Make Time for Scouting

 

It is the season in the Cubscout world that Packs are starting up.  Some are already going due to the school calendar.  Within Cascade Pacific Council, there is a huge push for getting Tigers and Wolves.  It is called Mission Possible.

So, today as I was checking Twitter today, I found a great video that another Council re-tweeted.  On my Google+ page, a fellow Scouter pointed it out and had sent it off to his Scout Exec.  Guess, you are on a first name basis when you’re the District Commissioner.  So, I sent off a quick note with it to my DE, SE and the SE’s Exec Admin.  My hope was that it will get blasted out through our District’s Email list.

What I like about the video is that addresses several things about why Scouting is a good thing.   However, the one theme I liked is that Scouting and Sports go together.  There are so many times that I hear from Parents that it’s hard to go to Scouts and Sports.  Many of my fellow Scouter’s have blogged about this same them.   I tell the Parents that their children should be in sports.  They also can be in Scouts at the same time since many achievements will use sports to help earn them.  Plus, Sports still uses Leadership, Character, Good Sportsmanship…many of the same ideals that are in Scouting.

So, take a look at this video.

 

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Why have a Summertime Pack Program?

This weekend wrapped up Pack 221′s Summertime Pack Award for the 2012 Summer.   Which, is my last one with the Pack as I crossover with Elliot in 2013.  I did not realize this until the other day.  The 2009 Summer was my first with the Pack.  I realized that we were not doing Summertime Pack through my research due to my taking on the Cubmaster role.  I came across the Cubmaster Knot that could be earned.  (Since the Cubmaster Knot has been replaced by the Scouter’s Key, it’s still required to earn) I had to help the Pack earn the Summertime Pack Award just once.  We have now earned it four times.  The first year was an Ivy Pull, Bike Ride and a sleepover at the Ballpark.  The second year was Rain Gutter Regatta, Water Bottle Rockets and the Multnomah Days Parade. We also did the baseball park sleepover.  Last year was a Bike Rodeo, Multnomah Days Parade and Disc Golf.  This year was Rain Gutter Regatta, Bike Ride and Mud Cubs (Council Mud Day..;)  ).

It was a good Summer.  The 2010 June event was Rain Gutter Regatta.  Everyone totally loved it.  So, we brought it back again.  Again, a huge hit.  The July event was a Bike ride at Champoeg State Park.  I was not able to go, but I heard that it was a great time.  My now Wolf Den Leader planned it.  Finally, Council had an event called MUD CUBs.  It was a lot of fun.  Think MUD, Cubscouts and having them crawl through mud on their hands and knees.  It was a huge hit.  Included was two water slides.

I also included 3 out of 5 Cubmaster Hikes during the summer.  Meaning, if a Scout could not make an event, there was a second chance.  Not to many Scouts took me up on it.

Great….it’s done. Now what.  Time to fill out the form and answer the questions.

Did the Pack get The Summertime Pack Award? Yes.  Three events were offered. So, the Pack get the Streamer for the Flag.  In our Council we have a patch program that has a Summertime Pack patch.  I gave those out to anyone who came.  Since we earned the award as a Pack,

Summertime Pack Pins?  Yes, but only the Cubscouts who earned them.  One.  My Son.  There were several that went to TWO Events.   What I will say about this section is that in the past to encourage Scouts to keep with the program, I gave Pins to those who went to two event.  This, year that is not going to be the case. (I so want to hand these out.)

National Den Award: No.  No Den had 50% participation.  The other years we had enough to pass.  This year, we did not.

Please note, that the Summertime Pack Event only needs to have three events OFFERED.  It’s the National Den Award that requires the 50%.

So, why is the Summertime Pack Award important?  First and foremost, it keeps Scouting alive within the Youth and the Parents.  Most Packs stop for the summer outside of Summer Camp.   Summercamp does not generally count for inclusion for this award.  Yes, I said, generally.  Here’s is my reasoning.

