sctmom

Mike, Great photos and website! Also, happy to see Mrs. Long was with the guys. I see also you are going to Camp Rainey this summer. We live on the southside of Atlanta. Haven't been to Camp Rainey but here it is nice.

JimHayes1949 Most people think emergencies never happen to them. Yet, they do get the munchies and want popcorn or can give popcorn as a gift. Are my local paramedics going to know about this little sticker and the bottle in my refrigerator? Why can't I just print up my medical information and post it on my refrigerator door? Just my two cents worth.... AND yesterday a neighbor stopped and asked me when we would be selling popcorn again.

Feathers, I'm glad to hear that you and your daughter are following through on making sure this boy understands the seriousness of what he did. Your daughter should be commended for going to you with this information and being brave throughout this. I hope the boy and his family learn from this. Harrassment and bullying is not acceptable under any circumstance. These are not joking matters. As a parent, I thank you for taking care of this in a reasonable manner and in making sure your troop gets well educated about it.

We are talking about a young man who wants to be in uniform for a parade and ceremony. A young man who it seems that BSA does not MAKE a uniform to fit. I looked at the special order and also realized you have to order 2 shirts the same size or 2 pants the same size. That is extremely expensive and most people don't need 2 shirts the same size. So what can they do? Have the boy in the middle of the parade with no uniform? Tell him not to participate? Girl Scouts are also very protective of their brand name but they do sell the official color fabric and patterns so the uniforms can be made by someone locally. You can only purchase the insignia at a approved shop and I believe only if you are a registered leader of some sort. The best thing I can think of is checking the second hand stores and ebay. Anybody out there want to "sponsor" this young man and buy him the uniforms? I'm sure Sagerscout would be glad to get in touch with you. Isn't part of scouting about learning to work with what you have? Learning to solve problems and "think outside the box? Sager, have you contacted the District or Council about other options -- do they have a fund to help Scouts in need? Do they know of anyone who might have an "experienced" shirt? It would probably be worth the call.

Sager, You can often find Scout Shirts on ebay. Some are rather large men's sizes. Have you tried taking a Scout Shirt to a fabric shop to see if they have material the same color? If you can find a quilt shop nearby they may have a bigger selection of different shades of brown. Then use a standard men's shirt pattern. There are some sewers who can take an existing shirt and figure out the pattern without taking the shirt apart. Seems like the hardest part would be to get the material to match and then to get the strip that says "Boy Scouts of America" to go over the pocket. I know you can buy the flag patch for the sleeve from BSA.

OGE, what a wonderful gift! I was a quilter before scouting took over my life a few years ago..lol. One of the many "projects" in my head is to create a quilt with each square representing some part of my son's life -- Cub Scouts, baseball, basketball, trains, cars, and NOW Boy Scouts. Take good care of that quilt so many, many years from now some young boy can look at it and say "Great-great-grandpa OGE earned all these badges a long time ago. He must have been one heck of a guy."

I just attended my first Merit Badge day/college/roundup for our council. I taught a Citizenship class. Went very well. I had only 14 boys in my class so we had lots of chances for all of the boys to talk and share their thoughts. They all did a great job writing a letter to their congressman. Those who had visited a capital or federal installation had a chance to tell me about what they learned. The others understood they would have to work on that with the troop. I was a bit disappointed in the fact that apparently no one prepares ahead of time for this. None of the boys had a copy of the Merit Badge pamphlet. There is a expectation that you WILL walk away with the badge as long as you aren't thrown out of class. The first aid class had over 60 kids in it! And only 3 or 4 adults. I have a hard time believing that every boy demonstrated everything they said they covered. I think that there should be very strict class limits so that all the boys get the most out of the program. Overall it was good. It was very organized considering there were over 500 boys there and many adults. It was a positive experience to see these young men take part in "adult" conversations. One of the young men in my troop came over and talked to me at lunch, had lots of questions about the troop I'm with, lots of information to share about his troop. Even though it was a beautiful day outside, they even all came back from lunch on time! Of course, they wanted to take a break 15 minutes later, but I couldn't blame them for that. The organizers also made sure to get the names and info on all adults present, in order to contact them later about being Merit Badge counselors.

Eagle90, Great job! Our troop collects stuff all year for the annual yard / rummage sale. They find neighborhoods that have neighborhood yard sales, give each family a ribbon to tie on their mailbox if they want the scouts to take away whatever didn't sell that day. You have to have a place to store all this stuff for the year, but it sounds like this works well. Find a couple of high priced neighborhoods and you can get some really "good junk".

