AKdenldr

For years we used a living bridge that involved the younger dens.  I agree on involving them.  The pack now uses a assemble as you go bridge, which could be done by the youngers but tends to be done by the receiving troop. 

I agree that you could write your own....in a few years it will be 'tradition' and what the pack has always done.

As a merit badge counselor I would not accept it.  From the cooking merit badge which I counsel that has such a requirement:

1. Food-related careers. Find out about three career opportunities in cooking. Select one and find out the education, training, and experience required for this profession. Discuss this with your counselor, and explain why this profession might interest you.

I would make the scout have a full conversation with me.  But mostly I would not accept it.  If scout is absolutely not interested in that career at all, why did he select it out of all the possibilities for a career in that field to spend his time researching?  If he did research.  (Read that as skeptical.)  I find sometimes the scouts will test to see if I am a pushover or not.

In school this type of work is a "F or D".  Teachers don't put up with it.

Okay, I've really done my best trying to make the official bsa uniform pants work for my scout.  Scoutstuff.com doesn't even have the classic cut in his size (men's small or medium.)!  The relaxed fit do not work, at all.

He's heading off to Philmont this summer.  Can a pair of non-uniform shorts work?  Anyone have a suggestion as to brand in a nylon?

Perfect bound in the cover that has a pocket to hold the blue cards in.  (pen fits in that pocket also.)

Name on the outside in sharpee. 

Reinforce the advancement and camping log pages from the beginning with packing tape.

Once in a while scout (or scout parent) zeroxes or takes a picture of advancement pages.

That's what works long term in our troop.

No ISAs in our troop. 

Hello all,

Our high adventure group is looking into fundraising that doesn't involve selling products.  (15 and 16 year olds a little tired of the popcorn thing.)

I seem to remember there was a discussion in the forums about a troop that has good success with a 'rent a scout' program for fundraising.

Can someone point me to the old links or provide best practice details?

Thanks much, T26 Anchorage -- Philmont 2016 Chilkoot 2017

More than anything I resent an imposition to a Boy Scout court of honor, a four times a year event, a captive audience and boring the boys.  Let the parents give some feedback.  Do they want a presentation at a COH, or do you schedule it during a different meeting?  (Swim night?)  Have some discipline adult leaders and just say 'not the COH, but you can come on__________"

(With pack meetings happening once a month, 10 minutes for the FOS guy was okay.  You need a CM with a hook to pull them off stage.,,,, and the cubs in the gym playing sock war.  )

I work in a non-profit, have kids to educate, and little extra change.  However, I bought a latte today.  I can find a little cash for my district because I support the scouting movement, for my sons and boys in other troops into the future.  Now I don't see waste in my district, but I'm not investing thousands, so I'm not hiring a forensic accountant.  I support the scouting movement cause I see what good it does.

Actually the sport was a rowing/crew.  Lots of high school teams were there, it involved racing, time-trials, etc.  The parent in question has a preference for the usual team sports, basketball, football, etc.  I wanted to expose the den to a sport that was relevant to the region I live in, is actually a challenging TEAM sport and requires planning and real effort to be successful.  Not unlike the other "traditional" sports.

 

I got some really good feedback from the other parents, the kids had fun, and everyone learned something new.  The cubmaster and all the leadership has been supportive.  But yeah, I'm thinking there may be a disconnect with this particular person.

This family might need educating on the 'group' concept of scouting.  Their son should of attended to enjoy the company of his little buddies and build his social relationships and because he is part of the den.  I am not suggesting that you single them out for an type of communication, just all the tiger parents as a whole.

This most likely is the first "club" the son has been involved in.

Best of luck with your tiger year.

To me this seems like a vision problem and not a rule problem. 

I think the boys and parents do not know that the that "in our pack we listen to Akeela" (listen to our registered and uniformed adult leaders) and "help the Pack go"  (everyone do their part and cooperate).

I suggest your next few pack meeting have lots of games where listening to the instructions from the uniformed leaders is the game.  (Red light, Green light)  Time seconds when the hand goes up till the room is silent.  Require Tiger adults to be with their sons and not in the back of the room talking on their phones.  No phones at pack meetings.  Etc...

I would have timed out a tiger in plain sight.  Not in a tent.  Or perhaps, "Tiger Ted I need you to sit with Assistant Den Leader here on this stump for 5 minutes".

It is pretty early in the school year, therefore in this young boy's tiger year.  I wonder where was the tiger leader in all this?  How is the listening to adults going within that den?  Does that leader need some coaching?

I found our pack campouts improved once there was a schedule of events and a duty roster.  (As I learned from my Baloo training.)

Hope something in here helps, enjoy working with the boys.

