ScoutNut

Actually, you DO have to do the pull-ups. The requirement states - "Do as many as you can of the the following and record your results. Show improvement in all of the activities after 30 days" It does not state - 4 of the 5, 3 of the 5, or which ever ones of the following you want to do. As a matter of fact, it states - "Show improvement in ALL of the activities after 30 days". All means all.

Most playgrounds have something that would work as a pullup bar. Most communities have a number of playgrounds. Some families might even have one in their own yard. The boys can go on their own after school, or on the weekends.

OK, somehow I can't generate a lot of sympathy when you state you "ONLY" have 12-14 new Tigers. That does not sound to horrible to me. A "horrible" recruitment would be only 1 Tiger in the entire Pack! Numbers fluctuate. That is just the nature of things. It is entirely possible that boys are joining other Packs, or are going for sports, or some other activity. You might just have tapped the max you are going to get in your Spring recruitment. Bigger does not necessarily mean better. You don't have to have 100+ Cub Scouts to have a "healthy" program. What you need for a healthy program is trained leaders who know the BSA rules and regs, and who know, and run, an active, fun, BSA Cub Scout program. You will know you have a healthy program when you retain your boys from Tiger to crossover to a Boy Scout Troop. You know you have a healthy program when the boys get their buddies to join because they are having so much fun. How many more Tiger Cub Scouts do you need to register before you will not feel like your Pack is fading away and needs rebuilding? To try and get more boys you can hold a recruitment event like a kite fly, or picnic. Do fliers, take an add in the local papers, post fliers on bulletin boards around town. The day before the event see if you can get teachers to put stickers on the shirt front of every boy.

A different den is the host for each Pack meeting. As host den, they are responsible for the gathering activity, flag opening and closing ceremonies, and the snack.

Postal scales work well.

Does being a better trainer directly benefit your District and Council? I would say no. Indirectly, I suppose you could say it might benefit the Council. By having well trained leaders, who are giving their boys a good program, more boys might actually choose Scouts over Sports. So, I suppose there is the possibility that numbers of members could improve, and that would benefit the Council. However it DOES DIRECTLY benefit YOU. You will utilize the information you get in this training every time you get up in front of a group, any group, and make a presentation. When you train the boys in your Troop. When you explain a procedure to someone at work. And, yes, when you train new leaders. It DIRECTLY benefits those new leaders who want to be trained so they can give the boys in their care the best possible program. You seem to have a real issue with your Council charging for this particular training, and have decided that $5 is where you are going to draw the line in the sand. That is your decision. You asked if charging was "normal". I think you can tell from the posts that it is. You also asked for feedback. Personally, I decided that taking the TDC training was worth the cost. Heck, even if they did not charge anything, I would still have at least chipped in for the lunch. I figure the folks that trained me took that, or a similar training, so if that is what it takes to enable me to give back in kind, and to help make sure as many volunteers as possible get trained, so be it, I have no problem with it.

ASM59 stated - "Yes, $5.00 doesn't seem like that much, and they said it is a donation; however, when it is put the way it was in the e-mail, it is really expected. I really don't think anyone will ask if they can go without paying the fee. However, it makes me wonder why I should go, and I know others who feel that way too." Why? To learn something new. Some things that might be of help to you as a Trainer, as a ASM, and even in your non-scout life. I do not think I have attended any training at my council that is free. The costs range from $2 to over $200. Someone has to pay for these things. Seems to me you end up paying for them no matter what fee the council charges. You either pay up front, or thru FOS. Heck, there have even been times that I have paid for training supplies out of my pocket and never turned in the receipts. Consider that, as a District Trainer, you will be asked to donate much more than $5. You will be asked to donate your effort, your enthusisim, your time, and your families time. No one is forcing you. If it is to much of a commitment, then simply do not take the course. BTW - My Council's TDC runs from 8AM - 4:30PM and costs $15. $5 for about half of the course seems to be about right.

