Brewmeister

No, it is the Personal Fitness merit badge, not the tenderfoot reqs. They did the mile run and the other PF tasks and did discuss some of the MB requirements as I indicated in my previous post. They were using those handy workbook printouts that I'm sure you're all familiar with. Personally, I am an Eagle Scout so I have pretty good, albeit outdated, knowlege of the program, and this bugs the heck out of me. Also as a WDL I would say we were a much bigger stickler for requirements even on the Webelos achievement fitness badge!!! But, to the Troop I am just a dad, and wanting to give

Got something that I'd like the opinion of more seasoned Scouters on. My son recently crossed over to a Troop. This troop has occasional Merit Badge Meetings in addition to its regular meetings. Now, I've read enough here to know that even though it's a common practice at most of the troops we've visited, it's one that some folks don't like, so I understand that. Anyway, the troop was offering Personal Fitness in two meetings four weeks apart. I was somewhat puzzled about that plan to begin with because you can't fit 12 weeks into 4, but I thought the boys would get a partial or som

We/our advancement coordinator tries to do something different for each type of award that is presented. Ranks and arrow points and other "advancement" stuff gets a more formal ceremony focused on what the award is all about. We presented bobcat badges in blown up ballons, where the boys got their Cub Scout careers off with a "bang" to claim their badge. For the fun/elective stuff like belt loops, it's something fun and short. For instance we gave each boy a package of Swedish Fish candy along with their "Swimming" belt loop. We try, but sometimes we're limited by time and

Our Webelos dens do but the others do not. It is up to the DLs. Boys are elected for a period of a few months. We keep it simple--as the denner, you are the "go to" guy for the DL. You will collect dues, get your den organized when things need to be done, etc. It works fine.

How do you balance the prop? Are you hanging it and shaving the heavy side?

Good ideas, SP; I like the way you think...

It can be a shock for active/outdoor families just how restrictive scouting is on some stuff...as evidenced also by the discussion in the "paintball" topic. We took our Wolf den canoeing a few years ago before I found out in the G2SS that it was verboten...whoops. Half the boys in our Webelos den (4th grade) have already gone paintballing. My son cannot shoot a BB gun in Cub Scouts unless he is at a duly authorized council facility...but he bagged a turkey two weekends ago with a 20-gauge shotgun. But I would not let them throw knives...until they were equipped with proper thr

SP, I'm definitely not dismissing your egg drop idea, and we have also done the stomp rockets. I think there is value to both of those ideas and gets the idea out there that "cub scouting is about spending time with your Scout," versus "Cub scouting is about dropping your kid off for practice." In our experience, we have found it very helpful to split the boys from the parents so we can go over the nitty gritty with the parents (where to buy the uniform, how much will this cost, etc.). Likewise we have found it better in the long run to find leaders after the roundup, which was

As far as cooking things individually, how about kebabs? Cut up pieces of chicken and potatoes. Beef also works well but you may bust your budget buying a cut that will taste good grilled. We did sirloin kebabs, sprinkle on some season salt, our fire was the envy of the camp. We have found luck with adding variety to the typical foil pouch fare. Chicken, soup, vegetables, and minute rice rather than the standard burger stew. To help with it getting done without being burnt you can dice and cook the chicken beforehand. If your goal is to have the boys cook individually, the only way

This is my lest favorite derby. My recommendation would be to really stress the "fun" of this event over the "competition." In our experience of running this event for many years, this is the derby where Murphy makes the most appearances. Rubber bands are always breaking, rockets are falling off the carrier or falling apart. If you try to structure it like a regular derby, chances are you will be waiting on rocket repairs, etc. Also, there seems to be no rhyme or reason why one rocket wins over another. I'm sure there is but we haven't found it. There have been some rockets that won'

I think it is a mistake to push for adult leaders at a new cub recruiting night. Also I think hitting them with camp signup is too much info. That's not to say you can't mention it, and certainly have adult apps on hand. Our recruiting nights focus on recruiting boys. So on one hand we have animated sideshows of the stuff our pack has done (we use Animoto), then we send the boys off for a quick game. While the boys are playing we talk to the adults about what Cub Scouting IS. Try to think back to when you were a new, overwhelmed Tiger parent. And a lot of families know nothing a

We do cabin camping in winter. I do agree two pack campouts per year is a good target but I applaud your ambition! Maybe your webelos dens could also go den camping.