If the new Webelos are joining the troop in February (or May) my view is that your Pack has this time to retain them in the scouting movement.  They need to have fun and worthwhile experiences with their buddies.  Let the den leader run her interesting experiences with a minimum of attention from you.

The early ranks of Boy Scouts will teach them what they need to know, as the Boy Scout program is designed.  Do Webelos who come out of a good Webelos program have a bit of a leg up?  Yes.  But we all should know and remember that the Boy Scout program is designed to take any boy, age 11 and up, regardless of previous experiences.

(If you feel that any advancement is not truly earned within the Webelos den, I wouldn't die on that hill.  After all we count on all our adults to be Trustworthy, Wolf parents who might have pencil whipped a handbook and even Webelos den leaders we clash with.)

I agree with the other advice, calendar their bridging ceremony. At the bridging formally thank that den leader for her x years of service (small gift or plaque) to mark the end of her service with your pack.  Left handed hand shakes all around.

While she is doing Webelos stuff you focus on the rest of the Pack's program.  Get your leaders trained and develop a good program at all the other levels.  Make sure volunteers are recruited and all parents are contributing on some level to make the pack go.  Den chiefs are an excellent idea.

With the other boy she does not want to take, I think that is a conversation with the parents as to what they want to do if you have no program for them.  Does he want to have fun experiences with the WebI den or WebII den?  Or move directly to a troop?

Thanks for your service, enjoy the boys.

Not every child needs to be a scout, but every childhood should contain many aspects of scouting programs.  Turn off the screen and the organized activities.  Make your own fun, get outside, have diverse experiences, learn at your own pace, form long term friendships with peers of all different abilities and interests, use your hands, explore your community, community service.....

Comp soccer or <insert your intense focused activity here> can't be the beginning and end of it all.

Is he coming in some type of uniform?

I had great success as a cub leader asking military members (who were in a uniform) why uniforms are important.

Seattle,

I've been thinking about your post.  My experience at all levels of leading scouts was the first few read throughs an item seemed to be too complicated.  Then my after a bit of time I began to think it was doable piece by piece.

I've read your posts for years and know that you accomplish a lot of little things with ease when you get your tiger and parents together.  I think you would be able to do this also with the new program.  And be able to slip in the time honored scouting experiences that may not be in the current program.

When I was a youth there was a major change to the scouting program.  My leaders spent time in front of us complaining about it.  (We really wouldn't have noticed the program change, not cause the changes were small, but cause we were kids.)  All the adult negativity diluted our interest.  So whatever you do, do still remain a cheerleader for the SCOUTING MOVEMENT.  I do still believe that working with boys in this program is a privilege and honor.

If you move on to other things, thanks for your service.  Once a scout, always a scout.  But I hope you stay on the scouting trail.

If you need a donation to gift your pack with tiger books -- PM me.

AK

Congratulations for stepping up and really taking the "shared leadership" concept of tigers to heart.

I disagree with some advice above, your tigers can earn and achieve at family, scouting, and community events that do not have a "bsa permit".

I suggest you tiger families invite the Pack BALOO trained adult to join you on your campout (they can bring their scout son -- he could help). They can take care of the permit for you and that will make it an official Pack campout. If that person isn't available to come do the event a bsa day in the park -- followed by family camping, followed by bsa day in the park. This is what our dens and pack did.

(And there is nothing like a small camping trip to bond a group of families.)

I do recommend Baloo training (and I have camped all my life) for the training on how to setup the programming for the scouts. A schedule of events is a great help. Some suggestions on how to handle young kids and fire and other safety items were very helpful. Working with a crowd is different than taking your family camping. I assume you all are in this for the long haul, so any training you get now will help for the next 5 or 11 years.

I would cleanly set the expectation of no alcohol, or firearms on this campout. You also will need to set the expectation about family pets.

Have great fun on your campout. Provide activities for the sisters and younger siblings...... Let us know how it goes.

Lots of great advice above Shutterbug. I found a lot of success in using a visual advancement doodad for my bear den. (I used a poster but almost anything would work.) This had a line for each boy and stickers for achievements completed. (Mine was color coded for the categories and with the achievement number on the top for achievement). At most meetings we took a tiny bit of time to add to the poster. (You could also add a line for what the DEN did.) Then each boy could be more aware of his advancement and den as a whole is reminded about all the stuff they have done. Arrow heads and other awards were on there also. (The poster does not need to be a big deal as the FUN is the focus of scouts right?)

If a boy missed and made up with his folks I talked that up a bit.

(I would also call those lower attendance families and let them know about the poster. "Just wanted to let you know that we are adding this, boys are pretty competitive with each other, so if scout has completed anything at home make sure the book is marked off.") Invite the parents in to see the poster at pickup, or have it at a pack meeting.

