The Bloggers
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Both national and local tour permits can be done online now at MyScouting. I'm working through the process for the first time with a national tour permit and either I'm doing something wrong or the system isn't quite ready. First off, when you log into MyScouting there is no place to get to the online…
Northern Star Council holds a "Gathering of Eagles" each year - an evening for all Eagle Scouts to get together and recognize a few special people. Not being an eagle myself, I've never been to this event but last night I got to attend.
I was asked if "electing" a Senior Patrol Leader and Patrol Leaders was a rule, or if a Scoutmaster could just appoint them. On page 13 of my 2001 Scoutmaster Handbook, it says " ... the senior patrol leader. He is elected by all members of the troop."
On a recent campout, the Eagles patrol tried out the Volcano II stove for their meals. They really enjoyed testing this stove while fulfilling their Second Class 'cook over an open fire' requirement. Since the temperature was 10F to 20F below zero the entire weekend, cooking on propane stoves was a real challenge.
18 scouts of our troop are expecting to raise enough funds this June to completely support the troop's program for the next 8 to 12 years. What started as a week-long camping trip, has turned into the best fundraiser ever.
My two sons would just as soon spend 3 or 4 hours playing computer games than interact with real people. But, who can blame them? With the amazing graphics, sound, and practically real interaction, games these days are nearly "like being there".
Here are some great resources for scout learning in a fun way. Rather than reading books, these Decks Of ... have useful information packed onto colorful, well illustrated, sturdy cards. They are great for a patrol meeting or merit badge session.
A great image video for the world scouting movement - please share this one with parents of new scouts. "Think globally and act locally" comes to mind when I put into perspective the work at the troop or pack level against the cumulative effect of scouting around the world.
Sticking with this training theme for one more post... With Webelos crossing to troops, this is a great time to review your adult training levels. All adults, whether registered volunteers or not, should complete Youth Protection before interacting with scouts, as a minimum.
Hop over to BSA Online Learning Center and see the plethora of opportunities for training. This Is Scouting replaces New Leader Essentials. Generational Diversity - if you can sit through the entire Intro you're better than me. Den Chief Training - very good intro for Boy Scouts serving the Cub Scout dens.
At MyScouting.org you can now take Climb On Safely and Trek Safely online. These are in addition to Weather Hazards, Youth Protection, Safe Swim Defense, and Safety Afloat. In case you didn't know, at least one adult on every outing is supposed to be trained in Weather Hazards starting in 2009.
AJ from Alabama and Lisa from South Carolina have claimed their prizes and a new contest for March is under way. There's $103 in prizes available, contributed by Firepistons.com , ClassB.com , and BoyScoutTrail.com . You could win a $28 Fire Piston kit, $50 product coupon, or $25 Scout Shop gift card.
There's nothing I enjoy more in scouting than kicking a scout out. When new scouts join, one of the first things I tell them is that my hope is to kick them out. I don't really care if they reach Eagle or not because that is completely up to them.
Tuesday was the 2nd of 4 Blue Gold Cub Scout dinners I'll be visiting this month. We're pulling in a few scouts from different packs which really helps the intermingling of scouts into patrols. They feel more like it's a new start rather than just a continuation of Webelos.
Walter left a note for me on the Visitors page about his view of the OA camping requirement. The Scoutmaster ultimately decides what counts as camping or not. Walter also mentioned that he counts all days of a long-term camp towards OA - so a 10-day Jamoree would count as 10 OA camping days.
The Order of the Arrow is the BSA's national brotherhood of honor campers and has four purposes: Recognize Scout campers Develop camping traditions and spirit Promote Scout camping Promote leadership in cheerful service to others Each troop holds elections for the OA with all scouts present voting to approve or deny the membership of each…
I just love a Good Turn! I figure the more I can do, the more examples I have to share with the scouts. I got to do a fun good turn last Friday by volunteering to assist with a 4th grade school outing to a local park.
The BSA has uniform inspection sheets available for the centennial uniforms now. The main difference is a mention about placement of patches on the sleeve pocket. But, all the inspection sheets have been updated and a couple new ones created. There are now sheets for Cub Scout , Webelos , Boy Scout , and Adult Leader . Scout On
With 50 scouts in the troop and a new batch of 15 joining this month, we're finally forced to face the 'going green' issue. We can no longer purchase red shoulder loops, red troop numerals, or red Trained patches. Fortunately, it's ok to put the loops and patches on the older khaki shirts so scouts…
For the past 4 years, our troop has been travelling across the city to Ft. Snelling Veterans Cemetery to team up with other local troops in an Order of the Arrow sponsored service project. In one day, the scouts remove all the wreaths that were placed by veterans' headstones before Christmas.
See winter camping tips for general advice for cold weather camping. But, when it's really cold, like 20F below zero, there are more weird things that happen and stuff for which you might not be prepared: Shock cords in tent poles freeze and lose their stretch Lips freeze to metal spoons and tin cups Bananas…
The PLC knew that new scouts would be joining the troop at the end of the month. They were trying to come up with ideas on what to include in troop meeting agendas to get the new guys off to a good start.
For 15 minutes, or a couple pages in Boys' Life at least, Troop 479 gets to be famous. At our troop meeting last night where we went sledding at a local park rather than meet at the normal place, one scout ran up saying, "Did you see it?
Fortaleza, Brazil is a big city in a warm climate and has many poor people and lots of trash around. Many of them are too busy surviving to worry about the natural environment, much like large cities in our country.
