clydesdale115

Tami - I can actually share about both Tot Lot (Cub Scouts) and Tag-Along (Girl Scouts). Forgive if it's long - I'm sure it will be - but I'm happy to give you my take: Girl Scouts: I was asked to teach Music for GS Camp, so my son goes with me to the Tag-Along class. His buddy is also there (he has a mom and sister in Girl Scout camp). There are about 10 boys, plus 1 or 2 girls too young for Brownies. The Tag leader is a GS mom (also with a son in Tag class). They make their own t-shirts (different from the "girls") to wear, they take a turn doing the flag ceremony, they have a skit at closing just like all the dens, they battle for Spirit Stick, they rotate to all the stations just like the girls. We actually have GS Camp at an elementary school (we take a bus to a near-by pool each day!). So each den has access to a classroom that they decorate to the theme. The Tags are in a hallway by themselves. There is never anything sissy that they are stuck doing - it really is fun doing Music, Arts/Crafts, Science, games, swimming, etc. The Tag leader is really good with the boys. She brings in some games, toys, etc. to keep them occupied during den time, and they also make "SWAPS" during den time just like the girls do. They're called Tag-Alongs, but it's like they are at their own camp. Tot-Lot (Cub Scouts) - year before last I was the Tot Lot leader. My son was attending his first CS Day Camp and I intended to be Den leader, but there was a real need for someone to lead Tots. I have plenty of teaching experience in preschool and elementary age, so I thought it would be fun! And it was, actually. While the boys were sweltering at Day Camp, I was with the Tots at a nearby school (our day camp evacuation location). I had access to classrooms, cafeteria, music, art, gym, playground - you name it! Since we were displaced, we did not participate in ANY of the Cub Scout activities. But that didn't stop us from having a great camp all on our own! I had 1 other lady as my assistant, plus a 16-year old girl. The Cub Scouts were working on an "Indian" theme so I went with that also. (Seems like I had a budget of $300.00.) I made up lesson plans, decorated each location, had a schedule, brought in craft supplies, music, games, you name it. I had to start from ground zero since we were on our own. Each day we focused on a different topic related to Native Americans. Plus, I had each child and leader make a quilt sqaure (AMAZING!), then I quilted it all together just like the Native American 8-Point Star pattern. On my largest day, I had 20 kids (with an extra adult, thankfully)! A couple of kids came a day here and there. Altogether, there were 28 squares on the quilt! I had a mix of little boys and girls, plus some elementary-age girls. I called it the "Pee-Wee Tee-pee" - each child made a teepee in the hall to put their belongings as they arrived - it was so cool! I was worn-out at the end of the week, but it went so smoothly! Well, as good as that was, last year I decided I would definitely be my son's Den leader. I had not seen him at camp at all the year before. Several moms and dads who were volunteering at Camp asked me if I was doing Tot Lot again, and they were really disappointed that I wasn't (smile!). Things were NOT the same last year. Camp was moved to a new location and Tot Lot was on-site - the plan was to keep the kids under a little pavillion at picnic tables in the park where Camp was being held. Then they would rotate to the Scout areas as appropriate or as schedules would allow. It was a disaster. They only had 1 teenager working Tots (it was the same girl who helped me the year before). She started Monday morning with only 3 kids, no plans, no leadership, no IDEA what to do to keep these kids occupied (she did have a coloring book and crayons!). By lunchtime, the parents of all 3 of those kids had called someone to come take them home and that was the end of Tot Lot - no other kids for the whole week. Of course you and I know that we can only volunteer with kid # 1 if we feel kid # 2 is being cared for. I actually felt bad for it all - but I had a fun time as Den leader with my son! I think in the case of Cub Scouts AND Girl Scouts, the ones in charge know that having a "tot lot" or similar is the only way some parents are going to be able to volunteer for camp. It's an important service to offer that frees up the parent to help with camp. I would say having them on-site lets mom or dad see what is happening with their little one, so that's probably ideal. But not if it means staying out all week in the hot sun. You just can't keep a bunch of 3-and-4-year-olds outside under a tent all week. We were off-site and it was like we were in our own private camp - the kids had a ball! I could write more, but the moderator will probably cut me off - thank you for letting me share about my experience with Tots. Private email if I can help more. BTW, my first name is also TAMI, so I guess I could be Tami the Mom, too! clydesdale115

