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He's probably too young to gain a dislike for plaques. I remember when I was a little older than Tiger, I got "honor camper" at church camp. It meant a lot. If you have a spare pinewood derby or regatta kit, you could decorate it for him.

"Though the Boy Scouts have a marksmanship program, Girl Scouts have no such program." Kudo's to those girls for thinking outside the box about what they want! That's the one thing I've always admired about the really active GS troops, they seem to crank out youth with strong organizational skills. Durn those Philmont boys for being so kind to sectarians. Wonder what lambasting BP has in store for me when he finds out that I encourage Christian girls (never too sure about the nice part) to obtain firearms skills.

It's amazing the kind of nerves you'll touch when you just reach out! Whenever you read a negative in guide, remember that it got there because someone somewhere saw something, asked for a ruling, and got it! I'd like to think that for the sash issue, the main concern was that the on-the-belt fashion would cause the insignia to be hidden when it could be displayed more prominently. I'd like to hope that those folks were not feeling that the style was being disrespectful to the organization. In any case, how *you* decide to spin these things to the boys is very important. You shouldn't just parrot the rule and don't give any notion of why it makes sense to you. Neither should you say "that's what the guide said, but, you know, rules are meant to be broken." Rules should make sense, and in this case "increasing visibility of our arrowmen" makes more sense than saying "we don't want to be disrespectful." But, you gotta respect the fact that boys who were selected to this order wouldn't be the type who simply choose a non-compliant style of uniforming unless there was some sense in doing so. But, that does beg the question of when lodge members should be visible and when they should "blend in." (Or rather, only be visible via cheerful disposition and servant leadership.) Also, it begs the question of what can you do to make the lodge flap catch the eye when a boy isn't sporting a sash?

Ther's always gonna be a little back-and-forth, but it sounds like your boys are on the right track. As the boys advance and committee gets to hear from them in boards of review and such, the adults'll catch on.

Female backpacking/wilderness consultant. More the big sister type with a few open weekends than worn out mom pulling two shifts to pay college tuition! No agism on my part. There are some retirees who could fill that big sister role. Fewer of them would clear the physical demands for wilderness activities, but some of their wisdom is just what my youth (male and female) would need.

Don't put up a stink. But encourage your son to either: 1. Respectfully tell SM he really wants to try for the badge, and ask him for help finding a different counselor, or 2. Hold on to that partial. Try again (possibly with the same counselor) at the next opportunity. Lifesaving skills come with maturity, and it's a great thing that your son has started. He'll feel a sense of pride when he arrives (even more when he identifies and properly rescues his first tired swimmer).

Btd, I would argue that your application of oath taking was out of cultural context. Swearing by the highest god around as a vouchsafe for the most trivial acts was common parlance throughout the Mediterranean The apostles were setting about to revise an entire culture starting with Christians who were to not use their newfound Lord's name to intone they were serious about keeping their promise. "Let your yea be yeah, and your nay be nay." This has nothing to do with oaths of allegiance, which only became problematic in ancient Rome when the Caesars insisted on being recognized as supreme over any god a citizen may worship. Pretty soon church leaders (male and female of any age) were named atheists and enemies of the state. None of the O/As oaths are asking anything of the sort from its members.

we like the dark, dark for dark business. Before sunset, Just memorize where everything you'll need is. Every night becomes one big Kim's game.

Case in point: Son #1 wanted to do archery first year of summer camp. Folks told me he should focus on craft type MBs because the scoring requirements might be to hard for him. The kid wanted to do Archery so I let him, and he nailed it. It's still a hobby of his. Meanwhile I think he kept that blue card with a partial in leatherwork for seven years! Now if you boy decides he wants to earn a badge that may be a little tedious and throw off some blizzard seven year schedule, let him!

