ScoutNut

BSA National has nothing at all to do with popcorn sales. Those are ENTIRELY council organized, and run. Some councils do not sell popcorn at all.

A few years back our council had some delivery issues with Trails End, and switched to Camp Masters. Gotta say I was really disappointed in the quality of their popcorn. So was our council. We switched back to Trails End after two years. Per BSA, the Pack determines how to include the Academic and Sports program, into their Pack program. The Pack also determines how the program is funded. There are many different ways to fund the program. Some Packs pay for everything but multiples of the same loop (our Pack). Some Packs will include a belt loop fee in their annual Scout dues. Some will pay for only the first loop with any multiples of the same loop being paid for by the Scout's family. Some will only pay for a specific number of loops per year, with anything over that amount paid for by the Scout's family. Some, like yours, pay for only those earned by Webelos, or those earned at council functions.

While the Tiger Cub might not read well, their Adult Partner can. The Adult Partner should be doing everything right alongside their Tiger. Also, there is not a lot of "reading" involved in the Tiger activities (achievements or electives), more simply doing fun stuff. Doing fun stuff is the same for many of the other electives in Wolf and Bear. Also, there are some electives that the boys are completing without ever realizing it. Include stuff done at school, after school, and with their family. It can add up. There are LOTS of FUN Wolf electives. Some are very easy to slip into a den meeting where an additional activity is needed. E-1 (Its a Secret) While 1-a might be better waiting until the boys are better at spelling/writing (although it can be great practice), 1-b making a note with "invisible" ink is quick, fun, and takes minimal equipment. E-2 (Be an Actor) Our Pack does a Vaudeville Night for the March or April Pack meeting where each den puts together a skit/song/etc and performs it in front of the Pack. This was always a great time to work on these type of electives, and achievements. However, your den can do a den skit during a regular Pack meeting too, or just for themselves, or their parents. Paper bag masks (2-e) are great fun for Halloween! E-3 (Make it Yourself) Great for making a gift for Christmas, Hanukkah, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, etc. This works well later in the school year (April/May) when you can allocate an entire meeting (or two) to it. 3-b can be done anywhere, at any time, as long as you have a ruler. You can even make it into a game to see who has the largest/smallest/longest/shortest hands. E-4 (Play a Game) can be done at least once a week at every den meeting! E-5 (Spare Time Fun) The boys LOVE making/flying kites! Combine this with E-18 (Outdoor Adventure) a (picnic). Have a great picnic den outing with kite making competitions, and game playing. Of course 5-g-h-i is aimed specifically at the various Cub Scout derbies, however, a paper airplane competition using templates off of the Web works too! I did that with my Tiger Teams and they had a blast! There are lots more fun things that you can have your Wolf Cubs do with the electives. My guys loved making Indian rain sticks (E-10-b) out of old paper towel tubes, and story sticks (E-10-f) with flat craft sticks and crayons. The story sticks are quick, and easy to fit into a dead spot in a meeting. Singing a grace before a meal (E-11-e) is a fun way to remind the boys about their "duty to God". Participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count and complete E-13-a. Visit a local pet rescue, or shelter, and learn about E-14-b-d. Depending on your Charter Organization, E-15 might be the perfect way to do a service project and spruce up around your CO. E-17-b, a great way to help the boys learn to tie their shoes! Knot tying competitions are also lots of fun! The first one done might get a "special" (turks head) necker slide. Use the resources available, and have FUN!

Tigers (and Wolves/Bears) don't cross over to their new Cub levels until the END of the SCHOOL YEAR. When/if they finish their current rank award has nothing to do with it. That Day Camp Pack is very, very, wrong. My Tigers each year always complete enough electives to get a handful of beads. All of our ranks end up with a number of arrow points, along with belt loops, and other stuff. It is not an either/or situation for electives vs belt loops. Electives are great fun for filling in time in a den meeting! I generally did at least 1-3 per month.

You are the COR, not the IH of the CO. Who is on the books as the head of the Charter Organization? Who does the IRS paperwork each year? This is a call that should be made by the Charter Organization, not just one person. Your CO, fortunately, or unfortunately, is the parents of the Scouts. Do they know that they "own" the unit? I would get all of the parents together in one room and talk to them about the reality of the situation. Then let the owners of the unit decide what they want to do, or not do, for the Scouts in THEIR Pack.

The Pack is self-chartered by the parents of the Scouts. If there are no Scouts, and the parents you do have no longer care, why should you?