What a beautiful story! So glad you shared it! "Save the Flag" - amen! clydesdale115

Wow - great news! Congratulations to you and your boys! You planted the seed, got them excited about moving on, and just look at them now! I'm afraid we didn't fare that well with the Webelos group that just graduated. Out of 13 boys (in 2 Webs dens), we had only 4 to cross over. Another is a possibility, but that will only be 5 out of 13. These 5 are all from one of the dens - the other den had none that wanted to crossover. We're about to be Webelos and our boys can't WAIT to get started! I hope the excitement stays! We're definitely going into it with the idea that this is a "prep" time for Boy Scouts - we want them to know there's more to come! clydesdale115

I just earned my Cub Scouter award (it does take 2 years) - it was presented at the Blue and Gold. As for the Belt Loop requirement, I did that one. I led our pack's spring campout last year. As part of the activities I planned (all centered around a theme of "trees"), all Scouts there earned their Science belt loop. We completed all the requirements, including doing science experiment using the "scientific method", etc. Similar to Lisabob, we had stations and activites for the boys to complete - we grouped them by ranks and den leaders helped with the experiment. But like fgoodwin said, that's just one of the ones to choose from to earn the Scouter knot. Personally I was disappointed that I couldn't make the "get 60% of your Pack to subscribe to Boys' Life" - we didn't quite make it, but thankfully there were other requirements I could do :-) clydesdale115

The problem we've seen at Cub Scout Res. Camp isn't showering - it's so hot, the boys are usually ready for a cool-down shower at bedtime. The problem is ... um, er... holding it all in for 3 or 4 days. Those boys who don't go to the bathroom for several days usually end up in the med station with a really sick stomach. As Res. Camp last year, the Scouts earned beads at different stations they visited. It became an inside joke among our den that when they went to the potty, they were (QUOTE) "earning a red bead!" They would proudly come running up to me and say, "I just earned a red bead!" Some got 2 a day :-) One boy didn't earn his first bead until the 3rd day - whew! clydesdale115

Our Pack had a professional photo taken of all the Scouts and leaders (on bleachers), then each den had a Den photo taken. It was actually very successful in our Pack. Parents loved the pictures, they were well-done, great to have full Pack plus Den photos. The photographer had package deals (very reasonable, compared to sports and school pictures) for purchase. This was done for the first time in our Pack under old leaders two years ago. With changing of the guard, we did not do it last year. Parents missed it. We ended up doing a well-intentioned Den picture in full uniforms, but it wasn't the same. This year we have a photographer mother in our den, and she's going to cover the photography electives (Bear) plus take a professional photo of our boys. clydesdale115

Our den earned this last year about this time (we were Wolves). We worked all month of February on the Cub Scout Core Values. We had a Little League baseball coach come to a meeting (all dressed in uniform) and he set up scenarios of some "incidents" that might happen on the ballfield or in the stands (like bad feelings that can lead to violence). The boys loved the role-playing, and it was the start of baseball season, so the timing was great. He is a Scout dad, so we got him to tie in how using one of the 12 Core Values might make a difference. (It was all about "preventing" crimes.) We did several activities to get our boys to learn all 12 Core Values. Then for our "service project", we treated the local Sheriff's department with Valentines! The boys brought all their extra Valentine cards, pencils, candy, you name it (whatever they were giving at school), we signed them all with our pack and den name, and wrapped them in a nice package. Then we headed to the Sheriff's department to make a Valentine delivery. It was a great service for our boys. We particularly didn't want it to be a "scary" thing, talking about crime, so we took this angle and it worked well. Maybe you could give Easter baskets or something similar this spring? Another den in our pack worked on it this year. For their service, they went with making some kind of posters about internet safety - tied into our Jamboree-on-the-Internet day. Hope these help! clydesdale115