When a Scout is terrified to get out of the car because he forgot his handbook, there is a LOT more wrong here than simply adding to the advancement requirements - which by the way, is what your Troop IS doing. The requirements for each rank from Tenderfoot thru Eagle are CLEARLY spelled out by BSA in numerous pieces of BSA literature. No where is there a requirement to bring your Scout Handbook to the BOR. I think ALL of your Troop leadership would benefit from the following two trainings - http://scouting.org/boyscouts/trainingmodules/scoutmaster%20conference%20training.aspx http://scouting.org/boyscouts/trainingmodules/board%20of%20review%20training.aspx

Everything would have to be done twice. 2 advancement forms, 2 sets of financial books, 2 rosters, 2 popcorn orders, 2 recharters, etc. How would you decide which "Pack" a boy would join? Do you have different dens for the different Packs? How do den and Pack dues get to the correct unit? How does the equipment get split between units/COs? You state that you do not have enough families to continue so you want to pursue this "merger" (separate but together) with a much bigger Pack. Sorry, but if I was in the leadership of large Pack, my thought would be that for 5 boys or less, the headache of 1 set of leaders keeping 2 complete set of books would be just way to much trouble. Let the boys transfer to the Pack of their choice and be done with it.

Our Webelos make PWD stands for the Pack. Other projects can be - Trivet Paper towel holder Planter Marshmellow shooter Christmas ornament Stomp rocket launcher Flag stands Peace pole Signs Ceremony props Cookbook holder Candle and candle holder

I know of some Troops that have canoes, and use them quite a bit. However, the decision to start a paddling program in the Troop is really not yours to make. It is up to ALL of the BOYS in the Troop to decide if that is something they are interested in. Then it is up to the Troop Committee as to how/if it is implemented. I would wait until your boys are actually in the Troop and then approach the SM with an offer of assistance if the BOYS are interested.

I like all levels. I like to see the boys grow and change. However, as a 10+ year Tiger den leader, I guess you could say that Tiger is my favorite. I love to watch as the boys, and their parents, discover, and get hooked on, Scouting!

Sounds pretty good. What did the parents think? Did they have fun working on the headbands with their Scout? Did they have their own headbands and planets too? How did they like the solar system? Did they get to find their own planet, or at least help their Tiger to find his? Did you have a game for the Teams to play together at the end? My Tigers always like doing relay races against the Partners. Especially if the Partners have a handicap to even things up a bit! Sign up a Team (remind the parents that their son is part of the leadership for their meeting) for as many meetings as possible. With 10 Tiger Teams they can't really take a whole month, but 2 meetings each should cover most of the year.

The only person who is allowed by BSA to be registered in more than one position is the Charter Organization Representative. The COR can only be dual registered as either the Committee Chair or a Committee Member. I still say you need to get to know the Pack's program, and these folks, and let them get to know you, before you start taking over positions, or making changes. You stated you did not want to step on any toes. Telling them that they are doing a sloppy job, and offering to take over, will definitely step on toes. Take it slow.

You don't need a Unit Money-Earning Application for a council sponsored sale like popcorn.

While I applaude your willingness to take on multiple jobs, especially so soon, BSA only allows you to be registered in ONE position. Keep in mind that your current registered postion, that of den leader to your grandson's den, is really the most important job you can have. Are you willing to resign that job? You have been back in Scouting, and involved with this Pack, for under a month. Take the training (things have changed a lot). Get to know the people. Get to know the other leaders. Let them get to know you. Get to know how the Pack really runs. Find out the best way's to work WITH the others.

Have another face to face talk with your CC. Let him know that you are unable to handle a den of 15 and the he, as CC, needs to recruit some den leaders. Remind him that the Pack will surely loose the boys altogether if they don't get moving soon. I'm surprised that this has not come up at any of your Committee/Leader meetings. BTW, just because someone is an Eagle does not automatically mean they will make a good leader. Likewise, just because someone was never a Scout does not automatically mean they will be a bad leader. Get to know your parents, then ask the one you feel can do the best job, regardless of gender or Scouting background.

Sorry, but there are rules and regulations in every organization. In a youth organization there will naturally be more because the adults are charged with making sure that the other people's children we work with stay safe. You had such a good experience as a youth partly because of the rules and regulations (which you knew nothing about) that your leaders followed. BTW - the forms you have to sign before purchasing rank awards for the Scouts have nothing to do with your Scout Shop doubting your honesty. They have everything to do with making sure that your council (and also your Pack) has a record of each boy's advancement.

