MOP Underway!

Our Messenger of Peace project officially got underway this week.  We spoke to the boys about animal rescues in general, about the rescue we are supporting specifically, and all the different ways they are going to help.  

After snack, all of the boys made feathered cat toys.  I found the instructions for these easy to make toys with a quick Google earch.  We used 12" dowels, tacky glue, feathers, and floral tape.  The boys put some glue on the end of the dowel, stuck some feathers to it, wrapped the glued end with the tape and repeated the process 3 times.  The results look like little colorful feather dusters!  Pictures to come soon. I didn't take any while we were making them, but my own boys want to make more so I'll get some then!  The scouts really got into the project and each made 5-6 toys.  

After that, the boys made awareness ribbons out of duct tape.  We made them strips of duct tape, and had them cut strips, fold and tape, put a paw print sticker on the front and a pin on the back.  This didn't keep their attention for too long, but our parent volunteers made several.  

As our wrap up activity, the boys made cards that will go into our care packages.  They drew pictures on the front with a message along the lines of "congratulations, welcome home, and thank you for adopting."  

We accomplished a lot, and the boys are very excited to go and volunteer in a few weeks.  Each boy was sent home with a folder containing all of the information about our project for the parents to see and decide where they can help.

As a side note, if you're working on MOP, keep track of all the hours you put into your project.  Parent's contributions count too!

Until Next Time,

CubMom

Campfire Pack Meeting

In October we had our second annual Campfire Pack Meeting.  We made s'mores and had our Bobcat ceremony.  At the den meeting right before the pack meeting, the boys made campfire neckerchief slides.  This was our first go at making our own slides, and the boys really liked it.

I went to Home Depot and bought a length of 1/2" PVC, which is super inexpensive, and you get a ridiculous amount of 1" pieces from each length.  Side story, I have two Home Depot stores are that close to me.  The one that is slightly farther away has a much nicer staff that will pretty much do anything for you.  Example, I saw a PVC pipe "club house" on Pinterest and set out to make one last summer.  The awesome guys in the plumbing section not only cut all of the PVC to the specified size, they actually helped me build the ENTIRE thing in the middle of the aisle, marked all of the pieces, and carried everything out to the car for me.  The clubhouse was 5'x5' and nearly 10' tall.  Look.  For reference, that's a 6' high fence.  

The Home Depot that is closer to me, they aren't quite as accommodating.  When I asked the gentleman to cut the pipe into 1" sections for me, with a MACHINE, he directed me to the plumbing tools and told me to buy a manual PVC cutter.  Ah, well.  I learned how to do something new, and it IS easier to store one length of pipe and cut pieces off as needed rather than having a ton of 1" pieces taking up space in my supply drawers.

Back to the neckerchiefs.  I used this template for the slides.  I printed the stencil on card stock, and I did all of the tracing on to the red, orange, and yellow foam.  The boys cut out the pieces, glued them together, colored the popsicle sticks to look like logs, and glued them on top.  Our Boy Scout helper then hot glued the foam onto the PVC.

This is my tester slide.  You'll notice on the top picture that all of my pen marks are on the back slide of the slide that no one will see (thank you Alpine District for the tip!).  These were a really cute way to get the boys excited for the campfire, and a physical memory of the night.

Until Next Time,

CubMom

Messenger of Peace Award

Now that we aren't so focused on earning Rank Badges, we are ready to start our Messenger of Peace Award work.  Messenger of Peace info here.  I can take absolutely no credit for this coming together.  My amazing co-leader has poured her heart and soul into making this award a reality, and I have merely been the one she's bouncing ideas off of, and making suggestions of additional ideas.  I can however tell you how she's doing it!

First, she made a whole Power Point presentation divided into four parts:  children, animals, environment, and general awareness.  Each part had ideas and a list of organizations that we could partner with to help.  She presented the ideas at the den meeting, and the boys voted that they wanted to help animals.  

Next, we met with our school administration to ask for their help and support.  She shared the ideas, the administration added more ideas, and we came up with various ways the the scouts as well as all of the students could participate.

Third, she contacted several animal rescues, told them what we are looking to do, and asked if they would be interested in our help.  One woman responded, enthusiastically, that she would love to work with our group.  The bonus of this animal rescue is that they are partnered with a local pet supply chain.  I don't have too many details yet, because our meeting with the woman from the rescue and the school administration is tomorrow!  

Some of the ideas we've come up with, and some we've started implementing are below.

1.  Making pet baskets for the animals.  The baskets will contain a small blanket or towel, food, and toys.  These baskets would go to and stay with the specific animal, so they have comfort items while at the rescue, and familiar items to take with them to their forever home.  Our school family will be invited to donate these items, and the boys will make up the baskets.  The boys will also be making some of the toys.  There are some great instructions out on the internet for making safe and appropriate cat and dog toys!  

2.  Did you know that April is Animal Awareness Month?  The ribbon color is orange, so the boys will be making awareness ribbons out of orange duct tape.  There is a duct tape project group at our school, and the moderator has embraced letting the kids in the group make awareness ribbons to help as well!  

