Thunderbird

The written policy said "must be registered as a leader", which to me implies registered as an adult leader with the unit. Being registered as an MBC would take care of the CBC and the YPT, but the approval authority is different between the two. The Chartered Organization approves unit leaders, but the council (or district) approves MBCs. I would think it would be a good C.Y.A. move to register the adult as a leader with the unit (Unit Scouter Reserve or Unit College Scouter Reserve, probably). I agree that it would be good to see written official policy from national on what they mean.

I think T2Eagle is assuming that they would register the adults for 2/3 of the year, so the registration fee would be prorated.

The old rule was (from the Guide to Safe Scouting): "Assigning youth members more than two years apart in age to sleep in the same tent should be avoided unless the youth are relatives." [emphasis added.] The new rule seems to be (new online YPT training): "When sleeping in the same tent, youth must not be more than 2 years apart in age, unless they are relatives." [emphasis added.] So "should" has changed to "must". If you have youth more than 2 years apart in age, then they can't share a tent. With mixed-age patrols, there might be some Scouts who have to have their own individual tent. Some troops might have to get some more tents. The new registration requirement (announced in the fall of 2017) was: "Effective for the 2018 BSA summer camp season, any adult accompanying a Boy Scout troop to a residence camp or other Scouting activity lasting 72 hours or more must be registered as a leader, including completion of a CBC and YPT, even if they are the parent of a youth on the trip." But the new online training seems to say: Adults accompanying a Scouting unit for 72+ (consecutive or non-consecutive) hours must be a registered leader with the BSA. Registration includes a criminal background check and Youth Protection Training. So, not sure which one is correct: -the length of time of the adult's presence at the event or -the length of time of the activity that triggers the mandatory registration?

Yes. I was referring to a few of the adventures where all they did was change the requirement numbers.

I like giving den leaders more options (do X out of Y requirements), because you can always do all of the requirements, if you want to. But having options is a good thing, IMO. What I didn't understand were the changes when all they did was move the requirement numbers around. Same requirements, just changed the order within the adventure. Maybe they were just trying to see who would notice!

Probably too late in the year now, but have they asked the Scout Shop about getting copies of the requirement addendum? I think they can get them for free.

Based on the timeline, it looks like girl troops go active in February 2019. I don't see early adopters on the timeline. Scout Shops are already out of the spiral bound Handbooks.

You can also go to www.scoutshop.org to get current rank images (emblems). You should be able to right click on an image and save it.

Are you looking for the old rank images? Or current ones?

I get a 404 Not Found error for this url.

Some people used to pay to keep their phone number and address private (and some still do) for a variety of reasons. I think the reason they don't make the list available to Scouts is because they want the Scouts to have a discussion with their SM. And sometimes Scoutmasters know the MBCs, and might know that this counselor is a really good one, this other one doesn't return calls, etc.

Unless something has changed, it's not available for transfers yet. So you still need to do paper applications for transfer Scouts and adults. Overall, I thought the online application was great, because I didn't have to run around getting signatures or go to council to turn in a check. Everything was done online, and the Scout had a BSA ID # immediately. However, one drawback is that there is no way to include unit dues or activity fees (whatever you want to call them). So you have to be clear with the parents on that point, so they understand why you're asking them for more money.

@blw2 Which book?

And you have someone already identified to fill in if the den leader can't make a meeting / activity for some reason.

If your Advancement Chair only buys awards once a month, you could award the belt loops at the next den meeting. The next pack meeting could work, too, but it might make for a long meeting if every Scout is getting their belt loops / pins at the pack meeting.

Whether they are in the 4th grade or the 5th grade, they are still Webelos Scouts in Webelos dens (see rank requirement #1 for both ranks). They wear the same neckerchief, slide, and work out of the same Handbook. They work towards the Webelos rank in the 4th grade , and they work towards the Arrow of Light rank in the 5th grade. If they don't finish Webelos rank by May 31 of the 4th grade, they can keep working on it (or not - their choice). If both Webelos and AOL rank are earned, Webelos rank needs to be completed before AOL rank (although they could be completed on the same day).

I would recommend changing the script so that it's clear that your ceremony is tied to them moving up to the next den level - not earning their rank. And for the new Scouts, if they need some extra time to earn their rank, the pack committee can give it to them. Or the parents might decide that it's just better to start working on the next den level's rank and not worry about it.