Hi KJ, It's awesome your boy wants to work on MBs, he might not have realized the social and paperwork challenge involved in earring one. In general, this is the process: Scout tells SM he's interested in earning a particular MB. SM help scout identify counselor, gives permission (usually via blue card) to work on MB. Scout calls counselor, introduces himself, makes appointment to meet, asks what he should bring to first appointment. Scout works on requirements and makes addional appointments as needed. Counselor confirms completion (usually by signing the blue card). Scout relays completion to SM (again, by turning in the blue card). The badge will be awarded at the next opportunity in the troops schedule. This is usually a little much for an 11 year old. That's why the first three ranks don't require MBs. But, if your son is okay with making those calls, let him keep trying.

Y'all ought a know at subterfuge gets your point across better with more fun. Every 15 minutes or so you stop and say/motion "listen!" Kid takes ear buds off, asks "what?" "Sorry, you missed it." Continue walking. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Those of you who consider that to be hazing may actually respond to real sounds of interest. If you do so on a hike with your PLC, they will soon repeat the process with their boys. For program, bring in an expert on wildlife calls the meeting before a hike. Have them play some recordings or make some calls. Explain to boys that sound counts for identifying those 10 animals. You can talk about how important it is to listen to the sounds of the wilderness, but if you don't give your boys some practical reference, they'll never learn how.

I don't think I'd bother over goggles or masks if I'm testing just one kid. Although a boy jumping in can loose them off his head. And in a lake, that may mean taking time to find them. With camp-load of kids in line to be tested, I can see where an aquatics director might prefer to avoid the hassle. "in a strong manner", but it's just a terrible test. What does that mean? How do you tell all of the leaders in your group to evaluate it in the same manner? What is the actual intent of that? A lawyer/soccer ref I know who trains new kids, sometimes refers to famous test-cases by way of explaining certain difficult calls: "It's kinda like porn, you know it when you see it." Some of the tell-tale signs of a "less than strong" manner:Floating partway before the end of the test.Turning yards before the edge to cut distance.Holding the edge/dock for more than a second when making a turn.Not keeping a roughly strait line. Swallowing water and sputtering part way.It's not that any one of these would make me ask the kid to come back rested and re-test. But the right combination that would give the "hair raising on the back of the neck" feeling would definitely do it. When that happens, I try to take a moment and talk the boy through it. I'll ask him how he felt about it? Was he proud? Or was he worried he didn't have it in him? Was he sure he could do that again right away if he had to? Would he like to come back tomorrow practice a little and do it better without everyone rushing him? Usually, it's not just your opinion. The boy knows he didn't do his best. Given the opportunity, he'll come back and try harder and be better for it.

but the woods are not outside the back door. Brew, let me call BS on that. There has to be some plot of land somewhere within 10 miles of you worth camping on. Pack up, walk there. Break the cycle. b430, it's really tough seeing 3 overwhelmed MC's trying to make a program happen. I would suggest this two step approach: 1. Be thankful for them. Show it in any way you can. My committee was never seen on troop outings. SM, maybe an ASM or two, and the 40 of us. But, they kept the wheels going. 2. Set the boys down and say, "Guys, whatever gets done around here, it starts with us. Bring your calendars and let's nail down some dates." (Encourage parents to send boys with their family calendars or a list of open dates.) Make achievable goals.

I don't think it's a high demand MB. If you would have pitched it to my oldest, he might have taken you up on it. He lettered in four sports in HS. But then again, he was also trying for a 5th letter in Girlfriend, so I'm not so sure how dedicated he would be to the MB! My youngest is in soccer year-round. Your council office might be able to give you overall stats. Your SM might be able to give you the name of the Sports MBCs in your district, and you can give them a call to find out how each operates and how many boys have called. I think the latter approach would give you a better feel for what you might expect.

It's important to realize we aren't just testing for a pool swim. If a first class scout comes up to me and asks to take my kayak for a spin with his buddy (say, one of my female venturers who works as a life guard), I'm going to trust the swim test he did at camp and she did to get her job was good enough. I'm not going to ask, "Didja swim a real 100 yds or a watered down 99?" Now, if it's been more than a year and the guy doesn't keep in shape, I might schedule a party at the local pool and keep and eye on how willing he is to hit the lanes.

