ScoutNut

I think their problem is that their address is a mail box drop business. I would guess that they only check their mail lock box once every 2 months or so. Then with the large backlog it takes them even more time to get thru everything. From what I have heard, everyone has finally received their awards, but 3 months or more wait time is pretty much the rule. Also, they do not respond to inquiries by USPS, which is understandable as they don't check their mail drop), or by e-mail (which is NOT understandable). While their medals are nice and fancy, I recommend doing the activities and then ordering a nice patch from a reputable patch company. It will be cheaper and faster.

There is no wall chart that I am aware of. However, if you copy the sheet from the Cub Scout Academic and Sports Program book, it has a place to check off when the requirement is completed. The boys can hang that on their wall.

"And ironically for Eagle projects our town is blessed with a number of local businesses that strongly support Eagle projects with donations of materials and sometimes food. It's been going on for years and donations of materials are routinely accepted for Eagle projects." Receiving donated materials and food for a project is a far cry from soliciting money. Soliciting funds for organizations should be left to the adults in that organization. "At every Eagle BOR I've been involved with the District Advancement Chair always asks the candidate if he wore his uniform when discussing the project with the businesses." I can see where the Scout would wear his uniform when discussing his project with the organization whom the project is for, but that is about it. The project itself is a service project for an organization OTHER than BSA. When talking to businesses about donating materials the Scout is acting as a representative of that organization, not BSA.

From the Unit Money-Earning Application (link posted by OldGreyEagle) on the subject of raising funds for other organizations - "#7 -Will the fund-raising project avoid soliciting money or gifts? 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. For example: Scouts and leaders should not identify themselves as Scouts or as a troop participate in the Salvation Armys Christmas Bell Ringing program. This would be raising money for another organization."

My guess would be that it depends on the kind of ceremony you are doing. To make a generic one that would be useful for all kinds of things I would do 6 candles. The pictures would be the rank badges for Bobcat, Tiger, Wolf, Bear, Webelos, and AOL. You can purchase sheets with these xtra large peel and stick badges from your Scout Shop. Stick them to a cardboard backing and attach each one to a candle holder. The candle colors themselves can vary from ceremony to ceremony depending on what your are doing.

Actually, if your Pack is planning on doing a Youth Protection training for the entire Pack it is most likely the video "It Happened To Me". This video is for Cub Scout aged boys and their parents and talks about abuse and other safety issues. BSA recommends that it be shown yearly. This is the facilitator's guide - http://old.scouting.org/pubs/av/46-182/46-182.pdf

I still am unclear on this ceremony thing. Is the ceremony for awarding Leave No Trace? Are both the Tiger and Bear dens working on Leave No Trace? Why does the Tiger Leader think that the Asst Tiger Leader should do the ceremony instead of the the Bear leader (you)?

Talk to the SM of the Troop that your boys are planning on crossing to. It should be easy enough to set up a hike with their Troop. Maybe the Boy Scouts can do a campfire cooking demo for the Webelos and make lunch in a DO.

Here in the USA, World Thinking Day is celebrated by Girl Scouts (GSUSA), but not by BSA. Girl Scouts celebrate the fact that they are members of a worldwide movement and think of their sister Girl Scouts & Girl Guides around the world. Many GSUSA Service Units (think BSA District) will have Thinking Day events where each participating Troop will take a different country and do some kind of presentation on it. It will usually involve some kind of display on the culture, food, and Scout program. Even if there is no group event available, most individual Troops still celebrate Thinking Day with their own activities. These usually include a donation to the Juliette Low World Friendship Fund. BTW - The Scouts in our CS Pack and BS Troop, while they usually do not wear their uniform to school because their meetings are not directly after school, do wear their uniforms to Den, Pack, and Troop meetings. The boys need special permission to wear their Scout uniform to school in place of their school uniform. If they are sponsoring something at school like raising or lowering the flags, food or toy drive, etc, they are allowed to substitute their Scout uniform, and they do.