GSUSA does not charter community groups to run their program. There are no organizations that can have "owned" a single unit for 50 years. All GSUSA groups/troops are individual, and "owned" by their local council. That said, there have been GSUSA troops in our Catholic parish school for 50+ years. There is also a troop of "older" girls (grades 6-12) in our area that has been around for about 15 years now. The leaders love working with the girls, and have formed a "permanent" group. As with BSA, a lot of what GSUSA groups/troops do for activities depends on the comfort level of the leaders. However there IS a GSUSA program, and GSUSA leaders are required to report to their council at the end of each year exactly how they have met that program. They are also required to turn in a yearly financial report stating how much money has come in, and where it was spent, and if it was not spent, why it was not. No BSA unit has ever been required to report anything to anyone. GSUSA camps are NOT "few and far between". With the current restructuring, and the consolidating of councils, some underused camps have been sold (BSA has done the same). However there is generally more than one camp property in each council. No, GSUSA camps are NOT the same as BSA camps. GSUSA camps are not focused on week long badge earning marathons. Most are theme based. There are camps that feature acting, art, horses, music, outdoor adventure, travel, and more. Camps are not generally attended by entire troops. Individual girls sign up for the specific camp program that interests them. One of my daughters GSUSA summer camps was spent hiking at surrounding state parks. Another at a horse ranch learning to care for, and riding, horses. Another year she did archery, and canoeing. GSUSA is NOT the same as BSA. Comparing the two is like comparing a tomato to an apple. They are both red, they are both fruit, but comparing them is down right silly!

Actually, there was no "animosity" between Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low, and Baden-Powell at all. In fact Daisy was great friends with B-P, and his sister, Agnes Baden-Powell. She worked with Agnes, and B-P, on the newly created Girl Guides, and even organized Girl Guide troops in Scotland, and England. It was her work with the Girl Guides, and seeing the affect it had on the girls involved, that caused her to decide to bring the program to the USA. Daisy included girls from all backgrounds in her program, including girls that were disabled (she herself was deaf). Juliette Gordon Low, Agnes Baden-Powell (President of the Girl Guides), and Olave, Lady Baden-Powell (wife of B-P, and Chief Guide), were all non-traditional women who were ahead of their times.

Speaking of Activity Badge counselors - a great place to find those are your council's list of Boy Scout Merit Badge Counselors. There are many Merit Badges that are similar to Cub Scout Activity Badges. Art Athletics Camping Chess Citizenship in the Community/Nation Communications Engineering Family Life First Aid Forestry Geology Music Nature Personal Fitness Swimming Theatre And more Contact your Boy Scout Troop's Scoutmaster, and ask about Merit Badge Counselors. If he is no help, contact your District Commissioner, or District Executive. Heck, even the council Secretary might be able to get you a list.

That is for den leaders. BSA encourages parents, and others, to be Webelos Activity Badge counselors. There is no BSA requirement that a Webelos Activity Badge counselor be registered. A den meeting is not considered to be an "outing". Two-deep does not apply (although a very good idea). The major YP rule to be followed is no one-on-one.

One year, at Graduation, I introduced the new upcoming Wolf den leaders from my (now former) Tiger den. We had a pretty hefty sized den that year, and I had recruited 3 parents. After the introduction, I had a dad come up to me all upset because I had not mentioned his name also. I apologized, and told him the more, the merrier! For that den of 12 we ended up with 3 registered leaders, and 3-4 other parents who helped out on a regular basis. Another year I had 4 Tigers. Every single parent wanted to be involved with the den. For the Wolf year we had 3 registered as leaders with the others helping. That group was a recruiting machine! By Webelos they were up to 10 Scouts in their den!

If you can get two parents to work with the Webelos that would be GREAT! One does NOT have to be a registered leader. It is not even required that they take Youth Protection, although it would be HIGHLY recommended. If I remember correctly, all of your Pack's Cubs meet at the same time/place. If you are on premises for the Webelos parents to call on if necessary that should be sufficient. I would do a combined start of meeting flag ceremony, then have the 2 parents take the 5 Webelos off to do their own thing. Find out if any of your Pack's families (not just the Webelos) have a talent/interest/job that would tie into a Webelos Activity Badge, and ask them if they would be willing to share their knowledge/love with the Webelos. BSA has a Family Talent Survey that might be helpful - http://www.scouting.org/filestore/CubScoutMeetingGuide/PDF/Appendix/34362.pdf

As the Cub Scout program (except for LDS) revolves around the school year, and there are lots of different end of school year dates across the country (and even some year long school systems), BSA has made June 1, as the date that their computer system (ScoutNet) automatically updates all registered Cub Scouts to their next Cub level. This is why newly graduated kindergarteners can not be registered as Tiger Cub Scouts until June 1. The system does not see them as eligible until then. Cub Scouts is flexible, and the Cubs love "bling". However "bling" is not the focus of the program, and the boy also love new, more interesting things. Of all of the times (maybe 5-6 in 15 years) that I have offered Cubs more time past our end of May Cub Graduation in which to complete their current rank award I have been taken up on it exactly 0 times. The boys prefer to move on to newer activities.