Just got the call this week about working at Girl Scout Day Camp in June! I teach Music and have a great time (apparently no one has noticed that I don't actually have a daughter in Girl Scouts - my son goes to the Tag-along class and has a ball with the other boys!). This will be my 3rd year! Our theme will be "BACK TO BASICS" - campfire building, knots, compass, hiking, tents, first aid, that sort of thing. Sounds like a fun time for the girls. What will your theme be this year? clydesdale115

vmpost - that's just what I'm looking for! I agree that BALOO was not very hands-on, although I enjoyed it. Webelos Outdoor Leader training sounds like just what I need. I even emailed the Georgia-Carolina Council (thanks for the tip WDleader) to see if it's on their schedule again anytime soon. (3 hours away is better than nothing!) I'm trying to get started early enough to have the training under my belt before we crossover. Hopefully when our very new district trainer finishes the PWD in a couple of weeks, he'll have more time to set something up. I know I could get several other Bear and Webelos leaders to join me in our area, so I hope it works out. Another thread talked about having more training courses offered on-line. Certainly not the same as "being there" but at least it would be "something." clydesdale115

Our B/G was tonight. We had theme "Cubs in the Future" - not sure all the tables followed that theme, but here's what our den (Bears) did: Each boy in our den painted a t-shirt with a scene of camping on the moon - they turned out terrific. Then we painted one more t-shirt, XL, that we used as our table centerpiece. We used a cardboard t-shirt form inside and stood the t-shirt up on the table. Really cool. But our den actually stretched out over several tables, so on the others, we made alien space helmets from metal colanders. Stuck metallic pipe cleaners and beads/jingle bells everywhere from the colanders. Wild and neat. Used plain blue and plain yellow construction paper as placemats and put crayons on the table for fun. Also had little cups of M&Ms for the boys (and sibs) - called it Astronaut Space Food (with a note that said brown was the steak, green was the salad, etc.). Wrapped the cups in blue and yellow tissue paper. We had a take-home surprise for the boys: I made each of them a spaceship with their name on it. Took 2 old (AOL) CDs, glued them back-to-back. Glue 1/2 styrofoam ball onto center of one side, then 3 very small styrofoam balls on the other side (landing gear). Decorated the top side with sequins glued on to look like lights on the spaceship. Then wrote their name with gold metallic paint pen around the dome. Boys were really surprised. Another den made a spaceship out of 2 metal pie pans sandwiched together, holes punched in the sides and blinking Christmas lights poked through. Hole in center, with toilet paper Cub Scout astronaut. Alas, they won 1st place (we were a proud 2nd place!). One den had a nice blue and yellow flower arrangement - nothing fancy at all, just mums and daisies. Let us know if your theme is not "Cubs in the Future" - maybe we'll be able to come up with more ideas for you and your boys. clydesdale115

Thanks everyone. I'm still stiking out in reaching our new District Trainer - but he's up to his eyeballs in District PWD right now, so I can understand! We are District Exec-less right now (a revolving door position, by the looks of things), so that avenue is out. I'm still waiting to hear back from other districts and another council. I'll definitely contact some area Packs to drum up more interest - I like that idea. Plus I don't mind taking a starring or supportive role, if that will help the cause! I'm going to keep at it though. I really enjoy taking these classes. I like hearing from someone who has been there, done that. I suspect BALOO training offered similar information to the WOLT (or OWL or whatever they're calling it these days), but I especially want food ideas - responsibilities in the cook tent, meal ideas for Webelos, etc. Thank you all - I like getting these shots in the arm! clydesdale115

Thank you everyone! I feel like we are right on track now for our Webelos year. I'll definitely plan out our calendar ahead of time. (Our parents love that they know months in advance what we'll be covering in our den meetings :-) We'll lay out the required badges, then let the boys decide which other ones they want to tackle. I think keeping our schedule with 2 den meetings, 1 den outing, 1 pack meeting per month will help move us right into our Webelos year. Sounds like the key is "productive den meetings" and "purposeful outings" (maybe with pizza thrown in at the end)! It's great to hear from others who have been-there-done-that. We took our den to Resident Camp this past year. It was in a neighboring council, as ours doesn't offer anything like this, but we had a fantastic time. And since we'll be Webelos this year, the Weebs have a bit more liberty and get to do even more. They cover at least "parts" of several badges we couldn't easily do on our own. We've been saving our aluminum cans all year to help with costs! clydesdale115

