The Bloggers
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Scouting has been celebrated on postage stamps around the world. Some collectors only focus on those stamps. There is even an organization for it: Scouts on Stamps Society International . There was also a big drive on Facebook to have an official stamp created for our 100th Anniversary , too.
The sweet smell of gasoline? Chemistry. The sweeter smell of perfume? Chemistry. The bane of high school students all across the world? Yep, the same chemistry. Does physics get its own merit badge? Nope. Biology? Nada. This is the only science badge you can still earn in any high school in the country just by…
Troop Leadership Training is happening in November for our troop (more here ). In a very timely email, this link appeared from the email ether: Troop Positions of Responsibility The following leadership positions count toward Boy Scout advancement. For more information, see the Senior Patrol Leader Handbook (#32501) and Patrol Leader Handbook (#32502A).
Our troop is running Troop Leadership Training in place of the normal meetings this month. We haven't had one in a while, we are about to have elections, and the SPL decided this was easier than trying to get everyone to attend a special session (or worse, do it during our campout next weekend).
According to Hootsuite , 1434 hits were registered in October on items posted to Scoutsigns or that I just found interesting on Twitter . The Patrol Boxes seem to be the most popular items, and disappointingly the Merit Badge of the Week didn't do so well this month.
This week's Patrol Box was hard to put together. There was a lot of stuff to come across my plate this week, which is good for Scouters! What I don't use this week, will probably go into the hopper for next week.
Unofficial or not, the new Academics and Sports belt loop and pin requirements are making their way around the Internet. Last week, I mentioned ( #9 ) that the podcast " An Hour a Week " had news on the new Academics and Sports program.
Unofficial Academics and Sports requirements for Skateboarding: Belt Loop Complete these three requirements: 1. Demonstrate to an adult the general rules for safe skateboarding by showing that you know how to wear the proper safety gear. 2. Carefully demonstrate how to fall to help minimize injuries.
Unofficial Academics and Sports requirements for Kickball: Belt Loop Complete these three requirements: 1. Explain the rules of kickball to your leader or adult partner. 2. Spend 30 minutes practicing the skills of kickball (pitching, kicking, base running, catching, throwing).
Unofficial Academics and Sports requirements for Photography: Belt Loop Complete these three requirements: 1. Point out the major features of a camera to your den or family and explain the function of each part. Parts could include film, lens, shutter, power on and off, zoom, battery, flash, display panel, case, settings, etc.
Unofficial Academics and Sports requirements for Hockey: Belt Loop Complete these three requirements: 1. Explain ways to protect yourself while skating. Demonstrate how to put on all necessary safety equipment. Explain why proper safety equipment is important. 2 . Spend 30 minutes practicing the skills of hockey: skating, stick handling, passing, shooting, and checking.
Unofficial Academics and Sports requirements for Pet Care: Belt Loop Complete these three requirements: 1. Care for your pet for two weeks. Make a list of the tasks that you did to take care of your pet. 2. Read a book, explore the Internet (with your parent's or partner's permission), or acquire a pamphlet about…
Unofficial Academics and Sports requirements for Video Games: Belt Loop Complete these three requirements: 1. Explain why it is important to have a rating system for video games. Check your video games to be sure they are right for your age.
Unofficial Academics and Sports requirements for Nutrition: Belt Loop Complete these three requirements: 1. Make a poster of foods that are good for you. Share the poster with your den. 2. Explain the difference between a fruit and a vegetable.
Unofficial Academics and Sports requirements for Abilities Awareness: Belt Loop Complete these three requirements: 1. Visit with a child or adult with special needs. Find out what they enjoy and what they find difficult. 2. Attend a special needs event such as Easter Seals, Special Olympics, a performance with sign language interpretation, an activity with…
Unofficial Academics and Sports requirements for Good Manners: Belt Loop Complete these three requirements: 1. Make a poster that lists five good manners that you want to practice. Share your poster with your den or family. 2. Introduce two people correctly and politely.
Unofficial Academics and Sports requirements for Hiking: Belt Loop Complete these three requirements: 1. Explain the hiking safety rules to your den leader or adult partner. Practice these rules while on a hike. 2. Demonstrate proper hiking attire and equipment.