Both our Pack and Troop are chartered by the Holy Name Society of our local Catholic Church. Most of the boys are members of the parish and the younger ones are members of the Church's Elementary School. The Holy Name Society also supports Girl Scouts which has a Troop in every grade K-8 and I believe there is also one of High School girls. For all of the above BSA and GSUSA groups when camping, when it is possible to attend a mass at a local church they do so. When it is possible to have one of our priests come out for Saturday evening or Sunday morning they do so. When neither of the above options are possible, the Scout group will hold a Scouts Own Service on Sunday morning. Personally I prefer the Scouts Own Service. There is something very spiritual about speaking to God under the trees and open sky. Neither the Archdiocese or our Pastor have excommunicated any of us yet!

Try this web site - http://library.thinkquest.org/J0110166/

Guys, you need to read the whole post! Padilan is a FORMER PL, who forgot to include the word former in his introduction. That is how/why he ran for QM (& lost). The current PL seldom shows up at campouts, but has NOT asked Padilan to fill in for him. The new QM (and the ASST QM) will both be arriving at the Camporee last. The new QM HAS asked Padilan to fill in for him until he arrives. Padilan, leadership is not something that springs into being instantly. It has to be learned. Both the PL and QM are fairly new Scouts and (obviously) have much to learn. We all had to start somewhere, even you. Give them a break, and give them a hand.

Trailblazermom - I am hoping that the problem is that your son's den leader is still functioning in Bear mode and has not yet taken the Webelos training or started to think ahead to next year. I am hoping that (contrary to what it sounds like) she is not trying to blow you off, hoping you will leave her den and save her the problem of having to deal with your sons needs. Positive thinking! Purchase a Webelos Handbook and look thru it. Yes, at the Webelos level, you are no longer considered Akela with carte blanc to approve any and all requirement work. However, that does not mean that your son can not work on his own. He has to have permission form his den leader and he has to make sure to document what he has done so that he can show it to his den leader for approval. Take pictures, bring in completed projects, keep a journal, get signed notes from teachers/lifeguards/etc stating what he has completed. Sometime at the end of the school year sit down with your sons leader and find out which Activity Pins she is planning on doing and when. You don't want to duplicate work. You might also get in touch with the 5th grade Webelos leader to see if your son could attend some of their meetings, campouts, and Boy Scout outings, and work with them on some of the AOL requirements. If your den leader refuses to work with your son, work on your own and with the 5th grade den. If you don't wait, and start this summer, your son should be able to cross to Boy Scouts in February with the 5th grade den - and with his AOL!

Lisa, the problem is not that Trailblazermom wants to "fly" through the Webelos program - Her son is in an unusual position, he is currently a Bear going into 4th grade and Webelos at the end of the year, however, he will turn 11 BEFORE he completes 4th grade. So her son only has 1 year to complete the entire Webelos program. From her posts, the actual problem seems to be that her son's den leader (soon to be Webelos den leader) does not want to work with her and her son to ensure that he has the opportunity to earn AOL before he crosses to a BS Troop. The den leader also seems to be giving mixed signals and incorrect information.

You said he was an advocate of training, is he trained? Are any of the DL's trained? Do you have a Committee Chair? Does the COR attend any Pack meetings or functions? Do you hold monthly Pack Leaders Committee meetings? Do you have any idea if your Pack has a Unit Commissioner? As part of your monthly Leaders Committee meeting you should be critiquing the last month's Pack meeting and activities. This would be the perfect time to bring up problems to your CM. Have your COR contact your District Commissioner to find out who your Unit Commissioner is. Have your UC and/or your DC attend the next Leader Committee meeting and the next Pack meeting. The job of the Commissioner is to help units solve problems. It should be your Committee Chair (CC) and your COR who invite your CM out for an informal talk about how the Pack is doing, not the den leaders. If the CM will not feel like he is being beat up on, your UC would be a good one to include also. Good Luck!

Tigers and their Partners are welcome at Day Camps in all of our Districts. Perhaps the problem is that the Summer Camp must include programing appropriate to all of the age levels of their campers. The non-Tiger camps just do not want to be bothered coming up with programing that is age appropriate for those youngest Cubs.

