Nike

Isn't it more important for the speakers to be interesting and inspiring to the boys than to score some photo ops?

I feel for you and hope you find a nice calm pack and then a nice troop when your son crosses over. At this point I also understand wanting to totally disassociate yourself from Scouting. Never say never. You may find yourself with a a wonderful group of people in a few years and be re-energized.

Program, program, program. Pictures of actual Scouts making and sleeping in self built snow caves, sailing, rafting, hanging out of trees on a high ropes course while those very Scouts are talking about what a great time they had will attract more boys than all the droning about "leadership development" from Scoutmasters to adults.

More and more Scouters are not avid outdoorsmen/women either and are uncomfortable going outside what they consider the "safe" zone of car camping. Without leaders willing to go on adventurous trips, boys don't get to go either. No adventure, no reason to be a Scout.

We've been in three troops. Two stateside and one here in Germany. Our current troop takes summers off because we really do scatter as soon as school gets out. Many go back to the States and/or take big vacations, lots of relatives are coming in, we've got 1/3 of our populaiton moving any given summer, etc. One of our Stateside troops spent weekly summer meetings playing games and working on things like T-2-1 skills, but maybe half the boys were there at any given time due to vacations, sports, or work. Our other Stateside troop took off after summer camp because of other things going on with many of our adults. However, between the three troops I noticed no difference in fundraising, enthusiasm of Scouts, SM/ASM, or parents, retention, or any other marker. All three troops are very active from September through June. All three are the biggest in thier districts. And all three have really great people.

Don't forget training aides which might be consumables (not returned in any condition to be used again.)

MyScouting.org sent me an automated e-mail this morning (Central European Time) with the new policy. Yes, it is going to hold up re-charters for the next few months. And, they should have let everyone know this was in the hopper months ago, or at least weeks However, you can take this training, import the picture of the certificate into Word if it won't print, and attach that printed document to your charter paperwork. I wonder if MyScouting will crash.

Whether it's official or not, Trans-Atlantic is enforcing it as of today with no grace period.

The $20 Switchbacks are the older version with zippers by the cuff. Beware of these as my then 12 year old destroyed two or three pair doing nothing more than regular Scout stuff. He must have jumped and climbed a lot because all of them gave way right in the center of the crotch. My current 8 year old (54 inches, 65 lbs) has the blue size 8 in the cotton/canvas fabris, and they are really big on him as well. The shorts are rather long, but the fabric is better for us here in Europe. They do have an adjustable waist. The nylon Centennials are very nice for warmer, damper weather, and my 15 year old is taking 2 pair to Jamboree, even though he likes the other fabric better. As much as your son is going to grow in the next few years, go with the cheapest/looks best uniform you want. A Scout is thrifty.

I can tell you that the GS program is evolving away from traditional Scouting. However, the girls seem to want a traditional Scouting program, with horses. Our last GS Day Camp: Crafts? Check. Girls + glue, paint, fabric, and glitter = happy campers Jokes, Skits, and Songs? Check!!! Ceremonies? Check Archery? We wanted it but insurance was a pain. Sports and Games? Check, but maybe different ones Knots and Lashings? Check, because it's cool to know how to tie up your little brother. First Aide and Safety? Check Fire Building and Cooking? Check Map and Compass? Check Wildlife Demos? Check Cool Science Experiments? Check Nature Scavenger Hunts? Check Rockets and things that go? You bet! Now, I'm pretty sure that Cubs don't want to hear about the Brownie Circle or the Lady from Savannah, special handshakes, etc., but I'll bet they'd make and eat smores (credited to GS) and be willing to sew monster puppets while the girls made slightly less scary ones. If you can't find good GS program in a good CS Day Camp, then you aren't looking.

I frequently see the same volunteers at GS and CS day camp. If an area could muster two anemic camps, why not combine resources and have one great one?

My son's packing list says hiking boots. Being from VA, I'm thinking hiking boots are going to be horribly heavy and hot, however I can easily see a participant walking a pair of tennis shoes into the ground. Any suggestions of type of shoe from previous participants?

If you're going to wear one of each make sure that: "Starboard shines green and Port is glowing red."

Do you have any record anywhere of the Blue Cards being issued and who the MBCs were? If so, you could issue him new Blue Cards, have him go back to the MBC, sit down and go back over any work to affirm what requirements were met and how, and then turn in the Blue Cards once again. If you have no paper trail whatsoever, no notes or even a registration at camp or a merit badge day, then you're in the position of really having to believe that a Scout is Trustworthy. Or not.

Our TC spends most of its time asking the SM how its going, find out what happened on the campout from an adult perspective, what are the boys planning, what do you need us to do to help the boys. Then we talk about Eagle projects, who's doing what, how they're doing, anything new in the pipeline. Money. When's the next fundraiser? Are we all on the same page? Anything from district or council? Any body got any issues? No issues, great. Issues, we'll talk. Everybody good? Great. Kind of casual. Rarely is there vast disagreement.

The pay of the SM/ASMs. Hahahahaha. Let me laugh harder. If we had to pay our leaders and the MCs who do the vast majority of the work, no one could afford Scouting. Really, don't perpetuate that myth.

Re: Why Tiger Cubs' Still Have Orange Socks Because an orange hat and necker would clash with the yellow striped socks.

Was a disciplinary issue discussed? A financial issue? A problem parent or situation? Have you previously spoken to the SM or CC about it? There's a difference between being the only guy in the room who can explain rocket science and being the only guy in the room who knows exactly why and how the rocket engines were used to set the picnic shelter on fire. Is this the hill you really want to die on?

When Life Scout has pulled this kind of thing in the past, I have resorted to treating him just like his Cub Scout and Daisy siblings for the remainder of the grading period. Write down all your homework assignments, and I will check them every night. If that doesn't help him show improvement in time management, it continues until I *see* improvement. I know your boy is ADD, so this is one of those life lessons that is going to be really important as he gets older and more independent. Hope you all survive 'til June.

For those of you who have the printed copy: Is there any differnece between it and the online .pdf files? I want to make our new den leader smile.

Thank goodness Daddy is going to be TDY at NAB Norfolk. I'll send him up to the Jambo to visit our Life Scout and bring clean clothes. (Life Scout just yelled MONEY MONEY MONEY!)

Miniumum of 2 adults, but no boy is going to be told no so that extra adults can go.

Can a moderator delete my extra posts? THX, Nike

Don't remember if you have a co-ed ship, but the only way the boys will stop is if enough girls tell them that Axe stinks and that girls won't get within 20 feet of a guy drenched in it.

Don't remember if you have a co-ed ship, but the only way the boys will stop is if enough girls tell them that Axe stinks and that girls won't get within 20 feet of a guy drenched in it.