ScoutNut

You mention you are gathering volunteers to go to schools. Is this Tiger Roundup for your Pack only or a District-wide event? Get your DE involved in this effort. They can print fliers with all of the info on the sign-up meeting night (and you Pack contact info if done for only your Pack) at no cost to your Pack. The DE can also do "Boy Talks" and have freebies to give to the boys. If this is a District-wide Roundup, make sure you have a representative from each of the Packs in the area at the signup parent meeting. If they can bring some picture of their Scout activities that would help. Having a visual of the things your Pack does will help if the Roundup is just for your Pack too. Have all permissions, dates and times set up well in advance. Advertise your signup meeting in a variety of different ways. Do you have any families in your Pack that either have kindergarteners, or know any kindergarten families? Have them chat up the kinder parents before and after school. Let them know what a great program Scouting is. Let the current Scouts know that if they can get a buddy to register they will get a cool recruiter patch that they can wear on their uniform. Have activities for the boys to do at the signup meeting. Utilize Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts (Den Chiefs would be great!) to run games and activities. Using boys the kindergartners know will help both the boys and their parents feel more comfortable. I like the Tiger face painting. Do it on the boys either at the schools or at the signup meeting. I like the sticker idea. Make it large and visible. Maybe a big orange tiger head shape or paw print. If you have your "Tiger Talk" later in the school day, the boys will be more likely to still have that sticker on them, the flier intact, and be bursting to tell their folks as soon as they fall out of those school doors. Good Luck!

I have a flier made up with the info on the Academics and Sports program. It includes a list of the subjects, my contact info, and a few sites where they can download the requirements. They can either contact me for a hard copy or look online for the requirements. I also leave copies of the more popular Belt Loops in our Scout Cabinet at our CO. A few questions - Cub Scouts have until the end of the school year to earn Electives. Why not simply give the boy the electives he has earned to date and the rest he can finish up and get credit for next month? There is also no time limit on how long it takes to earn Belt Loops or Pins. Why not give the Scout the opportunity to finish up the Math Belt Loop next month and award it to him at the May Pack meeting? Why the rush to squeeze everything in this month?

"But in addition to the electives this parent said little Johnny should get 7 belt loops and 4 pins. None of the other Wolves that have been active will be getting anything close to that many." It sounds like none of the other Wolves worked at home with their parents. "this parent told a committee member little Johnny was home making his door stop and said she told her husband he had two nights to complete all the electives she already turned in as being completed." Well, at least you know that the boy is actually doing the stuff with his dad. This mom needs to calm down a bit and not get ahead of things. You could give the dad a call and ask him to let you know if they don't manage to complete some of the electives.

This is a 2nd grade Wolf Cub Scout - not a Boy Scout earning his Eagle. Cub Scouting is flexible, and the standard for Cub Scouts is that they "Do Their Best". Weather or not they have met that standard is up to their "Akela". Cub Scouts (with the exception of the Webelos program) do NOT have to verify, or document their work to anyone but their Akela. A Cub Scout's parents are his Akelas. Any Belt Loop or Pin in the Cub Scout Academics and Sports Program can be completed in one of 3 ways - 1) in the community or school, 2) in the den or pack, or 3) at home with the family. "Here's the part of those 3, I felt we could question." "Make a poster showing things that you can do to be a good citizen." Where does it state that YOU, or anyone but the Akela who approved that the Scout did his best on this requirement, needs to see this poster? "Make a poster that shows and explains the water cycle." Once again - Where does it state that YOU, or anyone but the Akela who approved that the Scout did his best on this requirement, needs to see this poster? "I have a feeling when questioned the parent will say he made a poster for the service project she counted for the citizenship belt loop. But in my opinion that's not fulfilling the requirement." Your feeling and opinions on the posters do not matter. It is not your call to make. "Do five activities within your home or school that require the use of mathematics. Explain to your den how you used everyday math." OK - This one MIGHT be a fudge. Personally, since this Belt Loop was done at home and not in the Den, I would accept it if the Scout explained it to his Akela or family. However, you can NICELY (there is no need to browbeat) ask the Scout how he liked doing the Math Belt Loop and what did he discover about the different ways he uses math everyday. If he tells you then the requirement has been satisfied. The Scout completed these Belt Loops and pins at home with his parents acting as Akela. Weather or not you actually believe that he did the work, and weather or not he did the work up to YOUR standards, does not matter. His Akela stated that the Scout did his best, and completed all of the requirements. And, aside from the one possible question with the Math Belt Loop, that is all we can ask of the Scout. Please do not write this boy off. Find out why he has not been attending meetings and activities and encourage him, and his family to get more involved.