Rooster writes: "This "small part of part of the gay community", would they be the same ones that sponsors these parades all over the country? Would they be the same ones disturbing the masses at St. Patrick's in NY? Would they be the same ones posting garbage all over the Internet? This small part of community seems to be everywhere. " I understand what you are saying. They are very vocal, to say the least. My only point is to not assume that all gays are like that. The same as don't judge all Christians by one TV evangalist who calls himself Christian, while dipping his hand in the till and sleeping around. As much good as the internet does, it also gives a lot of crazy people (not just gays) a place to get their word out in large ways. Even though I don't agree with you about everything, Rooster, I do appreciate your debating style. The reason I ask about the percentage number is because as we all know, statistics can be made to support any cause. Even some of the studies that back up my views are very skewed. I'd also like to know how many pedophiles were sexually abused as children themselves.

Rooster writes: "In today's world, gays parade down the street half dressed. In today's world, gays have their own magazines and newspapers. They even have their own holiday - "Gay Pride Day". In short, homosexuals (as a group) are no longer in the closet. That being said, I find it difficult to believe that "thousands of gay leaders" populate the BSA's ranks unnoticed and unchallenged. This seems logical to me and much more likely. Hardly factual, but it has at least the same amount of merit as your previous statement. " A friend of mine who is gay, hates these parades where they go around "half dressed". This is only a small part of the gay community. While the gay lifestyle is more "out of the closet" than ever before, there are still many individuals who are "in the closet". They look and act no different than anyone else in their daily lives. They hold regular jobs, dress the same, live in the same neighborhoods, etc. About the quote of 35% of pedophiles are homesexual, does that mean they have had some time in their life had a homosexual experience or they consider themselves homosexual and are participate in homosexual relationships with other adults?

Quartermaster does apply. For Star and Life the following positions apply: Patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, senior patrol leader, troop guide, OA troop representative, den chief, scribe, librarian, historian, quartermaster, bugler, junior assistant Scoutmaster, chaplain aide, or instructor. For Eagle, these apply: Patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, senior patrol leader, troop guide, OA troop representative, den chief, scribe, librarian, historian, quartermaster, junior assistant Scoutmaster, chaplain aide, or instructor.

SagerScout, Do you know exactly what size he needs? Maybe we can all be on the lookout for at least a shirt for him in our local areas. Scouts and Scouters are known for being a generous and helpful bunch. Wow, sounds like you guys have a lot on you. I can only imagine how hard it is to start a new troop. There was talk of that where I am, and some people didn't see that it would require a lot of work. I was fortunate to find an established troop for my son that is really good. My son has the opposite problem of the boy in your troop -- the smallest scout pants are a little big on him, but we know that will change one day.

I've yet to see a pattern or the material for BSA uniforms. Maybe some others have at some point. Sager, another option possibly is looking into does the troop have a "needy scout fund". My son's troop does. The boy's have individual accounts that part of their fundraising goes into. When a boy leaves the troop he can ask for his money back or to go to the needy fund. If 6 months pass and he hasn't asked for his money, it automatically goes to the needy scout fund. The parents are told about this fund when signing up for the troop. No one else needs to know where he got his uniform other than the scoutmaster and his parents. Depending on your chartering organization, you may even be able to ask them about helping pay for his uniform or starting a "needy scout fund".

I've never camped with a 9-month old, but have seen a few others do it. Does the baby move around a lot or is she a sound sleeper? For sleeping, I would just make her a pad of blankets to sleep on and put her so no one getting up in the night will step on her. I would recommend a playpen for the daytime. I've seen pictures of myself in a playpen about that age....many, many moons ago. Somewhere online is a website done by a lady who has camped a lot with her small children. I think it is called "camparoo.com". You may need to do a search on camparoo to find it. Or search for "camping with children." And remember, it's only for 1 night (2 at the most), you will all make it through just fine.

Mommascout, So glad you have found a good troop. When we first looked at troops last fall, the first one we visited was similiar to the "bad" one you describe. I introduced myself to the Scoutmaster as a parent and Webelos leader, he said his name and walked away. There were sooooo many things wrong. Then I saw a "good" troop. WOW, the difference is amazing!! You can just tell it in the way the boys say the oath and law at the beginning of the meeting, the look on their faces, the look on the faces of the parents. Visiting what is now "our troop", I had boys thank me for visiting. The boys took my son right in and made him feel welcome. After 2 visits he felt like he had friends there. The adults are just that friendly to me as well. And it is GREAT to watch a 13 year old taking on the role of leadership. I've told my son that no group is perfect, but he can't quit things because of one small incidence. Even after getting in trouble on the campout, the boys still had a good time. They are ready for the next one.

