funscout

I agree that the popcorn fundraiser should be a family effort. If I had an office to go to, I would take my boys' order forms with me to work. I guess I just didn't feel the dad should have misled the Pack into thinking that his son went out and sold all that popcorn. The only reason I even knew about this was becuase the Treasurer was very concerned that this family was not turning in $1,500 of their sale. She asked me what to do about it, and that's when we discovered the family had personally bought that much in order to make sure their son had a huge sale. Luckily, they did pay up, but we were a bit nervous while we waited!

It doesn't matter if they stick with the blue or switch to tan at some point. My older son needed a bigger size shirt after his Bear year, so I bought him a tan shirt with room to grow. He was then able to wear it as a 1st year Boy Scout before he outgrew it. My younger son outgrew his brother's hand-me-down blue shirt after his Wolf year, so I had no choice, but to get him a larger blue one. I'm going to have him wear the blue one all through out Webelos, so I get my money's worth out of this shirt. Our 2nd year Webelos still had blue shirts to the end, but at Blue and Gold, part of their Arrow of Light ceremony had them going into a "cave" and coming out with the new tan shirts. Right now, 2 of my 12 Webelos 1's have a tan shirt, and a few others need a bigger shirt, so I recommended that they go for the tan one in a big enough size to wear for a few years.

A boy in our pack has consistently been the top seller of popcorn each year. Our pack is grateful for the money that he generates for us. However, I learned that this year, when he didn't manage to sell nearly as much as in previous years, his parents bought $1500 worth of popcorn with the idea that they'd continue to try to sell it after the ending date. I didn't know about this until after it was done. I have no idea how much popcorn they are "stuck" with, but I also wonder if this is ethical. He was cited as the top seller again, and he probably would have been even without the extra help. I just feel that it sent a poor message to the kid when his dad announced to the Pack, "He set a goal, and he earned it." I have no problem with parents taking the popcorn sheet to work and helping to get sales for their boy. But, telling people that it was their son's work isn't completely truthful. Any thoughts on this?

I think most troops do give more "prodding" until the boys reach 1st class. I'd talk with the SM and other leaders to get their ideas and also to alert them that your son is doing the work, but not initiating meetings for sign-offs. My son, too, was slow to get things signed off. In his case, he IS shy with adults, although, I've seen a great improvement in the 2 years he's been a Boy Scout. The first class requirement that was toughest for him was the one where he needed to talk to a civic leader about their responsibilities as a citizen. My son was very nervous about approaching a teacher, and most of his patrol finished this requirement quickly. Finally, when a good buddy joined the troop, the 2 of them went together to talk to a teacher.

As a conservative, right-wing Christian Republican female human (I think those are enough descriptors for now!,) I have to say that I am ashamed that my first reaction to this situation was completely prejudiced. (I am, after all, human!) I was horrified that ANY Arab country would have anything to do with our ports. Being a somewhat sane and rational human, I forced myself to withold judgement until I knew all of the facts. I still don't know what to think of this, and I am having difficulty over-coming my prejudice against Middle Eastern countries. My sister had a wonderful college room-mate who was from Iran, and my father did business in Kuwait and Jordan in the 1970's, so my early exposure to Arab countries was quite positive. After, 9/11, however, my fears have allowed prejudice to creep in. I certainly do not believe ALL Arab people are to be feared, but it is hard to not make generalizations when you are afraid.

A nervous Venture scout: Chicken of the Sea healthy trail mix: Two scoops of raisins in a package of... When a Cub crosses over to Boy Scouts: I'm a big kid now! Racoons at summer camp: Aye, yi, yi, yi, Oh I am the Frito Bandito. (a twist on Dr. Pepper) I'm a Scouter, you're a Scouter, he's a Scouter, we're all Scouters, wouldn't you like to be a Scouter, too? Be a Scouter... I don't want to grow up, I'm a Scouts R Us kid!

Trevorum, I'm glad you mentioned that a BOR never FAILS someone, but just postpones the completion, until all requirements have been satisfactorally finished. My son didn't pass his first BOR for 1st class, because he didn't give thorough enough answers. He is a poor test taker, and tends to "choke" under pressure. When I asked him about the BOR later, it was clear to me that he DID know the information, but the way he communicated it looked like he didn't know it well enough. I was pleased to see that the leaders reassured my son that there was nothing wrong with not passing the first time around. He passed easily the following month, since it wasn't so new or intimidating to him.

Our Pack brings in a photographer during our Blue and Gold Banquet. We don't do a whole Pack picture, but have the dens go one at a time for their den picture (and individuals for those who want them). My older son's troop doesn't do this, but I would definitely buy a picture each year, if they did.

