janssenil

Hi, For a couple of years we've been doing a bingo gift exchange at our pack meeting for our HOliday Party Meeting. Each child brings a gift and we play bingo until every child has "won" a gift (including siblings). Someone on another forum just told me it was prohibited by BSA rules to play bingo because it's a game of chance. Is this really true? Never heard of that before. It's certainly not gambling the way we play it. And, if so, what about the PInewood Derby or almost any game?

Could they have been working on them all Summer? Since Advancement occurs in May or June, kids could begin working on belt loops & pins during the summer for their new rank. My son earned both belt Loops and pins for baseball, fishing, swimming and bicycle last summer and by the Pack Meeting in September he had done the belt loops for Bowling, basketball and table Tennis plus the computer belt loop & pin. You have to admit, the belt loops are pretty easy to earn. Actually none of the sports pins or loops are really hard. I guess I'd question it a bit if the Pack is paying for all of it, but ultimately the family is the loser if they weren't really earned.

Hi, Wonder if you could help me out with a quick, inexpensive craft idea that our Pack could make to give to Nursing Home residents? I'm a Webelo II Den Leader and, for our November Pack meeting, each Den is suppose to do a Thanksgiving related skit. But, my Webelo II's have just about refused to do another skit. I think they're at an age where it's become embarrassing and mundane especially since they've been doing them for so many years now. So, instead, I thought they could distribute and help the rest of the Dens make something quick to give to nursing home residents at our next visit around Christmas time. The problem is coming up with an idea for something that is worthwhile and fast to make AND something that Tigers can handle as well as the older boys. We could, of course, do more than one project in order to keep it conducive to various ages. And, of course, parents and siblings will be on hand to help. I'm at a loss, tho, for good ideas. Thanks for your thoughts!!! PJ

We (our Pack) were asked to be part of our city's 150th birthday parade. The theme is "Pride in our Past - Faith in our Future" so Scouting is a perfect fit. We really want to do this event, but are SO overwhelmed by many things that are happening at the same time. Can anyone help us out with ideas for a simple, easy, but nice looking float?! We'll be using fairly large hayrack pulled behind a Truck. Thanks!!

Are Jamborees for Boy Scouts only? Or, are Webelos old enough to participate?

OUr pack does the "Santa delivering the Pinewood Derby cars", but we also have each child (including siblings) bring a wrapped gift worth about $5. Then we play bingo until each child wins one of the wrapped gifts. We've had to allow several winners (up to 10) per game to keep from dragging it out too long. Last year we allowed 2nd-time winners to pick a cheap plastic prize out of a bag in order to keep everyone busy until everyone won something. It turned out to be a pretty exciting event for the kids.

Thanks, that's what I thought, but I did forget about the 6 month after 4th Grade part. Some of the kids are homeschooled so it could have been a point of contention, I suppose. I'm, also, surprised and disappointed that they aren't going to continue Scouting. I didn't have my wits about me to ask her at the time. I'll see what I can do about having someone find out.

Hey, wait a minute. I don't have my book with me (well, my son's book) at the moment, but don't I remember it saying something somewhere about being able to do they same achievement or elective over & over and having each time count toward the 10 needed for Arrow points? I even remember at training, the trainer pointed out that some kids parent's seem to let them go to extreme with repeating and they have arrow points around their waist. I hope she was exaggerating.

One of our Webelo II's leaders, who just joined our Pack, asked me the following question about the Arrow of Light award. Her boys have already completed all the requirements for this award and, I believe she said, completed every single badge possible. She has taken them to a Boy Scout meeting and she doesn't think any of them are going to go on to Boy Scouting for various reasons (there are 4 of them). She's not planning on having anymore meetings after December and, therefore, sees no reason to ask the parents to pay the registration fee for next year. (Our Charter is January through December.) If all of this is true, can we award them the Arrow of Light at our December Pack meeting? She believed that it has to be done at the Blue & Gold in February. Are their special circumstances or ceremonies that must be done? Let me explain a little further, the Pack that she and her boys were originally part of has gone inactive. All of the dens from that Pack have joined our Pack. I don't think she was entirely happy about it.