In many Council’s Summercamp is put on by volunteers who have a whole week of DAY CAMP.  It will have TIGERS, WOLVES, BEARS & WEBELOS I & II all there.  That would be ONE whole event.  Other Council’s like mine, Cascade Pacific has a rank ascending Camp Program.  Meaning, Tigers go to a 5 day daycamp.  Wolves & Bears go to a 2 night resident camp.  Webelos go to a 3 day resident camp.  Webelos II go to a 5 night resident camp.

Since everyone goes to Summer Camp, it does not count.  It’s up to you on how you include or not.  Since I am the Akela and in charge of P221′s Program, it does not.

So, what happens if you put on Summertime Pack Events for three months and it’s just YOU and your SON and family.  The Pack has earned the award.  Your son got the pin, but not the Den Award.  The Pack has offered the program. It would have been great to had more.  Weird?  Maybe.  But, I got this solution from my now Wood Badge Scoutmaster when she was on staff at the 2009 Wood Badge.  First 30 minutes on being in camp, I was talking about how we did not get the award.  She asked what we did, I explained, she said we got it for the above reasons.  I really quizzed her about it.  Explained that “A Scout is Honest”.   She again explained the process.  Got it.

So, what else does Summertime Pack does for you besides keeping Scouting in front of the Scouts & Families.  It helps attract other families to your Pack.

Pack A does 9 months of programming and stops for the summer.  Pack B does the same, but provides a summer program.  It shows families having fun together.  It  also shows that the Pack works together to give fun.  If a Pack does not give a certain aspect that is important to you, what else do they NOT do?  Are they boring?  Do they just hand out awards in baggies?  Ceremonies for any rank advancement besides Arrow of Light?  If the Pack is boring, the kids won’t want to go.

So, having a Summertime Pack Event program will attract others to your program.  You want to get those new Scouts in the Pack.  You need parents to take over when your time is up.

Finally, Summertime Pack Events will greatly help you in using Journey to Excellence (JTE).  It goes back Pack Programming, Outdoor Activites, Building Cubscouting, Retention and Fitness.   Looking at all the areas within Journey to Excellence, you can knock out a lot of these with this program.  Does it matter if your Bronze? No. Silver? No. Gold? No?  Working with JTE will help you get to Bronze, Silver or Gold! It will also tell you where you need to improve.

Using the JTE will help improve the Pack Program.  Improving that, will help create fun.  Creating fun will help you with the game.  A game with a purpose.

So, put on the Summertime Pack Event program.
(ps: Don’t do it for the Knots.  Do it for the Scouts. That’s the real reward.)

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Cubmaster Hike #5 Pacific Crest Trail

 

  Sunday, was our last Cubmaster Hike of the whole program.  I know that I will do more of them.  But for now, since Summer is basically over, so are they.  I first wrote about this in March 2012.

My goal was to get out to places that I had never been.  I wanted to take the family and the Scouts along with me.  It started in close to home and went out further from home.   First, it was Memorial Woods Park.  Then it was Jamboree on the Trail and we were at Elk Rock Park.   Third was Whistle Punk Hike.  We ventured off to Washington State! Our fourth trek was to the Portland Audubon Society.

All of these adventures are memorable.  I can say that the first two hikes we had Scouts on them.  The other three were just the family or just Elliot and I.

My goal for this trip, was to go UP HIGH!  I wanted to hike up above Timberline Lodge and look down.  However, once Elliot and I got there, I quickly realized that UP was walking UP to where I really did not want to go.  Plus, we had just gotten to 2000 feet.  Being at sea level and then being at 2000 was not really a good idea.  Both of us were out of breath.  I knew that the Pacific Crest Trail went right through here.  So, I opted for that trip instead.  It was basically flat.   Elliot and I checked in through the Lodge and looked at what was entailed for hiking.   My first thought of people who get in a bad way up on Mt Hood when trekking, should really know what they are in for.

Suffice to say, we made it back just fine.
As we got up to the trail head, I had to push Elliot into keep going.  He was pulling all his normal excuses.  I kept telling him, that we had never been here before.  That, last time we went for a hike, he found really cool stuff and had a good time.