A lot of the younger boys in my son's troop don't shower at camp, but they do swim. Another hygiene issue that gets overlooked is brushing teeth. I don't think my son has ever brushed his teeth on a camp-out or at summer camp. Any ideas to promote tooth brushing?

Thanks for the ideas, they will certainly help!

I'd like to know how other Packs do the Color Guard. Our Tigers and Wolves have trouble holding the flag while we recite the Pledge. I may be remembering wrong, but I think that our Pack used to allow the boys to "post" the colors before we said the Pledge. For at least the last 3 years, we have been doing it this way: Color Guard Advance Color Guard Present the Colors (we say the Pledge while the boys hold the flags) Color Guard Post the Colors Color Guard dismissed Is it okay to let the boys "post" the Colors before we say the Pledge? Even a few of my Webelos have trouble holding out the flag for very long. Maybe we just need smaller flags.

MaScout, you are a great role-model for leading and then allowing others to lead. Although my Cub leader years will only be at total of 8 by the time my younger son crosses to boy scouts next year, I, too find myself in a position of being the "most experienced" leader in the Pack right now. We have excellent Tiger and Wolf leaders (no Bears this year), so even though they ask what they're going to do without me, I know they'll do great. I keep reminding them that the Pack needs new ideas, and they are starting to realize that they don't have to look to me before making decisions. If the returning leader hasn't been gone too many years, then chances are that somebody in the Pack will remember him/her. I'd welcome any properly motivated leader, but if I knew that the returnee was in it more for him/herself than for the boys, then I'd recommend looking elsewhere for leadership.

I'd also add a list of suggested clothing and equipment to bring. This is especially important for 1st time campers.

I don't have a sewing machine, and don't want to pay someone else to sew on patches, so I hand sew them myself. Another leader gave me a helpful tip that I always use, now. I staple the patch to the shirt with one or 2 staples, to hold it in place. After sewing on the patch, I carefully remove the staples. I could not get the Wolf/Bear arrow points on straight, until I tried this technique.

My community has 2 troops and 4 feeder Packs. The 2 "town" Packs traditionally feed into Troop A, while the 2 "country" packs typically feed into Troop B. Troop A does not invite Webelos to attend Camporee or Klondike Derby so some of the "town" packs' Webelos are now going to Troop B. I think our community does need 2 troops, but I fear that Troop A is going to continue to shrink if they don't maintain a relationship with Webelos like Troop B does. The 2 troops meet on different nights, so some boys do end up choosing a troop based on the day of the week that works best for them.

I've been wondering how kids manage when they are overbooked with activities. My brother was very busy in High school with a sport Fall, Winter, and Spring, as well as band, Boy Scouts, and Church Youth Group. He managed to make Eagle Scout despite his busy schedule, and I asked my Mom how he did it. (I was away at college, so I didn't see him live this on a day-to-day basis) My Mom pointed out that they wouldn't let him get a job during the school year (we all detassled corn in the summer - Yuck!) and he didn't have the best grades - mostly C's. He never seemed stressed, and he wanted to do all the activities, so I guess that's why he succeeded. Even though his grades were only average, he got a good job after college, and is a successful, welll-rounded fellow. I'm sure it does depend on each child's personality, and I don't think my older son could handle a busy schedule. Right now he's involved in Boy Scouts, band, and Church Youth Group, and that's plenty for him. We do recreational sports as a family, so he doesn't miss out on sporting opportunities. Both of my boys value their "down" time, so we make sure they get plenty of it.

I nominate gwd-scouter to do the counting for us! Will you get back to us with the results?

Eagle76 and CNYscouter: Thanks for the lesson! I look forward to Boy Scout leader training after my younger son crosses over to Boy Scouts in one year.

A few years ago, my pack was having a hard time finding leadership. We did have a decent number of boys (35-40), but no CM. All of the den leaders already each held another position (at the time I was Tiger DL, Webelos 1 DL, CC, Advancement Coordinator, and Membership Chair!), so none of us could also take on CM. When we actively looked into merging our Pack with another local Pack, that's when we finally got someone to step up to CM. GS-CS: you have a tough decision. It doesn't look like either of the other Packs will work for you. Personally, I hope you don't let the "Christian" Pack scare you away. As a Christian, myself, I've often wondered why we don't practice at least some of the Jewish tradtions that are a part of our heritage. My small town Methodist church has recently spent much time reintroducing us to our Jewish heritage. Did the offended parent talk to anyone, or just assume that they were "too Christian?" As we all know, Scouting is not about just one religion. I'd talk to the CM and bring up my concerns, if I were you, before totally discounting them. Due to personality conflicts and scheduling conflicts, you say that might not work, anyway, though. Good luck! Brian, if your son went to Saukenuk Day Camp last summer, then I think I met you. If not, then it was someone else with your same name. Feel free to send me a private message if this is the case. If you are the person I'm thinking of, then I can say right now, that my Pack would love to get a Bear den. We have no Bears this year. When this age group were Tigers, the Tiger leader and his son dropped out, and no one was willing to be Wolf leader last year. So we had no Wolves last year, and won't have Web. 1 next year, etc. Hopefully, you can get enough volunteers to keep your Pack going, though. Maybe if the church realizes that this could be their last year chartering a Cub Scout Pack, then they might step up to provide some leadership. Good Luck!

