My son crossed over this weekend and is on his way!

[Armymutt]

We held our AOL crossover this weekend.  No reason to wait unto Feb with an 11 y/o and two 10 y/o who finished 4th grade in June.  Two of them went to a troop that is going to a merit badge weekend in January.  I need a little refresher/update on the merit badge process.  We never used blue cards in my day.  I think the Scout Handbook was our tracker for the Eagle required badges and we didn't really do others that couldn't be completed in a day.  With a district the size of England (and perhaps Iceland?) and no internet, merit badge counselors were hard to come by, even if we could figure out the requirements or notice that they existed.  If a Scout is working on a merit badge that can't be completed during an event, how does the progress get tracked, and by whom?  
 

I was a little concerned initially by his lack of interest in reading the Scout Handbook a couple months ago.  After the crossover and on Sunday morning, he was in it, reading through the requirements for the Scout rank and making sure he knew the answers to everything.  Now the trick is to kindle that spark and build the fire.

[Tron]

Some MBC use blue cards, some use Scoutbook; either way the progress is recorded the same way, the MBC signs off on requirements as they are completed. Do the free MBC training at training.scouting.org to get a better picture of todays MBC process.

[DuctTape]

Yeah, either way. Although blue cards are typically preferred with outside mB counselors as we then keep the mB portion for our records.

Regardless of which tracking method is used, some of the hidden growth outcomes for scouts in the process are:

1. Scout initiative. Choosing which badge, setting and achieving personal goals.

2. Communication skills. Scout contacting mB counselor and setting up times to meet.

3. Record keeping. Scout responsible for their handbook/blue cards.

 

I only mention these b/c too often well meaning adults take over much of the process which denies scouts' these growth and learning opportunities.

 

[SSScout]

Those leetle scraps of cardboard...   I can look at the ones in my shoebox collection and remember the folks that taught/exampled/pushed/cajoled/applauded/rewarded me along the way.  Merit Badges, ranks, OA,  camps....  will  today's Scouts save those scraps?  WIll they miss them...

There is a comic with a fun stand up routine who struck a cord with me... he mentioned the photos we like to show people.... "here we are at uncle frederick's house. That's grandma Matilda and ...."   then he talks about WHAT we photographed:  special events, formal photo portraits, everyone neat and pretty.... "Now, what will our grandkids show off their phone..."here's my breakfast in 2024, isn't that a NEAT waffle....the maple syrup was just too too..." 

[Armymutt]

I have all of my certificate cards.  My sash is hanging on my wall.  It's fun to look at them and think back.  The cards are almost more valuable to me because they have the names of my Scoutmasters and adds to the memories.

[swilliams]

Older son managed 31 merit badges will all but two being on physical blue cards.  (He just made Eagle in July of this year.)  There's something so satisfying about seeing all those cards lined up in his binder.  He keeps them in baseball card page protectors, along with his signed rank cards.

Most common way our Troop handles "blue cards" now is by connecting the Scout and the MB Counselor on Scoutbook.  Everything is completed digitally, but a "blue card" can be printed if so desired.  I'm a bit OCD, so I actually purchased blue paper to print them on.  😂

On that note, I'm now a MB Counselor for 5 badges and have a Zoom call set up with a Scout for Thursday.  I do miss meeting in person, but reluctantly realize this is the way things work now.