Waterfront is all lake. So, checks are a pretty practical safeguard. If a boy doesn't want to swim test, we don't make him. There's no shame in starting camp a land-shark. We're not a 1st Class First Year troop, so there's no point in rushing a kid and turning a routing safety practice into a hazing ritual. I keep my certification up to date so that we can test boys whenever they are ready. I also make a point of volunteering at camp, so aquatics staff are freed up to teach those same kids later on.

SP - Good work on the transition. This is something I am having a tough time with. It's not that adults don't care. It's that they see my job (or the job as CC) as "too involved". I get lines like "I'm a follower, not a leader." Really? You're raising four boys (five, if you count hubby), and you're not leading? You know the really sad part? The adult support of a crew is 10 times easier than that of a pack. You put in an hour here or there, and the youth will return 50 (once they catch on that you're only putting in that little bit of time and the rest of it you're off having coffee with other advisors or inspecting the car)! Getting parents to dive in and come together is a skill. You should be proud.

Brew, Yes, it happens. Our troop is in that "slump." The patrol will pull together a yell to get their tenderfoots (we don't have many) to advance, but won't use it in competitions in such. It gets worse as the boys get older. Part of it was a new troop that spun off of ours. Part of that was fed by a line of SMs who "allocated" patrols. So, that's one mess to untangle. Then we'll have a sit-down with the older boys at summer camp. Maybe discuss how to build in a little tradition. Something that as adults they'll be proud to see in scouts when they return for a visit.

You may call BS on your veteran leaders. Of course the little gompers don't want to sit in sweltering heat while DL's dole out awards. But fishing, baseball games, parades, an evening at the pool, picnics, etc ... will attract a great number of boys. Anyway, I use Google Spreadsheets to generate quick surveys for venturing stuff. (I also use them for online activity sign-up.) The have a built-in form generation, and the results go straight to the spreadsheet. Just a few questions is all you need. I usually open with a silly one like "How many cookies did your family eat at the Blue and Gold?" Then ask open-ended questions like "What was your favorite pack activity?", "What would you have rather not done?", "What would you like to do as a pack?" Then I'd finish with "If you'd like to help with this activity, please put your name." You could set up a grid of activities and folks could click how much they like each, but I find that text responses help get people brainstorming. If you get names, be sure to follow-up by calling and thanking them for their feedback.

In my opinion most kids in Scouting enjoy camping. So to follow your line of thinking why count the number of nights camping as a requirement? T - 1 and Camping MB all require nights camping. Because the purpose of T - 1 is to become qualified to take your patrol hiking and camping. There's nothing wrong with a boy learning a little accountability in terms of setting aside a few hours for service. It's just IMHO not a First Class skill.

We lost that battle a couple of years ago. Now, instead of wasting energy smuggling, the boys are trying to figure out the most dependable way to maintain battery life (e.g. how to rig solar panels, dynamos, etc ...) To do that for any length of time requires teamwork because you need to know what device gets priority relative to how much juice it consumes. Of things that get in the way of us forming "real" patrols, electronic devices are way down at the bottom of the list.

We have some bad kids in our troop. One has had a parent come with him on nearly every activity. The boy is slowly growing out of his aggression, but it's a rough climb. Anyway he gets that we won't put up with his behavior because we told him "We don't put up with your behavior." He's at the point where he can usually time himself out preventatively. Another has had to be threatened to be sent home. If you've given warnings, suspend him. Tell him he'll be welcome back with a parent. If you get a chance to talk to the parent, explain that their boy unfortunately needs more supervision, and they are probably the best folks to to fill that role.

We are seriously mistaken if we think this is an issue of property use. By virtue of the fact that the GSUSA has young Catholic women in its care, it asserts the right to understand (and potentially counter) any cultural influences that may be contrary to its teachings.

Leather thong is aLso great material. Stain to your preference.

Any ship in a storm! As momma (who,if pinched, bled Bible) said, always be ready to give a reason for the Hope that is in you. If you can do that in a boy friendly way, you should have the job. Most Christian COs support lay leadership! You just have to mind what your boundaries (e.g., serving communion or holding baptisms ipwould require ordination in most sects).