Making a personal first aid kit is a 2nd Class rank requirement that can be a fun activity. Every year, I show scouts that I have my kit and tell them I take it with me everywhere. I also give each of them a CPR mask and gloves from the Red Cross to start their…
An apple a day keeps the doctor away - but it gets pretty boring eating an apple every day! In Brazil, I was introduced to a plethora of fruits that I'd never tried - papaya, mango, cashew, and at least 3 others I can't write or pronounce.
I wish Delta would adopt the Cub Scout motto. In the older Boy Scout lingo, DELTA means Developing Ethical Leaders Through Action. But, today I'm talking about Delta Airlines. I figured I should vent about this tonight at the end of a long day of catching up and be done with my whining for the…
To my mom and that other person that checks this blog - I'm back from vacation! My family returned last night (actually early this morning) from our once-in-a-lifetime trip to Brazil for Christmas and New Year's. I expect I'll be sharing thoughts and memories of the trip here for the next few days to get it…
I was asked which patches, medals, and awards from a Cub Scout uniform can be displayed on a Boy Scout uniform. Here's my list - any additions or deletions? Council shoulder patch Patrol patch - if same one for patrol as for Webelos den Numerals - if troop is same as pack numerals US Flag World Crest badge…
Here's the perfect item to add to your troop's equipment list if you do any backpacking, hiking, canoeing, or other high adventure activities - well that should be ALL of you, right? It's the SPOT Messenger satellite tracker and emergency beacon.
A baker's dozen of scouts visited with seniors at a local assisted care facility this past week. What a great time for generations to interact, fulfilling the 'Associate with Adults' method of Scouting. The scouts and seniors played bingo and chatted for about 90 minutes.
When we talk about being prepared and getting ready for treks and campouts, the newer scouts (and their parents) will sometimes ask HOW prepared scouts need to be, always in regards to gear and clothing. It's a great question and the answer depends on how much discomfort the scout is willing to endure.
I've noticed a few of the items from Guyot Designs showing up on camping trips since we began using their Squishy Bowls last year. By the way, I really love my squishy bowl and it's holding up great! One of the coolest items (that I'd never buy for myself, so it would have to be…
The new Moosejaw catalog arrived today. Moosejaw is an outdoor clothing/gear company, something like REI, LL Bean, Patagonia, and friends. But, they are the FUNNIEST guys around! You really should go to the Moosejaw website and sign up for their catalog.
Maybe you've heard of the tight Coleman-Franken senate race in Minnesota and the recount being conducted now. About 2/3 of the 2.9million ballots have been recounted but it will still take weeks for the 2,000+ challenged ballots to be examined.
Our troop has had a challenge of getting permission forms turned in on time. It seems we always have a scout family or two oblivious that they missed the deadline for an event registration and this makes it tough to make reservations and arrange drivers.
You can type and save information in the Online Local Tour Permit as part of your Campout Planning process . This saves a bunch of time since a lot of the data is the same from one trip to the next.
Last year, I wrote about our Alps Mountaineering tents we purchased online from ScoutDirect.com and how we've been awful pleased with them. Well, I got a letter from them about a sale they're having. Seems they got a whole bunch of tents back from a retailer (brand new) and they were waaaay cheap.
How do you like the cool patch for this year's Scoutorama? Every Webelos scout that participates gets one as a souvenir. Everyone really liked how they turned out this year. I just wanted to mention that we had a great experience working with Stadri Emblems to create these patches.
You've seen decals on the backs of semis and delivery trucks like: How's My Driving? Call 1-800-123-1234 Well, at the high school this morning I saw one that was new for me all the way across the back window of an SUV.
I was curious about where the connection between Democrat=Blue and Republican=Red started. It seems like it's always been that way, but it's actually only from this century. NBC was the first station to use red and blue to show states won, but in 1976 they used Blue for Republican.
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The troop held its 4th annual Scoutorama on Saturday for the local Webelos to spend some time outside doing Boy Scout activities. The weather was just perfect and the day went great. The scoutorama is 3 hours of scout skill activities, lunch, and scout games.
The National Honor Patrol Award is a great way to recognize patrols that are working together to a common goal and supporting their patrol leader. In our troop, we've had one patrol earn this award last year and three newly-elected patrol leaders have told me a goal in their 6-month term is to earn the…
The troop instructors taught the lower ranks how to tie the Bowline knot while another instructor taught the higher ranks how to tie it one-handed at the troop meeting. Everyone there said they could tie the knot. So for a competition, the scouts did Bowline Trust Lean , but connected to a small circle of rope…
Our district held its fall Camporee this past weekend and efficiently combined the outdoor skills portion of Scoutmaster Specific Training into the agenda. The idea being that adult leaders will be there with their troops anyway and the day of training would require minimal time away from family or troop.
A requirement for every rank advancement in Boy Scouts is Demonstrate Scout Spirit in your everyday life . This requirement is handled in many different ways, from being an automatic sign-off to requiring scouts to write essays on what they've done to fulfill it.
The newly-elected SPL ran the troop leader training and planning sessions on Saturday. He chose to do both in the same day and it worked out great - everyone was happy to get finished a little early. This SPL just attended the council's youth leader training called Grey Wolf this summer so he has some new…
A week ago, I attended the Totanha Nakaha Lodge's Mustang chapter conclave and it was one of the most educational experiences I've had in scouting. I've been an ordeal member for a couple years, being selected as an adult and doing the Ordeal before either son was elected.
BSA has expanded the FastTracks program of Cub Scout den meeting plans. This program provides more advancement opportunity in den meetings rather than each scout working with parents at home to complete requirements. Testing of the program the past two years has indicated that a scout retention improvement of about 20% occurs when using the…