For Tiger though Bear (and Lion, I assume), parents are only supposed to sign off for requirements that are completed outside of the den meetings / activities. Even then, the Den Leader is supposed to consult with the family or the Scout to confirm completion, and then the Den Leader approves the requirement. For Webelos, the Den Leader signs for approval of all requirements, but the Den Leader can delegate this responsibility. For example, a Webelos Den Leader could delegate approval of a particular adventure to a Webelos adventure pin counselor. This serves as a good introduction to Boy Scouting and merit badges, except not as intense (as @JustAScoutMom put it). See the Guide to Advancement (section 4.1.0.3 Who Approves Cub Scout Advancement?).

That is the way it is supposed to work with the current Cub Scout adventure program. The belt loops and pins are supposed to be immediate recognition devices presented as soon as the adventure is completed (usually at den meetings). The belt loops and pins do not require an advancement report, so they can be purchased ahead of time. Ranks are supposed to be recognized at the next pack meeting (ranks do require an advancement report, so you can't buy them ahead of time).

We try to separate recognition for earning rank from the end of school year den move up ceremony. Earning rank is an individual achievement, and the Scouts should be recognized soon afterwards with their rank patch. We usually do adventure belt loops and pins at den meetings and rank patches at pack meetings. We try to do as close to immediate recognition as possible, but you can't buy the rank patches until they are earned, so the Cub Scouts might have to wait a couple weeks depending on when the next pack meeting is. This immediate recognition can also (sometimes) help to motivate other Scouts in the same den to finish their rank. The end of the school year den move up ceremony date is determined by the pack committee, which makes sense because not all school districts follow the same calendar. The Guide to Advancement (cited in an earlier post) gives pack committees discretion to grant time extensions on a case by case basis to individual Scouts. It sounds like a time extension for the 3 Cubs joining your pack would be a good solution for them. JMO, but the end of year den move up ceremony should focus more on the "and now, you're a Bear!". Of course, if you have some Cubs who earn their rank at the end of the year, their achievement should also be recognized. Looking at the Wolf Howling at the Moon requirements, it says "3. Work together with your den or family to plan, prepare, and rehearse a campfire program to present at a den meeting or pack program." It doesn't look like this requirement has to be done on a campout (although doing it on a campout would be great). What are the camping requirements that you are looking at? Depending on what the requirements say, you might be able to do them on an outing at a local park or something. You could still do the campout in May or June, but it wouldn't be holding Scouts back from earning their rank. The "Painted Ranks" ceremony looks like it is a rank earned ceremony - not a den move up ceremony. However, you could modify it however you'd like. I've seen a few different end of year den move up ceremonies. One was a Cub-o-matic, where the Cub Scouts go behind a curtain or box, concealed from the view of the audience they change out their neckerchiefs and slides, and come out the other side as their next den level. Depending on how many Cubs in a den and the size of your curtain (or box), the Cubs might go through the Cub-o-matic individually or as a den. Something kind of like this video: Going through the Cub-O-Matic to become a Wolf Scout

"Magic: The Gathering" card game?

Good advice!

If the boy is in the 4th grade and just turned 10 in December, how did he meet the 6 month tenure requirement ("six months since completing the fourth grade or for at least six months since becoming 10 years old"? He hasn't completed the 4th grade yet, so December + 6 months would be June.

@Eagle94-A1 The Guide to Advancement does say that the Webelos rank is for boys who have completed the 3rd grade or who are 10 years old. And the Arrow of Light rank is for boys who have completed the 5th grade. The FAQs for the Cub Scout adventure program (back in 2015) specifically said that the adventures for Webelos Scouts could be worked on in any order (required or elective). And with the Cub Scout requirements that were modified in December 2016, there are only 11 total adventure pins required for both ranks now. As soon as they complete elective pin #2, they've completed requirement #3 for both Webelos and AOL ranks. A 5th grade girl who joins as soon as 4th grade is over (mid to late May for some school districts), wouldn't have to worry about or work on Webelos rank at all (unless she wanted to). She would only need to complete 5 adventures. But I agree with you. If I were a Webelos Den Leader, I would not try to cram all of that in to 6 months. Some people do seem to be in a rush to Eagle, though.

The Arrow of Light tenure requirement says: "1. Be active in your Webelos den for at least six months since completing the fourth grade or for at least six months since becoming 10 years old." So if a girl was already 10 years old and in the 4th grade when she joined an early adopter pack (assuming that she joined on January 15), she could meet this tenure requirement as early as July 15.