When we got up to the sign I asked him if he wanted to go to Mexico or Canada.  He opted for Canada, since it was CLOSER!  I agreed.  We took the easy way out…;)

We ended up hiking/walking about two to two and a half miles round trip.  We went past the Timberline boundary and into the Mt Hood National Forrest.  I got us a permit, since I did not want to pay the $100 if caught without one. Cool part of the ticket was all the Leave No Trace info.  Those USDA people think of everything.

It was interesting that a lot of people did not fill one out.  Yes, it was a day hike for us. Many others were doing the same.  We did see a lot of backpackers both coming and going.  They had the tickets.

During the course of the hike,  Elliot got fascinated with Rocks, Snow and the Ravines.  I pointed out the glaciers up at the top of Mt Hood and he saw the blue and dirty areas.  He asked why some ravines had water and others did not.  He played on the snow and even ate the snow.  Hopefully it wasn’t yellow….

In the ravines at the bottom, he dug in the dirt looking if there was water.  Nope.  One it was all recently moist.  Very moist.  The last ravine, we took a break at and had a banana and a couple of chocolate bars and water.  We were up very high and could see all the way down to the other Ski Hill.  He kept throwing rocks down, which got a few more tumbling down.  Explained that part of Leave No Trace was also not starting avalanches…  He loves to explore, so I let him.  We talked about how glaciers melt and such as he explored.

With all the exploration of bone dry, moist and WET ravines, we headed back towards the Lodge.  I promised him lunch.  Which, was very good.  The Cheese Pizza apparently is VERY GOOD here.  I had a large bowl of Chili.  Coupled with a Chocolate Shake for him and a Huckleberry one for me, we had a great day.

It was a great hike, learned a lot about how water travels.  Looking back at this today, it’s amazing to see how much he likes rocks, water and how these things works.  He drove all of this.  I just had to PUSH him to go hiking.  Richard Louv, is correct.  Read his books.  His books helped me make The Cubmaster Hike a reality.  Without reading them, we would not have had this day.

And, yes, I wrote a blog about his books.

 

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Games played by Scouts

Scouts play games.  A lot of Games.  But, here is my question.  Scouts will bring games to a campout or outings or summer camp.  I have listed a few of them here.  You can suggest others that I have not listed.  What do you see Scouts play.  I am only after board or card games.  Not British Bulldog or Tag or Hide & Seek game.

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Bearing Up: Reflections on ShelterBox SRT Assessment

Reblogged from A Scouter's Journey:

Much like the Order of the Arrow and Woodbadge, within ShelterBox training there is an element of keeping the details to yourself as not to spoil it for future participants. What I can tell you is that the past week has been mentally and physically exhausting (as promised); and I loved it.
Myself and 11 other candidates spent 4 days being assessed on our leadership skills, navigational abilities, self sufficiency in primitive conditions, logistic skills and our knowledge of ShelterBox and it's role within the global humanitarian community.

Read more… 219 more words

This is a blog post that you should read. My good friend Doug Metz has been working and training with Shelterbox. It is much more than Scouting. Read this blog and the others on his site about Shelterbox and his journey.

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Cubscout Pack Position Question

Please answer……

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Arrow of Light Class of 2013

  This fall mark’s Elliot’s last year in Cubscouts. He started in 2008. He will transition to a Boy Scout Troop in March.   Also, this fall, is the first year for many boys who become Tigers.  They are so very small and bouncy!  I follow many blogs and get several email subscriptions.  One of them is Ask Andy.  This edition  hit home.  It is about those Webelos II that are crossing over and how to attain Eagle Scout at about the age of 15.

So, please read this post by Andy.  It’s good.

It is an amazing journey thus far….

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Helicopter Parenting

A parent of two Scouts in the Pack just posted this on her Facebook Page.
It talks about raising successful children.  Being a Scouter, I saw many Scout Parents flash through my brain as I read it.  The reality is, there are many parents who hover over their kids making sure that “THEY” do it right.  Well meaning, but can be damaging. This is not just a Scout thing, but also in any hobby or sport and education that I have seen this happen.

