GopherJudy

Welcome mythreesons! I stumbled across here looking for gift suggestions for my son's Webelos II's den & I'm glad I did! Yes, it's a very rewarding experience! My son started as a Bear in Sept 2002 & on March 20th graduated from Webelos II to Boy Scouts & I was lucky enough to be the Assistant Den Leader! I've had great time watching the boys grow & learn & I've learned right along with them! Enjoy being part of a Scouting family! My daughter's in her 3rd year of Brownies & bridges to Juniors this June! Judy

le Voyageur, I don't blame you one bit! Unfortunately (sp?) school & school buses are not like when I was a kid. I think the authority of teachers & busdrivers have been usurped & some kids think they can do whatever they please. Now, i'm not that old, I'll be 48 in May but there were not the constant distruptions by the same students in the classroom & on the bus as my children have to deal with now. I think it's a real shame. In elementary school the older kids looked out for the younger ones, nowadays it seems the older kids bully the younger ones. Too bad all children can't be involved in Scouting, maybe the world would be a better place. Good luck finding a new job! Judy

Thanks OneHour! I've used them before & in my Yahoo e-mail I just click on the emoticon button & they have about 20 different ones. I've been on other message boards & they have a link to the smilies that you can use in your post! Too bad there are just 3, when you figure out the others please let me know! Judy

My son's B&G was yesterday, everything went well, everyone had a great time & he's now officially a Boy Scout! (Wiping away a tear!) They had a brand new bridge, that they helped make, to cross over on & they were very proud of themselves! So was their DL & I & of course the boys parents! The gifts they received from the pack were the portable stools, so after a long hike they can rest for 5 minutes! (I had posted about gift suggestions a while ago & thanks to all that replied!) My personal gift to each of the 7 boys was a First Aid Bandana, a Boy Scout bookmark, pen & pencil. It's hard to believe that they're Boy Scouts, it seems like it was only yesterday when my son joined as a Bear! Mark was so excited that after we got home from the B&G he wanted me to get his uniform "ready" for Boy Scouts! Meaning to take off his Bobcat, Bear & Webelos Badges, his Arrow Points & Compass Point Emblem, den # & sew on his Arrow of Light! He found a cookie tin & put his belt, blue loops & the badges that I did take off in there to keep!I told him that I was very tired, I didn't get much sleep last week & I didn't want to make any mistakes & ruin his shirt & that his uniform would be all ready for his first Troop meeting on Tuesday, March 22nd! Too cute! Oh what a minute, I guess he's too old to be cute! LOL! I can't wait to see the photos & I hope that they came out good because my SIL took quite a bit of them since I was up there with the boys! Now onto Boy Scouting! Judy AWDL

I guess some people have too much time on their hands or are made because they forgot to order some cookies! I'll tell my daughter that it's her fault that Americans are fat! NOT! Good Grief! what a world! Judy Proud mother of a new Boy Scout & a Brownie who sold a lot of cookies! I do a "smiley" except I don't know how it's done here!

My advice would be to take the WLOT, it would be more beneficial since you're den will be the next Webelos I's. I didn't take BALOO so I can't tell you about that. At the WLOT I learned a lot & had a lot of fun while doing it. I would make much more sense to talk that course now anyhow. Good Luck! Judy AWDL

Congrats Semper Paratus! That's great! Don't forget to let us know what issue you'll be in. BTW how did you find out that you're going to be in the magazine? Also, how does any unit get into the magazine? Congrats AGain! Judy

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I'll keep the Requirements book, it was only $3.95. I've added the MB site to my favorites & when my son's ready, he can ask his SM about the Troop Library! In fact if I remember I'll ask him if they have one & what they have. Thanks again! Judy

My son will be crossing over to Boy Scouts this Sunday, March 20th, at the B&G. I bought him the BS Requirements Book for 2005. Now, this might be a stupid question but is this book good for several years or do they change the requirements every year & I need to buy a new book every year? Regarding the individual MB Books, is it necessary to buy him every book for every MB my son wants to work on or is the BS Handbook & the Requirement book enough for him to use & complete the requirements for whatever MB he's going to work on? Thanks! Judy P.S. He will be receiving his BS Handbook from the SM at his 1st troop meeting 2 days after his B&G