My council does not require a tour permit for any popcorn sales, including site sales. As Popcorn Kernal, I don't require a registered leader to be at every site sale, all day long. It is a waste of the leaders time and a sure way to get them to dread the popcorn sale. Plus, if we did that we would have to cancel most of our site sales. We have about 55 unregistered adults in our Pack. I think they are all more than responsible enough to be left in charge of shifts at a Popcorn Booth Sale. As for the 2 self-motivated Cubs, good for them! The only problem I can see is if lots of boys started doing the same thing, it might irritate the store owners. It has to be an inconvenience for them to field calls from 1 person in each unit, and to keep track of who is selling when. If they start getting calls from multiple boys in the same unit, they might get a bit overwhelmed and stop allowing any sales at all. Our Pack has never had that particular "problem", because I have enough Booth Sales scheduled that everyone has a chance to work as many shifts as they want. However, personally, I would let the families know that generally, Booth/Site sales are better handled at the unit level. Door-to-door Show & Deliver works better for the individual Scout and his parent.

Your plans sound pretty good. If you go over the Bobcat requirements with the boys at every den meeting they should have no problem earning their Totem by Sept Pack meeting and their Bobcat by October's. One reminder - Tiger dens are run using SHARED LEADERSHIP. That means that YOU should not be doing all of the planning of the den's activities. One of the first things you should do is sign up each Tiger Team for a month (depends on how many Teams you have) when they will be in charge of putting together, and leading the meetings and outing. You can help out the Team in charge, but it is their job to plan and run things. This is why it is not a bad idea for all of the parents to take the Tiger Den Fast Start online training. Also, you should not be doing the Family activities in Den meetings. The Family Achievements are supposed to be done at home, by each Tiger and his family. Once all of the other requirements are done, if there is a Family Requirement that your Teams have not finished, you might consider doing it in the Den meeting to finish it up, but that should be done only rarely.

Welcome! Each of the 5 Tiger requirement areas is divided into 3 different parts - Family (done at home with the family), Den (done in den mettings), and Go-See-Its (outings). These can be done in any order, but the requirement should be done as written. The tiger requirements are left a bit more open than other levels however, so there is some flexability in what you do to complete them. All 15 of these requirements must be completed in order for the boys to earn his Tiger Rank Award. Before the boys can receive their Tiger Rank Award, they must complete, and receive, their Bobcat Rank Award. So, while you are working on Tiger requirements, you should be also focusing on the Bobcat requirements. For my first Tiger meeting of the year last week, I started with a simple flag ceremony where I showed and told them about the Cub Scout Sign and Cub Scout Salute. After that I had the Tiger Teams (Tiger and Adult Partner who do EVERYTHING TOGETHER) decorate a Tiger Tales Scrapbook. As the first thing to put in the scrapbook I gave everyone (Tiger & Partner) a worksheet from Crayola.com where they colored the body to look like them and added a picture of their favorite hobby or activity. We then went around the table and everyone showed their picture, introduced themselves, and told a bit about themselves and their favorite activity/hobby. While they were decorating their scrapbook I told them a bit about Cub Scouts, the Tiger program, our Pack and some upcoming activities (popcorn sale, fishing derby). They then helped clean up while I explained the Cub Scout Motto. We ended with a Living Circle, the Cub Scout Motto, and our Tiger Yell. Before they left I had them get out their Tiger Handbooks and sign off on the Bobcat requirements for the Cub Scout Sign, Salute, and Motto, the Tiger requirement #1D, and Elective #16. They had also earned their Tiger Totem. Go to BSA National Web site and take the online Cub Scout Fast Start Training and Youth Protection Training - http://olc.scouting.org/ Also check out the info for new leaders - http://scouting.org/CubScouts/Leaders.aspx To see the different requirements for Bobcat and Tiger check out this site - http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Tiger_Cub_Scout

Read about the controversy. Thought it was silly. Saw the movie, and liked it. It will not win any Oscars, but it was interesting. I will go see the next one if they produce it. It is a fantasy, similar to Harry Potter and the Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe series. I really doubt that any kid reads a book and then dissects it for deeper meanings. They get kids hooked on reading and their imaginations working overtime. That is a GOOD thing, and any book that does that is good in my opinion. Heck, my son read, and liked, Mein Kampf. Somehow I doubt he will suddenly turn into a Nazi because of reading a book.

Nope, nothing on the National Web site. Every council pretty much does their own thing.

I would suggest you check with your council. With the new councils, levels, and programing, you want to be sure you have accurate information.

Some Baloon rockets - http://www.sciencebob.com/experiments/balloonrocket.html http://www.amnh.org/rose/mars/balloon.html Stomp air rockets - http://www.sciencetoymaker.org/airRocket/index.html