Work towards having a great time with your kids and let them excel.

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The Bad Akela

My only incident that really set me off was with another Akela within our Campsite.  This camp is five nights and six days.  All other Camps were two nights and three days.  It is a very long time to be away from home, for everyone.   So, this incident came towards the end of Camp.  This Akela is the Cubmaster and the spouse the Webelos Den Leader.  All very well-meaning folks. However, over the course of the week, I came to realize that they work the Cubscout program way differently than I do.  They are very by the book. No grey/gray areas whatsoever.  So much so that they had all the Den Leader books, Beltloop/Pin Books with them.  I carry mine on the iPhone via a App.

The incident involved my son and his buddy.  Myself, another DL and the boys walked up to an ongoing flag retirement ceremony that we did not know was going on.  (We are in the upper camp site and this is in the main campsite of where three packs were brought together as a Troop.)  The boys walked right through it.  A DL told us what was going on and the DL and I stopped and became reverent.  The boys did not hear and started to play with a pine cone.  The Cubmaster, rightly so, stopped them again and reminded them that a ceremony was going on.  However, then took it too far.  The Cubmaster then challenged one boy asking if he had gotten his Citizenship Activity Pin.  This reduced him to tears and he ran back to his tent.  My son was shocked and came to me.  I did not hear all of this, but watched it happen.  Suffice to say Elliot repeated what happened.  I explained that the Cubmaster was correct for reminding you about the ceremony.

Shocked that a Cubmaster would creduce a boy to tears, I went to investigate as my WDL went to help with the Scout.   I asked the Cubmaster, as a Cubmaster what they said.   I was not happy.  I pointed out to them, that they were correct in the fact that they can remind/correct Scouts for the flag ceremony.  However, they had NO RIGHT to challenge them in earning a Pin.  I told them that was over the line and to back off from my boys.

Again, the post from Clarke Green’s The Aims of Scouting rings out clearer than anything.  “Our job is not the flight, but the aim.”    In the Law of the Pack, it states: The Cub Scout follows Akela.
The Cub Scout helps the pack go.
The pack helps the Cub Scout grow.
The Cub Scout gives goodwill.

As the Akela, specifically a Cubmaster, it is our job to help these youth keep their aim.  This other Cubmaster altered the flight and got the Scout off target.  I do not and cannot stand by when any Adult, let alone an Akela/Cubmaster belittles a Scout.  It does not work with youth, adults and in any setting.  Scouting is supposed to be a safe environment.  A place where Scouts can mess-up and learn.

The interesting aftermath is that the husband, the WDL confronted my Committee Chair, who was in camp the whole  week saying, Hey, we need to have a man to man talk about Adam.  Hello.  Did you not learn in Woodbadge that Communication is a two-way.  Come talk to me about my actions, not my Committee Chair. If you want to deal with an issue, talk to those involved, not those who were not there. All he got was a one way communication.  He did not resolve anything. It was not his issue.  Needless to say, they kept their distance as we did too.

“Our job is not the flight, but the aim.”  New words to live by.

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The Transition at Camp

   The Cascade Pacific Council has Cubscout camps that help transition Cub Scouts from Tigers to Webelos II and then onto the Boy Scout program.  Adventure Cove at Camp Clark is the last in this transition.  Camp Meriweather is next door.

I have been to all four camps with the boys since they were Tigers.  Discovery, Cub World, Gilbert Ranch and now Adventure Cove.  This is the end of the line for me.  I seriously doubt that I will go with the Troop. What? I am not going to continue?  My Committee Chair and a few others think that I am going to be a Scoutmaster.  I disagree and here is why…

Getting to the camp and getting all checked in was ok.  A tad long and the boys got really bored with the forms.  They wanted to play.   Once we got all processed in and headed to the elective sign-up it started to get better.  The sign-up for the electives was a tad weird.  College classes were better organized, so we coached the boys into what they wanted to take and forced others.   Oceanography was the hit of the week.  Elliot and his buddy signed up for BB Guns for three times as well as Archery.  What? Why?  That’s too much… Dad, we want to get the Pin for them.  Oh, Ok, They had a plan.  Ok, but sign up for Oceanography.  It’s the cool one. Your on the beach.  OK.

