Fun Orienteering For All

We’re all tasked with how to keep the older scouts interested in training that they’ve done repeatedly.  We’re thinking of having a little competition.  The younger scouts need to learn and master orienteering, but it’s hard to get the older boys to come and teach it sometimes.

So we’re thinking of a treasure hunt.  An older boy, with a gps, is with each group of younger scouts.  Each patrol is given a different set of coordinates and the gps can only be used for ‘gentle’ guidance (ie:  You’re getting colder.. you’re getting warmer).   The patrol with the most items found wins a cooking lesson for the camping meal of their choice.

A spin on this will be to have the older boys with the compasses against the younger boys with the gps set on compass.  The younger boys would never stand a chance against the older ones if it were reversed.  However, once they had the hang of it, we would reverse it so they can see how the two units work the same.

Fishing Campouts

One of the most relaxing campouts I believe we have is the fishing campout. Weather or not the boys or even adults catch anything, they still have a good time. This last weekend the Troop went to Lake Livingston SP. We arrived Friday evening, and woke up Saturday morning with all the boys ready to fish. They were none too happy when we told them  to eat breakfast first, but throughout the day they all fished and had a great time. Sunday morning we did have one emergency with a hook in the arm. What fun I had with the help of a couple of other leaders removing it. The scout on the other hand was not real happy when I told him that I would have to make another hole in his arm. Long story short.

* One paniced 11 old boy

 *Mike with wire cutters to cut hook

* myself calming scout long enough to push hook through and remove

* The look on his face as I show him the  hook I just removed after he yells  at me to stop………..priceless

For every one else, Its just fishing. for Boy Scouts its always an adventure

Great Price on Sleeping Bags and other Gear

It’s time to gear up for summer camp and I just got a whammy of a notice in my inbox.  One of my favorite online stores, Al’s Sports, is running a spectacular deal on 5 degree mummy bags for less than $25.  Go through the link to see this great deal and then take a stroll through the website to see what else they have to offer.  At a very low minimum, you get free shipping too!

One must have that I recommend looking into is  a good water bottle.  My personal recomendation is the Camelbak bottle that comes with a straw.  We have four, one for each of us, and they’re always being used.  These things just don’t leak.  You can get either 24 or 32 ounce bottles, several colors, and best of all, they have a loop at the top so your scout (or you) can run a carabiner through it and hook it onto a beltloop for easy transport.  Granted, the Camelbak’s are a litttle more expensive, but you’re paying for quality here.  Trust me.  I’ve bought many, and I’ve thrown away many.  These are keepers!

It is Mother’s Day and I am a Mother of Scouts

On this day, let’s not forget that behind every great man… young that he might be… stands a woman.

The Legend of the Rose

from Troop 893, Richmond, VA

[This is a nice touch. It can be read by another Eagle's mother and then the Eagle recipient presents his mother with 7 red roses.]

Throughout Scouting’s history, the rose has been associated with the presentation of the Eagle.

The path of a boy from Scout To Eagle is long and often times hard. He does not travel the “Trail To Eagle” alone. Many people have been involved with him in his process.

There is one person in particular that is honored in addition to the Eagle Scout, that person is his mother.

From that first overnight camp-out to the pinning on of his Eagle, she has shared the adventures of Scouting with her son in a special way.

With her guidance and encouragement, she has helped her son achieve a goal many fail to reach.

She has watched her son mature from a young boy to a young man with a purpose to his life.

She has been there to share his excitement of camping and hiking with his brother scouts. She has washed load after load of duty clothes brought home from camping trips. Most important of all, she has been there for her son when the going got rough and spirits low, as only a mother can. Her love has been an important ingredient in her son’s achievement.

We honor her today with the presentation of seven red roses, each rose a symbol of rank in the seven ranks of Scouting.

