dedkad

If and when we do uniform inspections, which isn't very often BTW, I would have all boys wearing a Cub Scout uniform stand up. Then I would start going down the list of required things one by one and ask all the boys to sit down who didn't meet that particular requirement. I would keep going until only 1 or 2 boys were left standing and those boys would get a prize. Even those boys weren't usually in full perfect uniform, but I figured they tried the best out of all of the others, so they deserved a prize.

Our boys ride bikes in our parade, but I always figured if we ever had a float with some walkers, the walkers could each carry a sign depicting one of Cub Scout's 12 Core Values.

Our District has its own tax number that they let the packs use on their bank accounts.

Not defending the Scouts actions in any way, but sometimes when you design and place this type of art, you have to think about the type of interaction the public will have with such a piece. The design looks kind of like something you would see at a playground, and the placement in the middle of turf provides easy access to those who want to touch and climb it. Sounds like the replacement version will be stronger, and hopefully they will plant some plants around it that sends the message to "keep away".

We were also doing Fitness at the same time, and I had something similar in mind. My idea was soundly rejected by the boys.

Showman was the first badge my boys worked on as Webelos. In the spirit of Boy Scouts I gave them the sole responsibility of coming up with their own puppet ideas and play. I did have a few ideas for the play, but mine were all rejected, so I left it up to them. Without my direction, it took 5 meetings to finally put on the play, which is much longer than I had anticipated. It took 2 meetings for them just to decide what they wanted to do, 1 meeting to make the puppets and paint the scenery, 1 meeting to practice the play, and the pack meeting to present it. The boys made giant stick puppets, which were very easy to make, and we painted a sheet purchased at a thrift shop and draped it over a board between two saw horses for our scenery. Their play was Zombie Minecraft Three Little Pigs. They did a great job and their play got lots of laughs at the pack meeting, but it was definitely a time-consuming project. I would do it again, though, because the boys really enjoyed it.

Our City's holiday parade doesn't allow any entrants to pass out candy or trinkets. Probably for this exact reason.

I've seen fake campfire flames on other floats and when done right, they are obvious from the viewer's perspective. Don't know how they did it, just saying it's possible.

Has she looked into 4H? It's not just about animals. Our 4H is even offering rocketry.

Do you put all the colors on there for every boy, even if they didn't start with Tiger?

Our Council just held a one-day zombie-themed day camp. They had a huge turnout with something like 400 boys in attendance. Zombies are big at this age!

We used cheeseball puffs when my Webs built their catapults this year. They were each given 10 cheeseballs to try to launch in their buddy's mouth. Still gets messy, but you can't eat them if they get stepped on because they disintegrate. Also won't make a gummy mess on the ground or shoe if you can't find them to pick them up. Too light to use outside with any wind, though.

Yup, I was thinking the same thing. Don't let politics get in the way of running a great program for your kids. We register the minimum number of committee members to help save on costs. Our treasurer is one of our committee members, so they can be background-checked. The other 2 committee members are usually assistant den leaders by function, but they are committee members by name on the paperwork. "Voting" hasn't been an issue for our pack. We even invite just regular ol' parents to come to the committee meetings and their input is given equal weight with all others. The parent whose input is valued is more likely to get involved next year. Consensus is the way to go, and if it can't be reached, then the ones who are most impacted by the decisions are usually given favor.

NeverAnEagle, everything I have read says the bridge is reserved for Cub Scout to Boy Scout transition. All other ceremonies are rank advancements, not bridging.

So did the rule change, recently.. Too many of you have it in your heads that it's 10 1/2. updated : AKDenleader is having problems sleeping too I guess. I posted something similar on my other thread related to this joining issue.. They answered that the book has it stated differently. " Hmmm... so is the scouting.org website wrong, or is this so new a change that the books haven't caught up to the change on the website? Sounds like a clarification by my DE is in order. Thanks for the clarification KDD. After reading a lot of these threads recently, I was starting to freak that my 11 year old 5th grader wouldn't be able to earn his AOL because he was too old and needs to move up to Boy Scouts immediately. I even called our District office to ask. They didn't know off the top of their heads, which made me even more nervous. I am relieved. It would have been a shame to lose what he has been working on for over a year as a Web I and Web II.

