Cub Scout Messenger of Peace

In September 2011, the BSA launched a new award program called Messenger of Peace.  I'm going to offer the opportunity to our pack this year, and have been spending a lot of time searching for an organization that would benefit from our service.  Taken directly from the BSA website:

Program Overview

Launched in September 2011, Messengers of Peace is a global initiative designed to inspire millions of young men and women in more than 220 countries and territories to work toward peace. Using state-of-the-art social media, the initiative lets Scouts from around the world share what they’ve done and inspire fellow Scouts to undertake similar efforts in their own communities. The initiative is inspired by the World Scout Committee, administered by the World Scout Bureau, and driven by youth volunteers worldwide.

Defining Peace

In terms of the MOP initiative, peace encompasses three dimensions:

1. The personal dimension: harmony, justice, and equality
2. The community dimension: peace as opposed to hostility or violent conflict
3. Relationships between humankind and its environment: security, social and economic welfare, and relationship with the environment

Any Scout or Scouter who participates in a project that has had a significant impact on the community in any one of the three dimensions above can qualify as a Messenger of Peace.

Submitting Projects

Submitting MOP-related projects is easy for BSA units. All they need to do is check the Messengers of Peace box when entering a service project through the Journey to Excellence website (www.scouting.org/Awards/JourneyToExcellence). Doing so will add the project to the map on the Messengers of Peace website (http://scoutmessengers.com) and will generate a unit certificate.

Recognition Item

Any Scout or Scouter who participates in a qualifying project is eligible to wear a Messengers of Peace ring patch around the World Crest on his or her uniform. To purchase these ring patches, a unit representative should take the unit certificate to the local Scout shop or council service center.

The MOP site has a nice list of service project ideas, which can be found here.  I'm looking for a project that won't seem bigger than my scouts.  Something they can do to make an impact, and know that their part in it will make a difference to someone else, preferably another child.  I think I may have come across something that even Tigers can participate in meaningfully, and that is The Pencil Project.  The Pencil Project will match you up with a school, either domestic or international, that is in need of pencils.  You simply collect the pencils, and ship them to The Pencil Project for distribution.  This is the perfect time of year to start; how simple is it to pick up an extra pack of pencils when doing your back to school supply shopping?  A scout can do some small chores around the house, with each chore being worth a pack of pencils to donate.  

Here is a picture of the award, which is worn around the World Crest emblem on the uniform.  

How cool is that?  The green will really stand out against the uniform.  I am excited to give the boys an opportunity to earn this award, as well as an opportunity to serve others.


Until next time,


CubMom

Academics and Sports Program

One of my goals this summer is to organize and condense the gigantic binder that houses all of my printed Cub Scout materials.  Last years documents came out a got filed, and I've been trying to figure out a way to make it less cumbersome to bring to meetings, along with  all of the supplies we'll need for that particular meeting.


I always keep a copy of the Academics and Sports Program Guide in my binder, but man that thing takes up a lot of space!  I had some quiet time this morning, and made a condensed document that will take up far less space, and still have the requirements handy.  You can find it on Scribd here.  This is just for the academics belt loops, sports belt loops are coming soon.  7 pages instead of 137 pages?  I think so!  


Until next time,


CubMom

Bobcat Lap Book

I had some motivation yesterday to make a more interactive lap book for the Bobcat Badge.  I printed out some free matchbook and pocket templates from Lap Book Lessons on to colored card stock, and pulled out my scissors and glue stick with the Bobcat requirements printed out in color.  Here is the updated version.

I wrote all of the requirements on the outside flap along with some of the paw prints to color in.

Here they are all open/pictures out of pockets.  The rest of the paw prints are on the inside. In hindsight, I probably should have put all of the paws on the outside, but I'll be making plenty more before September.


Before I printed out all of the templates on card stock, I made a lap book for the Webelos Fitness Activity Badge.  I just used construction paper and printed lined paper for this one because it does require some writing.

I still can't quite get the hang of cutting the cover down the middle.  I think I need a sharper Xacto knife.  The Webelos handbook is so big it's almost overwhelming.  Giving the boys one activity badge at a time without having to fumble through the book will save time and keep them focused, while breaking down the badge into easy to manage tasks.


Until next time,


CubMom

Awards, Awards, Awards

If your Scouts are anything like mine, they LOVE to earn their awards every month!  At the Pack Meeting each month we have a nice little ceremony where each boy is called up individually and his awards for the month are announced to everyone.  We only had 9 scouts last year (our first year of charter, very small school), and were easily spending upwards of $100 a month on awards, especially belt loops which are $1.79 each.

Since many of our cubs have earned a LOT of the available belt loops in their first year, I was looking for something else.  Cubs are allowed to earn belt loops more than once in their Cub Scout years, but who wants to do the work all over again only to get the same award at the end of the month?  Enter the Activity Segment.  The great folks over at Ideal Emblem have little activity patches for just $0.49 each!  These little guys go around a 3" center patch, which is only $0.99.  Inexpensive, adorable, and different.  What more can you ask for?

Here's a shot of my first order for the boys that went to day camp, as well as the ranks they have earned.

