Recycled and Inexpensive Items for Projects

It was a great vacation week, but now we are back to business!


I drive everyone in the house insane because I'm constantly saying, "Don't throw that away!  I can use it for Cub Scouts!"  Among the things I save are cardboard paper towel tubes, cardboard toilet paper tubes, plastic jars, plastic takeout containers, spare nuts and bolts, extra stickers, scraps of paper, and magazines that have been read.  You just never know when or how you'll be able to put these things to use!


I also stock up on specific items when I see them on sale or clearance.  This is a great time of year to stock up on crayons, markers, glue, scissors, and construction paper.  Usually if you wait until a week or two after school starts, you can get these items REALLY cheap.  I got name brand scissors at Target last year on clearance for $0.51!  I always try to have enough of everything to go around, or for two boys to share things like glue bottles and packs of markers or crayons.  


And quite honestly, the dollar store, specifically Dollar Tree for me (no affiliation), has great finds.  I stock up on measuring cups and spoons, pencils, wiggle eyes, pipe cleaners, river rocks (pet rocks, geologist pin) and many other craft supplies.  We've also used dollar store flip flops and shoe laces to make lacing cards for the Knots electives, as well as neck ties and rope.  When we put together our Outdoor Camping Essentials pack (Wolf elective 23 I think?)  I got everything but the food from the dollar store.  If I recall correctly, I found large plastic pencil cases that had a clip attached, small flashlights, collapsible water bottles, first aid kits, and a few other items.  We added granola bars for camping food.  I think there is one around here somewhere.  When I track it down I will edit with the pictures.


What items to you recycle for scout projects?  Is there anything else that you stock up on because you just know you're going to need it?


Until Next Time,


CubMom

Woven CD Coaster

I pinned this CD weaving tutorial a while back and decided to give it a try yesterday.  The blogger suggests making your own "needles" our of plastic lids, but I had some sturdy plastic needles on hand from my Wolves making bean bags two years ago, so I used that.  I recall getting a bag of 12 or so at the craft store for a dollar or two.  I won't bore you with the tutorial steps as it's already taken care of in the link above.  This was an easy project, can be tied into Making Something Useful, Webelos Craftsman, and probably the Native American themed electives for the weaving.  I had my older son give the weaving a try and he did well with it.  You can also use this to add, reinforce and enhance a knot tying meeting.  


Due to my near constant need to reorganize, I couldn't think for the life of me what I did with the box of blank CDs, so I just borrowed a movie from my kids!  I had to cut off my weaving to give it back to them when I finished!  


This is the loom part.

 Tie on your first color with a square knot.  

 It's just simple over and under, around and around.

 Tie on a new color when you get bored!

 I didn't finish all the way out to the edge, but you will want to to cover the entire CD.  I saw a pack of 12 CDs at the office supply store for $4.99 if you don't have any laying around the house.

For Wolves and Bears, I would have the loom part already prepared.  I'd have the Webelos do the entire thing themselves.  Depending on how many CDs you have on hand, you could give the boys a few extras to do at home so they have a set of coasters that they could give as a gift.  There is no limit to how many colors they can use, encourage them to tie on as many as they'd like and in the colors that they like.  The craft store usually has decent yarn in a variety of colors for $1 each.  I think this is something my scouts will really enjoy making!

Until next time,

CubMom

Wax Paper Sun Catcher

Did you know that wax paper can be used to make a sun catcher?  Neither did I, so I thought I'd give it a go!  

I did a google image search for Cub Scout coloring pages, and I came across this little gem here.  I grabbed a piece of wax paper, and a box of Sharpies (washable markers will NOT work on wax paper!) and got to work.

I just moved my wax paper around to the different shapes to trace all of the components.  Then I colored it in.  Apparently, I haven't used my sharpies in a while, so many were pretty dried out.  Good thing I gave this project a try before I brought it to a meeting!  The results don't exactly look like a Cub Scout uniform, but I got the job done.

Then I cut it out with some zig zag scissors, punched a hole in the top and strung some ribbon through.  

