Scheduling Out the New Program

[Reaper]

Hi Y'all,

 

This question is not really a fan/not-fan of the new delivery method, but more of a practical application question. (My thoughts on that are that the Den Meetings are pretty good, but the Pack Meetings are weaker and will need a heaping dose of pizzaz added! Anyway . . . )

 

I'm starting to schedule out the next year's Cub Scouting dates, actually writing the Den Meetings on my calendar . . . (Webelos) Den Mtg #1 - 12 Sep, #2 - 19 Sep, #3 - 10 Oct, and so on.

 

I've noticed that the new guide has the Webelos building Pinewood Derby cars in April. This timing also shows up in the Base Plan of the Webelos Leader Guide. I looked at Bear, and they're building PWD in March/Apr as well (saw this by counting two meetings per month - not sure if there's a Bear Base Plan to check).

 

The Pack Meeting Resource Guide shows the Pinewood Derby is "supposed to be" in January, which is when most Packs have traditionally had the PWD. Am I missing something here? It would seem much more logical to be building PWD cars just before the Pack's race?

 

Anybody else notice this? I know we can move things around, but this seems like this part would have been more streamlined, with it being such a major event in Cub Scouting.

 

Any thoughts here?(This message has been edited by Reaper)

[Eagle92]

I went ahead and bought the Guide instead of downloadng the meeting plans from SCOUTING.ORG . I't cheaper to buy it than to down load it and print it out, A SCOUT IS THRIFTY

 

Anyway if you read the introductory stuff, it tells you that the plan is a guide that you can modify to suit local needs. The catch is that you may have to move several meeting plans around as things appear to progress and build upon one another. So that shouldn't be a problem.

[bbender]

On the question of Pinewood Derby Car Building Den Meeting Plans, and their location among the "Supplemental" Meetings (Tiger, Wolf, Bear) and/or "after" the Badge is earned (Webelos), some thoughts:

 

This may be a recognition that it might be a tad bit more difficult for every Den to make a Den Meeting out of the Pinewood Derby Car Work.

 

-- For some Den Leaders, they may not have the tools to do this effectively.

-- For others, they might have a Pack or District tradition of "weekend event" Car Prep (at a local hardware store or other location, or on site when Dads bring in tools to help other families shape their cars).

-- For others, this may be the key "at home" / "hands on" family participation job.

 

So, for my money, this may be an OK placement, since if Pinewood Derby Building was included in the early meetings, it would appear to be more "mandated", and that might create difficulty with some Dens and Den Leaders who might find car cutting to be a difficult Den Meeting activity.

-- Obviously, for some it is easy, and YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary).

 

I should also note that the Guide does give a few prompts about possibly bringing car cutting up into the "Rank" meetings, and this is a great example of the concept that you can shift Meetings around, just so long as you get the "Rank Work" done by your Pack's Banquet Date or the date you set to try to finish your rank work.:

 

-- For Wolves, when you do Meeting 9 "Tools for Fixing and Building", where Achievement 5e is "Make a birdhouse, a set of bookends, or something else useful", the "Preparation and Materials Needed" notes that "A pinewood derby car is useful, right?" . . . so, maybe you work the cars into this Achievement rather than as an elective?

 

-- For Bears, note that Bear Den Meeting 6 includes a note that if youre having a pinewood derby, you might drop Achievement 20: Sawdust and Nails and instead do Achievement 21: Build a Model with pinewood derby car construction.

 

And, frankly, the Tiger Rank is pretty easy to accomplish by February (so adding a "Supplemental" meeting is easier), and for Webelos, many of them may well "know the drill" by that point in their Cub Scout careers, and won't feel the need for a Den Meeting to do this . . . not all, but some.

 

Bert Bender

Pack and District Trainer

South Fulton District, Atlanta Area Council

Which way to the Hardware Store? I don't have Woodworking tools!!

[Phibbles]

I like the new plans so far, but have also noticed they need quite a bit of juggling to fit my calendar better. Like saving the electives on bird watching till Spring. We won't find many in the winter here, which is where the pre-set order would place the meeting. I haven't found it difficult to juggle though.