"she doesnt want to do anything but go on the campouts." I was afraid that was what was meant, but hoped I was misinterpreting! That is why I stated that the Pack is not a private camping club. I think allowing her to just tag along on campouts is setting a bad precedent. Let her know that while you are happy she had such a good time in Cub Scouts, if she is not an ACTIVE Pack Leader, the Pack can not reasonably bring her and her family along on campouts. Suggest she take SM training, Specific and Outdoor, and go camping with the Troop. In the meantime, doing some family camping on their own would be a great family bonding experience.

No need to be rude. No one called you any names. Bastmentdweller is fairly new here had he/she was simply asking for clarification. You must realize that people, even ones who have been in scouting for a long time, sometimes do not know everything. Or they simply ignore things that they don't want to do or know. Or they just plain do stupid things. Cabin camping works well because it gives newbie families who are not comfortable sleeping in a tent (or have no equipment) an alternative that is not so intimidating. We have done cabin camping before, and would like to idealy do one cabin campout and one tent campout each year. The problem is finding a nice park, with decent outdoor recources, and cabins that meet the criteria of the guide to Safe Scouting (sorry, I know that you do not want this mentioned). For family cabin camping you need, at the minimum, one very large cabin that can be split into 4 separate and distinct areas. Or, 2 smaller cabins that can be split into 2 separate areas each, or have at least 2 separate sleeping rooms. A cost of $5 per person is not bad. Our new Council camp has 2 cabins that would run us $10-15 ea person. They have room for a picnic table inside, but no kitchen facilities. The bathrooms are outdoor kybo's. The new shower house & bathrooms are a bit of a hike away. We might give these a try this Fall. Meanwhile we will keep looking, and tent camping!

You will need to fill out a BSA Merit Badge Counselor Application - http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34405.pdf And a new Adult Application - http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/28-501.pdf When you hand these in to your Council offices, ask them when the next Merit Badge Counselor training will be.

Well, it is a national sale. Perhaps the council owned stores have the option to have the sale or not because they have purchased the pants already at the regular price and do not want to loose money. (This message has been edited by ScoutNut)

Per BSA's Unit Money Earning Application - On soliciting money - "The BSA Rules and Regulations state, Youth members shall not be permitted to serve as solicitors of money for their chartered organizations, for the local council, or in support of other organizations. Adult and youth members shall not be permitted to serve as solicitors of money in support of personal or unit participation in local, national, or international events." On wearing the BSA uniform - "The official uniform is intended to be worn primarily for use in connection with Scouting activities. However, council executive boards may approve use of the uniform for any fund-raising activity." I suppose, technically, the Scout Police will not come after you if you choose to ignore BSA rules and policies (of all sorts, not just fundraising). However, I question how these people can then hold their Scouts to a "higher stander" and expect them to live by the trustworthy, loyal, and obedient, portions of the Scout Law. Kids aren't as dumb and blind as we would like to believe they are. They know when rules are being shaved. Let's face it, most Middle & High Schoolers are masters at it themselves!

The only one to make that call would be your Council SE. Submit your fundraising application to council and see what they tell you.

"if there was a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout in the family and the Boy Scout was receiving BL, then for both the pack and troop they would count." True, but the boys would be short changed. There are different issues for Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.