What we did when my son was a Bear, I bought 8"x11" (approximation) wood plaque from Michaels, a craft store. We did a "Bear" camping scene! The boys glued green felt on the wood. they made a "tent" out of blue felt which they glued onto "tent poles" made up of about 4" pieces of a cut up 3 foot dowel that was the thinnest in width. I found wood trees & canoes (closest to a boat I could find in Michaels!) & the boys painted the trees green (what else!) & the boats brown & glued them onto the green felt. I have a low-temp mini-glue gun that they used under my supervision! I bought small American flags & the DL drilled a little hole for the flags & the boys glued them into the hole. He also drilled small slits for the trees & boats to be glued into. I bought small bears, which the boys glued to the green felt. I bought small aluminum candle holders (I think that's what they were)to use as a fire tub & they glued that onto the green felt & that was for their "Campfire". I cut up about 2 inch pieces of another 3 foot dowel, stained it brown & the boys glued them together to make "firewood" & then glued them into the "fire tub". Only 3 Bears went to the B&G that year, as quite a few boys dropped out because they and/or their parents couldn't be bothered working on their achievements. When the boys were Webelos I's I had a different & smaller idea! Also, at that time we had 7 boys! I bought a 3" round piece of wood to use as a stand from Michaels. The boys stained that & the dowels (this time pre-cut & in a package!) They made the "Webelos Diamond Badge" out of felt. I had made templates for the badge (blue felt), the border (yellow felt) & the Yellow "corn thing" (I don't know what it really is - sorry), light blue felt for the "W" on the "corn thing", the attempted template of the small Boy Scout symbol on the bottom & the word "WEBELOS" handwritten on seam binding & glued on because nothing else worked! The boys glued the badge together, then glued the front part to the dowel & then glued the back part of the badge to the front part. I had printed on cardstock paper a card with each boy's name & den number on it, used a hole puncher (hand held) to make to holes so the dowel would go through & then they glued the dowel to the wood base. This year they are Webelos II's & they did a "Bridge" centerpiece that I thought of. My brother, who owns his own constructiom company, was kind enough to cut 9 blocks of wood, about 2"x2"x6" & then carve out "stairs", 3 on each side for the bridge. Since we were running late with this I stained all the bridges & the pre-cut dowels myself. On the dowel is the "Arrow of Light" award made out of felt, tan for the "award, yellow arrow cut out of felt & I had a blue fabric marker we used as the border instead of blue felt, less cutting. I cut up flat craft sticks into pieces to make the "railing" on both sides of the bridge. I made the name cards again like I did for the previous year & this time I put on them Blue & Gold, March 20, 2005, the boys name & then den #. I made the DL's as it was my "test" model to see how it would come out! The boys used a low-temp mini-glue gun to glue the "railing" on the "bridge",they used the blue fabric marker to make the blue border on the tan felt, they glued the yellow felt arrow onto the tan felt background (can't think of another word), glued the front of the award to the dowel & then the back to the front. My brother drilled a small hole in the center of each "bridge" for the dowel & the boys glued the dowel with the AOL & their namecard into the hole. I bought Webelos & Boy Scout stickers from the Scout Shop & they put the Webelos stickers on both sides of the left side of the bridge & Boy Scout stickers on the both sides of the right side of the bridge so when the AOL is facing you it's going from Webelos to Boy Scouts. I hope that I made sense as it is 2:10 am EST! If you're allowed to post pictures here, I could do that! Good luck with your ideas & I hope that mine have helped you and others. BTW, each den has their own centerpieces for their tables, each boy makes his own. Judy

Eamonn, Thanks! I enjoy the training, it's my "adult" night out & I got to meet other people in our District & if it was a Council Training, I met new people there! I'm also on the Pack Committee & help out as much as I can, I'm always asking if someone needs my help. I've been going to Roundtable since November, I didn't know about it & it was difficult to go by myself. The CM/WDL was away on business so he wasn't able to be there. I was nervous since I only saw a few people that I knew from other units & then I found out that I had to stand up & introduce myself! I've gotten ideas from RT & of course learned more thinks & there's always info to pick up & bring back to the pack. It is important to be trained & it beneficial to the leader & the boys. I'm glad for you Eamonn that the new people thought it was important to be trained & enjoyed & benefited from it. Judy