3.  Me and My Pet photo contest.  For a $1 entry fee, we're going to have a contest.  Kids will submit a photo of them and their pet doing something, reading to the cat, taking the dog for a walk, or just snuggling up on the couch.  We'll post the photos on the bulletin board in the lobby, and have the faculty vote for their favorite.  The winner will get some sort of prize, and the money collected will be used to support making the pet baskets.

4.  Volunteering!  The boys are going to work in shifts, at the pet store, with the rescue, on an adoption weekend.  Leading up, the boys will learn about the rescue, about the animals the rescue is serving, and about adoption awareness.  Hopefully the boys will be able to help some animals find good homes!  The awareness ribbons also come into play here: the boys will be giving them out, and collecting donations for the rescue.  

5.  School and classroom assemblies.  This will be worked out soon, but we're hoping the rescue can come in and talk to the students, and then the boys can come up with some grade specific activities for the younger grades to reinforce what they learned at the assembly.

Are you working on MOP?  What ideas have you come up with for your group, or has this given you some ideas on where to start?

Until Next Time,

CubMom

I Am A Terrible Blogger

I had all of these grand ideas and plans about blogging.  In my mind, I'd be posting my den meeting plans with project details and a what worked/didn't work within a day of two of the meeting.  The brain has a way of making your ideas and goals seem awesome and easily attainable.  Life likes to step in and say "HEY!  YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO WRITE A BLOG POST!  GO DO THE LAUNDRY!  WHAT'S FOR DINNER?  DON'T FORGET YOU HAVE TO EMAIL 50 VOLUNTEERS INDIVIDUALLY BEFORE TUESDAY!"  

Sometimes I forget just how busy my life actually is, and before you know it, I haven't blogged in 7 months, and I only have a handful of den meetings left before another school year comes to a close.  So here is my recap of the last 7 months, in list form, because who doesn't love a good list?  Hopefully, I'll be able to create some more posts going into greater detail.  Here goes (and not in chronological order):

1.  The Bobcat Fortune Tellers were a big hit. The older boys partnered with the Tigers and helped them remember it all!

2.  Campfire Pack Meeting in October.  We had an awesome fireside Bobcat ceremony, made s'mores, and had one of our Bears demonstrate the proper way to start a campfire.  The evening concluded with a game of flashlight tag (in an open area far away from the fire!)

3.  The Bears earned their Whittling Chips, but not without a meltdown when I had to take a plastic knife and bar of soap away from one scout.  To be fair, they were all given ample warning of the consequences of not handling the materials properly or safely.

4.  A unit on astronomy.  The boys made their own solar systems and constellations in preparation for our space themed Blue and Gold Banquet.

5.  Electricity.  Those Slinky brand electricity kits from the craft store were a fabulous learning experience, and even started a small fire!  Luckily, I was RIGHT THERE, and we had several adults at the meeting supervising the groups.  The boys learned the importance of reading the instructions FIRST before playing with circuits!

6.  Cooking!  The boys made "fireless s'mores", monkey bread cupcakes, and instant pudding.  The Tigers made Food Guide Pyramids, and played a food group matching game as well.

7.  Outdoor fun.  The first beautiful day of Spring happened to be a den meeting day, so the boys went outside in the sunshine and earned their kickball belt loops.  

8.  Lots of knots.  I don't especially excel at knot tying, but took a class at PowWow so we made our way through.  Some of the boys caught on quickly and others struggled, but everyone did their best, and that is all that matters.


I thought I could get to 10, but I haven't had enough coffee yet to recall more of what we did.  What is sticking in my mind are some of the "problems" we've been having this year.  In our first year, our parental involvement was fantastic.  We used a sign up for snacks and everyone did their fair share.  Not so much this year.  It's mostly been two of us leaders switching off on the snacks.  Emails to parents asking them to sign up have been mostly ignored. 

 Tiger parents not attending, or showing up late to den meetings.  The papers that went home in the beginning of the year said that a parent must attend with Tigers.  We've got it mostly straightened out now, but it was a bumpy road.  This is our first year with Tigers, and before doing this particular program, I didn't understand why a 1:1 ratio was a big deal.  I do now.  I really, really do.  

