DenLeader10

Thanks for reading this post. I am a Bear Den Leader, but have been doing some planning for our tenure as Webelos. I picked up the "Choose To Refuse" anti-drug pamphlet the webelos are to use for one of their Fitness Activity Badge requirements. Holy cow, is it grown up! It states in the leader guide that it is written for middle schoolers and they're right. Why would BSA have 4th graders use something that's written for kids 3 grades above them? I'm wondering if anyone has found an alternative. If it comes down to it, I'll pick and choose what to talk about, but I'm not going to send the pamplet home with these kids. And, hey, I know we need to address this stuff, but let's not feed their young minds any more than they're ready for. The time will come when they're for these details, but not now! Thanks for your time. YiS, Maryanne W

We've used denner since Tigers and I think it does help the scout act a bit more responsibly, particularly on that day! Our denners do the following: lead in opening ceremony, pledge, promise line leader and line ender bead hander-outer - we award beads for attendance, uniform and book (they're put on a necklace that I keep until the last meeting, then they bring it home) anything extra I need help with, they're the ones I call on I think it's a great way to give kids responsibility. I've used it successfully for two years and have every intention on using it right through 2nd year webelos. Maryanne

Our scouts receive ballots, too. They think it's cool to vote! The catagories we use are: Scouter's Choice Best Paint Most Realistic Funniest Wildest Design We also have Cubmaster's Choice and we invite a teacher each year, and he gets to pick his favorite (and it's ALWAYS the car that's obviously done by JUST the scout!) We also invite real race car drivers to bring their cars and show them in the parking lot before the race. The scouts LOVE that. Anyway, we have two Racers' Awards, also. One thing we do that has become immensely popular is to race an Open Class. The theory is that it gives the Dads their own car to work on, so they stay away from their Scout's car. We have 20+ entries this year. We give a trophy for Fastest Open, then certificates to the other entries. I hope that gives you some ideas. I know I've gotten some! DenLeader10

My Wolf den recently completed a conservation project for the World Conservation Badge. We met with a park ranger at a state park and worked for about an hour and a half clearing land of broken tree limbs and preparing a large planter, cleaning out old mulch and dumping in new. Unfortunately, one of my scouts was sick and missed the project. I'm trying to determine what would be a makeup project worthy of calling a conservation project. Does working 1 1/2 hours in his backyard equal what the other scouts did? Do I have the dad work with him in another park picking up trash perhaps? I'd love your ideas on this one.

Thanks for your quick replies! I certainly have enough info to ponder what the next step will be. Thanks, too, for all of the references to other Wolf electives and achievements. I try to make lots of the things we do as a den, meaningful in that regard. If you don't mind my asking, WA9c is titled "With an adult, check your home for danger from fire." It gives a list of things to check, then at the end it states, "visit a fire station to learn how to prevent fires." Is this something that's required or just a suggestion, similar to the birdbath. Just wondering what your take is on that. Again, thanks for your time.

Thanks for reading my post. I am a den leader for 10 Wolf cubs. We're going to be earning our World Conservation Badge and in the Bird Elective, they require making a birdbath. They suggest using a trash can lid, but I'd like to go a bit less expensive than that. Any ideas using a pie tin? I'd love to hear what you've done. DenLeader10

This is a pretty mundane question, but I've always wondered about this. On the Academics and Sports (belt loop/pin) cards, there is a line that says "Cubmaster's Signature." On the Webelos Activity Badge card and the Rank cards, the line just says "Cubmaster." Do you have the Cubmaster sign all of those cards, or do you, the Advancement Chair, print the CM's name on the last two? Again, not earth shattering, but a question I've had for a while! Thanks for your time.