WisconsinMomma

Our Pack has not even discussed girls yet. We have other stuff to work on, specifically Blue and Gold and Pinewood Derby. After that we will likely talk about girls for the next school year's planning.

For $25,000 you can get a Lapel Pin! Cha-ching! The Second Century Society https://www.bsafoundation.org/donor-information/secondcentury/ And for $100,000+ to $1 million gifts, there are other goodies -- Rockwell prints, crystal, etc. And probably a lifetime of letters and emails asking for more donations.

Well, I'm a person who might buy a knot someday, just because I feel like it, and whatever you choose to think of me, I'm not that concerned. You should focus on your own achievements. I didn't go for the den leader knot, won't have enough time in service as Cubmaster to go for the unit leader award, I might not get to enough roundtables for the Scouter Training award and our unit doesn't do JTE. So I'm not really going to get any knots, and that's OK. I don't mind a simple uniform, and I wear a 4 year service star (when I remember to put it back on after laundry). But if I wanted to donate money and get a knot -- what's the big deal? Financial donations help Scouting just as volunteer hours do. And it's obviously what it is -- it's not like buying an Eagle knot, it's a knot specifically identifiable as recognition for financial support. People who like knots would look at my uniform and realize that I, or someone in my life, made a large donation to support Scouting. So what?

I think this is cool, and perhaps not that different from what Philmont was already doing. As I understand it, if a leader was going for training programs, they have programs in place for family members of leaders including girls.

It's not all that different. You donate $100 to PBS and get a $3 towel, or you donate $100 to PBS. The towel is an incentive, and it works.

That is what the true concern is. Is wearing the knot a display of wealth, or a display of support for the council, a display of an honor given, or all or any of the above? Is it like wearing a Rolex or carrying a designer purse? (though those cost a lot more) How people will view it depends on their own attitudes. ETA: Here's the thing, the BSA doesn't just run on volunteer support, they need financial support too.

But if you work to save up $1,000+ and donate it to your council, isn't your labor the earning part? I agree that it's an example of thrifty and generosity that fits into Scouting. If I wanted to donate $5k and put a knot on each of my family members, I could, and, I really love our council camps and would not mind supporting the council in that way. It is a different kind of knot and perhaps the oddest knot, but I don't think it's wrong or bad. Wearing a weird knot might be fun and only the nerdy Scouters would look it up -- you know who you are! LOL. And I don't think many Scouters are actually participating in financially supporting their Councils with large donations. I don't think it's like a participation trophy.

Oh baloney. We are going to our library's wine tasting party next month and sponsoring a table. (It's not very expensive to do so.) A local liquor store and their vendors donate all the wine and spirits, and local restaurants donate all the food, and it's a wonderful event, and the names of the donors are on the tables. It's a great way to do fundraising. Some charitable giving is quiet, other giving is not quiet. Neither is wrong.

I've looked at this, isn't it interesting? I don' t have any knots, but I could Buy-A-Knot with a $1,000+ donation to our Council. It is a little weird, but I don't see it as bad. Donors should be thanked, and everybody likes bling.

I think I should edit out my two personal peeves -- the food and adults talking. It's cleaner and less about my preferences. The den leaders can manage these things.

I view snack time as a tool to keep the kids busy and chewing so they can listen to some boring content from the handbook. Sometimes you have to give a short talk, and it's easier for them to listen when they are stuffing their faces. We did not always do snack, but when we did snacks, I tried to use the time strategically.

I am more concerned with the kid bringing in an apple or fast food and finishing dinner at the beginning of the meetings.

Ah! No above the knee skirts! I think the dress code where I worked once was 2" above the knee max. This one is a little short.

convicted or conflicted? LOL. This one and the bringing in food were my two biggest pet peeves as a DL. Kid coming in with a slurpee and seriously, slurping during a presentation -- doh! For talking parents should be social but they have to keep their voices down or go in the hall so the kids can hear the meeting without distraction.

Our council runs two great camps, and they offer great programming for kiddos. So it's not all bad. I appreciate those camps and we have made a lot of memories there!

I know how to sew on patches!!! Lookee here.... Son #1 (first patch Mammal Study) and Son #2 (first patch Nuclear Science, really!) Now I need to teach the boys how, but when I was an early teen I did stuff like counted cross stitch. I'm not sure how to teach them to sew. Maybe that's s Dad job. Side note, I am learning to knit... Yes, I'm showing off my kids's sashes! I'm a proud Scout momma.

I'm just going to commiserate and share what I think is some ridiculousness in our own Troop. Troop library needs updating. I suggest that the Librarian be given some money (modest amount) to go buy books. What they do -- they send three uniformed adults to the Librarian's house to go through the library with the librarian. My husband was one of the ones to go and I grilled him a little before giving up -- why does it take three adults to do this? Why couldn't the kid just do it himself with a little instruction and review? Duh. So sorry about the tents.