If what you need is ADULT volunteers for your Pack, having Boy Scout YOUTH work with the Cub Scouts is not going to save your Pack. You need to get your Pack families off of their dead ends. Your first priority should be to find a Cubmaster. If none of the Pack families will step up, how about talking to non-Scouting members of your CO? You are the IH, is there a COR? How about a Pack CC? As IH you should be working with your COR, and your Pack, and Troop, Committee Chairs, to make, and keep, your Scouting programs healthy. To few doing to much - you, as IH, should NOT be doing everything. BTW - The ONLY time that BSA stipulates that service can NOT be done for BSA, is for the Eagle project. As others have stated it the SM's call, not the Troop Committee's.

4.1.0.4 is not really new. While it has not been spelled out in the Advancement Guide before, it has been mentioned in the Cub Scout Leader Book, and has been a rule for many years now. The only stipulations have been that the Cub can not work in two levels at the same time, and that the extension is for the rank award only.

Good Grief! The more they try to slice, and dice, things every which possible way, and the more they try to cover their back sides, the more convoluted it becomes, and the more opportunities for abuse there are. Unit leaders, and committees across the country will read ONLY that they can now deny a signed off merit badge. I can hear the crazed cackles of glee already!

I would say that it has been at least 6 years, probably more, since BSA changed the requirements for a new Pack to be - 5 paid youth 1 Charter Organization Rep (who can also double as a Committee Chair, or Committee Member) 1 Committee Chair 2 Non-Chair Committee Members 1 unit leader and only 1 den leader This was done so that small Packs would still be able to charter.

You need to have a good talk with your other (tardy) adult. Is this adult a leader, or just a parent? Do they at least help out during the meeting, or sit on the sidelines imitating a piece of furniture? You need HELP! If this other adult will not step up to the plate, and you can not get any parents to help, you need to contact your Bishop, and make it VERY clear to him that you can NOT do it all by yourself. He needs to call some help up for you - as soon as possible. The boys are not getting the most out of the program the way it is now. BTW - for a combined meeting, with no ability (lack of adults) to split off into dens, I would increase the length of the meeting to 1.5 hours. This gives you time to do a quick flag ceremony to start the meeting (with whoever is there - START ON TIME- or CANCEL the meeting) then split into two groups. FORCE your other adult to pick one group - Wolf/Bear, or Webelos, and be responsible for them. You can do all of the pre-planning and simply hand her an instruction packet. But, she MUST be in charge of "her" group. Don't back track for late Scouts. If they miss something, they can finish at home, or not at all. Their choice.

The annual cardboard box vehicle derby is always a big hit. We do it in March, or April, after the big push to finish up the rank award requirements is over. It is a relay race where we pit den against den racing a cardboard vehicle thru various stations. The first den to have each member finish the race wins that race We usually race Tiger vs Wolf, Bear vs Webelos (usually only 4th grade are left at that point). If one den has less members they get to pick which of their Scouts runs a second lap so that both dens run the same number of laps. The two winning dens race against each other to determine the final winner. We pick a theme. Every den works during the race month to create a cardboard den vehicle to match that theme. The vehicle is "worn" by a Scout, and carried thru the race stations, so it can't be too big, or unwieldy. We set up stations (4-5) around our meeting space. The racing dens start at the front of the room, and go in opposite directions thu the stations. We have den parents at the start spot helping each Scout into, and out of, the den vehicle. Some themes we have done are - Space - Each den created a space ship of some kind. Some stations were refueling (drink a small cup of water), meteor maze (we made a mini maze out of tables, and tarps, and had parents/siblings toss wads of paper meteors over the top at the ships going thru), and black hole/time warp (alternated between "warping" them back to the previous station, and sucking them past the next one). Water - Boat type vehicle. Some stations were pit stop - get out of boat, go behind "bush", get back in boat. portage - get out of boat and carry it to the next station. Race Car - Race car type of vehicle. Stations - tire change (shoes get taken off and put on opposite feet), refuel (drink small cup water), clean windshield (drivers safety glasses get sprayed with water and wiped off) Air - Anything that can fly - Stations - inflight refuel (must bite off a hanging cookie), turbulence ( maze) . Construction - Any construction type of a vehicle - Stations - various moving things from one spot to another, refueling, knocking things over, detour. Armed Forces - Any type of Army/Navy/Air Force vehicle - Stations - target practice, refuel, transport (parents slide Scout/vehicle to next station on plastic tarp). The boys are all very proud of the den vehicle they have created together. A great team building experience. Lots of creativity, and imagination used to come up with a cool design that works (I will never forget the helicopter, or the tropical raft complete with palm tree). Everyone gets a participation certificate. The winning den members also each get a ribbon (Cub Scout, party store, $1 store, etc).