On another note, I've noticed that the younger boys actually tend to do better than the older boys at Klondike. The older boys tend to assume they already know everything, while I see the younger boys studying up on the skills needed. Last year, I was an adult walker for a patrol of boys who were mostly high school aged. Even though they had competed for many years, they did worse than my son's patrol (which was completely made up of brand new scouts). At our "sled ferry," the older patrol dropped their sled in the bottom of a ravine, because they hurried through their knot tying. The younger patrol was slower with their knots, but their sled made it across just fine. This year, my son's patrol didn't do as well as last year, again, because I think they felt they already knew all the skills, so they didn't "study" like the new scouts did.

Okay, I'm confused. I am still just a Cub scout leader who participates as a parent helper with my older son's troop. I thought the troop was supposed to be boy-led. The BOYS in my son's troop are the ones who are choosing to combine patrols for special events. Are the leaders supposed to over-ride their decision and tell them they MUST stick with existing patrols only? I'm planning on taking the training to become a Boy Scout leader when my 4th grader crosses over to Boy Scouts. Maybe I'll understand better, then. The 2 patrols that would have had only 2 boys each, are both made up of older boys. Many of them now have jobs and can not attend as many scout activities as they would like. I'd hate to be the one to tell the 2 boys who are left that they can not combine with another patrol. On the HILLY wooded trails that our Klondike Derby covers, I don't see how it is possible for 2 boys to pull a sled which contains all the gear that is required. I've seen patrols of 4 boys struggle greatly to get their sleds up some hills, especially when there is little or no snow. If our 2 sets of 2-boy patrols had not been allowed to combine with the other 6-boy patrols, then I'm willing to bet those boys would have stayed home from Klondike. Instead of encouraging boys to attend, this would have discouraged them. So, I'm wondering, is it really better to deny the BOYS the right to choose to combine patrols in special circumstances, or to FORCE them to compete with only 2 boys?

Thanks for the tip on what sounds like an excellent resource for any leader. It looks like something even non-Christians would be willing to read. I'm going to check to see if our church library has a copy yet.

As a woman in scouting, I didn't realize I was supposed to be trying to look fashionable! I really don't think it's necessary. I just want to look like a leader, not a female leader. That's why I won't wear the yellow blouse, skirt, etc. Personally, I think that if a uniform was designed especially for a woman, then it would end up being something like we already have, and don't want. (skirt, culottes) I think we all have issues, male or female about the current uniform, but I guess I thought that "uniform" meant "same" and that we should all look uniform. I have to confess that I chuckle to myself when I see women in the restrooms at council campouts who are putting on make-up and fixing their hair! I say, just throw on a hat and get back to the boys!

Our troop ends up combining patrols due to the same reasons that others have mentioned. If older boys try to take over a patrol, that patrol will lose points as they need to show how they can work together. So, we haven't had a problem with a mix of ages in the patrols. My 12 year old son was the patrol leader for his patrol this year and the boys ranged in age from 11-15. I, too, don't see why it is so important to keep strictly to true patrols. If our troop had done that, we would have had 2 patrols of 6 boys each, and 2 patrols of 2 boys each. If every troop would have had 4 or more patrols, our Klondike Derby would have been way too crowded with sleds, and it would have taken too long to get all the different teams through all the stations. The number of "teams" we had was just about right, with not too much waiting to get to a station. Also, not one of our boys complained that they weren't in their true patrols. I can tell that the boys enjoy interacting with boys from other patrols. In my mind, this strengthens the whole TROOP, since it encourages the boys to work with older or younger boys, instead of just their same old patrol buddies. Granted, our troop uses the patrol method for everything else, but I actually see benefits for switching boys around (only as needed) for Klondike Derby.

I was one of the adult "walkers" assigned to my son's patrol at Klondike Derby. Any adult help reduces the points that the boys receive. We adults are only there for the 2-deep adult leadership/supervision. One of the boys pointed out how boy-run this really is, when I asked the patrol if any of them were going to do the optional compass course. The boys said they didn't want to do it, and when I reminded them that they might have a chance at winning the top score if they completed the course, one boy said, "You adults are always reminding us that it's not all about winning, it's about having fun. And right now, we are just going to have fun." The boys then continued with the snowball fight that they were having. We adults got quite a chuckle over that one!