Scouting friends - I'm soon to be a Webelos leader but I'm having a hard time getting set-up to take the Outdoor Leader Skills class for Webelos leaders. It's not scheduled anytime in the near future (we'll be Webelos in June) in our district, I've checked outside the district, even a neighboring council. I'm going to keep working on it, but... Here's my question: Will it really help me? What will I learn there? I have already taken BALOO training, Safe Swim, Safety Afloat (and YP of course). But I do want to learn as much as I can about putting the "outing" into "Scouting"! Our boys are SO excited about camping as a DEN - yahoo! - so we want to make this a great experience for them. I fully expect all will crossover to Boy Scouts - they are really into this Scouting stuff :-) Suggestions? clydesdale115

SR540Beaver and others - Since you are coming from the "Troop" angle, I'd like your take on holding Webelos den meetings. As a rising Webelos leader in June, I'm thinking about our den calendar. Since we were Tigers, our den has always had 2 den meetings, 1 den outing, 1 pack meeting per month. Sprinkle in a pack outing or campout here and there, but it is always at least 4 times/month. Once we crossover, can we get our Webelos badge requirements done if we continue having den meetings twice a month along with an outing/campout plus the pack meeting? We have an excellent den, committed parents, etc. But I know that as Webelos, we'll be doing most things as a den vs. them doing at home. Can a 1 hour meeting every other week get us where we need to be - Arrow of Light for all our boys in a year and a half? clydesdale115

CMJerry - Your situation of losing kids somewhere between School Night and Den night happens in our Pack as well. We are Bears now, and in our tenure in this pack, we've seen 1, 2, and even 3 Tiger dens fall apart each year. Before they even get started, they've fallen through the cracks. No parent steps up to lead, no one sets-up the first den meeting with the newbies, whatever. It may be that Scout Night is not a fair representation of what we do each week. And often the parents do not fully appreciate that this is a family program - the commitment is just not there from the start. If we can't get them off on the right foot at the beginning (Tigers), the shakier dens won't make it. We have to do a better job of "welcoming" our new boys and parents/leaders - we sign them up, then ... nothing. We've gone from a high 2 years ago of about 120 boys (proudly hailed as the largest in our Council - whew!) to about 58 boys now (13 Webs 2 just graduated). clydesdale115

From what I understand, requirements # 4 and # 10 of the Den Leader Award specifically refer to having an ADL. # 4 is to have an ADL who meets with your den, and # 10 is to hold planning sessions with your ADL. In the absence of an ADL, could you get your five (5) requirements from the other choices? You have to "do 5 of the following 10." The final approval for the award is by your Pack CC or CM, so maybe you can ask for their take on it. clydesdale115

Our den did a "computer" theme last year and we had so much fun with our display for the Pack meeting. I contacted several computer shops in town to ask if they had a box of junk parts lying around somewhere they'd be willing to let a great group of Scouts have. They were HAPPY to oblige. I got loads of memory cards, connectors, wires, boards, discs, motors, fans, you name it. I added paper clips, twist ties, old AOL cds, that sort of thing. I divided it evenly among all my boys and gave each of them a bag of computer junk. Their instructions: make SOMETHING from what you have in your bag. We found that hot glue worked best to attach parts. We challenged them to use everything in their bags :-) If I remember, they only had a week to do this at home but the results were amazing! We had Godzilla, a dog, a space satellite, a robot, more. Each boy used his imagination and came up with something fabulous! Everyone else in the pack thought our display was AWESOME! Our boys were beaming and it was perfect for the theme. And the parents enjoyed working with their boys on this - we were so proud of their creativity. When they earned their awards that night, we used an old memory card made into a keychain and hung their bag of awards from the keychain. clydesdale115

