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WisconsinMomma

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Everything posted by WisconsinMomma

  1. WisconsinMomma
    I'm troop secretary. Thanks for the feedback.
  2. WisconsinMomma
    OK guys, so now I have to decide how much of a rabble rouser to be at tonight's committee meeting. Do I... a) suggest the candy fundraiser as something for the PLC/Troop to consider (I would offer to coordinate if the Troop wants to pursue it). b) suggest that the boys pick their own summer camp destination and have choices, although there is already a deposit on the 2018 summer camp venue? c) smile and nod d) look for opportunities to ask - what do the boys think of that? e) ask what the PLC has been working on lately Thanks for your help! Honestly I am
  3. WisconsinMomma
    Scouts can choose their own troops, and your district should back you up on that. Have fun!
  4. WisconsinMomma
    Yes, I think there is a disconnect between AOL and Boy Scouts. My den of AOL Scouts did all the Boy Scout Adventure requirements last year. We basically did the book. Throughout Cub Scouting we worked through the handbooks, and honestly I was not thinking at all about Boy Scout preparation until the AOL year, or 7 months, as it really is. The boys in my den went through the Boy Scout prep but the parents weren't all there, it wasn't a parents intro to the BSA course. My main motivation was to encourage interest in the boys crossing over and for the boys to pick a troop. Their troop pick
  5. WisconsinMomma
    If the young lady comes from a well-connected family, I'd think she hardly needs Eagle Scout on her pre-college resume to achieve her life goals. Women have been achieving great accomplishments sans Eagle Scout designations... for all of history. I hope the effort to join early is not political, and really just a true desire to have the full experience. Anyway, it's not my circus or clowns.
  6. WisconsinMomma
    I don't understand why you feel personally insulted because a parent with little camping experience is concerned about their child's safety. It's natural for a parent to worry over their kids as they try new things. When my oldest first joined Boy Scouts I worried every time he was away from home, not so much for safety but for getting along with others and having a good time, staying involved, etc.etc. It takes some time to switch from Cub to Boy Scout mode, it's not automatic. If in Cubs kids are getting things checked off every meeting, then it's very different to switch over to Bo
  7. WisconsinMomma
    You can also have the Tigers lead grace to contribute to a shared meal experience. Duty to God, oh my! Keep it simple, make it fun! Rub a dub, dub, thanks for the grub!
  8. WisconsinMomma
    Don't call it a Tiger den campout, call it a Father-son weekend, leave the uniforms at home, be safe and have a great time. Not every camp experience has to be an official BSA camping experience. (Had to look up apostate, good vocab!)
  9. WisconsinMomma
    Setting up tents is a great idea. Finding sticks for kindling is another good one.
  10. WisconsinMomma
    I'll add that the girl and family seem to be asking politely for what they want. If you want something, it's OK to ask. They might get permission, they might not. As long as they are gracious about asking and about receiving an answer, I don't see a problem. I have no idea who this family is, btw.
  11. WisconsinMomma
    In my experience as a female Den Leader working with boys, I have never really been alone with boys. There are always parents around, and that's a good thing -- I welcome an extra set of adult hands and eyes. Our CC's son was in my den so she was also around a lot of the time. I am allowed to be alone with the boys but that's never how it worked out, and IMO, that's good! Should a man be allowed to work alone with a group of girls? In theory yes, In practice, that's not how it's going to work out anyway, the girls will have parents sitting in the back of the meeting room, etc. Cam
  12. WisconsinMomma
    Are you having a Pack overnighter? Den-only camping is not recommended by the BSA: https://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/HealthandSafety/GSS/gss03.aspx Sky is the Limit and Tiger Tag sound appropriate for your Pack camping trip. Tiger Tales and tall tales is also a fun one. You can do other activities of course, and if you want you can have them make trail mix or something like that if you want them to have "cooking" experience. Learning a magic trick can help a kid focus. And they are not easy at all! Otherwise Google and Pinterest can give you tons of ideas for fun
  13. WisconsinMomma
    Of course that is baloney, but... let's talk about society in general. According to this -- Child sex abusers are "overwhelmingly male, ranging from adolescents to the elderly." http://victimsofcrime.org/media/reporting-on-child-sexual-abuse/statistics-on-perpetrators-of-csa So, if the goal is risk mitigation, I can understand it.
