DannyG

While I believe scouting can be done by everyone... If they found the program is boring after a few years, then I don't think the scouting program is for them. Scouting at the troop level incorporates a lot of different skills: Physical Fitness, use of tools and equipment, knowledge of the outdoors and nature, First Aid, backcountry skills, etc. Today there are a lot of activities competing for kids' attention. The urge today is to excel at one singular activity. A kid interested in Physical Fitness can choose a sport. A kid whose interest is in learning can choose to focus on academics.

Yes! I think this could be a good tradition to add to your troop. Essentially the PLC would be granting their approval for each scout as they rank up through the Scout Spirit requirement. Anecdotally, this requirement is typically incorporated into the Scoutmaster conference in our troop. Do what works best for your scouts! I agree with @fred8033 that time delay can be a concern. They shouldn't have to wait for each monthly PLC meeting to have a requirement signed. Have the SPL gather with some of ASPLs, Troop Guides, and PLs who are available if a scout requests it at a meeting, camping

Agreed. If your troop is scheduling monthly camping trips, this should be easy to achieve. Our troop has had done all 6 activities at least once in the last 2 years. If you never accomplish any of these on any camping trips, you should work with your PLC to incorporate them.

I feel the biggest reason why awards like World Conservation and Nova were not undertaken by more Packs is because the requirements were not printed in the handbook! Most of our Pack leaders are new to scouting and didn't know they were available. They have their hands full getting through the rank requirements,. Then there are plenty of electives to do once the requirements are done, and those requirements are printed in the handbook. The issue isn't whether the award is a patch or beltloop. After Lions were added to the program, plus the beltloops for Tigers, Wolves, and Bears... It doe

My local council has the same YPT requirement every year. (Baltimore)

Correct. The Cubs program has not been run this way in a decade or more. Those scouts are long gone.

On the Pack side, the scouts crossing over from Cubs to Scouts this year and next year are the ones who started during COVID quarantine, or they joined after quarantine was lifted. So they've had an abbreviated experience. The amount of Webelos and AOL scouts in our Pack remained relatively low. This year our Pack is heavy in the Wolves and Bears dens (2nd and 3rd grades). We've had smaller numbers of Lions and Tigers join recently, but those dens also seem to grow each year. We retain plus add a few more Cubs to those dens each year. When they reach crossover, I see a trend towards the linked

In reality, neither Webelos nor AOL is prep for Scouts. But they are learning skills throughout Cubs that will help them as they progress. Webelos and AOL is the culmination of that. It's the closest to scouts but it's still a Cubs program. Really there is no prep until they join a troop and become part of a patrol.

This is the Cub Scouts I remember as a youth. This is an antiquated version. I do not believe this is how Cubs should be done today. For instance JTE encourages more frequent Pack meetings. Monthly is the ideal. Young children are active. The Cub Scouts program should encourage activity. This is how they learn. Get the young kids camping with their family. Put them on a trail. Cub Scouts can be an alternative to sports and Y-guides. Fill in the gaps that the other programs don't cover: outdoors (camping, fishing, hiking), service to community, etc.

I understand. However, AOL is meant to be the culmination of the Cub Scout program. These are the skills they need to complete Cub Scouts and continue Scouts BSA. Really though, as a cub scout grows through the younger ranks, a lot of the skills are repeated and built upon as they grow older. For instance Wolf learns square knot. Bear adds two-half hitches and taut-line hitch. To earn Arrow of Light they have to learn square knot, two-half hitches, taut-line hitch, and bowline. It is the same requirement whether they joined in 2nd grade or 5th grade. The difference is were they able to practic

It is Scouting Adventure requirement #6

I am interested to see how the new AOL requirements shakes out. Is it more of a full-year commitment? One gripe with the current AOL program is it is not a full-year program. It is a 6-month requirement, then get them ASAP into a troop. That's good for the Cubs who spent years learning about scouting. But is it enough for the kids who joined new in 5th-grade? They paid for a full-year program only to get rushed out the door to join a new unit. I believe Cub Scouts who want to transition to Scouts BSA should start meeting regularly with their troop before they earn AOL. Maybe not every wee

I live in the Northeast, so I am in the same boat as far as scheduling outdoor activities during den meetings. We have to load them in the beginning or sit on them until the end of the school year, before/after time change, to get any daylight outside. Our Pack strives to schedule one outing per month on a weekend to get the cubs outside; Non-mandatory, except for specific rank requirements, as there are always conflicts with sports -- But they get multiple chances to complete an outing since we are outside at least once a month.