JLT Gear

If you are considering hosting a troop JLT as our Scout Master is planning to do for Troop 483, there are amazing resources out there for you .   For example, I’m providing you with just a taste of what I found on a website provided by Troop 659 dedicated to their JLT Training.

G.E.A.R. – what does it mean?
Not long ago, there was a boy in our Troop who received a phone call telling him he was going to be the SPL for summer camp (most of our regular Staff wouldn’t be going that year – that can happen)…he drew a deep breath and said, “WOW”! A little overwhelmed by the idea but willing to give it a try. We believe his participation in JLT gave him more confidence & ended up doing a pretty good job.
The Scoutmaster reviewed his performance throughout the week & let him know what he was doing right and wrong. Here’s where G.E.A.R. comes in:

G.et into your job

E.xpect the unexpected

A.ccept criticism

R.eflect on your training

…sounds alot like life, doesn’t it?
Keeping this one word in mind ANYTIME you need to step into a Leadership role will make the job easier & less stressful. REMEMBER IT ALWAYS!

PEER PRESSURE & TROOP LEADERSHIP

As you enter adolescence, all of you will share one common occurrence — the experience of transition. There’s no middle ground in these experiences. They’ll either be successful and lead to happiness or the experiences will be troublesome and lead to failure.

Most people think (especially parents) that peer pressure is the reason for negative behaviors in young teenagers but the reality is that peers are necessary and very important in helping adolescents make successful transitions:

How can you help each other as peers, be more successful in troop leadership?

PEERS CAN AND DO ACT AS POSITIVE ROLE MODELS (Lead by example)
PEERS CAN AND DO DEMONSTRATE APPROPRIATE SOCIAL BEHAVIORS (Always keep in mind you’re working with boys of different ages)
PEERS LISTEN TO, ACCEPT AND UNDERSTAND THE FRUSTRATIONS, CHALLENGES AND CONCERNS ASSOCIATED WITH BEING A YOUNG TEENAGER.

If all of you really understand this and you develop into Troop Leadership together, you will be more supportive of each other, which is necessary in being an effective leader.

Peers provide an opportunity for young teens to meet their needs, to feel capable, to belong, to be respected and to have fun! You’ll find that sometimes the adult leaders may bring you down in some moment of decision-making — that’s when you have to rely on each other for strength of character so you can go forward on not dwell on negatives.

Right here and now you’re being trained for a time in the future that may bring some of you together on Troop Staff.I hope this information helps you understand each other a little better. When you’re working with the Troop, keep whatever’s happening in school,IN SCHOOL. Keep whatever’s happening among you in the street, ON THE STREET
Remember to STAY FOCUSED ON YOUR LEADERSHIP POSITION.

Summer Activities

One of the toughest jobs for the leaders of a boy scout troop is keeping it together over the summer.  Left to the boys, they would sit around and play video games.  So why not give them what they want?  Talk to your charter organization about an overnighter.  If it is videogaming that gives your scouts a thrill, bring in the tvs, gaming systems, and have an adult grub master.  You can use this as an opportunity to have dutch oven cooking instruction for dinner and breakfast.

Another option is having a JLT day to get your scouts up to speed on leadership training.  Lastly, the merit badge counselors can come up for a Saturday to work with the scouts on finishing up all those partial merit badges.

Regardless of what extras you throw in to keep the summer interesting, be sure to include the fun!

And moving on!

We gave everyone a week to absorb information to help get the duct tape merit badge in place.  It’s time to move on.

This weekend, we traveled out to El Rancho Cima to hang out (pun intended) on the climbing tower.  The boys had a great time climbing the 40+ feet tower and then repelling off the back side.  Most, even the experienced climbers, found going off the back of the tower a lot different from going off a rock.  Almost everyone climbed at least once.  We were very proud of them.

Other than some early morning sprinkles, the rain held off for the most part until last night.  Even then, it wasn’t too bad.

After climbing from 8am til noon, the boys fished and played in the shallow (below knees of course) part of the river.  We finished off a great afternoon with searching the old archery area for flint rock.