Having a leader stay active with the Pack when their son moves on to Boy Scouts is a good thing. Not many will consider it. However - The Pack is not a private, camping club. If this person is going to be a registered leader in the Pack, she should have a specific position and job. Do you need a Tiger Leader? Having an experienced, permanent, Tiger Leader can be a big help. Do you have an Activities Chair on your Committee? Since she likes to camp and do outdoor activities, Activities Chair might be a good fit. She could take BALOO training too and help run the camping program. How about Pack Trainer? She is already/still a registered member of your Pack, and will be until such time as she quits, transfers, or is not re-chartered with the Pack. Another Adult Membership form (and another registration fee) is not needed. All you should have to do is contact your council registrar and let them know that she is changing her job code from Webelos Den Leader (WL) to Tiger Den Leader (TL), Committee Member (MC), Pack Trainer (PT), or whatever. As for Pack fees - Do all of your other Pack Leaders (NOT youth, but adults) pay a Pack fee? If yes, than she should pay the same fee. If Pack fees are only paid by the youth, and not the adults, than no, she should not be expected to pay the annual Pack fee. If there are any fees associated with activities, such as entrance fees, tickets, camping fees, Blue and Gold dinner tickets, etc, that the other adults in the Pack are expected to pay in order to attend, then she should be expected to pay them for herself and her family if they attend also. Does every single family in the Pack sell popcorn? Somehow I doubt it. Remember, she will be working for the Pack, not just showing up to have fun and camp. There is nothing wrong with her taking a popcorn form to work if she feels it is appropriate. She can also put together and help run a popcorn Show and Sell Booth Sale or two, if she wants to. If her son's Boy Scout Troop also sells popcorn, she will most likely be putting most of her popcorn sales efforts in that direction. However, she might very well purchase a bit of popcorn from a boy in the Pack - IF they remember to ask her!

The "official" BSA policy can be found on the BSA National Web site. This is what BSA has to say about photos on Council Web sites - Photographs and Names A council should obtain permission before publishing any photographs on the Internet except those taken by council employees. Because some states have privacy laws that could be implicated if a child's photograph is published on the Internet without his parents' permission, ownership of the image alone does not carry with it the right to publish it. Therefore, the council should obtain permission from any person who is the subject of a photograph before displaying their image or likeness on the Internet. When using photographs of members, especially youth, it is also important to consider their safety and privacy when choosing captions or ancillary text. Some councils have established policies that no names will be associated with photographs at all, whereas others have a "first name only" policy for youth under a certain age, but allow the full names of adult leaders and older Scouts to be published. Their advise for Unit Web sites is similar. You can find it here, along with some suggested release forms - http://www.scouting.org/webmasters/units.aspx

Helping Hand Award ?

Who / What is an ACT? I understand that councils can make rules that are more strict than those of GSUSA, but to hogtie Troops trying to fundraise? Talk to the CEO of your Council if you have to, to get a definative ruling. BTW, my girls always managed to fund their program with the Cookie Program, in combination with paying Troop Dues or paying as they went. It came down to it being THEIR decision. If THEY decided to sell less cookies, and thereby make less profit for the Troop, then THEY had to pay out-of-pocket for more activities. The only time we did fundraisers other than those designated for council, was for their Silver and Gold projects. Some of those were a bake sale, car wash, and package wrapping at Christmas. We did pretty good at all of them.

There are some ideas here - http://pages.prodigy.net/lisabackussmith/Handouts/It's%20A%20Jungle%20of%20Fun.PDF Here is another - http://bart.ccis.com/home/jrwms007/rnd_oct02.doc (This message has been edited by ScoutNut)

What's done is done. This was a Lock-In. A Lock-In, no matter where it is held, even at your CO, is still an overnighter. BSA specifically states that Lock-Ins must have council approval. ALSO - BSA does NOT allow DEN overnighters. It does not matter if you call them a camp-in, a lock-in, or an all night party. PACK overnighters are fine, but Webelos are the ONLY den allowed to do overnighters as a DEN. It does not matter if you do not agree. These are BSA's rules. There would have been NO problem if the entire Pack had been invited and a tour permit had been issued (council approval). If your council decides that a tour permit is not necessary - fine. However, it is NOT up to the DEN or PACK to decide this. Filing a tour permit is the best way to get "council approval".

"i thought if we got the sponge nose and slit it, then we could pull the necker through. But I am not sure how to make a face out of the clown nose." OK - First off, you are using the red nose as a red face. Check your local craft store for foam shapes. They might even be sticky backed. Look for small ovals. If you can't find any foam shapes, cut your own out of a sheet of yellow (or whatever other color you like) foam. Glue these on your red nose-head where the eyes would be. Glue google eyes on top of the ovals. Use a small white (or whatever color) pom-pom for the nose. For hair you can use fuzzy, multi colored yarn. Or, don't use hair and just make a clown hat. Take a pipe cleaner of another bright color (I think I have even seen multi colored ones) and coil a piece into a cone shape. Glue this on top of your nose-head. Or do hair and a hat. You should consider testing out various ways to hold the necker with the nose-head. I think if you just split the nose, it might have a tendency to slip off the necker. Maybe instead of splitting it, poke a hole thru it from top to bottom, or use elastic to tie the open side of the split? Or use another pipecleaner and poke it thru the back portion of the nose-head, bring the ends together and twist them off to make a loop. I don't think gluing a loop to the back will work well, although hot glue can suprise you! Check your craft store to see if they have clown shaped woodies the boys can color with permanent sharpies as an alternative.