There is no rule that a den of Webelos must cross to Boy Scouts together. There is also no rule that they must all go to the same Boy Scout Troop. When your son has met all of the requirements to join Boy Scouts, and it is what HE wants to do, then there is no reason to hold him back. And, just a note - although many see it as unimportant, the Cub Scout program only utilizes dens. Even if it is the Flaming Raptor Den. The Boy Scout program utilizes patrols. While it is true that Webelos are transitioning to Boy Scouts, they are still Cub Scouts. Dens, and patrols (other than both being able to have a cool name) are VERY different, and the terms should not be used interchangeably.

"we need to set LDS aside because they have special status with the BSA." No, they don't really. They simply more fully utilize the Charter Organization concept than anyone else. From the BSA Charter Agreement - "The chartered organization agrees to • Conduct the Scouting program according to its OWN POLICIES AND GUIDELINES as well as those of the Boy Scouts of America "We can "set the expectation" that they participate, and highly encourage them to participate, but when push comes to shove we can not drop them for that reason alone. " This is inaccurate. A Charter Organization OWNS ITS SCOUTING UNITS. They can drop any of their unit members (adult or youth) at any time, for any (or no) reason at all. The local BSA Council can NOT force a Charter Organization to accept, or keep any member. The signature of the Unit Leader is required on any Youth Application. The signature of the Committee Chair, along with the signature of the Charter Organization Head, or Representative, is required on any Adult Application before it can even be sent into the local council. From The Chartered Organization Representative (BSA # 33118) - "THE UNITS BELONG TO YOUR ORGANIZATION" "Your organization has the Scouting program on charter from the Boy Scouts of America, but the Scouting units and their leaders belong to your organization and are part of its ‘‘family.’’ It is most important that this relationship be understood. The BSA local council exists only to support your organization and to help it be successful."

Again, GM, you really do not seem to have a clue, or care, how BSA is actually set up. You blame "BSA", your local council, and/or the national organization, for problems within your individual Pack. BSA can NOT "REQUIRE" all parents to volunteer. BSA does NOT OWN their units. The individual Charter Organization owns their own units. As long as it does not interfere with the BSA program, or harm BSA in any way, individual Charter Organizations can implement whatever extra requirements they want to on THEIR Scout units. Some Charter Orgs DO require parents to volunteer their time. Heck, one of the largest Charter Orgs in the country has it's leaders "voluntold". The Charter Org itself calls up one of it's members (not necessarily a parent) and tells them that they will be doing this job for this Scout unit, and that is that. The Pack leaders that you are so angry at, are also just volunteers. Volunteers that have the responsibility to put on a Scout program for a group of families that refuse to help. That puts THEM in the position of having to do it all or disappoint ALL of the boys. If my Pack's Charter Organization would/could not institute a mandatory volunteerism program, and I could not get any help from any of the Pack families, you can bet your bottom dollar that I would use every guilt trip, and trick I could come up with to pry the needed help out of the Pack's adults. BTW, my family is a two income family. We both worked full time, and also managed to volunteer with BSA, and GSUSA (at both the district, and unit level), at church, at both my children's schools, with the school's Parent Associations, and with various other organizations. Many of the families in my son's Pack had both parents working full time, and many of those working parents still managed to do quite a lot of volunteering in their community. I am sure that many of the working moms/dads (myself included) would have LOVED to be able to AFFORD to take a pay cut and be a work-at-home parent. However, unlike you, they could NOT afford to do that. Have you ever considered that some of those double income families that you so like to look down your nose on, might feel a bit put off when you, a stay-at-home mom, who they (right or wrongly) felt had more available time/money, complained that they did not take what little time they DID have with THEIR kids, and spend it on YOURS. You seem to make a habit of coming up with over-generalizations, and inaccuracies, to support your complaints.

You can be a "fair weather" camper and still experience rain. I have often camped with beautiful, clear days, and had a shower in the middle of the night. Even a heavy dew on the ground cloth can end up under the tent. It does not matter if you are staking down your tent or not.If moisture gets between the ground cloth and the tent floor it will cause the inside of the tent to get anywhere from slightly damp to sopping wet. I seems that you have just been very lucky. If you want to protect something left outside, get a tent with a vestibule, and put down a cheap throw rug under it.