ScoutNut

Just a reminder that the four Boy Scout Historical Merit Badges (Carpentry, Pathfinding, Signaling, Tracking) can no longer be earned. All requirements had to have been completed by Dec 31, 2010. Remind your Advancement Chairs to get their order in to your Scout Shop as soon as possible. You don't want to wait, and then find the badges pulled from the shelves.(This message has been edited by Scoutnut)

concscouter - Good Luck, and happy Scouting! BTW - Call your council registrar and make sure they take you, and your wife, off of your old Pack's charter.

So, you feel that a program that is set up specifically for unenthusiastic, volunteers, will work better than one with enthusiastic volunteers? How will that work exactly? BSA already has it's dens meeting only twice a month, with scripted meeting plans that cover everything, including what to say to the Scouts. How much less demanding do you want it to get? Will den leaders sit in a corner reading a book while the Scouts work on assignments sheets? If the volunteers are so unenthusiastic, will they even bother showing up?

There is no reason to reinvent the wheel. The BSA already has common programs for each den level. It is called the New Cub Scout Delivery Method. The Cub Scout Den and Pack Meeting Resource Guide has plans for very den, and Pack, meeting, for the entire year.

It is not a Pack meeting if only some of the dens are there. How can the younger Scouts interact with the older Scouts, if they only see them once, or twice a year? If your Pack is so big that you can not handle everyone in a single Pack meeting, then it is time to split the Pack, not the meeting.

Instead of trying to get a parish you, and your Scouts, are not a member of, and a school you have no children at, to change their educational programs, you might be better off sending out fliers to the school, and posting an ad in the church bulletin, inviting them to events put on by the Cub Pack. Host a Bike Hike on an area bike path and supply healthy drinks and snacks. Rent the pool for an evening at your local Y, or Park District. Host a Fun Run along a local running path. Again supply healthy snacks. You will probably have to charge for things like the pool party. However, you should try to keep the cost as low as possible.

Wow, talk about a nasty remark, and a case in point. As Basement posted, Eagles are just people. Like all people everywhere, Eagles run the gamut of personalities, and abilities. Some are even rather rude. Perhaps it is not Basement, and Eagle92 who need to brush up on their people skills.

Often it is the Eagle Scouters who are the hardest to get to training. Many feel that they have been thru the program, are Eagles, know everything there is to know, and don't need no stinkin' training!

>>"The issue is can I take my den out, as long as I have two deep leadership... Webelos... for weekend campout at campground, without each boy having to bring a parent.">"But could "Webelos Billy" come along, so long as we maintain two deep leadership at our site at the resident camp ?"

Larger councils usually have more paid staff. The smaller councils just can't afford all of that salary overhead. My council has a Field Director, but no District Directors. Just one DE per district. Providing programing is not one of the responsibilities that a council agrees to in the Charter contract. Providing program activities to Cub Scouts is primarily the job of the Pack. Usually, when a council does provide some kind of program event all of the work, and programing is done by volunteers. The paid folks just oversee it. My council has some districts that do a better job of getting their volunteers to put on Cub programs than others. However, every District usually sponsors at least one event. That works out fine though, because you can attend any event sponsored by any district. This year my council has the following Cub events scheduled (no under-Webelos campouts, but other fun stuff) - Scout-O-Rama Webelos Day at a local quarry 1 Fall Fun Day 2 Winter Fun Days 1 Spring Fun Day 2 Incentive events for newly registered Cubs Webelos-Ree Boy Scout First Aid Competition with Webelos as victims There are also various discounted Scout Day Game tickets sponsored by our council for local professional Sports events (baseball, soccer, hockey, basketball).

BSA National rules do NOT require adults trained in either BALOO, or Outdoor Leader Skills for Webelos Leaders, in order to be able to take a Webelos den on a den camp out. An individual council might have stricter rules, and require one, or both, but National does not. West Coast, the Guide to Safe Scouting states, in bold tpeface - "A Webelos Scout may participate in overnight den camping when supervised by an adult. In most cases, the Webelos Scout will be under the supervision of his parent or guardian. It is essential that each Webelos Scout be under the supervision of a parent-approved adult. Joint Webelos den-troop campouts including the parents of the Webelos Scouts are encouraged to strengthen ties between the pack and troop. Den leaders, pack leaders, and parents are expected to accompany the boys on approved trips." This means that the parent/Webelos combo is the preferred way to go for a Webelos den camp out. However, it is possible for a Webelos to be supervised by an adult who is not his parent if the parent gives his permission. All other Guide to Safe Scouting Youth Protection rules (2-deep, sleeping arrangements, etc) must be followed. I would recommend including any and all parents as much as possible. As for a council summer camp, Webelos-ree, or other, every council sets their rules for their Summer Camps based on BSA standards. These participation rules should be clearly stated up-front when the Webelos registers for the Summer Camp. All of my council's Webelos only overnight Summer Camp sessions are parent/scout. Our Webelos-ree's/Webelos Woods, are one day events, with no overnight camping. These are a minimum of 2 adults, with 1 adult per 5 Webelos.

Just pointing out that sweeping generalizations about what all councils "routinely" do, while it might be correct for your council, is rarely correct for all councils.

Not the councils in the Chicago area. Not any Packs that I know, or have heard of. Per council, all district level Tiger recruitment events MUST be held after June 1st. All of the Spring recruitment activities in area Packs happen at the end of May. Kindergartens in the area generally graduate at the end of May. Any new Spring Tigers are included in Summer Activities. Our Pack invites newly graduated kindergartners to our final Pack meeting of the year, at the end of May. Any Tigers who register that evening are welcomed to the Pack, receive a Tiger necker, a Pack slide, their Tiger Handbook, and information on Pack summer activities, and Council/District summer camps. It makes no sense to have new, unregistered, kindergartners, attend Tiger den meetings with boys who will not be in their den. While your Pack might "routinely bend rules", not all Packs, or Councils do.