Don't pack ANY extra food/drink of any kind in your Scout's gear. All food should be in the Troop's coolers and Patrol Boxes. Hooches, Yurts, Tepees, Tents, what have you, should all be food free - even in winter! (no portable heaters either!)

Ummm, Barry, in order to earn AOL, a Webelos MUST earn the Webelos Award also. You can earn Webelos without AOL, but not AOL without Webelos.

As others have said, it is definitely possible to earn both the Webelos Badge and the AOL in 6 months. However why rush him thru his Webelos experience? He can work on Webelos things over the summer, Traveler is a good one, so is Aquanaut. Sign him up for Webelos resident camp. That will be fun and help him with other requirements. Even though he will be 11 before the end of his 4th grade year, he can still take the entire time to complete his requirements and then cross to a Troop at the end of 4th grade. Talk to your son first and find out what he is interested in doing. Then talk to his den leader and sit down and make a plan for him. Good Luck and Happy Scouting!!

I do not think that BSA has had complaints from any of the Indian Nations about their use of Indian lore. As a matter of fact, I have heard of all Native American Dance Teams. I believe we had a Native American poster here whose son could not wait to become a member of a team and do dance ceremonies. As for the use of fictional characters, Cub Scouts is all about fictional characters. Baden Powell knew Rudyard Kipling personally and loved his works, including "The Jungle Book". BP included excerpts from Kipling's stories in his Scouting handbooks. That is why Baloo, Kim's Game, and Akela are an integral part of Scouting today. Indian lore is entwined with many aspects of BSA. BSA was started using Native American teachings. There are merit badges on American Cultures and Indian Lore. There are Dance Ceremony Teams. There is the Order of the Arrow. I doubt that you will ever see BSA eliminate all uses of Indian lore in it's programs.

Remember also - you are not just reviewing the Scout, you are also reviewing the troop's program. You want that Scout comfortable enough that if you ask him what he thinks needs changing in the Troop he will give you an honest answer.

Check out this BOR training from BSA - http://www.scouting.org/boyscouts/supplemental/18-625/index.html It gives you a very good overview of BOR's and even some sample questions. Please remember - no re-testing.

A lot depends on just how allergic this scout is. There are some people who can have an allergic reaction (even life threatening) from the merest hint of peanut oil. This can be as little as someone smearing a bit on a picnic table after eating a PBJ sandwich and then wiping it up! While your older scout might have a very slight reaction, this new boy could be extremely allergic. Find out what you are dealing with first.

The Advancement Chair is not required by BSA to sit on a BOR, or to sign the Advancement form. A boys performance in a POR should be monitored and mentored by the SM (or someone designated by the SM). Boys need to be TRAINED, they don't pick things up thru osmosis. If a SM signs off on a POR simply because a boys name was on a list for a specific amount of time, then the problem is with the SM and it should be addressed by the CC. While the boy at the MB camp did lie and was in the wrong, if he completed all of the requirements for the skating MB, and the MB Counselor signed off that it was completed, he should get what he earned. His consequences for his bad behavior, and not "living the Scout Oath and Law", should not be to have earned awards withheld. His consequences should be reflected in a SM Conference and should be addressed as part of Scout Spirit. Maybe a service project of some kind that would open his eyes to the dangers of what he did? His behavior should also have been addressed by his family. I know if it was my kid he would have taken up permanent residence in his media and game free room!

Let's not forget that the CPR is good for only 1 year and the First Aid for 3. To cover your Troop you really should have 1 other adult take CPR/First Aid the year after you take the training (before your CPR runs out). We used to be able to take the CPR/First Aid training thru council at a reduced rate. However they very seldom offered it more than once a year (some years we were lucky to get it once). Then they started telling us that while it was a required training, the council was no longer going to offer it and we would have to find the training elsewhere. We were lucky because one of our Troop's moms was a medical professional and we were able to use her as our First Aider if my coleader or I were unable to find/take training. Personally, I like the first aider requirement and wish that BSA had it too. However, there has to be sufficient training available.