An Eagle scout with that much experience would be a boon to a troop that is 95% new scouts. He'd make a great Troop Guide or JASM. But if he's outgrown the troop, looking to take the next step in adventure, look into Venturing or Sea Scouts. He has to belong to a scouting unit somewhere to continue OA.

There was nothing you could do to convince the parents otherwise. They refused to see it for themselves. It sounds as if they did not want to have any involvement in scouting. Too bad for the child, they were not going to be a good fit.

If you talk to your scouts and parents you might find it went better than you think. Sounds like you are going to do fine. You learn by making mistakes. You will also learn the personality of your den the more you meet with them. Sounds like you have a very active bunch, as I did when I led Cubs. We had to run out some energy before we could tackle something as serious as Bobcat. Luckily the rest of the Tiger requirements are more active so they will be having more fun soon. Good luck.

Hi! I like your idea. The rule is in YPT: You are required to be there, that's it. You can ask any number of adults to help lead a scout activity as long as you have at least 2 registered adults to supervise. I think it is a great idea to have the parents use their own expertise and lead those portions of the activity. Who knows, maybe the experience will lead them to become more involved and they register as a scout leader someday in the future? It seems wasteful to force them to register if they only lead one or two activities a year.

Now that you are aware of the problem, what can you do to teach these scouts about their behavior? A lot of scouting is perceiving your own mistakes and learn how to correct them. So the scouts that were involved in vandalizing the bathrooms, they might be given the task to inspect and clean the restrooms after every meeting for a month. Find a constructive way to let them see their mistakes and correct them. Hopefully one day these scouts will have a chance at leadership and they will have to put up with younger scouts talking back!

Break it down into chunks. Learn one or two requirements per den meeting and plan to do another activity in-between. There are some good ideas on the internet for playing Bobcat/Scout Law/Scout Oath type-games. Or substitute any fun game your den likes to play. My general flow goes like this: First meeting: Get to know you game + Cub Scout Motto + Cub Scout Sign Second meeting: Craft + Scout Law + Cub Scout Salute Third meeting: Outdoor game + Scout Oath + Cub Scout handshake Etc. If you are a new den leader, one tip you will quickly learn: Be flexible. If you have an outd

This is exactly how our district runs a Cubs event: It is required to register a minimum one adult volunteer per 5 cub scouts (+Lions and Tigers are required to attend with their adult partner). Pack/Den Leader is one of the volunteer positions. So if you register 5 or less youth, they will merge you with another small unit with 5 or less plus their adult volunteer, so you will be in a combined unit of roughly 10 scouts with 2 adult leaders. If your unit registers up to 10 youth, you must bring a minimum of two adult volunteers: so you have your one leader + one assistant. After you register m

YES! Mine too. They always add too much soap to the wash basin so the rinse water turns into soap , and they don't know how to measure sanitizer either. I am fascinated the scouts get it right most of the time but the parents never do.

I agree, tablets seem easier to deal with. Every scout eventually has a horror story from the latrine when they didn't sanitize. Like putting the rainfly on your tent, better to be safe than sorry.

I am curious what do your units typically use in the sanitizer bucket to clean your dishes? My current unit swears by the old liquid bleach bottles - add a few drops to the sanitize water. I have camped with a different unit who carries a bottle of Steramine tablets in their supplies. It is smaller, easier to pack and lighter to carry. It also seems easier to measure: add one tablet per gallon, instead of a few splashes of bleach and guessing if you got the correct amount. I suppose the only downside is cost; bleach is cheaper. What sanitizer do you prefer to wash your dishes and why?

For Cub Scouts, we typically keep it pretty easy: Hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. Webelos have a cooking requirement, so we keep it easy enough for them to participate on the outing. We pair them up, and put them with an adult leader supervising on the grills and clean-up. PB&J isn't bad as a back-up plan, but watch for food allergies. My kid was one of them. So we'd pack our own food with us just in case. One of my fondest memories: during a Webelos campout we planned to cook one-pot spaghetti for dinner. On our afternoon hike we found some hen of the woods growing on the side of the trai

Volun-tell an adult they should be den leader. Give them the application, tell them how to complete YPT. Our Pack pays for adult leaders registration in our dues. We figured at least our volunteers don't have to pay for the job. (Well, we used to do this with our recharter. Let's see how this new online registration works.) So what if they don't complete the registration process, if they are taking steps leading the den? They can always catch up. Baby steps...