boomerscout

"But remember that Scoutcraft is only one of the three paerts of advancement -- the other two are Scout spirit and Scout participation. One of the best tests of a fellow's Scout spirit is the way he acts on a hike-how he shows himself prepred, ready for anything that might happen, how he behaves when things are going not quite right, to what extent he is willing to help with what needs to be done. For Scout participation, a Scout who shows up for a patrol hike rain or shine, who takes whole-hearted part in everything the patrol does, is well on his way toward meeting this requirement. But here, a boy's participation in hikes is not enough--you also need to check the way he helps at home, in school, in church and community." --that ol' radical Green Bar Bill

missing that junk food stop is great. other possibilities: each does not get their campout patch until their share of the work is done, as the work is done those few take off for home leaving the slackers behind (this needs a driver willing to spend the entire Sunday at the site with a book to read), PLs can expel the problem Scouts into a new patrol all their own where they are forced to sink or swim - just make this face-saving Some may be truly lazy. Others may have such a miserable homelife, where they are screamed at- or worse - for the slightest infraction, that they will do little at camp so as not to risk being screamed at by "strangers" for the slightest mistake You have ensured that the program offered is not boring or dumbed down beneath their skill level?

this boy maybe has never been separated from his overly-protective family. Trying to reason with him may not work because the conceptual model of "apartness" may not even exist in his mind. Have you talked to his Eagle uncles? Any clues? Oh, and tell him motels have bedbugs.

Have someone donate a decent piece of gear or gift certificate as a contest prize. At the next troop meeting or function have a put-up-the-tent contest. Choose this lad as one of the contestants, or give the word in advance to his PL and have the PL "choose" him. Have the other contestants also be T'feet. If he is not at that particular function, then delay the contest until he is. If he can erect the tent by himself, then he passes that part.

"Well, the wife finally heard that and wanted to know why living with her was considered "in exile", I am still working a a retortm any help? Anyone? Anyone? " Sweetheart, Dearest, if you don't know that you are always first in my heart, then I have failed you. It's just that you know how much I love camping - the clear skies, the clean air, the smell of the pine trees, the uncharted path. If I really had to ever go into real exile, I hope and pray it would be you at my side, and no-one else. helps to be in a hug while saying this

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2011/03/08

First, you need to decide where you'll be traveling. The gear for hiking desert plateaus is slightly different from the gear used to hike in the Smokies in the Spring. I heartily suggest reading Ray Jardine's "Beyong Backpacking" Two sites I've personally found useful http://www.tarptent.com/projects/tarpdesign.html http://www.backpacking.net/makegear.html My senior Scouts are starting to find Backpacker magazine more useful than Boys Life for hiking & camping

"Why would you have to convince the Committee if the scouts are trying to raise money for camp trips etc. that they decided to go on? Why would the Committee not support the scouts decision unless it is a safety issue?" Probably because most groups do not like to be startled by new ideas, especially if they then have to act on them

"This year we also are selling bagged mulch. We take orders and payment, then we deliver the mulch to the customers house. So far we are doing OK." Consider enclosing a flyer with each delivery: that for so much per bag, the **** Patrol will come to the customer's home and spread the mulch for them. Do a good job with the mulch spreading, and the boys can probably line up some steady lawnmownig & weeding work to last the summer. Properly done, this may meet some of the requirements for both the Salesmanship and the American Business merit badges

your SM may forever downplay Philmont and canoeing in the Boundary Waters because rain, there, is not uncommon. ScoutNut has a great idea - an ASM to become CampingMaster

your son & his school friends could transfer en masse to another troop. First, you might try a patrol campout at the end of a daytrip and see what happens. You'll need two adults to join in Does the troop even still have its camping gear?

Some people need a lot of structure, some a little, and some hardly any. That's why we have different styles of troops. In my own troop, the NSP is highly structured and adult led. The other patrols, boy led, may have a structure somewhere. Newbies stay in the NSP until they are signed off on T'Foot. As long as your troop is not shrinking in size, I would say you're doing OK. You might consider sending two den chiefs to that webelos patrol

That's one reason we don't do door-to-door fundraisers. There are non-selling fundraisers. A fundraiser bridging selling/non-selling is having a carwash at the nearest big box. A properly run carwash should bring in a min. of $450.00. Other service type fundraising exists, as discussed on the fundraising thread. For their personal spending money, we push Rent-a-Scout. They seem to earn enough; they may have to travel 3 miles on the bus or bicycle to get to the job. As self-employed businessmen they can be any age Our weekend campouts are free, except for district camporees, because we trade our labor in a conservation project for the farmer or woodlot owner, sometimes for the park authority. The only cost to each is to bring the food from home they were going to eat anyway. The troop does give gas money to each driver. We aren't bothering with uniforms right now except at CofH. If there are no shirts in the uniform closet, they borrow a shirt from someone not getting an award that night.