I must have been the only person who "nagged" the CM, who is also my son's DL, to get trained! I found the training schedule on-line, asked him what training classes I needed to take, if I needed to bring anything special & directions to the school I was going to take them at. I did the Youth Protection on-line & the same with the Fast Start & the CM also gave me the Fast STart video. I'm also lucky in the fact that I always have my parents to watch my 2 children. I've even done the Webelos Outdoor Leader Training & learned a lot, I was very "knot challenged" & had a great time while learning! I also did the Council Pow Wow & learned there too! I think it's important to go to training & learn as much as you can. Judy

Packsaddle, I'm glad that you like my moniker! I guess I won't waste my time on Larry the Cable Guy! I do love Jeff Foxworthy! You can ask about my name, no problem! I'm the AWDL for my son's den & about a year ago we had a new boy join our den & pack from another pack. Well, his parents weren't the easiest to deal with & are rather nervy. They did cause a lot of problems & I felt sorry for their son, who really enjoyed SCouting. They are no longer with us, they quit in November. Well, I was going around handing out forms & other things pertaining to the den & when I came to this particular parent's home I was trying to explain that the hike that we were going to do was just for the Webelos Scout & a parent, not for the whole family. She said that scouting is for the family (maybe not those exact words) & couldn't understand why they all coulnd't go. I told her it was a hike & not a family vacation. Not too long after, I was calling all of the parents regarding something & she called me the Den Leader's "go-fer"! I was a little annoyed! The den leader & I are always in contact via e-mail or phone (he travels a lot for work) & I told him what the parent said & he was really angry. He had to call those parents about something & he said BTW, Judy is not a "go-fer" she's a registered leader & has done the required training & she helps out a lot more than you see. She was rather suprised that he mentioned that to her. So to finish my story, when she said "go-fer" I thought of "Gopher" & the gopher dance from the movie "Caddyshack", which I have the song stuck in my head a lot! I even sign my e-mails to the den leader "Gopher", "Goph" or just "G"! I didn't take it to heart, I just had fun with being a "Gopher"! LOL! Take care & have a great day! Gopher Judy

Hi Katydid! You must go crazy with all the moving & then having to remember all of the cutoff dates. I think even the city (as in NYC) has different cutoff dates! A friend of mine in elementary school to high school started kindergarten in the city & their cutoff date was Dec. 31st! I remember her birthday was December 18th! We graduated from high school in 1975 we were both born in 1957, my birthday was in May though! Eek! a "few" years ago! Now, if she started school on Long Island she would have had to wait til Sept 1963 to start kindergarten & would have graduated high school in 1976. You're right that the US should have a standard cutoff date to make it easier for those who move around a lot. But another problem is, is that not all schools, I'm talking about elementary, junior & senior high schools, start in September. I have a friend in Florida & her kids started school I believe in the middle of August, they finised in the middle of May I believe! EEK! August is too hot! Most of the problem lies with when the child's birthday is & what the cutoff dates are for each school district. I just hope that you're son is doing well & enjoys scouts. Judy

Welcome jteamnmj! Wow, sounds like you're having a great time in England! And you're going to France! It's a great experience for your family, to experience different cultures! Too bad you can't post any pictures so we could see where you've been in England! I'm new & I don't know if posting pics is allowed. Take care & have a great day! Judy

Too funny packsaddle! I'm in the middle of Suffolk County, exit 60 off the LID (Long Island Distressway!). My parent's upgraded their cable to IO so maybe I can see Larry the Cable Guy & hopefully without my 2 children around! I usually don't get that much of a chance to watch TV but I'll see if I can remember to check this out. It will save me a ride into Queens! Judy