Me too? Me too? (waving arm widly) Can I have a copy of the stories, too? We were able to go to the fire station where they tried to teach my kids knots. It didn't stay with them for very long at all and we've tried it twice now.

I'm a Webelo Leader and my son is ADHD. I absolutely LOVE the words of wisdom from SagerScout. Thank you so much for sharing them with the world. I only wish every non-ADHD person who touches my son's life could read them and I only wish that half of the people he encounters in life will care enough to give him the benefit of the doubt (and without discussing his behavior or shortcomings with everyone else). Afterall, it's as good an investment for them as it is for him. We can be the ones that can either make these children or break them. SagerScout's advice was a great refresher for me, too. I need to be reminded of those very things often, because living with an ADDlet can get pretty tense. And, right on target about ADHD being a gift in certain settings!! I think Sctmom's suggestion about medication is a solid one, too, although not as popular or accepted by everyone. Medications are a touchy subject and, I have to admit, could easily be taken offensively. Most kids medication wears off in the early evening or even shortly after school is over. There are many kinds of meds out there now, but traditional Ritalan usually only lasts 4 hours or less. I've asked our physician to give my son a prescription for 'emergencies' so that he can enjoy an evening with his friends or other activities occasionally. The Poem was beautiful - I've seen it before and needed to see it again. In my den, I don't have any other diagnosed ADDlets, but all of them have strong personalities. I think it's a big asset for a leader to have an ADHD son. It makes all the rest of them seem easy even when they're being difficult or wild. Laura was right-on when she said, "One thing to keep in mind, though - ADD/ ADHD is different for every child." That is SO easy to forget. You discover a child in your Den or Troop is ADHD and then you begin to expect the next one to show the same symptons. I could get into the symantics of ADHD and what is actually happening up there in the brain, but that would be better explained by someone else. Suffice it to say the ADHD affects each child in different ways, hence some have coordination problems while some excell in sports. Some find writing and drawing almost painful (my son) while others revell in artwork and writing beautiful stories. Did you know that Einstein, Mark Twain, Robin Williams, Thomas Edison are just a few of the famous people who are, were, or believed to be ADHD? Go here to see a full list - http://www.oneaddplace.com/famous.htm Now, as for parents versus no parents for ADDlets at meetings, I believe it really depends on the Leader AND the child. We have one leader in our Pack who can't, and doesn't want to, deal with any kid who has any problem including mild ones. She snips and snarls about the disruptions caused by non-ADD kids, much less ADD kids, all the time. I wouldn't leave my son alone with her for 10 minutes (even though I've thought of it in one of my meaner moments after her smugness has annoyed me for long enough). As for me and my son, I'd like to hover for the rest of my life , but I know it's detrimental to his well-being. I know, too, that I have been his worst enemy at times when I run out of patience and when I want him to set an example for the other kids. So, I believe that Sager really had something when he/she said parents can make things worse. And, as I said, it's really a matter of what the Leader is like AND what the child is like. All I can really say is, please hang in there with these kids, please have patience and please try to look out for their well-being. I think my son is very lucky in many, many ways.. very talented, but he also experiences rejection day after day after day. He bounces back so quickly, it's easy to think nothing bothers him. It does - it's forming his personality and how he really feels about himself deep down. It will have an influence him and the way he views the world forever.

It pains me to say this being a feminist at heart, but I have learned over the years that male leaders are very, very important in this program. The boys need males although they don't seem to be overly abundant. On the other hand, I think whether or not camping should or should not include women is all a matter of what values you're trying to instill or what your objective is. Seeing men and women work together and showing them the value of each person in their own way can be as important as teaching a boy to be manly or independent or other skills, maybe more important since one of the hardest things in life is to have a successful marriage and family. Your view is not wrong nor is anyone else's here. What is important for one boy may not be as important for another. I really need to remember to tell my husband how proud I am of him for being as involved with our den as he is. Things couldn't possibly work as well without him. The Den works well because we have him doing all the things I can't do - building rockets, sawing wood for pinewood derby stands, reminding me they need to be crazy once in awhile. The den works well because we have me doing the listening for things they need to hear, planning for things that could only happen if they're planned for, etc., etc., etc.