During the middle of all this, I got the latest installment from Jerry’s Blog. (stop and read it.)  As Jerry says “Taking away from camp a life time of memories is more valuable than any merit badge.  Parents often times view summer camp as an advancement opportunity, and it is certainly there for the taking, but cranking out merit badges without having fun is a waste of summer camp.”  Yes…..Memories.  That’s what they needed.  I was bent, again, on getting them requirements completed.  Ok, get a few, but create memories is what CAMP is about and being 10.

Adventure Cove is set-up to transition to Boy Scouts.  The morning is set-up for the Troop to travel together to all stations over the week.  This allows the Instructors “talk” through all the requirements.  The afternoons are the electives.  There is a program for the parents to attend. Also my District Exec came on the last day and we talked shop.  It was a good talk.  I learned a lot. I did get the Adult Leader Medallion for taking a class a day for Den Leaders.  That was fun.  I also got certified in “Nap on Safely“!  All of these classes were about 2-3 hours long.  After that I read a lot.  I also  hung out with the other parents in our Troop.

I will say that our Webelos II Scouts went through a lot of growing and learned more than they know that they did.  Also, I grew as well.

Normally the Scouts and parent have 60-90 minutes together each week.  Not much interaction outside of that, really.  Yes, the parents see each other at other functions and school activities, but that is it.  The boys have sleepovers and have friendships.  However, this was, I think our first of being together for six days and 5 nights.  There was homesickness, injuries, disobedience, fellowship, and all 12 points of the Oath and Law.  One of the main themes of the camp was for the Scouts to earn a bead for each of the 12.  They did work at it and we were able to give them slips of paper so they could get them at the trading post.  A week of learning and living the Scout Oath and Law.

There are two specific transition points that happened during Adventure Cove.  They are the hike to Camp Meriweather and the Final Campfire (pictured above).  First, the hike.  Two Troops each day cycled through for a five-mile hike round trip to Camp Meriweather.  It was to show the Scouts and parents the camp.  It also was to encourage the Scouts to continue their journey.  That there is a lot of fun to be had.  While none of the Scouts got to shoot Shot Guns or Rifles, they did get to see a replica of Ft Clatsop that held a Black Powder Range, a Blacksmith shop and a Tomhawk Throwing Range.  I heard several questions about if we are going their next year for Camp.  I also heard several boys talk about moving over to Boy Scouts.

The last point on transition is the last Campfire.  For those in Wood Badge, there are a lot of great campfires.  Every Scout camp has one.  These are meant to be significant and give meaning to all.  This one was no different.  The one main item that I really liked was that the Scouts were asked to find a little piece of wood and either carve or write them name on it.  At the end of the campfire and after the retiring of two large American Flags they were asked by Troop to come up and put their totem into the fire.  The Staff told them that this signifies leaving a part of themselves at Adventure Cove and making the transition to Boy Scouts.

While some might think that is was all goofy sappy Scout stuff and over the top, it was all that to make a point.  A point well taken once we all got back to the Campsite.  I stopped the boys before we had smores and got ready for bed to say about what they had seen, heard and had done.   I explained to them, that I had been to every camp with them, that I was their Tiger Den Leader and seen them through many things.  They surprised me.  They spoke of it being a solemn event, honor and that they even grew up.  Other parents reflected on how Vespers is very touching to them in several ways.  It was a good moment that we all had together.

To which, when I got back into reality Clarke Green posted a wonderful post about the Aim’s of Scouting.  It really spoke to the weekend.

It really is a Game with a purpose.  There is a start and an end, but it’s the journey that’s the most fun.  Don’t lose site.

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