Hey Scouters, I drafted the following today -- posting for any comments or suggestions. Background: We have a few vivacious kids and adults in our organization! LOL! Pack XXX -- Being a Loyal Scout Dear Scouts and Scout Families, The Boy Scouts of America says, “Young Scouts tend to be noisy, active and full of energy.” How true it is! While we honor the boys’ energy and enthusiasm, it’s vitally important that we help them practice good behavior and develop the strong character attributes of Scouting. The Scout Law A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent The Scout Oath On my honor, I will do my best do do my duty to God and my country, and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight. The Cub Scout Motto DO YOUR BEST! For Scouts: Be Kind -- show respect to everyone Be Safe -- listen to instructions and think before taking action Be a Good Citizen -- work together to make, learn and follow your Den’s rules Do Good Turns -- think about how your actions might help or hurt others Be a Good Role Model -- show your kindness and good manners in the community Have fun! For Families: Be on time to Den and Pack meetings and events. Remind kids of behavior expectations before you arrive at activities. Communicate with your child’s Den leader -- let them know if you will be absent or late. Don’t bring food and beverages into meetings unless it’s for the whole group. Avoid chatting with other grown ups when the kids are learning. Support your Den leader with extra supervision, set up, clean up, etc. Encourage all the kids in your child’s den to do their best. Give gentle reminders. Praise the kids when they demonstrate great behavior! Teach your child about the Scout Law and helping other people. Have fun! Thank you for all you do for Scouting! The Pack XXX Committee

My boys are years away from doing Eagle projects, but I have a few back pocket ideas that they will probably reject, and that's OK. Our older son is a nature boy and doing something for our school forest is in his range, or doing a project at either of two nature centers that he really likes. Middle son loves dogs and helping animals is right up his alley. Youngest is still a cub scout but he plays hockey and his hockey club home rink looks like it could use some updating and maintenance help. Just a few ideas, but we'll see what they come up with later!

Yeah, my husband doesn't want to be the adult that interferes for his kid. My oldest is 13, and the other boys are probably 15 and 16 or 17. In the social skills classes, he has learned to observe people and choose the people that he has things in common with to be friends with, and I get the impression that my son would very much like to be friends with both of these boys, who are in his patrol. (My son and another boy are the two youngest in the mixed age patrol, but I don't know if the two of them have found much in common.) ETA: my son's issues are minor, it's not a big obvious disability, but he has an IEP at school and in a group he will sometimes stand out as being a little different. Oh well, hopefully in time as a patrol they'll get more opportunities to build rapport.

I think the thing is that they were playing a particular card game with a specialized deck that he really enjoys. Both of the older boys are in his patrol (about 2 years older than he is). I am not concerned because this happened once, I am concerned that it's happened twice, but it feels like there is not much I can do. But would you mention a concern to the SM to perhaps keep an eye out for exclusion?

Hi Scouters, I am a parent of two Scouts, a 2nd Class and Tenderfoot. They went to a winter cabin camping event this past weekend. My older son has ADHD and he takes social skills classes, overall he's not perfect, but he's doing well and making good progress. My husband, who is an ASM, observed at the end of the day, my son approached two older scouts who were playing a card game and he politely asked if he could join in. The older boys said no and continued without him. This has happened once before on another winter outing, last year or the year before -- my son asked to be included in a game and was turned down. My husband did not intervene, it sounds like he feels like the older boys have the right to say no to my son, at the same time he is troubled by it, and was awake at night thinking about the situation. When we got home, my husband told my oldest son that he was proud of him for asking nicely if he could play and he's sorry that the older boys left him out. He says he said something about scout skills (which is entirely too vague to mean anything) at the roses and thorns, but he means, that the older boys need to be more welcoming. Friendly, and all that. One of the two boys who said no is the ASPL. If you were me, the mom, or my husband, the ASM, what would you do? Nothing? Mention it to someone? Thanks for your help, I appreciate it!

A nice story, sounds like a nice Troop too. Congrats to all the boys! https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/southwest/news/west-allis/2018/01/17/11-eagle-scouts-fly-out-one-west-allis-troop-and-all-one-year/1035548001/

I have never seen an AOL ceremony with OA members present; I did see one AOL ceremony where the cubmaster wore a headdress. We do use face paint and paint the cheeks of the boys crossing over. Curious about what OA does at crossovers and how common this is.

One of the great things about BSA is they have so much training material. And so much of it is online and easy to review. So if new volunteers complete their training, they will get at least a textbook overview of how things work in BSA. Also, in Cubs, the handbooks are very helpful. I still expect that new girl members will come with some adults who will help them to get the Girl Troops and Girl Dens running.