jumpyg

The problem is we are doing the older program. Is doing the new program his best option?

I'm the DL for our Webelos II den. The boys all achieved their Webelos rank in 4th grade and all of them have enough badges for AOL, and we are just working on earning additional badges and the additional AOL requirements. We are working on the old program track still, and we plan to award the AOL and bridge the boys over to a troop in mid-March. So now I am told by the CM that there is a new fifth grader who would like to join. I don't want to discourage the parents, but I would like to give them a realistic idea of what would be required. Is it possible to earn the AOL starting now? Does the boy need to earn the Webelos badge first, or just start with AOL? Life just got more interesting! Appreciate your thoughts, thanks.

Hi all, Recently my den moved from Bear to Webelos, and all of the boys upgraded to the khaki shirt. With the blue shirt, the yellow denner cords work great - they have a "tab" that kind of looks like an epaulet, and there is an integrate pin to attach the whole thing to the boys' shoulder. Now, with the Webelos uniform, the cords can go under the epaulet, but then you have the tab with no place to really go. Any idea on how this is supposed to work? Thanks!

Get a big Coleman for your family, that will be fine. For your husband and son to use more frequently, I suggest a good 3- or 4-man tent from REI. If you get a membership, there are 25% off coupons several times per year. Get the footprint for the specific tent, too. Yes, these tents are more expensive but they will absolutely hold up better and keep you dryer when it inevitably rains.

It is always fun to hear the beads rolling across the floor at a pack meeting! The boys love to fiddle with them, and the plastic strings do not secure them very well, with predictable results. As a leader, keeping track of whether or not the boys had the correct number of beads was tedious. Belt loops, pins, and patches are what my boys seem to covet.

Try to pick achievements that you haven't done previous years. There is a lot of overlap between ranks on certain subjects. I love the flexibility that Bear year offers in that respect. Definitely do the Whittling Chip. The boys will love that. Be advised that the official Cub Scout knife with rubber grip is very difficult for the boys to close themselves. I would not buy those again. In our pack, almost every boy gets the tan shirt for Webelos, so earning a lot of arrow points that won't transfer over seemed like a waste. Instead, after earning rank, we focused on earning the (now defunct) Leave No Trace award, Cyber Chip, and another district-specific award. Having the whole den on stage during a pack meeting getting an award that no everyone achieves was special for the boys. We wear Class A uniforms to all den and pack meetings. If doing certain outdoor things, we may wear class Bs.

BSA is never going to be popular among the people you're trying to please. As soon as BSA admits gay leaders, and drops all references to god, then people are going to start questioning all of the native american symbolism. That will be next on the chopping block. Shooting BB guns, rifles, shotguns?? What does that teach kids about violence? And so on. There is very little to the BSA program, other than maybe recycling, that would please a liberal mindset.

Our pack participates in the town's Memorial Day parade. Takes about two hours. Attendance is fairly light with many people out of town for the weekend.

Thanks! This is a big help! I will add that Aware and Care is close to the Disabilities Awareness belt loop and pin.

I looked at it last night, and there really isn't that much overlap between the current Citizen badge and the new Building a Better World, so I'm not as worried about that. I am also planning on covering Readyman next year and have that count for one of the new AOL electives. What gets me is that our boys will have half old style pins, and half new ones. I just don't understand what the harm would have been in allowing a transition year for current Bears.

Our council recently had a Spring Fun Day in a neighboring district. They were selling old patches for 3/$1. My son picked up a few and I bought him a few. Doesn't take long before you have quite a few patches!

I don't think our pack was using them much, so I bought cords for a Denner and Asst. Denner for my den. A few months later, I started noticing other dens picking up the practice.

We charge $28, and that gets them a Boys Life sub, neckerchief/slide and handbook. Subsequent years, they get a new neckerchief/slide. Then we sell popcorn and wreaths. Boys need to sell about $250 worth, or their parents can pay a buyout of $125 or so. Pack pays for belt loops/pins, and pretty much all of the patches that can be earned. There are some district patches that are paid for at the den level.