I agree with wingnut. If the boys are supposed to be making the totem, then let THEM make it. Offer them perhaps one finished example of what they can do and then let THEM put their own together. Doing it for them rather defeats the fun. To add to wingnut's list of things to pick from - Rank Award pictures Animal tracks Sports activitiy pictures Star, sun, moon shapes Music notes Pets Blank paper to draw something of their own that stands for them or their family.

Per Lisabob - "Besides which, it is feasible (though I suppose we could quibble over "advisable") to earn AoL by late in the 4th grade year." This is feasible ONLY if the boys will turn 10.5 years while in 4th grade. It does not matter how hard or fast he works on and earns Activity Pins, or how many BS Troop outings he goes on. As quoted by LongHaul, the 1st BSA Requirement to earn AOL is - "Be active in your Webelos den for at least six months SINCE COMPLETING THE FORTH GRADE (OR for at least six months SINCE BECOMING 10 YEARS OLD)" The emphasis is mine. So - IF you are following the BSA advancement requirements for AOL - the EARLIEST a boy can earn it is - 1) on the day he turns 10.5 years old - OR - 2) the end of November in his FIFTH GRADE YEAR. For those of you who registered 10 year old 4th graders as Boy Scouts, I wonder if your council had to do some creative bookkeeping in order for ScoutNet to accept the registration. Does anyone know how date sensitive ScoutNet is? Or, is it simply a check-box for AOL and nothing else is considered? Just curious to know if we are beating ourselves up over dates and ages when it does not really matter.

For a Webelos, unlike a Wolf or Bear, the Scout does not work at home on his requirements. He should be doing most of them, in the den, with all of them being approved by the den leader. The den leader can schedule another outing with a Troop and another visit to a Troop meeting. It will not hurt the other Webelos to do more activities with different Troops. What activity pin is he missing? Is there another one that he can do that none of the other boys have done yet? If so the den leader can work on that pin with the den. Perhaps the bigger question here is why is he loosing interest? Is he bored? Are the Webelos den meetings not keeping his interest? Does he plan to join a Boy Scout Troop, or is he going to quit after Cub Scouts? If he is going to be joining a Troop, he can do so at the end of 5th grade, without ever earning AOL.

Please keep in mind your first concern, and that of their parents, should be the BOYS, not the Troop. Personally, as a parent, I could give two hoots if it would be more convenient for you to get my son in your Troop early. I would want him to do what was best for HIM. Even if that meant staying in the Pack longer.

I am not a real big fan of the Webelos 1 and 2 designations, but I can live with them easier than "Webelo". Ultimately they are simply ways for the Pack to differentiate between two different dens of scouts. While the Webelos program is one program, 18 months long, you do NOT typically have all of a Packs Webelos in one den, with boys entering and leaving that one den every year. You could call them 4th Grade Webelos and 5th Grade Webelos, but, if they do not have den names (dragon den) it is easier, quicker, and just as descriptive to use Webelos 1 and 2 when talking about the Webelos dens in a Pack.

Keep the Packwide e-mail and newsletter, but if you are calling everyone, don't do it yourself. Utilize your Den Leaders. Den Leaders see, or at least have more contact with, their families each week. They can ask parents to stay at the beginning or end of a meeting to get/give the info you need. Den newsletters are also a great way for the Den Leaders to keep their families in the loop on Pack activities.

BSA started mandatory background checks, in 2003. This included a new membership application which asked for SSN and permission to run a background check. People registered in the same position since 2003 or earlier, who have never filled out a new application, are the ones who BSA is looking at. Grandfathering is out, BSA is serious about doing it's best to keep it's youth safe. From what I have read, letters will be sent out to all affected volunteers by June.