Add a suction cup and you're good to go!  This project is definitely a keeper.  I'll put together several different printed images that the boys can trace, and also give them the option to draw something of their own.  You can tailor the images you print to go along with whatever achievement you're working on to add to your programming.  This could also work for the Webelos artist activity badge, art belt loop, or the make a gift electives in each of the handbooks.

Until next time,

CubMom

Den Meeting Projects (crafts)

I've been working on a post for almost a week now about some projects that my scouts really enjoyed.  The only problem is that I don't have pictures of these projects, and it would be ridiculously boring to just read about them.  I contemplated posting a bunch of links, but then you have to go back and forth between the post and the linked page.  So we're just going to muddle our way through.  


I've mentioned before that my group LOVED doing craft projects.  It was perhaps the most asked question at the beginning of each den meeting.  Crafts and projects are supposed to be used to add and enhance your program.  Simple cut and paste jobs just won't do!  I tried to make all of our projects tie into what we did in the meeting, or used them to get us started on what we would be working on next.  Just about everything we did counted toward an achievement, elective, or portion of a belt loop or pin.  Around holidays, we did something using that particular theme.  I know that 90% of my pack is returning, and I'm anticipating doubling our previous number of scouts in the new school year.  Nothing gets past these guys, so I surely won't be able to use something next year that I did last year!  So I'm spending some time this summer to find some projects that are new and different.  Most of that time so far has been spent in Pinterest!  


I found an activity that I'm going to do at the first den meetings.  Each boy decorates a quarter circle inside a square outline and then you put them all together.  When I click through the pin to the original link, it's in German, and it's a private blog.  Womp womp.  So here is a template I made.  

I made mine 4" by 4".  6" would have been too big once I fit them all together.  I plan on printing them on white card stock so the squares are study, then I'll attach them to poster board for the first pack meeting.  The plan is to match up ones that are similar, so the boys can see that while we are all individuals, together we make up a group with things in common.

On another note, mixing my colored rice worked well, and I'll be able to use it for "rice art" bottles, and the iSpy bottles.  My wee one made an iSpy bottle with the rice and it turned out really well.

Once I saw that the rice layers well, I shook the jar for a few minutes to mix it all up for our iSpy bottle.  My little guy had fun choosing what "spies" to put in the bottle.  We used a funnel to pour the rice in, and he loves shaking it up to find everything in there!  Included are animal and vehicle beads from Joann Fabrics, as well as a bunch of various shaped buttons from several chain craft stores.  There are also some plastic bingo chips, alphabet beads, pony beads, and plastic charms.  Bags of several hundred beads are just a few dollars.  I mixed everything I had into a big hexagonal shaped jar with a lid.  Finding everything in there is an adventure in and of itself!

I'm working on more ideas.  Hopefully my kids will want to demonstrate them for the blog!

Until next time,

CubMom

Den and Pack Outings

As a Cub Scout Leader, I try to plan outings for my boys about once a month.  Some months this is hard because of testing schedules, holidays, other school events, etc., but for the most part, the goal was accomplished.  


Here is a list of the outings we did.  Some of these were done in place of the regular den meeting, and others were done on weekends.


Clean up at a local state park
Bowling
Geology program and planetarium show at a state museum
Packaging holiday gifts to send to the troops serving overseas
Overnight trip to a local museum
Cub Scout Camp day program
Cub Scout Camp overnight program
Trip to a nature center for a pond study
Home Depot kids building program


Last summer, I made a list of everything local and semi local that would be able to accommodate our group, and accomplish an aspect of scouting for the boys.  Everything we did came right from that list, and really enhanced our program.  Several of the trips didn't cost us any money, and the others were just a few dollars per scout.  


This year I am planning a visit to a radio station, police station or fire house, horseback riding, another park clean up and packaging gifts for soliders, and some more museum visits.  


What types of outings are popular in your pack?  Do you find that it's easy to find places that offer a good enhancement to your program?


Until next time,


CubMom

Coloring Rice

 I mentioned in my last post that I'd like to use colored rice for iSpy bottles for my scouts.  The motivation hit and I got to it.  I made about 20 different colors using both regular and neon food coloring.

