The Bloggers
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Day 8: Contacted the last den leaders about Webelos cross-overs. Finally have the 'firm' numbers and commitments. The SPL has asked for volunteers to attend the cross-over ceremonies and welcome the new scouts. There's a couple scouts assigned to each of the three ceremonies, so we're ready there.
Day 7: Our troop is considering dividing into two troops. We've discussed it for the past year and are now in the decision-making stages since I've announced I'll be done as scoutmaster in the fall. We have two excellent scoutmaster candidates lined up, facilities in which to meet, about 70 families to divide, and 8…
Day 6: I spent most of my afternoon in a district annual planning meeting, representing Training. It wasn't much fun really, but important work to figure out when we'll have Camporee, Klondike, Pinewood Derby, Scoutmaster and Cubmaster training, Outdoor Leader Skills, OA events, Eagle Previews, and the dozens of other things that go on each…
Did you ever notice how much a BSA troop flag looks like a Campbell's soup label? Why's that? Coincidence or conspiracy? Hmmmm, I wonder. Another thing that's interesting. Look closely at those little gold stars around the bottom of the soup can label.
Contacted Webelos den leaders about scouts crossing-over this month and to see if anyone would benefit from a rah-rah chat about Boy Scouting. Emailed some other scoutmasters about training scheduled this spring. And, voted for Garr for the American Spirit Award over at Boys' Life.
Day 3: Wrote two letters of recommendation for Eagle scouts for scholarships. Our council has an Eagle scholarship as does NESA and other organizations. This is one instance where achieving that rank does pay off. If any other scouting bloggers want to use the numerals, they are at - replace [xx] with 01, 02, 03, ..., 98…
I'm starting a day late, but "100 Days of Scouting" wagon's moving slow enough I figure I can climb on. Day 1: Had two scoutmaster conferences in the afternoon. One was with a neighbor Webelos scout fulfilling his Arrow of Light requirements and thinking of joining our troop.
It's often the goal of a scout (and/or his parents) that he "get his Eagle". That's the way I most often hear it phrased - "getting" his Eagle. Earning, achieving, and completing aren't used much - it's "getting". When it comes up in conversation, I usually offer my view of advancement as, "a method we use to…
They tell me BSA doesn't stand for "Baby Sitters of America" but, much like a trusted babysitter, adult volunteers do take on the responsibility of keeping youth safe. Their parents expect us to have expertise, sense, and knowledge enough to return the same number of scouts we started with, in pretty much the same condition.
This was the perfect weekend for tons of snow fun! The snow pack has been building for the past month or so and we finally had plenty to build quinzees with snow to spare. The temperature ranged from 10F down to -15F during our campout.
The BSA says that the average Boy Scout troop size is 14 scouts. Lord Baden-Powell is attributed with stating the optimum troop size to be around 32 scouts. Depending on what other activities are available for boys in your area, I believe that number of 32 is close to optimum today.
So, what do you do when someone runs their car into yours while you're driving your mom around? Well, if you're Justin Jackson of Troop 797 in Florida, you follow the Scout Oath and "help other people at all times" and in the process earn the BSA's highest lifesaving award - the Honor Medal with Crossed…
In November, some changes were made to the BSA medical form requirements. In case you haven't heard, the one BSA medical form can now be used at all BSA high adventure bases, according to scouting.org information. The one form is also used by everyone, regardless of age.
Being one of the best troops around, your troop camps rain or shine, hot or cold. Depending on where you are, the 'cold' might be 40 degrees or -40 degrees. Here in Minnesota, our council has a Zero Hero award for scouts that camp out in below 0F temps, but many councils have an award…
All those Bear, Wolf, and Tiger cub scouts had better start selling popcorn and saving their allowance now. The 24th WORLD Jamboree will happen at The Summit in West Virginia in 2019. All current Boy Scouts and even most Webelos will have aged out by then, but it's sure excitng news.
Six years ago, the troop had a single dutch oven that was rarely used. Last month, we had five patrols making dutch oven meals in a snow storm. :-) This troop distributes gear to each patrol to manage by themselves. Each patrol that wants one has been issued a dutch oven from the quartermaster.
We should all be trying to keep a scout active, engaged, and growing in character, citizenship, and fitness until he's an adult - that should be the mission of every troop. So, troops basically have identical goals. The way adult volunteers strive to reach the goals, and keep the goals clearly in sight, are what differ.
Have you ever purchased spoof merit badges ? I've looked at them and laughed at them online but was concerned the quality would be poor and they'd just be a waste of money. But, this past month the Boy Scout Store provided me with a selection of patches and they are great.
In even the best planned meeting or activity-packed outing, there may be slack time where scouts start getting bored, or scouts come a little early and have nothing to do. Here are ten ways to pass the time that can use any number of scouts and go on for any length of time.
Regarding competing scouts , I wanted to expand on what I posted about having recognition for winners and also a group goal for everyone. The point being that if a lot of your troop activities are competitive and there is a winner with many losers, then incentive to really try or even participate goes down.
I just received a Christmas card from Larry in Colorado. It made my day! Larry won the scoutshop gift card last month and wrote to thank Scouting for the life experiences and adventures his son has enjoyed. I thought that was pretty cool.
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Tom's of Maine . All opinions are 100% mine. Hey, here's a simple contest - Leave a comment about this blog post describing your most memorable Wicked Fresh moment and you might win a gift card.
You lean across the finish line winning the race, while the other guy loses. You get first chair trumpet in band and the other guy gets second chair. You make the varsity wrestling team, but the other guy in your weight doesn't.
Oh no! We're out of matches! Now what do we do? It's a good idea to have a couple backup fire starting methods available and a better idea to know how to use them. They aren't all easy, but here's ten ways you could get a fire going - with a little luck and perseverence.
