CubMasterDan

Awesome, thank you so much. That seemed to work. 

Hooray!

OK, now how do I update my Pack's info? 

I tried 2 browsers, internet explorer and chrome. Neither one is especially locked down, neither one worked. 

I don't think the solution is to expect potential parents of cub scouts to use a specific "not locked down" browser. The site should work for everyone looking to be a Scout. 

I am starting my 3rd year as a Cubmaster for my local pack. We are fairly smallish, about 30 Scouts. 

I have really been working my tail off the last 3 weeks to try to get more Scouts to join. I have lost 11 Scouts since last year. And I have only gained 6 new Scouts this year. 

I was talking to my wife about ways to get the word out. And it occurred to me that maybe I should update my Pack's entry on the BSA website. (I know in the past these were called pins.) 

So I pretended as though I was a local parent interested in joining Scouts. An internet search leads me to beascout.scouting.org where you can enter your zip code and find a local pack. I put in my zip code and hit search. No results. Actually what comes up seems to be a picture of colored rectangles that represent where text should go. I searched multiple zip codes throughout the country and the same thing happens. I tried on 2 different computers, same result. 

I feel like I am working hard and BSA is dropping the ball. 

Can anyone else see the same problem at beascout.scouting.org? Does anyone know who to contact to fix problems with the BSA website?

I am the cubmaster of a pack with about 30 scouts. We set a date for our pack to go to the local council's resident cubscout pack in July. (3 days at the resident camp.) I have At least 5 leaders going along. As I understand it, the rules for our council are that one adult can supervise up to 4 scouts. So the 5 leaders could take up to 20 scouts. What I have been telling my pack is that if the scout will be a weebelo or arrow of light, they could go without their parents if their parents approve. If the scout will be a bear, wolf, or tiger, they must have their parent or guardian to go scouting. 

I really expect that no parents will take me up on the offer to send their scout without the parent, but we have done it before. We only have 4 scouts that will be arrow of light by the summer. And we have about 9 bears that will be weebalos. but 3 of the leaders are bear den leaders, (and another bear parent) so I think they will be well supervised. 

My question is this, have you ever gone to resident camp with a scout without the scout's parent? What would you watch out for? How would you alter your plan if you had to do it again?

Thanks for the help everyone. 

I met with the most interested paresnts yesterday and everyone agreed. We will have some activities, but we aren't going to try to be too regimented. 

I think everyone understands this is a learning experience for all of us. 

Ok, I realized that this is very long. Here is the short version: I am taking my Cub Scout Pack camping for the first time. What advice do you have?

Long Version:

I am a new Cubmaster this year. I have been in this Pack for five years. I have 4 sons. My oldest is just starting Boy Scouts. I have a Bear and a Tiger, and I have a 4 year old. So I will be around for a long time. I started as Tiger Den Leader 2 years ago. This year I am acting as Tiger Leader, Bear Leader and Cubmaster. I have one other Tiger Leader and 2 other Bear Leaders, so I am not having to do it all on my own.

Our pack has had its ups and downs in term of leadership. I have been really trying to get us back on track. Along those line, I have been advocating that we actually go camping. We have never gone camping as long as I have been in the Pack. One time in the last 5 years we pitched tents in the school gym as a camping trip. Otherwise, it is just the Council Summer camp.

I took Baloo/Owls in the spring. So we are covered there. There are not a lot of options for group camping nearby. There is a state park about 20 miles away, but they get booked out quite far in advance. I don’t want to book a site farther away, because I think that there might be some kids who want to leave in the middle of the night. I would like the parents to be able to head home if they think that is necessary.

I did manage to book the Group Camp for Oct 7-8, 2017 and May 18-19 2018. The May trip is intended to be our big Pack family camp. But I wanted to book the site this fall to get kids excited and to have a chance to go out there myself and deal with a real group camping situation. Our pack has 32 Scouts on paper. I think we have around 25 that are active.

I booked the site for 2 days, but only intend to have the camping trip be Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning. (I booked it for the previous night so we wouldn’t have to wait until 4pm to enter the site.) I live in North Dakota. Overnight temperatures on Oct 7-8 are an average low of 42 degrees Fahrenheit, 5.5 degrees Celsius. (Another reason to be close to home, if parents or Scouts get to cold they can head home.)

I think I might get around 10 Scouts with parents to come camping. I might have 10 more that come for the day but don’t sleep there. I have some parents who are interested in activities with the Scouts. Specifically, I have one parent who will bring some fishing poles and help the Scouts fish.

I am looking for activities to fill the time.

Here is what I know I will have. I will ask everyone to have lunch before they come, or have lunch on their own.

12:00 -Set up flag, set up tents, yard games

1:00 – Maybe do some group games

2:00 – Break into Dens if there are enough kids for that

3:00 -

4:00 – Start the fire set up dinner table/buffet

5:00 – Retire Flag/Roast hot dogs and eat supper

6:00 – Play some games

7:00 – Fire assembly, sing songs do skits tell stories, eat s’mores

8:00 -

9:00 – Prepare for bed

10:00 – Lights out.

For dinner I am going to ask the Pack to buy hot dogs and buns, and ask everyone to bring a side dish, like chips or whatever. I will also ask the pack to buy stuff for s’mores. We will roast hot dogs over the fire and have s’mores later on.

What works for Cub Scouts in term of keeping them occupied and having fun? What lessons have you learned in your Cub Scout camping trips that I can use?

Thank you for your help.