TigerLisa

Now that it is October 28th and Geocities died 2 days ago, does anyone happen to know if the folks who kept up the Virtual Cub Scout Leaders Handbook at http://www.geocities.com/~pack215/home.html have found a new home for it? It was a truly invaluable resource for me when I first started in Scouting a couple of years ago. Thanks, Lisa

Hang in there! I was Tiger Den Leader last year, and I followed the program helps faithfully. It did not let me down. Each meeting I printed out an agenda for the Akelas telling them what we were doing at that meeting, what they were expected to do at home before the next meeting, and what was coming up (Go See It dates, etc.). I did exactly as someone previously said when we had craft activities or projects requiring help -- "Go get your Akela now and have them sit beside you to help with this craft." Definitely collect dues each meeting so you are not eating the cost of all of your supplies. And contrary to another comment, you do not need den meetings every week! We had our den meetings 2x/month and Go See Its monthly from Sept. until January. If a family missed it, they were given all of the information so they could plan a visit on their own. If you make them fun enough, nobody will miss it!

Doing the RR indoors was a real problem for us. Think about how you are going to drain those raingutters without making a flood -- we had parents with mops cleaning up a huge mess last year. This year we scheduled the meeting to start 30 mins. earlier and did it outdoors in Sept. instead of Oct. We have also agreed to keep this as a fun, non-competitive event. The kids don't care, they just want to race their boats. Everyone (including siblings) gets a participation ribbon. That being said, we run two raingutters side by side, one den at a time. The boys are paired up and each gets three races. Siblings don't race until all of the dens are done, and then an "open" race period allows anyone to race whoever they'd like. The kids have a great time. To keep the boys occupied who are not having their turn racing, we set up a volleyball net where the kids worked toward their volleyball belt loop. In the past when we had it in October, we set up game stations with fun Halloween-themed games.

knight, that is another great idea. I'm so glad I posted this question.

scotteng, that is a great idea! Unfortunately, we just ordered our first Pack t-shirts, and I don't think they will be here in time. I'll check with the person who did the ordering, though. Thank you!

Even though I went to the session on recognition and awards at the University of Scouting, I am wracking my brain to come up with a fun and creative way to recognize someone who has been a great help to our Tiger den throughout the year. She is the older sister of one of the Tigers, a fifth grader, who we jokingly refer to as our Junior Den Leader. She is always eager and willing to help at den and pack meetings with organizing the boys, handing out supplies, helping them with activities, etc. Just a great kid all-around, and we'd like to recognize her efforts at the Blue and Gold. If anyone has a clever, inexpensive, and fun award idea, I would love to hear it! Thanks. Lisa

I had a similar experience at our Pack overnighter last August...to the point that I was seriously questioning my decision to put my boys in this Pack. It was our first summer with the Pack, and I was still getting to know the parents and kids. We had a marshmallow roast with goodies for S'mores, and I was in charge of breaking up the chocolate bars and handing out the graham crackers and chocolate to the kids. Well, it was total mayhem, with Scouts shoving, yelling, grabbing, dropping wrappers on the ground, and demanding things from me -- as in, "Gimme chocolate!" and "I want more graham crackers!" With very few exceptions, their manners were horrendous or non-existent. Even more frustrating than this was the fact that the parents (who were ALL present at the event) just sat back and allowed this behavior to continue without stepping in to PARENT their kids. Let's not even get into the Scouts waving flaming marshmallows on metal sticks around in close proximity to other Scouts -- it is a miracle nobody lost an eye or had their clothing or hair ignited. I vowed then and there never to attend another Pack overnighter with this group. How sad is that? The complete lack of courtesy and manners can be blamed squarely on the parents. I would not in a million years allow my child to speak to an adult -- no less a Scout leader -- in that way. As a Scout leader, I can only do so much in the limited amount of time I spend with these boys...especially boys in dens other than my own.

I don't have any words of wisdom beyond what the other posters have suggested. I just wanted to wish you good luck with this difficult situation. I can imagine how distressing it must be for you. Please do post an update and let us know how your CM/CC handled this.

Our pack does not collect dues per se, but we do collect the annual BSA registration fee and Boys' Life fee if it's selected. However, if a Scout sells above a certain amount during our annual popcorn fundraiser, those fees are paid by the Pack. Most dens do collect dues for supplies used during meetings, typically $2/meeting unless there is an especially large project. The Pack pays for all awards, neckerchiefs for bridging ceremonies, etc. from Pack proceeds from the fundraiser. This all seems to work out okay except some parents seem to prefer just paying up front for all of the expenses rather than the $2/meeting dues.

See if you have Mad Science in your area -- the kids will love it and so will the adults.

I really appreciate everyone's responses and the thought you've obviously put into this. It's given me some very helpful guidance, and I have about two weeks before our next meeting to come up with a plan. In fact, I'll be seeing this family before then at their son's birthday party, and I may even try to discreetly have a little talk then. Thanks everyone for your advice and opinions.

I'm absolutely in favor of the low-key approach. Believe me, I don't want this boy out of Scouting. He's a good kid, he really enjoys it, and if in fact there are issues at home, he needs Scouting even more. I realize I'm making some leaps here, but I'm sort of a worst-case scenario thinker. Plan for the worst, hope for the best.

Yes, Mom is involved too. Typically she will bring the boy to the den meetings and dad will arrive part-way through so that she can leave for work and he can drive the kids home. At Pack meetings, it's almost always just dad since mom works nights. Dad is actually a Life Scout himself. I'm going to bring this up at our next committee meeting. I'm pretty sure there are some law enforcement dads just in our den. Maybe we can start there. If the CM or CC isn't comfortable addressing it, I'll go to our district exec.

I'm aware of the diabetic condition that can mimic somewhat drunken behavior and odor -- I honestly do not think this guy has uncontrolled diabetes, although I'm not a doctor and can't rule it out 100%. It just makes me extremely nervous. He's drinking before the meeting -- quite a bit from the smell of it -- and then driving his kids around afterwards. I have little to no confidence that our Cubmaster will do anything about it, and our Committee Chair has no clue what she's doing. She basically just let them put her down for that title without understanding the extent of the position. But that's a rant for another time. I will bring it up at our next committee meeting and maybe even casually ask the wife if he's diabetic or something. Thank you everyone for your responses. I'm relieved at least to know it's not a cut and dried situation that I am completely bungling.

I'm new to the forums, so forgive me if this bizarre issue has been addressed before (I did try to search). We have a parent in our den who at least twice now has shown up to meetings reeking of alcohol. It's undeniable that's what it is, both from the odor and on the first occasion what I would call odd behavior (for him). I'm not the only one who has noticed it, but I'm probably the one who needs to do something about it. I'm his son's den leader. The first time I noticed it was at a Pack meeting and then yesterday at our den mtg. On both occasions, he was the only parent there with his son and two daughters, so I know he was driving them home. I have no idea how to handle this situation or what (if any) the BSA rules are in this regard. He isn't consuming alcohol at our functions (that I know of), but he definitely is beforehand. I'd appreciate any advice.

Hi -- I'm new to the forums and scouter.com as of today. I figured there must be some good discussion forums out there, and I've already found a wealth of information. I'm a Tiger Den leader for my younger son's den, and I also have a son who is a Wolf. We're loving Scouts so far!