  14. WisconsinMomma
    I'll describe how Cub Scouting is working in our Pack / dens and perhaps we can figure out how it might work with girl dens. Our Pack has one Pack overnighter, a Friday - Sunday, with two nights sleeping in cabins. Tigers stay home. Wolves - Arrow of Light can come, parents are invited, but not required. We get a lot of parents, which is understandable because for many of the newer scouts its their first time away from home at this kind of thing. All the den leaders go, male and female, and no unregistered youth go along, it's Scouts only. The leaders who attended are -- Committee
  15. WisconsinMomma
    OK, I just have to say that your work to get to Eagle is obviously not meaningless and no one can take that experience or honor away from you. Also, there have likely been boys who have skirted the rules and been awarded Eagles in less than sterling fashion. I'm not saying it's common, but in the numbers of people in Scouting and the, er, variations in local Scouting, some people here and there probably have been given exceptions and lax standards, etc. Just because someone else had the rules bent does not diminish your accomplishment. I understand it will feel like that, but don't se
  16. WisconsinMomma
    The CO is nearly completely uninvolved. It would be nice if they were more involved. I don't even know who our COR is. I asked once and the answer was nebulous.
  17. WisconsinMomma
    See now I have to get all nerdy and check that out. I only see one camping merit badge, middle of third row from the bottom. Is the kid a model? I don't care. Not a big deal. I love looking at the photos of the Scouts on Bryan on Scouting web blog though.
  18. WisconsinMomma
    I know, but the boys like their Troop and have made some friends there. So the adult stuff is just a sideshow. I will try to focus my efforts and relationships with the parents of the current scouts who will be around for a a while. I believe that our current CC and SM are coming out of an adult led culture but there is room to nudge things more boy led. Additionally I am not sure that either of the other two local troops are any more boy-focused than this one.
  19. WisconsinMomma
    I am just thankful to know that I'm not alone with this kind of experience. There are a lot of wonderful, helpful, kind people in Scouting, and then there are a few kind and well meaning people who might just be grumpy lifers.
  20. WisconsinMomma
    I think we need to start a separate thread about new parents -- or do we already have that in the helicopter parents thread? I've read several threads here about new parents mucking things up, and I believe your experiences are real. My experiences with just a couple old scouters is real too, and some of it is rough -- one is really, IMO, bad, passionate about Scouting but it comes out in all the wrong ways. The other is just down on the next group of parents. He seriously said when I said that the Troop might like to do high adventure in the future that with "these parents" th
  21. WisconsinMomma
    I am sure that our old CC who is now the Treasurer would have loved to yell at me for finding a wreath person, except, the old wreath person was delighted, and I included another committee member who seemed to buy in in the process. I just hope that the new wreath volunteer is treated well. Volunteers seem to be taken for granted, and I see this across our Pack and Troop. At our last committee meeting, after the popcorn kernel gave a lengthy report about declining popcorn sales, I said -- thank you for helping with the fundraising. I think people were shocked I said thank you! But he p
  22. WisconsinMomma
    What does your wife do with your Troop and what was it like for her?
  23. WisconsinMomma
    I was a den leader, and I feel those Scouts are my Scouts. Cub Scouting is more of a village, because it involves the families and I care about those kids and their families very much. ETA: They're not my Cub Scouts anymore, but I hope to be invited to at least one COH.
  24. WisconsinMomma
    Here's what I have observed in some committee meetings where I am. A few of the parents of Scouts who are no longer in the troop complain that current parents are not volunteering and honestly, they start to come across like the only ones capable of getting anything done. Do they go out and ask the current parents to volunteer? No. They put a note in the minutes saying they need someone to volunteer and then complain that no one shows up. I asked a mom from my former den if she would take over the wreath sale. She said yes as long as she doesn't have to attend committee meetings. Voi
  25. WisconsinMomma
    Shoot, I was with you until the last line. I have three sons in Scouting right now and four years with the program. I have a lot of time, money and effort in Scouting and I like to be treated with respect too.
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