Unofficial Academics and Sports requirements for Family Travel: Belt Loop Complete these three requirements: 1. Make a list of things you would take on a three-day trip with your family, then pack these items in a bag or suitcase. 2.
Unofficial Academics and Sports requirements for Horseback Riding: Belt Loop Complete these three requirements: 1. Explain five safety precautions for when you are near a horse. 2. With help from an experienced horse handler, demonstrate how to safely mount and ride a horse and then how to safely dismount the horse.
Unofficial Academics and Sports requirements for Reading and Writing: Belt Loop Complete these three requirements: 1. Visit a library and get your own library card. Check out and return a book. 2. Write a letter or a short story. Read it to your den or family.
When I was a Boy Scout in central Alaska, I worked hard on the Canoeing merit badge. There weren't a lot of places to use a canoe aside from our Scout camp--at least for me. Only problem: I couldn't swim!
Hallowe'en is coming up fast, and there are plenty of Haunted Houses in our area to go to (including at Camp Rock Enon this weekend). This fundraising effort by our council shows the kind of project that can be accomplished when folks make an idea happen.
Camping is the backbone of the Boy Scouts of America. Super campers get to join the Order of the Arrow . We dream about it, look forward to it each month (you do camp each month, right?), teach the skills and walk the walk.
Autumn is off on a dead run. Mid-October already? Really? We are headed off on a Medieval Camporee this weekend. Should be quite a lot of fun, despite the rainy forecast. Check out some of these gadgets and pieces of the Patrol Box: An energy generating backpack from The Adventure Blog .
This has been a busy week. Scouting on top of end-of-month processing at work, punctuated with a pack performance on Wednesday night. Family Camp at Camp Rock Enon started the week--cool weather, and plenty of rain. The rain forced the event's campfire indoors, but we still had fun while drying out.
September was a busy month. 1477 times someone interested in Scouting clicked on a link that I thought would be of interest. That is a lot of interest! I appreciate your support to help make Scouting even better. Here are the top 10 tweets for September: 1.
Luck lets you wake up 2 minutes before the bugle starts to broadcast. Clear notes float through the woods, letting everyone know what time it is and to get their day started. Or to hunker back into their sleeping bag and groan.
From time to time, we receive American flags that are sufficiently worn or damaged and require proper retirement. The most common form of flag retirement (and the only one our Scouts use) is by fire. Which leads to the inevitable "flag burning" comments.
Saving lives. Serving the community. This is what makes us great. BSA-Nothing But Nets toolkit-- download it after you watch the clip. More on the BSA-Nothing But Nets relationship here .
A blast of Autumn just rolled through our area. Hickory and walnut trees have turned and are dropping leaves at the slightest suggestion. Scouts are thinking about camping, backpacking and hiking (especially units that don't meet over the summer). The Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal Historic Trail patch above is a great way to work…
We are fortunate to have an Audubon club in a nearby town. Each November, they have a multi-day event for the general public that includes hikes, vendors, several talks, and a great session with live birds (last year's was about raptors).
Wow, 20 is a milestone. Translation : a couple of hundred links have been sent your way to encourage your Scouting experience. Videos, blogs, podcasts, merit badges, manuals, forms, awards, fun activities and more have all been sent your way. If you've missed any, I'll generate an index of them for another post soon.
Basketry is one of the merit badges we often encourage new Scouts to do. Young hands seem to be able to pull this off, even though it means sitting for hours to accomplish the final. With only a few requirements, it is a great way to teach the steps to earning a merit badge in…
Hard to believe, but the anniversary for the ScoutSigns blog has come and gone. It is almost the anniversary now of the Merit Badge of the Week program . The point was to provide a weekly resource devoted to helping Scouts earn, and Scouters to learn, about a new merit badge.