You seem like the organized type who could probably pull this together easily for the DL. (who with 15 has his hands full.) Congrats on your successful program. Enjoy the boys.

What CalicoPenn said

Seattle you can purchase invitation envelopes 25 to a box for less than $5. They fit quarter fold 8.5 x 11 paper.

If I were this scout's mom I would counsel him to ask the 11 yo ASM to get the blue cards for all the 11 year olds. Then teach those boys an organization system. Those boys moving up could change the process of blue cards themselves.

I recently counseled a 17 yo with a 5 year old partial in Family Life. They don't always lose the blue cards you know.

(I complimented him on his organization skills and suggested that his thinking on families might have changed in five years.)

Twice a month for meetings (grew from 1:15 hour to 2:15- as the boys aged). Included afterschool snack and active games or outside time. One field trip a month, often using school half days which then would have lunch time and mini-meeting added in. Our pack met less frequently 3-4 meetings a year and some activities (scouting for food, PWD, fall and spring campouts).

I was advised by a first grade teacher (in her classroom met lot of brownies and tiger dens) to meet more often than once a month. She said they just couldn't learn once a month. My dens went better I switched to a really regular twice a month schedule. I found that the boys need more time together to learn and to form relationships.

I think the solution to DLs with "not enough time" is really good assistant DLs.

I do not advise once a month den meetings. If a boy misses one he has missed big part of the program and the social goings on of the den.

Sidney said, "I actually think it is pretty hard for most Tigers, Wolves and some bears to cut the wood. Getting the wheels somewhat alligned is not the easiest of tasks. These scouts are pretty much left to painting it.When you get into deburing axels and polishing them I think that just about everyone uses a power drill. Which excluded the scouts. Webelos and some bears do have the stregth to use a hand saw, they are also interested in what makes a car go faster. I know people will say it allows the adult and the scout to build it together. But if the adult needs to do a good percentage of it because of safety I don't think it is occomplishing the goal."

At our District PWD tigers race tigers, Wolves race wolves etc.... Therefore our pack races run within the rank levels (one den each for each rank). Top 3 of a den go to the District event (if they wish -- typically not that many were interested). Therefore a Tiger car doesn't have to be an engineering marvel... he is racing against other Tigers.

Also Guide to Safe Scouting restriction against power tools is within Scouts, not in the 1:1 supervision environment of family home garage. My sons mow the lawn and snow blow the driveways.

(BTW my son's cars were not power tooled powered at all. Hand coping saw and sandpaper were the tools. They did fine.)

PWD can be dialed down so everyone, including the boys, has fun. We have had Webelos who don't want to bridge until after PWD.

It is funny almost every prospective Dad wants to do pinewood derby with their sons, it is a big recruiting tool......

After a sad derby we revamped...

We deemphasized the winning and used a pool racing concept (old posts on this website I think). We called it the "everyone has fun" bracket system. But the main thing that was successful is to teach the parents prior before the car kit was handed out how to be...

At a pack meeting Webelos den leader gets up and tells the story of the "best pinewood derby car he ever saw" with much drama. (It was a car built by a Web boy long gone from the pack who did every bit himself including the weights -- quarters duct taped to the bottom of the car.)

CM latter on gets up does a "scout hand pledge". Every cub put up your hands in the air in front of you. "I pledge that these are the hands that will do the work on my car".

Den leaders sent out notes in their calendar updates that talked about the progression over the years as scouts are able to more and more on their cars themselves without adult hands. "This is your time with your son to do a project together. Something's off if Parent is working on the car in the garage when scout son is inside asleep".

Pack rules were printed and rubber banded to the derby kit before they were handed out.

The design awards became important as scouts dot voted for the funniest, most creative, meanest car....

Help was available to less handy parents.

Day of the derby the CM and ACM acted out a funny skit for the scouts on how not to be at the race. (Sportsmanship).

We switched to Saturday morning so we could race as many races as we wanted.

Mostly we had trouble with dads who were working many hours and mistook winning for connecting with their sons.

Our custom was that we would "award" the colors at the first pack meeting when the Web1s were getting something, usually that first fall meeting. That way the pins got on the colors and the colors didn't get lost over the summer (or at camp).

2C if I was the typical parent of a new scout 9 months into the year and my scout wasn't advancing (but a few were) I'd be frustrated with the program also. Nothing worst as a parent than not knowing what is going on.

We tend to assume that new parents know nothing when they come in. However I would not bore Webelos parents at open house with the administrative issues of our troop's advancement process -- just that it is individual paced and scout directed.

Signoffs in handbooks yes! Go over it with the boys multiple times and their parents once verbally and once in writing.

A wise scouter on this board once said to call it a "Pack Party" instead of "meeting". What boy wants to go to a meeting?

Let us know how it goes.