msnowman

Just looked at scoutstuff.org/uniforms and insignia/shirts. The pale yellow Female Cub Scout leader blouse is still listed as available ($34.99-$39.99 for long sleeve, $32.99-$34.99 for short sleeve). To go with them, Female Cub Scout leaders can still get the ladies navy blue uniform shorts or pants (to be worn ONLY with the yellow blouse. Just thought I'd share my morning research. Michelle

I did this ceremony at my last ever Pack Bridging over in June. I used Acetone nail polish remover. First ingrediant is acetone, second is water. It had a lovely blue color to match my cover story of "magic water from a spring hidden deep with in Camp Roosevelt". I practiced for about 2 weeks to get it "just right". And it was great, the boys and parents all loved it. If anybody is interested in more specifics to do it yourself, feel free to PM me.

When Nephew did CitC this spring, his MBC had a list of suggested movies. His choice? Braveheart. He liked it so well that he watched it 3 times before his meeting to discuss it w/ his MBC.

Because of an incident involving Nephew and a Council attitude of "guilty until proven innocent" I have resigned from both the Pack and the Troop that I serve. This isn't about that. I want to thank all of the people here who have helped me provide a better program for those I serve. I appreciate your time and comments (even when I didn't agree with them). Michelle

I have to agree with the others - Blue and Gold is Cub Scouting's birthday and (ideally) should be held around February. We went as late as March one year and it just felt...off. It is a reality that maybe not every boy will make rank by Blue and Gold. And That's. O. K. If they are having a good time and "Doing their best" then that's the really important part. We have 2 dens who made rank in February, in time for Blue and Gold. WooHo! Fabulous for them! However, we also have 2 dens who will be receiving their rank Saturday at our Bridging Over campfire. WooHoo! Great for them too. They'll get their beads first, their rank next, followed by their arrow points. Then, they will get to come back up a little later and graduate to their next rank and get their new neckerchiefs. When boys make rank may vary by unit, but Blue and Gold really should be held at least near to the birthday it is intended to celebrate. YMMV YiS Michelle

Venividi - sounds like Nephew's at CoH. The troop doubled in size with winter Crossovers, and 2 weeks before the CoH was a rain-soaked camporee....and almost no Scout bothered with raingear. So - SM used one of the older boys as his "model" and outfitted him in 1 - make shift raingear (socks for mittens, grocery bags on his feet in place of boots, etc, you get the picture). Then he re-outfitted the boy in the correct gear (the point being how much more fun you can have if you have the right gear and aren't wet, cold and miserable. The new boys laughed and pointed saying "oh, yea, I did that", etc. The parents got a chance to see how important the right gear can be. It was great! That kind of stuff is perfect for a CoH. Michelle

We may be the oddballs, but our Pack & Troop host a luncheon at the church immediate following the Scout Sunday service. This is when the FOS presenters come in and do their thing. Most families show up for Scout Sunday and stay for the luncheon. Plus there is the added bonus of having an audience from outside of Scouting that they wouldn't be getting at a Pack Meetings or CoH. On the plus side for the FoS presenters is the bonus of making just 1 trip to our little town, instead of two trips on widely seperate days (especially important with gas prices as high as they are). This coincides with the initial push to sign up for camp, so parents see the video about how great our Council is and how worthwhile camp is (and all the other things FoS funds). We've made our goals for each of the last 3 years, so it can't be all bad. Plus, attendence at B&G and CoH's have gone back up because parents/grandparents know that the "begging for money" is already done. YMMV YiS Michelle

My biggest pet peeve for a CoH is the "PBS Pledge Drive", AKA FoS. I realize that it is important for Council and District, but since they have little-to-no interest in our unit until it is time for FoS I'm not very excited to see them at a CoH. (The same peeve holds true for Cub Scout B&G). Otherwise - I hate seeing/hearing SM lectures about "his" adventures. You want to excite the new scouts about things they can do? Let the brimming with enthusiasm 15 yo Life Scout tell them how fabulous Jambo was and how excited he is to be going back in 2 years. It will be interesting to see what peeves others about CoHs. YiS Michelle

I'm on the side of not at a CoH. IMHO that's just not the right place for this. If you want to address it, use a Troop meeting w/ the suggested speakers. Add in a survivor of driver stupidity if there is one. Lisabob - did you hug Youngerbob and tell him that if he had been there you woulda killed him yourself? Michelle

(Never mind - I wasn't answering the question that was answered....ah, at least its Friday). YiS Michelle(This message has been edited by msnowman)

Ahhhh, helicopter parents (because its true, they are not gender specific)....one of the reasons why I recommend to the parents of our Webelos IIs that they stay away for the first few camping trips. In my opinion (based on personal observances and experience), the helicopter parenting strategy comes from one main place - worrying about how their parenting looks to others. Whether its a mom worried about her son eating undercooked hamburger or a dad belittling his son because everybody else got the bowline. Everything their child does is taken as a reflection on their ability as a parent. That was actually my biggest concern...I took Nephew's behavior as a reflection on my ability as a parent...if he misbehaved I was a bad parent. If he was a little slow to get that knot then I must have failed to work with him. So - I stayed away. Nephew survived, indeed he thrived. I got to hear from others how pleasant Nephew is, how good he is w/ younger Scouts, how funny he can be. I also heard that he and Johnny got in trouble for leaving their pocketknives here or not doing XYZ when they were supposed to. I learned that he is a good kid but that nobody's child is perfect and they aren't expected to be. In the end, unless the helicopter parent comes to realize that everything isn't about them you can't get them thru it. They have to have faith in their child but also in their own parenting skills. YiS Michelle

Cub Scouts is a different world from Boy Scouts. And even w/in the Cub Scout program Tigers is different still - it requires 100% parent participation - 1 Tiger Cub + 1 adult = 1 Tiger Team - No parent, no Tiger. When I explain Ages and Stages to parents I tell them that it meant to wean them off their sons as much as it is meant to wean their sons off of them. Some parents do well, while others don't. As long as Family Involvement is one of the Methods of Cub Scouting you have to be able to utilize the good and try to minimize the bad. The world our children are growing up in is vastly different than the world we grew up in. It is (imho) far less safe, yet our children are growing up faster and losing their innocence younger. The trick, as I see it, is to give your child the tools to keep him/her self safe in the world they are inheriting. Sometimes parents need to learn what those tools are, how to get them to their children and then to trust their children to use the tools they have been given. Scouts is a safe setting for that learning (for both parties) to take place in. YiS Michelle(This message has been edited by msnowman)

Lisabob - are you sure we aren't talking about the same boys? LOL Oh, and for the record - my boy thinks the pants look good but hates the "queer" pockets on the shirt. This was decided while out to dinner...wearing his current issue switchbacks (willingly even). YiS Michelle

"The beret is one of the least practical pieces of headgear ever devised, perhaps equalling the similarly iconic and useless garrison cap. It is, however, infinitely cooler than the garrison cap, and the BSA ball cap - cooler in the elitist sense, not temperature. " Its funny you should say that. A 15 yo Life Scout in Nephew's Troop was looking at the new Scout uniform and hat and said "I wish they'd bring back that flat one like I got on Ebay". He's not a very....fashionista Boy...he just likes the garrison cap better. YiS Michelle

"People with a Y chromosome should not wear anything called a "hoodie" anymore than they'd wear "panties." Hooded sweatshirts are okay. Hoodies, nope. " Geez - I don't wanna be the one to break it to Nephew and his "homies" that they need to rename their "hoodies". If its reasonably clean and not vulgar I don't care if they call it georgie or a freddie, let alone hoodie. YMMV YiS Michelle