Thanks for the responses. The flashing-neon "verboten" verbiage around simulated firearms in the G2SS is pretty clear. (Hmmm...maybe having the boys carve guns to earn their Whittling Chip at the pack campout wasn't the best idea...) Anyhoo, the remote control plan is intruiging but for practicality's sake we'll stick with what's ready-made. So, unless we can convince our merry band of red-blooded war mongers that lobbing paintballs at each other would be just as much fun as shooting them from a gun, it looks like we'd have to run the paint/lazer option off the grid. Perhaps on

Ok. So our group of Webelos put down their macaroni long enough to determine that they REALLY want to do laser tag or paintball. Their preference is paintball because of the outdoor/tactical aspects, as well as the opportunity to whomp someone with an actual projectile versus an invisible beam... Soooo...how do we make this happen? Is the definitive answer to run this "off the grid?" "Boys, if you would like to participate in a game of paintball/lasertag, which is definitely NOT a den event but just so happens to be organized by Mr. DL, just show up at such-and-such place."

>deleted double post< (This message has been edited by brewmeister)

Boy, I feel really welcome here! And I never even commented on the paintball game, which sounds like fun... kudu, Youve stated that it would be fine with you if the BSA said good riddance to cub scouting. Youve also made it known that boys who drop out of Cub Scouts (or knew better than to join in the first place) make better Boy Scouts. You characterize cupcake, Cub Scout survivor Boy Scouts, who dont measure up to standards of being truly red-blooded, as Webelos IIIs, girl boy scouts, and so on. Scouters who dont measure up are referred to as Den Mothers. And

I wasn't being critical of any posts, I had simply assumed that the average age of Eagles was getting younger based on comments, so it was very surprising to me to see the nearly 3-year increase. Which goes to show what happens when one assumes!

An infographic to follow up gunny's post: http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2012/04/11/this-eagle-scout-infographic-pretty-much-says-it-all/ What I found surprising was the average age of Eagles! I had just assumed it would be much, much younger because of the number of discussions here about "12 year old Eagles," etc.

Poop hunt! That is awesome! On the list it goes...

Let me give you the full details of what the DL and I have planned. The two dens will meet in the parking lot of a large nature area that has miles of trails. It just so happens that the DL lives near this area. The dens will be provided a map of the area, and a general "X marks the spot" where there is a cutoff trail to the DL's house. They have their compasses. Each den will also have a GPSr unit to use because there are several geocaches on the trails. The dens will go off on different trail systems, with the objective of finding the cutoff trail and rendezvouing at the

I looked into this thread because we are considering some type of outing for our Webelos. I was disappointed to again see a cub scouting term (albeit an obsolete one) used as a pejorative description about something that somebody doesn't like about BSA.

I have found it is better to have something planned and not use it because the boys are having fun just winging it, than to decide to just wing it and wish you had a plan because they are not. It's not about "planning every second," it's about being prepared.

We are taking two dens of webelos on a "hike out"--basically a 3 or so mile hike followed by fire building, cooking, etc. Looking for activity ideas to do while on the hike, ideally that tie into a badge or two. Forester requires some identification of trees and plants...we don't have any really compelling ideas at the moment.

I'm not ignoring the advice, just trying to figure out the logistics. I think I'd have to try out a setup before taking the plunge into hammocking.

Lots of recommendations regarding hammocks, but those aren't going to work in your average tent, unless I'm missing something. ???