The biggest issue for me was having a scout family that didn't/wouldn't/couldn't pay their registration fee for the year.  We charge one flat fee, and that covers all awards, pinewood derby car, Blue and Gold Banquet, and the fees for the boys' for trips, along with the cost of registering them with the council.  This fee was due at the end of September.  Multiple emails and verbal reminders did nothing to get this family to pay.  The boy continued coming to meetings, I let him stay, I'd remind the parent at pickup that I needed their fees.  Finally, after winter break, I told the parent (at the end of the den meeting) that he couldn't continue coming to den meetings if the fee wasn't paid.  The boy missed the next three meetings, so I thought that was the end of it.  Pinewood Derby rolled around the the parent went directly to the cub master to sign the boy up.  CM informed them that he couldn't participate if the fees weren't paid, because he had to be a registered scout, and couldn't be registered until the fees were paid.  (This was a fib, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and registered him with the council at recharter).  The boy didn't participate in Pinewood Derby.  The boy didn't come to the next den meeting, or the banquet.  Again, I thought that was the end of it.  Next den meeting rolls around, and guess who shows up?  As horrible as I felt, I didn't let the boy stay for the meeting.  This is certainly not this boy's fault, it is the fault of his parents.  His parents were certainly taking advantage of me and our group at this point, 6 months of reminders later.  I sent him to after school care, and his older sibling brought him back to the meeting a few minutes later, chock full of attitude.  I calmly explained the basics of the situation and sent them both on their way.  I should mention that I sent an email along with CM's email AGAIN letting them know what needed to be done so that the boy could participate in the derby.  I really did give them every chance and opportunity for this boy to participate.  Fast forward a few weeks, day before the next den meeting, last den meeting before Spring Break.  I get a phone call from the parent asking what what needed to be done.  REALLY?!  They claimed their email was "hacked" and they didn't get my email.  Except they admitted to getting CM's email, and mine was sent only 10 minutes after, and the timing of when they "got hacked" and when those emails were sent were weeks apart.  I am a nice person.  I am an understanding person.  I am a patient person.  But I CAN NOT stand being lied to.  Without coming right out and saying it, I let them know what I didn't believe the story, but send the fee in tomorrow and the kid can stay.  Lo and behold, the kid hands me an envelope right before the meeting, check enclosed.  Perhaps I should have taken the tough love approach sooner, as that is the only thing that ended up getting results.  What would you have done, or what have you done if this happened in your group?  

Until Next Time (and hopefully not seven months from now!),

CubMom

The Countdown Begins!

I've neglected the blog over the past few weeks as we packed in a few more trips before school started.  Regular blogging will commence!  

Today marks exactly 7 days until our first den meeting of the year.  I am excited and nervous to get things underway!  I feel that we're going to get a lot of new scouts this year, so managing that many kiddos will surely keep me engaged and challenged.  I will be leaning heavily on the other adults in our Leadership to keep things running smoothly.

I won't know how many boys will be attending on Monday, probably until right before the meeting!  I'll be working hard all week to make sure I have enough Bobcat Lapbooks prepared, enough youth applications to send home, and plenty of informational letters discussing our program and the necessary program materials and fees.

I love that we are getting a Cub Scout Camp day in October.  This should really excite the newcomers as well as their parents.  I hope all of my summer preparations and activity plans pan out well and the kids have a great year.  

I'm off to start packing up supplies!  If I don't start now I'm sure I'll forget something important!  My first meeting plan revolves around the Bobcat Lapbooks, using my returning scouts to help the new ones along the Bobcat Trail (it's a component of a Bear achievement!), making the Bobcat Trail fortune tellers, and working on our quarter circle designs to show off at the Pack Meeting.  I wonder if I'll have time to work some skit practice into the meeting!

Until Next Time,

CubMom

Den and Pack Number Keychains

To hammer home my point of always testing out my projects before I have my scouts do them, I had one go wrong the other night.  Like a "what was I thinking?!" moment.  I've had a template for making numbers for a pony bead key chain, and thought my guys might like having something to hang on their school bags once we get back in school mode and the pack numerals sounded good to me.  


In my ever growing arsenal of project supplies, I grabbed a box of pony beads, a bag of keychain rings, and a roll of 1mm stretch magic.

I made a simple loop knot (I know it actually has a name, but it escapes me at the moment).

Ah, but the knot wouldn't stay tight.  I kept pulling and pulling, but no dice.  I kept going anyway.  


Making these keychains is pretty simple; it helps to have all of your supplies right next to you, and have a nice flat surface to work on.  


Separate the strings, and put your entire row of beads on to one string.

From top to bottom, we'll call them 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.  Next, take the other string, and string it back through the beads in opposite order; 5, 4, 3, 2 then 1.  Pull the strings so there isn't any slack at the top.  You might have to wiggle and jiggle a little to get it even.

Keep using this method one row at a time, adjusting the strings as you go along.  I added two more rows to mine before I gave up!

Stretch Magic was NOT the best choice of lacing material!  I couldn't get it to lay flat, nor could I keep the strings from slipping and sliding around!  Luckily, I hoard string and embroidery floss and yarn and hemp string...see where I'm going with this?

I took all of the beads off, put some hemp string on, and got back to work.  Here's how it ended up.

Much better!  One and a half numbers in, I stopped.  I realized that doing a 3 number keychain would be pretty big, and would take up more time than I wanted to devote in a den meeting.  Solution?  Switch out the beads to blue and yellow and have them make their den numbers!  The number template link can be found here.  You may have to add rows to some of the numbers to keep them evenly sized, but the template makes it easy to figure out!


Until next time,


CubMom

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