Just one more thing and I'll quit chiming in... The 'promiser' plans on taking them again without me. He told me that very clearly the weekend we went camping and I truly hope he follows through. His plan is to give them $10 each and send them into the grocery to buy their own food for the weekend. And, actually, I think it's a good idea. But, I plan on mentioning to the boys at one of our meetings some ideas on eating cheap and eating good so they'll surprise him. He's expecting them to buy candy bars and chips so they'll learn the hard way. I'm betting they won't if they have some good ideas like a jar of peanut butter and loaf of bread. I'll be there in spirit on that one, if it happens, and I'm betting they'll want me back for the next one. And, come the day they are boy scouts and they want to go alone, I'll cheer them on and wait anxiously to hear their stories. I'll atleast know I taught them well.

I read through all these posts the other night and it got me to thinking and wondering how the boys in my Webelo Den felt about me, a female, camping with them. I was a little afraid to find out, afterall, I've poured my time and my heart into planning, doing, listening, laughing and admittedly, sometimes yelling, over the past 2 years. But I had to know. So, tonight at our Den Meeting I asked. I kinda slipped it in while asking if they wanted to camp at the local pilgrimage in April. A resounding YES was the answer, of course. Them I quickly added, very unemotionally and casually - 'so would you rather it be an all guy thing, or shall I come along?' A brief moment of silence during which my heart pounded a bit and then...four out of five yelled, 'yes, we want you to be there.' Then a chaotic discussion with hands waving about 'yeah, we know we'll have food there' and 'she'll remember the fun stuff.' And more 'yes, yes, we want you there.' The one boy who wanted an all guy thing just grinned so I don't know what he was really thinking, but, 'whew' I was glad they wanted me to go! Ya know, late last year was our first attempt at camping and it went beautifully. The kids periodically bring it up and talk about the funny things that happened, including the gross, bodily function stuff. But we would have never have made it if I had left it up to the guy that promised them camping at the beginning of the summer. He mentioned it to the boys and never followed through. In fact, he got a bit aggravated with them after they asked him when they were going to do it 2 meetings in a row. They begged me everytime they saw me to find out when he was going to do it. I finally couldn't stand it and I made all the plans. The boys and I sat down and planned the menus and decided who would do food prep and cleanup, etc. We did it the right way and not at all unlike I learned in Girl Scouts. We fished all morning, hiked in the afternoon, told campfire stories at night, made breakfast sandwiches in our pie irons and everything else I could think of that I thought they should know. So, I'm proud of what I did and I'm proud of the fact that they want me to come along. In fact, I couldn't wait to get on here and tell you all!!! I do have to add that the male 'promiser' came along and my husband came along. Both of them were indespensible and I couldn't have done it as well alone.

One more little tidbit. At training we were told the boys can actually earn an infinite number of arrow points because, each time they repeat an elective they've already done, it qualifies again. Actually, one of the trainers was 'kind of' complaining because she's seen kids with Arrow Points 'practically around their waists' because they kept repeating one or two electives. Personally, I think it's fair for a DL to put a limit on how many can be earned for the same thing, but.......

I was getting desparate the end of summer because my Webelo I's were begging to camp. We're a very small, one year old Pack. The council seemed to come to the rescue by offering a campout. As it turned out, my Webelo Den was the only one that showed up!! It was great though! We had a blast. I did plan each meal and signed up each boy for prep & clean up. As for meals, one that turned out particularly good was a breakfast sandwich made in a pie iron. I asked as many as possible to bring pie irons and, as it turned out, all of them brought one. My husband did scramble up the eggs before we left, but outside of that, everything cooked in the pie iron. Bread, cheese, ham and eggs on buttery, toasted bread. Then we used the pie irons again that night for a snack of peach pie. The other fun meal was the good ol' foil packets. The kids piled the greased tin foil high with veggies, pork, potatoes and barbque sauce. I think making them themselves made them taste better.