>>"Sooo you could have a 12+ year old Webelos 3?????? Makes sense.">"During recharter a couple of years ago, I had a 11+ year old webelos that scoutnet would not let me put keep him in the Pack"

Boys "age out" of Cub Scout when they finish 5th grade, OR when they are 11.5 years old. Which ever comes LATER.

>>"I might note that most councils recruit Tiger Cubs in the spring when they are in Kindergarten and technically not eligible to join."

I take it your son is currently a Bear Cub Scout in 3rd grade? Is his den leader on board with him working on his Webelos and AOL requirements basically on his own? As a parent, you will no longer be able to sign off on any and all Webelos requirements, as you have done with Wolf and Bear. The Webelos den leader is the one who will have to check his work, and approve/sign off on it. Will he also be working with the 5th grade Webelos den in order to cover some of the requirements? Why the hurry? What is the reason for the March AOL date, and the June 1st crossover date?

>>"but this is a Tiger DL. He's new this year. It all starts somewhere."

My Pack gives all scouts their BSA Handbook at registration. They do not have to be in uniform at that point, but we do want them to be able to start going thru their Handbook. We encourage the parents to look thru it with their son, read the parent section in front, and do the Youth Protection booklet with him. We generally do not recruit leaders at registration. We get to know them a bit first. At the Scout's first Pack meeting they are presented with their necker, and a slide. The same goes for new leaders. At their first Pack meeting after turning in their registration they are presented their necker, a slide, and their position patch, by either the outgoing leader, or the CM. We do not do home made uniforms, so we present only BSA neckers. The slides, however, are usually wood burned tree branch slices. The idea of having the son put the necker on the parent is a good one. At our end of year Pack meeting, all leaders are called up, and thanked with a certificate, and a small, usually silly, gift.

Old School - As you can see there are various thoughts on the issue of the importance of immediate recognition beads. You asked what can be done. As you are a den leader for a den other than the one in question, the answer is - not a lot. You can bring it up at a Pack Leaders meeting, and suggest that the Pack incorporate the cost into the budget starting next year, and award the beads at Pack meetings. However, if the CM, the CC, and the other Pack leaders, do not get on board, you can not force them to do anything. Your best bet is to stop worrying about how other dens are run (that is the CM's job), and make sure that your Wolf den is getting a great program. On a side note, based on your posts, you seem to have a lot of issues with your Pack. You might want to spend some time and check out other Packs in your area. You might find one that has a Scouting vision that is closer to your own, and is a better fit for you and your family.

Don't write off this Scout, and don't give away an unearned award. There is plenty of time. I would first talk to the Tiger, and ask if his school has had any programs with the police, or fire departments this year. If not, then do another, different, den activity that would fulfill the requirement. The other boys will have fun, and not be bored, and the one boy will have completed his requirement.

The Tiger Handbook specifically states that all activities can be done with the family if necessary. Cub Scouts, and especially Tiger Cubs, is a very flexible program. The requirement does not have to be done exactly as the examples in the handbook say. As long as the Scout does his best to learn what the requirement is teaching, it does not matter how he does it. For the police and fire depts, the point is to talk to someone who helps people in your community. Most fire and police stations will be more than happy to talk to one Scout and his family. Just give them a call to set it up. The police will also have a community relationship person, or a DARE officer, who can talk to the Scout. If the Scout knows someone in the medical field, they can talk to them, and maybe find out about emergency care. October is Fire Prevention Month, and often classes will visit the local fire station, or the school will hold various fire prevention activities. The requirement to find out about how life in your area has changed over the years is a fairly easy one to do on your own. A visit to the local library is easy. Around the holidays, many historical houses, parks, etc, will have special displays/activities that are fun for a family to do. Holidays are also the perfect time for the Scout to talk to his grandparents about what life was like when they were the Scout's age. The TV/radio station thing can be tricky, but there are still a lot of options. The point is to find out how to communicate with a large number of people at once. There are Web sites where a Scout and his family can go to send email holiday greetings to our Armed Forces overseas. Visit with someone who is the Webmaster for a Web site, and see how Web sites are put together. Your local copy/print shop will usually be happy to show a Scout around. The Scout, and his family, can go to the BSA Twitter/Facebook site, look around, and post a comment. While regular TV/radio stations might be hard to schedule, a station at a university or Community College might be more flexible. An exhibit on forms of communication at a local museum would be fun. A tour of the 911 center at your local police station works too (ask about reverse 911). October is also the time for JOTA (Jamboree on the Air), and JOTI (Jamboree on the Internet), where Scouts from all over the world talk to each other. If you missed that, there are also weekly/monthly World Scout Radio Nets. There is a New Years Net coming up on Jan 1.

Excuse me? Not detracting, just asking questions. This is a discussion forum. Where things are discussed, and feedback is given. If you are looking for a simple question and answer format you are in the wrong place. Try Yahoo Answers.

A BOR can be held when ever the required number of Committee members (not ASM's) can be gotten together. If there has been advance notice, and the Scout knows his requirements are complete, there should be no problem with holding them the same day. The easiest way would be to have the BOR directly after the meeting. However you stated - >>"In some cases I can see it if a scout while able to answer the scout master's questions may need a little more time to face the BOR"

I like the use of the foam Scout Sign. Very fun! I was a bit concerned at the ballerina bet however. Does your Pack generally have a difficult time getting 70% of its DENS to stay registered a full year? Do you generally lose 1-3 complete dens, or 30% of your total boys, every year? That is a big issue, and one that a mere ballerina bet will not cure. You, and your CC, need to contact these families and find out why you are losing boys in such numbers, and then fix the problem.