Hi jteamnmj! That is a tough question & I don't know the answer but I'm glad as I read other posts that your son will be promoted to the 2nd grade. I'm glad that your son is so enthusiastic about Scouts & that you & your husband are too! I have a question for the other forum members regarding the age/grade thing. Now most school districts here on Long Island the cut-off date for entering kindergarten is December 1st. My son was born September 1994 & started kindergarten September 1999, about 5 days after he turned 5. So all of the children born from January 1st to December 1st 1994 were able to start kindergarten in September 1999. Also those born December 2, 1993 to December 31, 1993 started kindergarten in September 1999. Now my son will be whatever age is starts school as til he finishes that school year, which ends around the 3rd week in June, so he was 5 the whole kindergarten year & turned 6 right before he started 1st grade. Now obviously some of the kids in his class were born in the beginning of the year so they finished kindergarten when they were 6, then finishes 1st grade when they were 7, 2nd grade when they were 8, etc. Does the BSA have the grades/ages & have the age requirment as most of the kids would have had a birthday after January & finish 1st grade whey they are 7? Did they ever consider that some kids are the same age the whole school year? My son will graduate high school when he's 17 & he'll turn 18 almost 3 months later! The same with my daughter, her birthday is October 28, 1996 & started kindergarten in September 2001 & was 5 almost 2 months later! She'll also graduate from high school when she's 17 & turn 18 4 month later! She's in Brownies & in the 3rd grade & is 8! Does anyone understand what I'm talking about? There are some boys in Mark's Webelos II den that are already 11, the one boy's birthday was the middle of February. They are all in the 5th grade & there are 2 other boys in the den who were born in September & will still be 10 when they finish 5th grade! I hope that I've made sense here! Thanks if anyone has an answer to my question if it needs one! Judy

We only have pack Pinewood Derby, that's in place of Pack Night & in January. All of the boys get their cars/boats as Christmas gifts at December's pack night, we have someone dress up as Santa & give them out. But we too have some parents who don't follow the rules. When Mark was a Bear one of the cars was disqualified & it was one of the boys in his den. The CM picked up the car & noticed that the wheels & axles were not legal, he used a car from Michaels & the axles are the width fo the car, not the 4 nails you get with the official car. Now our CM has 1 inspection about a week before the race & lets you know if you need to add or subtract weight from you car & if the car clears the track. The night of the race he has another inspection for weight again. Now since the one scout had the illegal axles the next year the cars were inspected even further, especially for the axles. I think it's a real shame that some parents will cheat just so their son can win, when everyone else follows the rules & the CM reminds everyone of the rules at December's Pack Night. My son has to do most of the work himself. As a single mom, my husband died when Mark was 2.5 years & my daughter Lori was 5.5 months I don't have a variety of tools. My son will draw the design of the car & my brother will help him cut it out using power tools. Mark has to sand it, paint it & put whatever decals he wants on it & I help him with the wheels, they are a little tricky. I have a low-temp mini glue gun & he uses that to put a dab of glue over the axle by each wheel, we were told this was ok by the CM. I understand the frustration of knowing that a car was illegal. I found out that the same boy as a Bear, now a Webelos II, his father admitted to me that he bought his sons, the younger boy is a Wolf, pre-cut cars from a craft/hobby store & just used the official wheels & axles. Now, I'm also the AWDL & the I heard the other boys in the den talking about it & I didn't know what to do. I asked one of the other parents in the den, we went out into the hallway, the race is in the school cafeteria, & she didn't really know what to do either & thought it might be better if we didn't say anything. I'm sure that you guessed it, both boys with the pre-cut car bought from some store, won 1st place in their den. The CM did his best to inspect the cars, especially the axles but how is he going to know it's a pre-cut car with official PWD axles & wheels? The car's painted & the wood doesn't show through. This past January was my son's last PWD & he wasn't too happy that he didn't win a trophy. I told him that he did a great job on his car & he did most of the work himself. I think he was also made because of the other boy in his den with a store bought pre-cut car & not the official PWD car. It would be a shame if a few cheating parents ruined it for the whole den & pack. I guess the inspections just have to be even stricter & more time consuming. Judy

Hi Dug! Welcome, I'm new myself. I'm not understanding why you're saying that your troop isn't "By The Book". I'm still involved in Cub Scouts as my son crosses over to Boy Scouts in a few weeks & from my understanding of Boy Scouts is that is supposed to be "Boy run" (I hope that's an appropriate term), build leadership & confidence, the boys learn new things, have fun, go camping & hiking etc. So what is it that your troop does different? Judy