My supplies: two plastic cups, teaspoon measure, 1 cup measure, rice, food coloring, rubbing alcohol.  Not shown: plastic spoon.

 Add 1 teaspoon of alcohol to the cup, followed by 20-30 drops of food coloring.  If you're mixing two or three different colors, give the cup a little swirl; the color on the side of the cup post swirl will be the shade you end up with.  Add the rice last.

 Stir it all up, folding from the bottom to the top to get the color uniform throughout.  I like to dump the rice into another cup after I've mixed for a minute or so.  The darker colored rice that inevitably gets stuck on the bottom will come to the top for more uniform mixing of the rest of the rice.

 Spread it onto a plate or plastic container you aren't too attached to to dry.  I like to give it a little shake every half hour or so to break up the clumps.  It should be dry in about two hours, and the color won't transfer onto your fingers.

Just a few of the colors!

I'm storing the rice in plastic bags until I'm ready to use it.  I need to find a jar big enough to mix together about half of each color to use for our iSpy bottles.  


Due to the messy nature and that food coloring stains just about everything, I don't recommend having your cubs mix their own colors.  I made mine one cup at a time in various shades to give them enough choices if and when we do a project with single colors.  I'm thinking rice art instead of sand art jars, letting them make pictures by gluing down the colored rice like you would glitter.  You can work this in to the art electives, art belt loop, artist activity badge...the possibilities are endless!


Until next time,


CubMom  

A Quick and Easy iSpy Bottle

This is a project I did with my kids a while back.  I usually like to test out project ideas on my own kids and some of their friends to get an idea of how easy or hard, where they need extra help or instruction, and how long I can expect it to take.  This particular project turned out to be a little messier than I'd hoped, so I haven't done this with scouts yet.  I think I've come up with an alternative though that will work and I'll use it in this scouting year.


I've been saving empty plastic bottles for this craft.  16oz. or 20oz. are a good size.  Try to get ones that don't have a lot of indents in the design of the bottle, and clear plastic works best.  Target brand sparkling water has a nice bottle, and Coke bottles work nicely too.

I gathered up a bunch of little items I had laying around in my supply drawers.  Sequins, shaped buttons, alphabet beads, pony beads, pretty much anything you can fit through the top of the bottle will work.  You can see I used items that float, as well as items that sink.  Pour a generous amount of regular round sequins in the bottom of the bottle, about 1/2" high.  Then add all of your other pieces in no particular order.  Finally, fill the bottle half full with water and fill it the rest of the way with clear corn syrup (the messy part).  You need to fill it as high as you can to eliminate any air in the bottle.  Put the lid on as tight as you possibly can.  You can even glue the cap to the bottle.  When shaken up, everything mixes together and your kids can play a game to find various objects.

All shaken up.  Can you find a pair of sunglasses?

Since the whole water/corn syrup proved to be pretty messy, I'm going to use colored rice when I do this with the scouts.  You can make your own by mixing several drops of food coloring with a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol per cup of dried rice.  Make sure to let it dry for several hours before storing.

Until next time,

CubMom

Cub Scout Obstacle Course

Did you see the article a month or two back in Family Fun magazine about using pool noodles to make outdoor games?  I used that article as the basis to make an obstacle course out of pool noodles, duct tape, and wooden dowels.  I bought 45 pool noodles from the dollar store, had the duct tape on hand, and bought 2 bags of 12" dowels and four 36" dowels from the craft store.  It was a little bit of an investment, about $60, but I won't have to remake it every year, and I was able to give the components to our PE teacher to use for gym classes (which means I don't have to store it either!), and can use it when I need it going forward.


Here is a shot of the entire course.  Obstacles are broken down below.

 Javelin Throw

 "Tire" run

 These were supposed to be hurdles, but the boys ended up crawling under them instead!

 Not a good angle, but this was a set up in a zig zag

 I cut a noodle in half to make a ring toss

 and ended the course with a ball toss, using two noodles taped together to make the ring.

This actually kept them busy for close to an hour.  They wanted to go through over and over again!  I spent maybe an hour or two assembling everything, and then getting it all set up outside, so I definitely think it was time well spent.  


Until next time,


CubMom