Reaseyann

Love that story - Thanks BTW - had our first boy led PLC last night - Gave the boys their assignment and asked the adults to leave the room. Went to check on them after 45 minutes and they had basics laid down. Gave them a little more guidence and then helped them plan the dates at the end to avoid exams etc. End result - kids had a great planning meeting (even my 13 year old pessimist said it went well) and we have basics laid out through Aug with boys assigned to plan the meetings themselves.

I think that you could probably jump in a lot faster. Partly because you have so few boys, but mostly because they are all so young. They didn't learn the old adult led way and neither did their parents so you can just start them right in on the correct way to do it. The older boys are more used to being lead, but if the younger boys start showing that independence they will jump on board. Plus you will only have a couple angry parents who are used to the old way instead of 10+.

I agree - if I were only concerned with my patrol it would be a pretty simple task, especially since most of my parents I've had since Tigers too. However, since the hubby is now Scoutmaster - we need to look at the bigger picture.

Thanks - for the advice. Took me a while reading the forum to figure out what the Yours at 300 ft meant, but I do think it's a great idea. My 8th graders are competent enough in their scout skills to camp away from us, but there are a couple of other issues that make me hestitant. First, I have 5 boys that have been together since Tiger Cubs - they tend to leave the other two out a lot. Some of that is getting better as they mature and spend more time as a patrol, but it's still an issue. Second, their (the 5's) interactions are very rough and tumble and boy like - they know that they are friends and they know they don't mean anything by it - the others feel like they are being bullied, and they may be right - just because the boys doing it don't realize they are being bullies, doesn't mean that's not what it is. Due to this, I definitely have parents that would not allow their kids to go if they felt the adult supervision was not strong. I think this would hurt the patrols cohesion in the long run. My thought is the more time they spend together the better this will get. We can certainly start in stages though - camp just a little distance until their interactions improve then move further and further away. And thanks for the links and info about the handbook. I'm so clueless didn't even realize there was a scoutmaster handbook - I was so excited last week when I figured it out. (I know - it's my fault I am so clueless - I should have been trained, but instead I followed the lead of the leadership that was in place.)

"He's definitely NOT interested in girls ... at all!" Okay - I know this is not really what you are asking about but... If he is 14, he IS interested in girls. He may not know what to do about it, and he will certainly NOT talk to you or his mom about it - but it is there - no matter how emphatically he denies it.

I think Deaf Scouter has the right idea - progress will be measured differently for different boys. Each of them needs growth in a different area. Of course, I understand what you are looking for, but I thing 24-30 nights of camping and 45-50 miles hiking is great.

Well Deaf Scouter - that was for all of 2011. With the ages of your scouts, it doesn't even look like you were up and running for all of 2011. And with your numbers being so small it probably makes it even harder to get that two deep adult leadership for anything. I would find one or two excited parents and talk to them about the year round camper program. If they have a reason to get out and camp once a month, they may be more committed to it. Plus, my oldest son's patrol did it soon after they crossed over and it was amazing. Going from the first campout where they had no idea what was going on to just a few months later showing up and the boys know just what needed to happen and getting right to it. Gunny - I saw that in another thread and was definitely thinking that was something we needed to start doing - ask your patrol leader - ask your senior patrol leader. I also just gave a couple of my boys the riot act about their parents coming to me about advancement. I told them I shouldn't be talking to parents about advancement at all. Tahawk - they boys already have patrols, and they are happy with their patrols. The problem is, in my opinion, the patrols are too small. (except mine - 8th grade) I have been saying this for a while, but since I am just one lowly ASM - no one listens to me. Plus, I know age based patrols are not uncommon, but I don't understand how the new scouts are supposed to learn from the older scouts this way - and it makes patrol competitions impractical and unfair.

We actually tried to start year round camper last year to get the boys outside more often, but it broke down pretty quickly since I am in graduate school. If I was able to go, I could usually find another adult who would go with me, but if I couldn't no one else stepped up to take the boys. We did five campouts last year plus summer and winter camp. A couple of them were backyard camping so those almost don't count. But the boys got outside, slept in a tent, and cooked their meals. Usually, the adults plan the activities. The boys plan the meals with adult guidence and there is a grubmaster, but I don't know how many of them actually shop for themselves or have their mom take care of it. I would assume most of the guys above tenderfoot pack for themselves - but again, who knows. As far as age - the patrols are grouped by grade. 3 - 6th & 7th graders 6 - 8th graders 1 - 9th 3 - 10th 5 - 11th/12th but only 1 still active We do have PLC meetings, but again the adults seem to do all the talking. We have already decided on a couple of steps. Our 3-10th graders are all going to NYLT next month. And we are going to send the boys to a different room for the first part of the PLC (the first one since we are "in charge") to come up with what they want to do and who is going to plan it - then we are going to pull the group back together to get it on the calender appropriately. Oh and we have 4 new guys who said they intend to crossover into the troop.