Note that these activity segments are NOT a BSA item.  Some council shops carry them, others do not, and they are not to be worn on the uniform.  I'll be using these for my second and third year scouts who are earning belt loops for a second time.  I'm a Cubmaster...Now What, has taken the time to make activity segment award cards, and was kind enough to share the files.  Definitely check out the entire blog for really great ideas!

My own son loves earning belt loops, but doesn't like wearing the belt.  Now that he's in his third year of scouting, he has more belt loops than space on the belt!  Scout Stuff has this great little frame with cut outs for the belt loops that's fairly inexpensive.  He loves having them on display instead of sitting in the closet on the belt he doesn't wear.

For our next scouting year, we are bringing in the BSA Family Program, as well as the Messenger of Peace program to give the boys more opportunities to earn patches and pins.    More on both of those later.  What do you do when your scouts have earned belt loops for the second time?  Who pays for the duplicate?  Do you think activity segments would work for your group?

Until next time,

CubMom

Tips for a Successful Den Meeting

Our pack has den meetings twice a month right after school, and an evening pack meeting at the end of each month.  Our den meetings are two hours long, which is why we only have them twice a month.  A two HOUR den meeting?!  Oh yes.  It gives us plenty of time to complete an entire achievement, do a related craft, or even go on an outing related to what we're working on.


With two hours to fill, it requires some pre-planning, as well as a few back up activities, just in case the boys complete the objectives in less time than you've allotted.  So I present to you:


CubMom's Tips for a Successful Den Meeting

1. Plan ahead.  The most important tip there is, explained above.
2. Feed those kids!  After a long school day, I always feed them as soon as they get in and settled.  We use an online sign up sheet so everyone can sign up for a snack day.  For us, crunchy snacks like crackers work best.  After a disaster of a meeting involving mini brownies, I don't allow sugary snacks to be sent in!
3. While they're eating (as in their mouths are full so I have everyone's attention) I go over everything we're going to do during the meeting, in the order we're going to do it.  This (almost) eliminates the repeated question, "what are we doing next?"
4. Get the discussion part of the meeting taken care of while they're still seated.  Once the snacks are cleaned up, discuss the Character Connection and do any of the "tell your leader" portions of the achievement that you're working on.
5. Get those boys moving!  Can you pass off your achievement outside?  If so, make it happen!  Boys have energy, better to let them get it all out where there is space and fresh air!  (The parents will thank you for this!)
6. Make something.  In the Cub Scout program there are plenty of opportunities for crafts (we call them projects because it sounds better to the boys!)  that relate to an achievement, elective, or belt loop/pin.  Not only do these projects serve a purpose in scouting, it's good for fine motor skills, allows them to express their creativity, and gives them a physical reminder to take home and share with their families and remind them of the fun we had that day.  
7. Have a wrap up activity if there is time.  I don't use the suggested Gathering Activity because I'm filling their little bellies, so I usually have a maze or word search or other easy activity for the last 10 minutes or so while the kids are being picked up.

I didn't quite make it to 10 tips, but this works too.  When all else fails, if they have way too much energy, or come in looking spent after a long school day, throw all of this out the window, and play a group game before attempting any achievement work.  Shark Shark and Clothespin Tag are popular in our group, and the Leader How To Book offers a ton of other suggestions.  

Until next time,

CubMom

Inaugural Post - Welcome to the Bobcat Trail

You know what we don't have enough of?  Cub Scout Leaders sharing ideas.  Sure, there's a few great blogs out there, many of which I use consistently, but when I'm looking for a quick craft, or some inspiration for a fun way to pass off an otherwise boring achievement, I have a hard time.  I'm going to use this space to update what I'm working in preparation for the scouting year starting in September, and some "flashbacks" to what worked for us in our last scouting year.  As soon as I figure out all these buttons at the top of the page, I'll fancy this place up a bit.


In the meantime, I'm starting from scratch with how to drill the Bobcat badge requirements into my little  Cubby's heads, in a fun way that the family can easily take part in.  I found these over at Scout Helps.  Do you remember "cootie catchers" from your own school days?  This Bobcat Fortune Teller is sure to be a hit with all of the dens!

You have to write your own numbers on the inside flaps, but all of the other work is done for you!  You can use these across all of your dens; adult partners can help your Tigers with the folding, and the directions are included at the bottom of the page.

The other thing I'm working on for Bobcat?  Lap books.  Not entirely sure, but from what I have found, this is a popular learning technique for home schoolers, and I happen to love it!  My first one...well it isn't exactly up to my standards of fun, but I'm posting it anyway.  I've since found some pretty cool templates to use and I'll be updating it this week.

I just took a letter size colored file folder, opened it, and folded the ends into the middle.  I whipped up the no frills cover in Publisher, glued it on, and used my Exacto knife to cut down the middle...as you can see my first try didn't yield a very nice cut!  I printed out the Bobcat requirements from an online handbook, sliced and diced, and glued them around the folder, along with the paw prints they can color in as they learn each part.  Inside the folder, not glued down, is the paper with the unfolded fortune teller.  Like I said, it's not exactly fun or cool, so a redo is coming this week.  I'll have to wait until Fall registration comes around to see just how many I'll need to make, but I'm going to get a head start and make 10 once I'm happy with the outcome.    

I hope you'll come back from time to time and see what I'm working on, grab some ideas for your own pack, and share some as well.

Until next time,

CubMom