My son turned 11 in October and is in the 5th grade, but he is still in Cub Scouts. For him, there is no benefit to earning AOL as it relates to joining Boy Scouts other than it is a pretty cool honor to earn. Oh wait, there is one benefit for him, he can wear his AOL badge on his Boy Scout uniform. He's been in Cub Scouts since Tiger, and AOL has always been his goal for Cub Scouts. Almost every other boy in his den will also be 11 by the time they earn their AOL. As schools continue to push back the age for starting school to being 5 in September, you are going to see a lot more 11 year old 5th graders. Seems like the age requirement for Boy Scouts isn't keeping up with the times. Do troops really want a bunch of 5h graders joining their troop in September, or is it better to wait until mid-year when they've had a chance to grow and mature even more?

Thanks for the dose of reality everyone. I wasn't planning on turning everything over to the boys. I was still going to prepare the agenda myself, assign each boy ahead of time a Readyman lesson to teach the other boys, then leave it up to the denner and the boys to get through the agenda and lessons on their own and play a game of their choice after. Baby steps for sure, but makes them feel important. I like the recommendations about confidence building. I certainly don't want to set them up to fail. My biggest concern is behavior control and strategies my denner can use to keep the boys in line. The boys listen to me because I am an adult. New strategies need to be implemented to get them to listen to their peers.

I am a Webelos DL. In the past, our denners haven't really had a whole lot of responsibility. This year, in preparation for Boy Scouts, I want to try one or two meetings where the whole meeting is boy-led, so the denner will be running the meeting, kind of like a PL. My denner has not had any example to go by as far as running a den meeting and dealing with the other boys other than my own example, which differs greatly from when a peer is leading a meeting. Are there any short videos like the Quick Start training BSA offers leaders online that could give my denner a few quick tips on how to run a good meeting?

When I took my Webs to a Boy Scout event, I was immediately told by the SM that the parents were welcome to stay as long as they kept their hands in their pockets. We were clearly informed that it was a boy-led program, what exactly that meant, and what the pros and cons are, such as some things just take longer to do when it's boy-led, and there will be some chaos, but it's all for the common good. It was really hard for the other parents and me to do, but since the "hands in the pockets" requirement was clearly noted at the beginning of the meeting, we understood and were able to act, or rather not act, accordingly. In your case, however, what you told the visiting folks about the program being boy-led wasn't followed through with your own actions because you said "I would have loved to have had the time to address the adults, but I was too busy assisting my Scout with his activity." I would recommend that for your next Webs visit, you choose an activity that your scout can run completely by himself and take the parents outside to talk about what your troop has to offer. I've taken my boys to several troop meetings, and all the SM's love to brag about how their program is boy-led, but I observe exactly what happened at your meeting with the adult leaders stepping in when they really shouldn't be. You need to walk the walk and not just talk the talk in order to set the example for the parents. With just one, soon to be two, scouts in your troop, and both being very young, your expectations of boy-led may be a little premature. Since they don't have an older scout to teach them the ropes, they will depend on you for many things. Does that make the troop adult-led? Kind of. Can you still implement some boy-led philosophies into the program? Most definitely. Keep the boy-led thing as your goal, but be realistic and honest with your expectations at this phase of your program.

Tampa - Trails End Dime Bags! I can't stop laughing!

Just getting an EMT to speak would have been much easier, for sure. I spent hours prepping for this, but the enthusiasm the boys showed during the lesson made it worth it. It wouldn't hurt to have the EMT lecture, then do a follow-up at the next meeting with the fake victims to see what they learned.

I hope our Council does that. Our sales were way down this year because about 70% of the boys didn't even bother to try and sell any. We would definitely be twisting some arms if given another opportunity.

Years from now someone will be posting this same question about marijuana use as more and more states legalize it.

I think what the Readyman badge teaches for Webelos is really important, but it's a lot of information for the boys to learn. Unlike other badges I've done where we go through the requirements and I check them off as over and done with, I have really been working on retention on this one because this knowledge is very important. Today we had a fun meeting where the boys were presented with some simulated first-aid cases and had to treat them properly. I printed out a bunch of gross pictures of cuts, burns, nose bleeds, snake bites, bugs, frost bite, and road rash. The boys would take turns being the victim and I would tape the appropriate injury on them. Then the "medic" would come in and identify what the injury was just by looking at it and simple statements from the victim like "I burned myself on the grill." Then they had to treat it properly with the first-aid kit I had on hand plus other items that I through in to confuse them.. Although they still have a long way to go to be proficient in all the treatments for various injuries, they definitely had a good time learning about something that can sometimes be a dry topic.

First off, I would not supply them with any other craft materials to complete this requirement. If they want to do something else that meets the requirement, then they have to purchase their own materials. Tell them they can complete the project you assigned or they can pick one of the many suggestions provided in the Webelos handbook in the Craftsman section and do that. Otherwise, they will need to get permission from you to do something else.