We are also Bear leaders, soon to be Webs 1. We took our den (plus a few Webelos) last summer to Resident Camp - we carried a total of 10 boys and 5 adults. It was great! HOT, but great :-) Our boys can't wait to go again this summer when they will be Webelos. We attended Camp Lumpkin in LaGrange, GA on Lake West Point (Chattahoochee Council) - maybe that's not too far from Covington, TN. This was not our home council - we are in the Central Georgia Council but our council does not offer a Resident Camp. It was 4 days/3 nights in a great facility. I had gone the year before last when my son was a Wolf - we went as Parent and Pal. The next year, we took the whole den! As for the general idea of "meeting other Webelos dens in the area," that sounds very interesting to me. You've got me thinking about maybe hooking up with another pack in town for a joint Webelos den camp-out or something. Instead of "pen pals" we could be "den pals!" Thanks for the fun idea! clydesdale115

My husband started out as the Tiger Den Leader - I was just a "mom" to begin with. But I definitely did a lot of prep for our meetings: emails, scheduling, supplies, den newsletter. I had more time to devote to it than he did, so it worked for us. But the next year, when our boys were Wolves, I decided that if I'm going to do all this work for the den, I'm going to register as the ADL! We've been going strong - great den, dedicated and involved parents. We are not alone as a husband/wife team. In our Pack, we have 4 husband/wife den leader teams. We have never run into a problem that if one of us is out, that means BOTH of us are out. It also makes it SO much easier to plan the meetings, as we don't have to call or meet with someone else (ADL) about doing this part or that part of the meeting. He and I have divided responsibilities for the den meetings: I do opening, he does pledge/roll, he does an activity, I do crafts, I do Character Connection at the end, he does closing. I agree with cubbingcarol - Scouting is very important to us as a family and has become an important part of our lives. We schedule ourselves around Cub Scouts. Maybe we do take on more than we should, but "the Cub Scout helps the Pack go." We actually had a couple of (uninformed) committee members say that it was against BSA rules to have husband/wife teams. I suspect half the Packs in the country would suffer if that was the case! Our DE said some balk at having husband/wife teams such as CC/CM or CC/Treasurer, as some might question the propriety. But to me, a Scout is Trustworthy - the end. clydesdale115

jd - what a great idea: having the Webs 1 host an evening for the Webs 2! Our den will be Webs 1 in June and the DL of the group ahead of us has been a great mentor to me. I've been trying to think of a way to show our thanks and I love the idea of our den hosting an "arrow party" for her boys as they get their AOL. She has a great group of boys, most of whom started as Tigers with her, so I'm sure AOL is in their future! We can have a night of painting and pizza - I love it!

I know what you mean about "same old thing" - my son has already said he's not really interested in Day Camp this year. It'll be his 3rd year and it's a matter of "been there, done that." I love the idea of "disabilities" and combining that with emergency first aid. Theme could be something like "Walk a Mile in My Shoes" - and have a one-mile hike each day to go along with it! I volunteer each year at Girl Scout Camp the week before Cub Scout camp. They have theirs each year in an elementary school. We have access to classrooms for den time, music room (which I teach), art room for crafts, gym, playground, lunchroom. It's amazing. And they even "bus" the kids to a large community pool each day, reserved just for our group. But since we do archery and BBs at Cub camp, we can't use school property. I've wondered why we couldn't have an archery and BB day in the fall and spring (when it's MUCH cooler), and not have to offer it at summer day camp. That would free up time to do many more things with the boys in a more "pleasant" environment - at least, more pleasant for the adult volunteers :-)

I'm loving this thread - I can't stop humming!!!