So my youngest son just crossed over and my husband stepped up as the new Scoutmaster. We have been in the troop a while, and knew that the boys needed more input. However, we did not realize how far off the track things had gone until we started looking into what he needed to be doing as Scoutmaster. The boys need more than just input - they need to be running the show. I had no idea. Merit badges are being taught at meetings - kids are being talked at all night - adults are going to kids about advancement instead of the other way around. We knew the kids were bored - which is why we decided to step up. And now we know we need to do almost everything differently. My hope is that we can make steps incrementally to move us in the right direction without running all of the current members off. I am almost reluctant to ask - because I know I'll be bombarded by lots of preaching and screaching and who cares if you run them off; do it this way. But I am in need of some guidance. It seems so overwhelming to change everything at once - where do I start and what is most important? These boys do not know how to lead because they have not had the opportunity. And these parents are not going to like the fact that the advancement is going to slow down.

The one I went to signed off in little booklets instead of blue cards. The inside had all of the requirements and a grid for each number & part to sign if the scout completed that requirement. If they completed the entire badge, there was a completely seperate place for them to sign off. Our counselors signed off at the end of the class, but it was up to the scout to bring them the booklet and make sure it was taken care of.

We attended a great and through Merit Badge day this March. There were 15-20 badges offered, but my son only worked on two because the classes were set times. We spent all morning in one - had lunch - then spent all afternoon in the other. Some classes were scheduled for all day so you could only work on that one. We came away with one complete and one partial because, of course, gardening can't be completed in a class setting. But she gave us all the information we needed to get a good start - resources so the kids can pick and work on their own project - lot's of seeds and lots of enthusiasm for the subject. It got my kid excited and pumped which is worth way more than a completed badge. Of course, just like everything else, the quality of the program is going to depend on the quality of the people. There may have been another class at the same event that was not well done or stringent enough. But since the sessions were at set times - I do know that no one got four badges in two hours. In fact, two hours was the shortest class that was offered, so at most they could get one in that time frame.

My very first campout ever was a week long summer camp. We went week 1 so apparently the critters weren't used to people being back in the camp - they wanted our space for themselves. The boys had 6 man adirondacks and the men had a large communal sleeping area as well so the two ladies got the only two man tent. Our first task was to remove a bat who had taken us residency. Next we discovered a large active hornet's nest outside the back flaps, which we had opened up to get a breeze. Finally, before the end of the week my son who was stung by a scorpion - tons of which were living under all of the structures in our camp site. Of course, I still remember the camp as a great week - and it was a fabulous camp and program.

Right now I'm not sure how we are getting there. It's a 24 hour drive, which with BSA guidelines is 3 days - so that seems too long. Airfare seems much too expensive and the train ride takes just as long as the drive. Ack!! As far as reservations, it's for next summer not this summer and I don't even know how many are going yet. Nor if they will pass their swim test - most of them have not even crossed over yet.

The big problem I had was with the nylon pants. I bought two pairs thinking they would be light weight and practical and they were. However, being in the deep south, with many outdoor activities - I sweat. Yes, I know I am a lady, but I still sweat. The nylon pants change color so drastically when wet that it stuck out like a sore thumb. I couldn't walk around all day with huge, obvious sweat marks so I had to stop wearing them. I actually like the newer canvas shorts. They are a little heavy and hot, but I figure they will hold up longer that way. I HATE the idea of a zip off pant leg, but that is irrelevent to fit. I only ever wear them as shorts. For occasions that are not short approriate(church mostly), I have a plain skirt that is not official, but in an appropriate style to work with the scout shirt.

We are coming from Louisiana so we will probably spend a good week in the area. I want to try a good mix of activities - not all hiking so I know I don't want to hike all the way into the canyon. I thought a smaller hike like to the falls might be doable if I broke it up, but will defer to those with more experience. The trip is being planned for scouts who are 11/12 (ie too young for our Troop's Sea Base trip) I would also like to do a great mule ride (can't go to the Grand Canyon without that one) - the Hoover Dam - and any other important sites. I checked out a couple of mule rides, but the ones I checked on seemed to be through forest so... not what I imagined. I'll keep scouring the internet and keep checking back here for more ideas. And thanks for the links - I can't find the trail guide on the council website, but got lots of cool info from the others. Oh - what about a river ride? Not a big full on paddling trip - just see what's there and give the boys a taste.