Prepared

Who is going to the National Pinewood Derby in Time Square? My son qualified to go and we will just happen to be passing by the day before, so we decided to stay and will be camping at the Alpine Scout Camp in NJ (was provided free of charge). Just wanted to see if anyone else is going.

So I just wanted to see what I could get with the wealth of knowledge here on the forums... My son will be going to his first, and only, Cub Scout Resident Camp this summer. He is SUPER excited and just can't wait to go. I understand the living situation with the tents they provide. I understand the food situation. What I do not understand is how the program works. Will it be like the family campouts where we meet up at Gilwell field for opening and flag ceremony, then are given a schedule that takes us from one activity to another for 45 mins of fun and learning? Or, will it be like they just have stations and you go to them as you want/need? Or, will it be longer times at the stations so the kids get the most out of it? Additionally, will they get to go back to a station, if they liked it more than something else they are doing? Will there be free time? Finally, what is the difference between the long and short option? We are doing the short option and I just wonder what will the people who stay for the longer one be doing that the Scouts who did the short option won't be doing. Sorry for all the questions, I just REALLY hate going in blind to things and hope I can gain some insight before we go.

This is such an interesting topic for me, mainly because I am about to be in this situation. My son just started working on his AOL and will be out of the pack come February. I never intended to stay past the next year, but I do not want the pack to fall apart. I don't want the kids to start to hate Cub Scouts. I have a lot of issues with the current CC and the CO, but that does not mean I will abandon the kids. In my honest opinion, I do not understand why some leaders will not go, when they do not have kids in the pack. I understand MAYBE a year after their kids leave, but not for as long as my CC has been with the pack (her son is 17). My plan is this (tell me what you all think)...my current Assistant Cubmaster will move to be the Tiger Leader (his youngest is coming into the pack as a Tiger, then he is moving his youngest when his oldest moves to the Troop with my son). From there I will find another Assistant and train them up on everything it takes to be a good Cubmaster. From there I will lead all meetings until the Blue and Gold is over. After that I will become the Assistant and the other will be the Cubmaster. I will expect them to plan/lead the rest of the pack meetings, with me helping of course. Finally, when the bridging ceremony happens, I will bridge as well.

Ok, well I will be putting together "training" for the Den Chiefs that choose to join us. The training will be the basics of our pack organization and the new stuff about the Cub Scout program. I will be putting together guidance to my leadership as to what the Den Chiefs are used for and why it is beneficial. I really hope I can get at least 2 Den Chiefs...4 would be perfect. Thanks for the help everyone.

Slightly confused here...what patches do the kids earn to get their rank? They earn belt loops from Tiger to Bear and pins for Webelos (4th and 5th grade), each representing something they did. They also can do (my pack is doing this) a lot of extra electives to get used to the different things before they get to Boy Scouts. One of the ones I am making my son do is the Castaway Adventure, where he has to learn how to live off the grid and what to do when he is lost.

Like the Pinewood Derby Patch, Raingutter Regatta patch, Scout Sunday patch...things like that.

98% of the awards the scouts earn are not show up=get awards (from my list on the website I started the post with). They do actually have to do something to get it. The only show up=get one I like to get for the kids is the Wreaths Across America patch that isn't even a BSA patch, but we get it for the kids because it is really important that they do something like that (at least to me it is).

The idea of ceremonies seems like a good idea...until people just talk and talk and talk. I am not one for talking (unless I am talking about football) I have shortened all of my Pack's ceremonies and made them more meaningful. From what I could tell the kids seemed to enjoy them a lot more. The graduation ceremonies I believe are meant to be a way to acknowledge accomplishments of the kids who do them, but turns into a talking fest in a cramped/hot place and the kids just want to go home for the summer and be done with elementary school.

Heh...I am a WB and I have zero patches...only thing I have are the ones I have to wear...However, I do know a WB who is all about the bling....I really do not understand why they have all of that stuff. They even wear a campaign cover...my thing though is that people put a bad name on those who have knots and awards on their uniforms. In reality, it is not the awards that make the person a bling chaser, it is what they really do with the pack/troop/whatever that counts. I see what people wear and I know those who ACTUALLY do things.

The patch is something to recognize hard work (for the most part) I do not make a big deal when the Scouts get a patch for attending an overnighter at the local museum or aquarium, I will however make a big deal when I award the Scouts their Messengers of Peace award because they do a ton of work along those requirements. I will mention the things they did and how it affects everyone, it will be up to the parents to impress the full extent of what they did

I don't use the awards as you state. I use it as a goal to make and to work towards. It sets a goal for Scouts to do. Doing the minimal thing in Scouts is not the way. They should always strive to do more. As I stated above, my son will earn his shooting patch and pins, this is because he earned them. I do know that sometimes people use them to give them out for "completing" the requirements. I give them for things they Scouts did, especially my son. I push him towards things that I think are worth while. I want to have him earn his Outdoor Ethics Action Award. This is not because I want him to earn the award, but because it will teach him something and lets him know when he is done.

Just the typical things like for instance...I am taking my son to Summer resident camp so he can earn his Shooting patch and pins. This is a two fold thing. One, he has fun and two, he learns something important about weapons safety and responsibility. What I mean by saying sometimes they need reassurance sometimes is that it is a goal for kids to work towards, not a coddling mechanism as others put it. When I want something I work for it. My point is that it should be used to teach Scouts to work for something and not just give it to them for the sake of giving it to them.

..heh yeah sometimes though kids get a little discouraged and need a little reassurance that they are doing something right. plus it gives them as goal to work towards and can achieve them.

I am not sure how the old WB program was, but I enjoyed my program now. The staff were incredible and very knowledgeable in the workings of what was being taught. I had some experience in leadership in the past, but it was military leadership...in the Marines....which is way different than being a leader of Scouts and their volunteer parents. Just my 2 cents on that

No one, that I know of, was given a suggestion for their tickets or goals. They do not tell us what to do for our ticket, only how to word it so we are not stuck and cannot finish it. My ticket is about ensuring Cub Scouts are prepared as much as possible to transition to Boy Scouts and not be so overwhelmed by the change in how leadership works and how to be a leader themselves. The only suggestion I was given was to not say I would get 3 Den Chiefs for my pack, only that I would develop guidance for my Den Leaders and develop Pack training for the Den Chiefs to ensure they understand how our Pack operates. This was because I cannot control Boy Scouts or Venturers volunteering to be Den Chiefs, which is a valid point.

It was just a patrol project. I would not do this for a ticket goal. My ticket has more meaning than this...

This was kind of the point to why we (my patrol) chose this project. It is very unclear as to what Scouts can earn. I noticed that some "awards" said that they cannot wear them on their uniform and some didn't say they could not. I believe that if they meet the requirements then they can do it.

The value was that sometimes a kid needs a little recognition for what they do. This allows leaders to see what levels can earn what and how to quickly get to the information to ensure the Scout is recognized for an achievement of some kind.

This was our Patrol Project that can be used to benefit everyone within our council. I believe it was a way to use what were learning there to work together while we were away to present to the Troop. It kind of was a homework drill, but we all chose something that we wanted to know more about anyway (at least our Troop did). We knew it could be found in BSA literature, but it was difficult to figure out who was allowed to earn it. Although a Google search can find it, we felt as though it would show those that are not as well known. How do you know what to Google if you don't know it exists.

It is true that a good majority of awards can be used for rank in the Boy Scouts and above, but at the Cub Scout level, it does not. The rank requirements to lend themselves to being apart of the non-advancement awards, but they do not help the Scout earn the rank they are working on.

I believe it is because our council does not have Sea Scouts, so they did it for what we had in our area. Not really sure though.