don't award the BL again. They redo the requirements as Webelos. I try to see if we can get the pin.

Last year we had 4 Tigers sign up, this year 8. We lost a Wolf and 2 Bears that we had last year. My overall numbers are down because I'm really low on Webelos this year since we had boys bridge over.

Many people have different reasons and some are just going to be because they don't like someone or something they did, its just going to happen. You might be able to get some to return an e-mail if they are interested or not. Some may even tell you why they quit. Just make it an invitation to try out Scouting again. Invite them for like a welcome back to the program and try to introduce the leaders to them especially if they are new. Make it a fun day if you can with games for the kids. A slide show with what you did in the past year may be a little bit better to show the kids and parents why they should come back.

You may also offer to meet the families to talk to them one on one. Sometimes that little extra will show them that you care enough and may make you look a little better in their eyes.

Many people have different reasons and some are just going to be because they don't like someone or something they did, its just going to happen. You might be able to get some to return an e-mail if they are interested or not. Some may even tell you why they quit. Just make it an invitation to try out Scouting again. Invite them for like a welcome back to the program and try to introduce the leaders to them especially if they are new. Make it a fun day if you can with games for the kids. A slide show with what you did in the past year may be a little bit better to show the kids and parents why they should come back.

You may also offer to meet the families to talk to them one on one. Sometimes that little extra will show them that you care enough and may make you look a little better in their eyes.

Girl Scout cookies. yum.

I live in a smaller area and thankfully our local school lets us use a bus for our Cub Scout trip every year. We have to provide a licensed driver (thankfully my dad is a teacher AND a bus driver for the school) and pay for fuel.

Leader turnover is a sad fact of life in Troops and Packs, and sometimes it can happen faster than we like. I can certainly appreciate your respect for the heritage of a 25-year old unit, and your desire to keep it going! Good for you! Some would shun the idea of heritage and label traditions as "tacky," etc. I would have that parent meeting before your recruitment and present the following as an option: Keep after your DE to find another CO in or near your town. Try American Legion/VFW/Other Veterans' organizations (They LOVE Scouts!). Volunteer Fire Departments, ALL civic organizations, yes, even the Garden Club. Even if they are unable to provide a meeting space, maybe they can help arrange one at another location in exchange for a little service time from the Pack (tidying up the grounds, etc.) and perhaps an annual donation to help with the heating/lighting costs. (Never, ever "pay rent"!) My American Legion sponsored Pack has a similar arrangement with a local church hall due to space limitations in the Legion building. BUT...leave it to your DE to approach these folks--he/she is trained in pitching new potential COs! If he/she secures a new CO for you, it's just a matter of transition from that point forward. You can keep the same pack number, your funds and equipment and leadership if the new CO chooses. (And why wouldn't they? It's a lot less work for them with everything in place already!) You'll be off the hook as IH/COR, and know you've done a "job well done" leaving a heritage Pack in good shape. I think deep down, you want to save this pack, and I'm certain your DE does too!

 

From what I understand, your recharter happens in December, so the clock is ticking, but it's entirely possible to do this!

 

Just my $.03 (I rambled too long for just $.02)

 

-Frank

I started a little late in my planning phase but I tried to do at least an elective or two every meeting that I had and would try to do a sports belt loop at kind of an impromptu pack meeting. As a pack we played a game of flag football. The pins don't have to be a "gimme". The belts are enough of that, make em earn the pins.

I also went thru the book with the boys (Wolves this past year) and asked them what sounded like a fun thing to do. Sometimes it was fun and other times not so much, but the boys got to tell me what they wanted to do and I just helped plan the meeting. My main calender was written out for the year (it changed every now and then) but my parents had an idea of what/when I was doing and could plan to help out the kids if they needed.

If you are looking for a Sci-fi type theme, you could always look up the 501st Legion. They are a world wide screen accurate Star Wars costume group. They love doing stuff like that for kids.

Do a recruitment event and invite the community. You could try to show a video or slide show of what past scouts have done so they can see what their friends did. Set up a little obstacle course and top 3 times get a prize. If they bring a friend that signs up, put em in a drawing for a gift certificate. I would imagine if you tell the business what its for they may even give the cert. for free.

My wife just basically did hers at the end of the school year in conjunction with a pool party.

I had about 50% attendance in my den when I had meetings on Sundays. I moved it to a Monday after school and went to almost 100%. Not sure why because no parent ever complained or anything like that.

I personally have used the activities out of the BL magazine at a camp out we did. The boys had fun with it and I've found a couple other things I'd like to try to make.

My son loves getting them in the mail and will read em a few times. His older sister will even steal em to read.

Our Pack includes subscription in the dues. We have one family that got 4 BL and a Scouter mag in the mail in one day.

I've never been an outdoorsy person myself, but my son decided he wanted to do Cub Scouts as soon as he was able to. He's in his 2nd year and now I'm a DL for Wolves and Bears here. We had a campout set up on a day where we had a sporting event and he decided he wanted to go camping more than sports. Heck on the way there he told me that he wants to go canoeing. I've never done it and now wish I would have done Scouts when I was younger so I could help him out even more.