Thanks for sharing the attendance problems! It makes me feel a little better. As much as one tries not to take things personally, it's hard not to wonder what you're doing wrong. Actually, sometimes I wonder how parents can be so rude when you are trying SO hard to do something for their most prized possessions.

I agree, program helps was a great thing when I was doing Bears! I would have been lost without it when I first began. Now I'm doing Webelos and, I think I'm correct in saying, they don't have the monthly Den themes for Webelos. I love doing Webelos, but the boys get bored with mundane activities so I try to do things like making Pinewood Derby stands and other a-bit-more complicated projects. I've just gotten into the idea of letting them plan which activities they want to work on, but, still, I'm sure they're going to want to do the more interesting, complex things like getting on the internet for communications and to earn the internet patch. That all takes time and planning on my part. Hey, just getting my house cleaned up enough to have them all over takes time. ) We're meeting on Sunday afternoons because they're involved in so many other activities, it just works out for everyone including me and it allows us to hang-out for 2 hours at a time. We have time to sit around a campfire and discuss issues along with finishing a craft or activity. We go on lots of field trips and that always takes at least 2 hours. Hey, I'm writing a book here, but bottom line is, I think, even if I'm not following the program to the letter, it's working for them and me. I love Scouting, but I do think there's room for improvement in the program even outside of the idea of weekly meetings versus bi-weekly. Wow, I think I'm getting off subject. And, Bob, I just read your response about selecting Committee members. I've tried doing that, but we still didn't get all our positions filled. I personally called 3 people to fill the Wolf Den Leader position and they all said no, yet we have 5 little boys who show up at every pack meeting since they were Tiger Cubs. Any other suggestions? We just don't have enough people to choose from at a small school in a small town.

forestengr - I just wondered about the idea behind leaving it to the Den Leader as to whether the boy is a good fit for the Den - what happens if the Den Leader doesn't think he'll fit in? As a Den Leader, I've always operated under the philosphy that Scouting is for everyone. Picking and choosing wasn't in my realm of possibilities. I've groaned a time or two, but I feel like you have to give all boys a chance unless the size of your Den is getting too hard to handle.

Sheila, The call down idea is great. I only have 5 Webelos and last week only one showed up (in addition to my son). I was VERY unhappy after having stayed home all day to make sure I had everything planned and recorded. Turns out one new parent got their meetings mixed up; I still have no idea what happened to the other two. A call down would have saved me a lot of grief. A variation might work, too. Set up a list of who will call who until the last person calls the first person. And, if a boy has trouble contacting his assigned person, have him call the leader. Does anyone else have any problems with boys not showing up?

I agree that every other week (or every two weeks) works very well in some cases. Just like many, many other Den Leaders, I work outside my home fulltime. Doing it every 2 weeks gives me time to get things together rather than continually throwing things together because I haven't had time to plan. We meet for 1.5 to 2 hours instead of 1 hour per meeting to make up for the time. That too, seems to work out better as it gives us more time to work on things and finish projects. I started with Bears so maybe they are old enough to remember for 2 weeks versus Wolfs. Now I haVe Webelos and they definitely have no problems with continuity. Parents like it because they aren't running every week - they get a week off, too. For out Pack, I can't picture requiring Den Leaders to have their meetings all at the same place at the same time. As volunteers, I think they should be able to pick & choose what's convenient for them. Some meet at their own homes and some meet at school. I, also, don't understand the concept behind not having Den Leaders at Pack Committee meetings. Our Den Leaders are key in planning and getting things done. Without them, very little would get accomplished and ideas are frequently generated from them. Not to mention, their understanding of what's feasible and what's not.(This message has been edited by janssenil)

Wow, Sctmom, you actually know parents that will sew a Bobcat badge on and then take it off to sew the Webelos badge on (for the tan shirt)?! I wish I could get our parents to just sew a badge on period.

Does anybody know if there are any plans to offer a beltloop and pin for Martial Arts or Karate? Or why they haven't offered one in the past?