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of SPOT . All opinions are 100% mine. I've told you a few times about the SPOT Satellite GPS messenger that our troop uses on our backpacking adventures. It's a great little gadget that gives you access to rescue help in an emergency, but more commonly…
At the troop meeting last night, I got to hand out 3 Zero Hero patches to the adults that slept out last weekend in the snow storm and -8 degree temps. The hope is that all the scouts in attendance will want to get one next month on their Okpik campout.
WOW! What a great weekend campout! Minnesota had the biggest snowstorm in a long time this weekend, but it worked out just fine for our campout. We left Friday evening and got to Camp Stearns a couple hours before the snow started.
This past summer, at BSA summer camp, four of our scouts did the Wilderness Survival merit badge. As part of that badge, they each made a cool alcohol pocket stove - directed by the camp staff. Ken at PK Stoves asked me to try out his Pocket Stove on some camping trips and let him know…
In response to my previous post about recruiting tips , someone asked about specifically recruiting NON-Webelos. Well, here you go. I'd love to hear from anyone that tries them. There are a lot of 5th and 6th grade boys in your community that were not active in the Cub Scout program.
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of NAVTEQ . All opinions are 100% mine. A few years ago, we had an adult driver arrive at our campsite almost an hour after everyone else. He had an onboard navigation system which his family had nicknamed 'Loulou'.
The majority of the over 125 active merit badges introduce scouts to skills, careers, and hobbies which have little to do with Scouting. The goal of the merit badge program is to broaden a scout's experience, not just to improve his scouting skills, and that's why we have Coin Collecting, Dentistry, and Truck Transportation merit…
Everyone has their gizmos, gimmics, gadgets, and gear that they wouldn't leave home without. When it comes to Scouting, here's a few things that I'm thankful exist and why: Gore-tex - for helping us enjoy camping in the rain Victorinox - for making a high quality knife Ferrocerium - for making it possible to have sparks any time…
I expect you've heard the talk of mandatory training for scout leaders coming along. I suppose that's probably really the only way to make it happen - make it required. I'm happy that all but 1 of the Assistant Scoutmasters in our troop have their Trained patch.
How many matches does it take a Boy Scout to light a fire? I've seen it done with 58 matches - seriously! But, it really should just take one match. Preparing the fire lay is important, but so is lighting the match.
I'm working on a scout challenge project and would like to know which stock patch emblem is most popular. Select your favorite at This Page - it just takes one click. Thank you
Our troop has 32 tents currently in service. With 80 scouts in the troop, I've had lots of opportunity to see how tents wear out, break, or get damaged. Sometimes it is due to nature, other times it is neglect, and on rare occasion it is malicious.
2.5 years ago, I blogged about the silliest ScoutStuff products which included wooden forks, knives, and spoons. Evidently, I wasn't the only one that thought they were silly and they are now cut in price to only 17 cents a set!
This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of WD-40 . All opinions are 100% mine. There are a few tools and items in every great Scoutmaster's garage. You've probably got a handful of tent stakes, two half-full bottles of camp suds, and at least one can of WD-40 .
So, here's a trick question: What rank is required to attend Philmont, Northern Tier, or Sea Base? You can find many troop websites listing a minimum rank requirement of First Class. You can even find council requirements listing First Class as a requirement.
Whre does all that popcorn come from that scouts sell? Well, don't try finding it at any of these places - you'll most likely get lost in your efforts. There are corn mazes across the country this month and many of them have been designed with Boy Scout themes to commemorate the centennial.
An exciting time for Scouting here in Minnesota. The Base Camp open house happens tomorrow (Oct. 2). If you're in the area, or traveling through soon, you really should check it out. I got to tour the facility earlier this week and it is amazing !
To help scouts keep track of the various requirements of miles, nights, hours, and adventures for the National Outdoor Badge awards, I've created some documents. Hopefully, they'll make the broad range of requirements more manageable for your scouts. See the National Outdoor Badges page for the PDF files. Scout ON
Somebody at BSA learned Flash programming this summer. The new bsauniforms.org site takes you on a fun-filled, whirlwind tour of uniforming from Tiger Cub through Scout Leader. Hold onto your hats and watch your little scout spin in circles and walk across your screen.
Mosquitoes are a bane to all campers. They can carry disease, they itch, they buzz, they squish, they swarm, they even get in your ears and eyes. I love the first frosts in the fall. Camping in late September and October is my favorite time because the bugs are usually gone.
As scoutmaster, I get to witness the development of young men outside the daily routine. Most of the greatest growth I've seen is during times of trial. This past weekend, we had a 'Wilderness Survival' campout with scouts building shelters and sleeping out rather than in tents.
Backpacking can give scouts a great sense of accomplishment at the end of a trek. But, having something more than just mountains and miles to explore can make a trek even more memorable. One thing I've found to be of high interest to scouts is discovering wreckage, whether it's old cars, trains, logging camps, or…
It's not every day that you find a rock shaped exactly like your home state! That's something cool to take home and keep forever for a souvenir to rekindle memories of a great trek through the mountains. Besides, it's just one little rock.
When people are concerned primarily with their own advancement, enjoyment, wealth, and success, even at the expense of others, conflicts are bound to occur. It's common to hear about swindles, robberies, and other similar crimes. We have people in business continually trying to bend or bypass the rules and laws in order to take advantage…
This is the Cloud Peak Wilderness boundary marker, but it could be any wilderness area. We have special regulations and laws when you set foot past that sign. It's necessary because many people still do not appreciate the value of preserving wild spaces.
On July 31, the two backpacking crews met at Mt. Rushmore. One crew had just completed it's trek while the second was just beginning. It was interesting to see the 'enthusiasm' of one group and the 'experience' of the other when they got together.