"So yes, penst8's question has merit." and I answered it! Penst8's question was what to do when the Scouts do not get an allowance. All his odd jobs go onto the income side of the budget. Money he turns over to the family counts as an expense. If he can hold back a dime a week, then he has something for the savings part. Such a Scout will probably do a better job than most, as he will have a more visceral understanding than his peers of rent, utility bills, groceries. Discussing that big ticket purchase with his family may help the parents as well. Dues, uniform shirt, camp fees? You guys don't fundraise?

"Anyone been through this or have suggestions for handling the no income scouts?" yes, you need to tell them to go Scout for work. The income will be sporadic - just like a salesman's, or a free-lancer. Depending on where they live, they can mow lawns, shovel drives, watch kids, run errands, scavenge deposit bottles, wax cars, find stuff to repair and resell, bag groceries -- the list is endless

No! A neighboring troop tried weekly, if a kid didn't have his dues there was a good chance he skipped that week's meeting. It's all about cashflow. Some weeks may have no income, but there is usually something in the coin purse on a monthly basis

don't go overboard with the initial gear. If the first two camps are car camping, hold off on the purchase of the backpack & the sleeping bag. To hold the gear use an old suitcase or a shellacked cardboard box. To meet the requirement of showing how to pack for an overnight, use a schoolbook type pack - it's large enough Similarly, for sleeping, use a bunch of old blankets cowboy style. Make sure he likes camping before you spend the bucks

"70 to the Unit and 30 to Council." that sounds about right - $70 to the unit, and 30 cents to council

"Maybe arrange to sell at sport events in your area? At local park? Tennis courts? " sounds good, but most parks and many events are the exclusive "property" of a specific concessionaire who made the winning bid to the town. You'll need to check with the vending license department of your town to see if they allow multiple vendors per site

"Popcorn may be expensive, but how many candy bars do you have to sell to equal one bag of popcorn? " sell the candy bars (& the soda pop)(& the hot dogs) in conjunction with your carwash in front of the big box

"But I advise you not to try to sell them in the Fall, while the popcorn fundraiser is going on." or mid-summer when they'll melt.

forgot to add we do a lot of orienteering races

we use patrol competitions both at troop meetings and on weekends to re-learn & practice for upcoming camporees & klondikes (sorry about your first aid station). new Scouts are paired with senior Scouts to act as judges at each station. The senior Scout may show the newbie how to do something 50 times while between patrols. It's OK; it's expected. The new Scout (under supervision) gives the instant feedback to each patrol after the senior marks their score. the only competition at summer camp are the wide games and the swimming races unless we go to council camp. Sometimes the Scouts play ultimate we sometimes split patrols in half - PL takes one half, APL the other - so we get more hands in, and less just nodding wisely

"Young man, I see you are a Boy Scout! Can you help my child? He's choking!" "Sorry, I was already signed off on that so I forgot. But I can help you with his model railroad!" Ha-ha! That is funny, if not sad. I was going to suggest inter-troop competitions as a way of keeping skills current. After reading Venividi's post, it looks as if these competitions need to be more than once a year. Don't see how re-certifying will be any better. They'll just forget that too (there is follow-up demonstrations of proper technique at your Klondike?)

Nov 1959 Boys Life uses "We'll Be Loyal Scouts". Lion rank still existed then The term is explained in this excerpt from the 1948 Lion Cub Scout Book: The name WEBELOS (say Wee-belos) is like the name of an Indian tribe. Its the word to use when you want to talk about all of the boys everywhere who are Cub Scouts. The letters W-B-L-S in Webelos are the first letters of the Cub Scout Ranks which lead up to Boy Scouting WOLF, BEAR, LION, SCOUT. Meaning of "Webelos." The name Webelos (which is always spelled with the 's') and the Arrow of Light symbol actually date from Cub Scouting's founding in 1930. Webelos was the name of the made-up "tribe" to which all Cubs belonged, symbolized by the Arrow of Light (which was not yet a badge to be earned). When the BSA created a new rank above Lion in 1941, they used the Cub Scout tribe name and symbol (the new rank was called the Webelos award until 1977, when it was renamed the Arrow of Light award and yet another new rank created bearing the name Webelos). From 1930 to 1967, the Webelos name had a double meaning. The consonants in WeBeLoS stood for the Cub Scout rank progression culminating with graduation into a Boy Scout troop (Wolf, Bear, Lion, Scout), a meaning lost when the Lion rank was discontinued. The full name stood for "We'll Be Loyal" (later, apparently because someone felt the final 's'; should stand for something, this became "We'll Be Loyal Scouts"). For about a decade after the creation of the Webelos rank, the Webelos tribal name was still applied to all Cub Scouts. During the 1950s, the name gradually became the sole property of the senior Cub Scouts working on the Webelos badge (although all new Cub Scouts must still learn the secret meaning of the Webelos name as a requirement for the Bobcat rank).