Bob, The pullout section is now about Child Abuse. I just went through it with my son. It's main focus was sexual abuse, both by adults and other boys. One parent did ask me wasn't it the same thing we did with the boys as Cubs, no, it isn't. The Cub pullout talked about safety in general. The one in the Boy Scout handbook is aimed at the older boy. It is more explicit.

Sager, I think a lot of people don't understand that 8 hours of sleep is a MINIMUM for some of us. Also, like you said all the allergens out there. People don't have to be sneezing to have allergies. These are growing boys and need lots of sleep. You can recover from lack of sleep on a 2-night campout, but at summer camp they will burn out quickly. My kid can easily sleep 10 hours per night. I can too. My sister sleeps 6 hours per night and doesn't understand why I have less hours in my day than she does.

Okay, but how do you GET them? Do you go around asking people or do you wait for them to show up on your doorstep? Like, if you think the local vet would be a good counselor, do you ask him? How do you tell him what it is all about? I'm thinking there are a lot of quailifed people out there who would help if they KNEW about it. If someone doesn't have boys in the BSA or haven't been in the Boy Scouts, they would never think to volunteer.

Last year on the way to a den meeting, I took my son and his friend into a hamburger place. Every have that feeling that everyone is looking at you? Then I realized we all had on our Scout shirts! I looked like mother duck with the ducklings behind me. I forget I have my uniform shirt on and then wonder why people say "so you are in scouting?". LOL Got the pictures back last night, the one of him heading to the campout turned out great! In fact I need to get copies made for the grandparents.

My son and I did quite well on this campout. At one point, I did tell him that "mom" was not on this campout. I even threatened to not let him ride with me, I agreed since I had other boys in my vehicle, but made him sit in the back with them. I was surprised to see the other boys asking to ride alone with their parents. I want my son to be independent and he wants to be. I helped him in packing, but am slowly giving him more responsibility about it. This time I asked him up front what he should take. He did good with his list, included his flashlight and handbook! As a Webelos leader I would get amazed at the parents who would take simple things out of the kid's hands -- like the flag needing folding, setting up a tent. One night I had my son lead the boys in setting up my tent, before I could blink there were 2 dads over there taking over. Not just directing, but actually doing it!

Just wanted some sage advice before I stuff my tent in front of the troop and "set a bad example" for the boys. I always leave the tent door open when rolling it up, but another scouter insisted my son zip the tent door on his before rolling it up. With enough duct tape and proper storage this tent should do just fine. Living in the south, I don't need a 4-season tent built for snow.

How does your council/district/troop get merit badge counselors? Does everyone actively recruit them? Does one person handle it? Do you recruit from parents? Do you just handle it when a scout asks to work on a particular merit badge?

As I watched my son's patrol camping this weekend, I tried to decide could you tell the ADHD kids from the non-ADHD kids. For the most part, NO! LOL Some of the behavior is "just boys". Take 10 boys about the same age (11 to 13), put them outside, tell them they are "on their own", and WATCH. Those with allergies can get hyper from the pollen and other allergens outside (may not be sneezing either). Then some haven't had their medicine for ADD/ADHD. Not enough sleep. The "power" goes to their heads. The "mob mentality" takes over and suddenly the total IQ drops to that of a single 2 year old. It's mind boggling when you think about it! LOL

Girl Scouts has had some articles online in the last few months about troops for Hispanic girls. When talking to the moms about camping or really anything, realize that their culture treats women differently. From what I understand, women's roles and men's roles are much more defined than middle-class America. The articles are www.girlscouts.org could give you a little info about dealing with the mothers.

Our council has a couple of different Webelos camporees. I went to one as a Webelos leader. The Boy Scouts ran the events. The Webelos got a chance to build a fire, tie knots, do a stretcher relay, do a compass course, etc. They really enjoyed it. So did the parents. Our district has a fall and a spring campout of troops and Webelos. I hear these are good for the second year Webelos. I think they are good for the younger boys to see that Scouting is not just about the crafts they do as Cubs. Also, my son came up to me and said "That older boy talked to me and he was nice!" Helped him realize there was no need to be afraid of the older kids (at least for the most part). By the time the boys are in the fifth grade, they are tired of hanging out with those "childish" 1st and 2nd graders. These campouts gave them a chance to spread their wings a little. The one improvement I would like to see is that the Webelos leaders are told more information beforehand of what to expect. We didn't know about building camp gadgets, didn't stress the importance of the boys cooking together, etc.