Everyone: Thank you all sincerely for your replies - and here I thought we had to struggle through this alone! CM Jerry - as always, you give wise words to consider: the bottom lines is, "Does this person help make the pack GO?" I had a long heart-to-heart last night with the lady who made the motion for elections. I feared this was only going to make matters worse - and could she offer support if CC was "re-elected" (no). She said she now wishes she had used the term "nominations" instead. The word "elections" set the wrong tone. However, some info from her: 1.Our COR was invited to the last leaders meeting and did not come, even though he knew trouble was brewing. 2.Our UC has just resigned, in part apparently because of feeling ineffective in her dealings with our CC. 3.Our DE is not interested in getting involved in individual Pack matters. So today she contacted the COR again and made herself more clear that we would like to offer nominations for the different positions in the pack. Most will not be contested but a couple will be(like CC, Treasurer, CM?). It is the intent to pass these nominations onto the COR and CO for THEIR decision. Hopefully, that will prevent the need to "pick sides." In truth, though, we are ALL up for re-"s"election each year, as the CO has to approve all the leaders at recharter time. As for voting with our feet, we have decided we will do just that if this "nomination" thing doesn't get us back on track. We would like to stick it out until the end of this program year (crossover is in May), but we'll see. Ours has been a sinking ship for a year and a half - we are nearly dead in the water. That sounds silly considering we have about 60 boys (not counting 2 Webs II dens who are crossing over this month). But we're definitely not a pack, just an assortment of dens with ultra-hard-working den leaders. Funny thing is, we have a SUPER-DEN! We have 9 boys, most since Tigers, most with 100% attendance, all year. We met all summer, went to day camp, resident camp, 100 other things. They really are overachievers and they leave the den meetings skipping like 3rd graders ought to! Our parents all come and visit with each other, they support us in every crazy idea we have, every goofy ceremony we want to do, every Bear Trek we want to take. So why does the idea of changing packs seem so drastic? ..... Thank you again! Our leader's meeting is the 19th - can't decide if it's going to be Good, Bad, or Ugly!

For our B/G, each den will be assigned one part of the Scout uniform and needs to design it as it might look in the future. This is supposed to end up being our table centerpiece. Not eactly sure how that's going to play out - having a pair of pants or a belt as your centerpiece? huh? Seems like Cubs In The Future goes perfectly with "outer space and planets" theme - 1,000 ideas come to mind for that centerpiece :-) Take Me To Your Leader!

Pssst ... lean in really close to your computer - this is just between us! Only kidding - not much gossip, just some inside scoop. At the beginning of last Scout year, we had a big changing of the guards. Military town, some key folks were PSCed out. This CC took over and the former CC became CM. Along with the Treasurer ($$$ has been a REAL problem - as in "missing" - another story for another time!) and Asst Treasurer/Popcorn Kernal, it has been awful. Because there have been such alliances, private email chains have taken to calling them the Fab Four. Several real problems: 1. Probably the worst, the committee makes motions, votes for something, then she starts emailing around the next day saying how it won't work and we'll need to address it again next month - so much for committee decisions! 2. does not find committee leaders for upcoming events, so we've missed deadlines left and right 3. did not nominate anyone from our pack for district leader awards -my den families sent letters of support for my husband, I submitted his nomination, and he received District DL of the Year, no thanks to our CC 4. recruiting has been awful - just like last year, we have ended up with boys with no leaders, dens fall apart, they drop out of course 5. several times, she has passed along incorrect information (such as, "you only have to file one tour permit per year that will cover all your trips anywhere you want to go")- I'm sure that's a "training" issue (she has not attended CC leader training from what I know - we do not have a Pack Trainer) 6. we tried setting up personal accounts for the boys to encourage more popcorn sales, but she scolded everyone that we were just being selfish, and that if we were in Cub Scouts just to make $$, we were in it for the wrong reasons. She said that ALL the $$ should be for ALL the boys. (At that time, we didn't have enough in the Pack account to cover awards for that month!) I could go on and on. I have chaired the B/G for the past 2 years (160+ people both years), but she gave me a really hard time last February about how my committee handled the $$. (We actually ended up making $53.00 for the Pack, but she was horribly disrespectful about the whole thing.) I stopped attending leaders meetings after that. Since the CC chairs the Pack Leaders meetings, I believe she sets the tone for how for how our Pack runs. My final straw with her came when she sent an email over the summer about how tired she was of doing things and people don't support her. She actually said, "Now it's time for me to put my foot down!" There is some evidence that the "Fab Four" is breaking up - she did not get any support for some one-sided promises she made at Christmas. The idea for elections was not mine, but to be honest, it wouldn't hurt my feelings one bit to see her gone, but I do question holding the elections. I'm going to talk with the person who made the motion and see if we can try another way...(UC?) We have thought many time of changing Packs, but since we are den leaders, we feel obliged to our boys first of all! clydesdale115 (P.S. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you all - I got a couple days of "Sorry, the page you requested is not available...")