A cool snap has struck just in time for Labor Day weekend, low 70's to begin the week. It can just as easily be in the 90's here this time of year. So camping is definitely on the mind. Definitely not mowing the lawn this weekend...;-) All across the country, the BSA is kicking off…
One of my great pleasures in Scouting is backpacking . Our troop has segment-hiked 150+ miles of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O) over the last 3 years, one weekend at a time. I would like for us to do more of it, but we need to balance camporees, summer camp, and the other special opportunities…
July was a busy month! Here were the top 10 since 31 JUL: 1. http://ow.ly/15LUo7 Weekend Patrol Box #18 164 Clicks 2. http://ow.ly/kQcK Excellent idea! Eagle Scout Parking Only sign.. (via @ LatterDay_Scout ) 103 Clicks 3. http://ow.ly/k0Gp New Merit Badges for 2009 & 2010 | Scouting News 53 Clicks 4.
The Patrol Boxes have been a bit sporadic this summer, but hopefully you will find plenty of good stuff to look at here. Fresh coat of paint, replace a couple of wobbly screws, scrub off the ketchup spots, and...voila! Good as new!
1. http://ow.ly/h05l ScoutSigns: New BSA Rank Requirements Coming http://ow.ly/h05l 87 Clicks 2. http://ow.ly/15GxdZ Homeschooling and Scouting http://ow.ly/15GxdZ 69 Clicks 3. http://ow.ly/djkD BSA Immunization Exemption Request form http://ow.ly/djkD New form and great solution to a common problem. 63 Clicks 4. http://ow.ly/b4f4 Um, tasty and funny!
Just received an email that the National Scouting Museum has joined the blogosphere . Glancing at the various programs they are offering, like Summer Advancement Trails and Museum U 's merit badge courses (American Cultures, Communications, Citizenship in the World, Computers and Personal Management merit badges), make me wish I lived a lot closer to Texas!
OK, what do you get when you get too many of your life's threads tangled up? Yep, a USB port powered chainsaw ! Even more reason to bring my laptop to camp in a few weeks... H/T: @WorthyD
The new BSA rank requirements will have the Scouts using EDGE to train less experienced Scouts. EDGE is taught in the National Youth Leadership Training course. This is offered in councils all across the country. EDGE stands for: Explain, Demonstrate, Guide and Enable Explain--tell the Scout what you are going to do, how you will…
Previously, we covered what homeschooling is and how Scouting should be looking at this group. As promised at the end of that post, now we need to look at why homeschoolers don't "just join" Scouting. Already busy Already committed to a large number of activities.
[Image from boyandgirlscouts.com --thanks!] There are several new requirements for Tenderfoot all the way through Life coming, effective 01 JAN 2010. According to the Scouting.org website , it appears that they will be in the new Scout handbook coming in August.
These were the 10 most popular tweets for @Scoutsigns in June: 1. http://ow.ly/b4f4 Um, tasty and funny! Anyone else going camping this weekend? http://ow.ly/b4f4 356 Clicks 2. http://ow.ly/15GxdZ Homeschooling and Scouting http://ow.ly/15GxdZ 38 Clicks 3. http://ow.ly/djkD BSA Immunization Exemption Request form http://ow.ly/djkD New form and great solution to a common problem.
[ Homeschool laws vary by state. Many comments about homeschooling below are general in nature, and may not apply to a specific situation.] Homeschoolers account for 3% of all school-aged children in the United States right now. Begun primarily by religious conservatives almost 30 years ago, today you can find homeschoolers of every religious and secular…
If you haven't seen the new BSA medical form , take a look. It is universal for all levels of Scouting now, regardless of age. One new item on it is a checkbox for the BSA's Immunization Exemption form. This allows Scouts and their families with faith or medical reasons to not have any or all…
These were the most popular tweets for @Scoutsigns in May: 1. http://ow.ly/5sXl BSA Speaker http://ow.ly/5sXl 106 Clicks 2. http://ow.ly/5gC5 Rocket Launch to Be Watchable On the Entire U.S. Eastern Seaboard Tonight http://ow.ly/5gC5 68 Clicks 3. http://ow.ly/55eH Your Scouting Twitter List is Ready!
Flight is one of mankind's oldest dreams. A toy glider has been found in the ruins of ancient Egypt. My eldest son's Scoutmaster 15 years ago, used to take the Scouts up in his personal craft and with a little instruction, turn the controls over.
Great thing about a short holiday week is how quickly the weekend comes around again! We have our troop's first Eagle Court of Honor this Saturday, followed by a couple of hours working at Camp Rock Enon. Free lunch at CRE, so not too much cooking to do though!