All in all, we had a great time with mininal issues.  A great success with pictures to follow soon on the flicker site!

DUCT TAPE MERIT BADGE FILES

duct-tape-mb-petitions

dt-mb

As you all know by now, I, and Troop 483, have gotten rather excited about the notion of getting the Duct Tape Merit Badge officially up and running.   Earlier today, we distributed a petition, a mock merit badge book cover, and the curriculum to each and every district that attended SHAC’s Scout Fair.  We are asking that the DE of each district push this out, via the files above, to every cub scout pack and boy scout troop in their district with directions to have the petitions signed and returned to the DE.  The DE will then get the petitions back to me and I’ll compile them, to submit to National.

For everyone else who reads this blog and lives outside of the Sam Houston Area Council (SHAC), I am asking that you arrange for this in your own council  You can collect them and funnel the scanned petitions through me, or let National receive them Council by Council.  If you have friends in other councils that don’t read this blog..  show them this blog, and tell them about the movement.  Together, we can make this merit badge a reality.  By having cub and boy scouts, as well as leaders, sign the petitions, National will see that there is a future for the merit badge and leaders that would be happy to council it.

As soon as I discover how to actually add files to the side bar, these will be a permanent fixture to this blog.  In the meantime, I want to be sure you all have quick access.  I fully believe that the boy scouts of SHAC have the ability to make this happen.  Let’s not stop with SHAC though, I want all the councils to take this to their troops all around the world.  Don’t let this die.  Put it on your websites!  Put it on your scouting business cards!  Get the news out!  Let’s get these boys a Duct Tape Merit Badge!!

A Scout Is Reverent

Realizing that people of many different faiths read this blog, I am going to write what reverent means to me as a Christian on this Easter morning.  If it is not your belief, please know that I respect that you worship and pray in your own fashion.

The passage John 3:16 is one of the most known passages in the Bible.  It speaks of how God loves us so much, that he was willing to give his own child so that we can be cleansed of our sins and be able to have eternal life.  How can we show our reverence to Him?  Being reverent isn’t performed by sitting in a pew each Sunday.  While that certainly is a good step, we have to live in reverence.   The scouts, and we, should act in a Godly manner every day.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
– John 3:16 (KJV)

REVERENT

adjective
1.	feeling or showing profound respect or veneration; “maintained a reverent silence” [ant: irreverent]
2.	showing great reverence for god; “a godly man”; “leading a godly life” [syn: godly]

A Scout is Clean

Though we all wish for the most obvious definition when reminding the scouts that A Scout Is Clean, I don’t think it’s the definition that the Scout Law is talking about.  Besides, hoping for non-smelly, non-dirt covered, boys is like hoping to win the lottery two days in a row.  It just isn’t natural.  Not to mention, if they aren’t covered in dirt, they aren’t having enough fun.

No, I do believe that four of the definitions below best capture the meaning of Clean in the scouting world.  The scouts should strive to be clean in their heart, minds, mouth, and ways.  They should take pride and honor in performnig their ceremonies without mockery.

CLEAN

1. Free from dirt or filth; as, clean clothes.
2. Free from that which is useless or injurious; without defects; as, clean land; clean timber.
3. Free from awkwardness; not bungling; adroit; dexterous; as, aclean trick; a clean leap over a fence.
4. Free from errors and vulgarisms; as, a clean style.
5. Free from restraint or neglect; complete; entire.  
     When ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of corners of thy field. –Lev. xxiii. 22.
6. Free from moral defilement; sinless; pure. 
     Create in me a clean heart, O God. –Ps. li. 10
     That I am whole, and clean, and meet for Heaven –Tennyson.
7. (Script.) Free from ceremonial defilement.
8. Free from that which is corrupting to the morals; pure in tone; healthy.
     “Lothair is clean.” –F. Harrison.
9. Well-proportioned; shapely; as, clean limbs