Eamonn, I agree, I would hate to see the BSA uniforms being made in a foreign country. I always try to find merchandise Made In America but unfortunately (sp?) it's not always easy. I think it's a shame that businesses manufacture things in foreign countries & it's more of a shame when they outsource their customer service departments, etc. to foreign countries! We should be proud if something is "Made In America"! On another note, my son's den wears the whole Webelos tan uniform! When we've gone to visit Boy Scout troops I believe all of the Scouts had on Boy Scout pants! I know the Cub Scouts in our pack wear blue jeans, I did buy the Blue Cub pants for Mark & he did wear them! I like the whole uniform look! Judy

I don't think Git R Done is sexist or racist but it doesn't sound right because being from Long Island I don't particularly (sp?) care for the work "GIT" used in place of "get" or "got"! I never heard of Larry the Cable guy, I guess I should get out more, so I've never heard of this saying before. I like "Get It Dunn" or "Got It Dunn", Falcon93 said they were going to spell "done" like their town name of "Dunn". I think that would sound better but it is up to the boys what they want their logo to be. I'm glad that the boys came together & worked as a team! Judy

I don't think the boy should have been made to take his earring out, especially if it was a small one & it could have gotten lost if he took it out. If the earring was a big, dangly one, I'm not sure if boys actually wear that kind, then he should have not even worn it with his uniform. My son is still in Cub Scouts & I really don't see the boys wearing earrings & if I did see boys that young wearing them I think it's stupid. Sorry if I offend anyone with my opinion there. As for other body piercings - eyebrows, nose, tongue, etc. - I think that's inappropriate to wear with the Scout uniform along with some kids who wear those black studded bracelets, dog collars, etc. When I see boy & girls like that I think to myself that they need their head examined & what's wrong with their parents. Another of my opinions! I also don't get the idea of the boys, some in my son's den, who bleach the top part of their head or the front of their hair. I think it looks stupid & could possibly ruin their hair. Yes, I'm rather opinionated on certain things! Also, I don't dye my hair, even though I have some gray hairs, I'm almost 48 so I see no reason to & I also don't have pierced ears! I was too chicken & I still am & I figured I have enough holes in my head & didn't need 2 more! But getting back to the boy, if the SM knew that there might have been a problem with the earring at the BOR he could have suggested to the boy to take if off just for the BOR & he could put it back in afterwards. There should be a standard that if some boys can wear their earrings at a BOR & some are told to remove them, then that's not fair. Either they all can wear them or they all can't wear them. Hopefully the Scout will think about it & go back to Scouting. Judy P.S. Acco40, tell your daughter that she's not the only one in the world without pierced ears! There's 3 of us - your daughter, my daughter who's 8.5 years old & me, who's a little older than that!

Hmmm! Another sticky situation. My son (5th grade) has Yu-gi-oh cards & Pokemon cards too & he plays them with his friends occassionally, he's never brought them on a campout. I have no clue as to how to play these games but I don't think he's ever encountered a problem. Probably because of his age, when we had gone camping & after everything was done & the boys had to go to bed, they pretty much went to bed because they were tired. The parents stayed up a little later but were rather tired too & went to bed. I had even brought a deck of playing cards for when the boys went to sleep but we were too tired to play! My son did bring some comic books, the 2 Power Pals issues he had & a book & he read a little. Now for the older boys I don't see a problem with a regular deck of playing cards & playing a game of 500 Rummy, keep those math skills in use, or another non-gambling game of cards. The other cards, Magic (I never heard of), Yu-Gi-Oh or other similar types I don't think it's a good idea to bring them along on a Scout campout. Reasons - they are valuable to the boys who have them & if 1 loses a card while playing it might be a problem if he can't handle losing; or as someone else posted they could get damaged from inclimate weather; or they fall out of the backpack or wherever they're being kept & they get lost. I do think that the SM should have given a reason for banning the cards & maybe the boys would have understood his reasoning. Judy

Everyone, Thanks for your ideas! I'm going to e-mail the DL the suggestions & see what he has to say. I probably doesn't help that I bought Mark the handbook cover, the red loops & the merit badge requirement book already! I love going to the Scout Shop! I usually give the boys a little something from myself & this year I'm giving them a Boy Scout pencil & pen & the first aid bandana. Thanks again & I'll let you know how things turned out! Judy

Texas Scouter, How did they sew the names on the handbook black bookcover? I already bought one for my son & it didn't look like you could sew on it! Thanks! Judy