posybuddy
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Posts posted by posybuddy
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Hey, I must have missed that there are other No-S'ers around here. Is there a support thread somewhere? Are newbies allowed to join? :blush:
6.2 lbs, that's fantastic! Even if it's not sustainable on a weekly basis, seeing those pounds gone sure is nice. Way to go!
Trying, for the thousandth time, for 100% compliance this week. :glare: Thanks for sharing your success story, it's really motivating!
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Congratulations!! I hope that your school sees the light and does better by the team next year.
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Janice, how exactly did you shop around? There was a thread not too long ago about this and gave some questions to ask. I emailed a couple of packs and got some emails back. But because a specific tiger den that my son would be in is not yet formed, it's hard to know. Specifically I have had very nice email communication from 2 packs. One has a few homeschoolers, so that's nice. Both have been very friendly and willing to answer all my questions. Should I visit a den or pack meeting? Seems awkward. I guess since we have ZERO experience with scouting, I don't know what I don't know! The only experience with anything like this is Girl Scouts and our big negative with dds troop was that they all were all from the same school, so when we became homeschoolers we were really left out. So one of my big questions for these pack leaders was how a homeschooler would fit it. Already it sounds better as boys are welcome from any school or homeschool. Hope not to derail the thread to a rabbit trail so PM if you want. Thanks!
Amy, I'm not Janice, but I just wanted to say that we have people visiting our troop/pack all the time, and it's not awkward at all - that's what we expect new or interested families to do. (If they make you feel awkward, that would be a red flag, to be honest.) Take your son. Visit a Tiger Den. Ask questions. Meet the Cubmaster and Committee Chair. Gauge their friendliness/helpfulness. See how your son reacts. No, you can't meet the den that he will be in, since they are not yet formed, but you can get a good idea of how that pack runs their Tiger dens and their pack as a whole. Going to a pack meeting would be a good idea, too. Are they earning lots of belt loops and other advancements? Is everyone included? Are they organized? Are they doing skits and silly songs and showing off their projects and just generally having fun? Are the Webelos respectful of the little guys? These would all be things I would want to see.
Hope that helps...
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Our troop is at a low now, untrained Scoutmaster who suspended all elections and appted his son ASPL then SPL;...we're hoping he'll leave as soon as he has his 14 yr old Eagle, otherwise we're leaving.
I've been counseling my Life Scout to just keep his head down and finish up his remaining req'd badges. He went to NYLT just after this fella became Scoutmaster, but ds can't get appointed to a troop leadership position. Ds went to Den Chief training and has just recently been approaching Cubmasters for a job, so we're hoping he'll land one as he needs that 6 months of leadership for Eagle and he'd rather be done with that before junior year of high school and the project. The troop has gone skiing which was fun, but that's been it for older guy stuff. Ds is planning on gathering up his patrol next month and getting them out for the Hiking Merit Badge...the Troop started to offer the badge, but canned it when it became clear that soo many younger scouts are not able to hike ten miles...they did a few easy five milers in good fall weather.
We're looking forward to summer though...usually the troop does a great canoe trip in the Boundary Waters and hopefully we'll have a new Scoutmaster and go back to having a good scout program.
:grouphug: I'm sorry. Is there a good Venturing Crew around that he could join? Any scout who has earned at least First Class rank in a troop can finish their remaining trail to Eagle in a Crew. I don't know if that would be an option for him, but it might something to think about.
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Both of these issues irk my tatter.:glare:
Indeed. And they diminish the value of an Eagle Scout in the eyes of the community, which is a shame, and totally unfair to the young men following the rules.
And... merit badge coaches?? What the heck?? You mean, there's someone out there who would be willing to PAY me to nag someone else's children to get out their Bird Study worksheets and get. the. dang. requirement. finished??? ;)
(sorry. threadjack finished.)
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re: SPL - it's an odd situation. Our troop has elections every six months, and an SPL can be re-elected once, so that's how he served out his year. In the last year, our troop split and re-formed as two separate troops, so now he has been elected the first SPL of the new troop. I was quite surprised, actually, but the boys (and the Scoutmaster ;)) like him in that role, and he's a quiet, natural leader.
He's got a good project lined up (fingers crossed); he was not remotely interested in doing a hammer-and-nails project, which is what our council tends to favor, so he's been dragging his feet. But he seems to have found a cemetery cleaning and mapping project which he's in the process of getting approved by the township, and then taking to the district approval committee.
Younger son is about halfway through Personal Management and E-Prep, and he needs to finish his project. He's got a fire pit project that both he and the COR would love to have done... but the township fire chief is not entirely on board - he hasn't turned it down flat, but has said that he'll need some convincing. We'll see about that this summer, once his FLL robotics team commitments are done.
Cradle Scouts, lol... I've got a grandson coming in late June/early July, and I'm already plotting out his trail to Eagle. :lol:
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He will also be attending the National Youth Leadership Training course in April and May. He's currently not much of a leader, but I think this will help him.
Another vote for NYLT! If your council does it well, it's a GREAT course. And I am forever indebted to the BSA for teaching everyone in our family the EDGE method. It's helped my boys learn how to teach and lead both in and out of Scouting, and it's helped ME learn how to teach my boys.
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Oldest DS was just elected SPL (again - he held the position for a year, about a year and a half ago) and is making progress on getting his Eagle project started. It's the last thing he needs to do and then we'll start the paperwork for Eagle scout, yippee!
Younger son (Life scout) is working on his last two Eagle required badges, lobbying for his brother to appoint him as Quartermaster, and having fun in a newly-formed patrol that is much more active than his previous patrol had been.
They are planning a 100-mile bike trip for this spring, and a joint camping/hiking/kayaking trip with our unit's Venture crew for this summer.
Scouts is a lot of work (says the newly elected CC ;)), but we love it!
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Thanks!! And thanks for that link - that museum looks amazing! (AND we have an ASTC membership, so admission would be paid for. I love free. :D)
Congratulations! Can you tell me how you can win a state championship and not go to the World Fest? Did no-one in your state get to go? I'm not really sure how it all works.Also, I'd love to see *any* websites related to this, since we are new at it and wanting to start a group for next school year.
I was debating whether or not to put personal/geographically identifying info out on the internet, but eh, here goes. :001_unsure: Maybe I can help you and our team at the same time, lol. Let me know if you have more questions - hopefully I can help answer, or at least point in the right direction.
Our team website is http://www.paradiseteams.org/LIP/
AND, they decided to try and get votes for the X Prize Global Innovation Award. I know they'd love it if any WTM'ers or fellow FLL'ers would go and vote for them! (You can vote once a day, so don't be shy!)
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I tried ordering last night, but after entering all of my information and hitting the "submit" button.... nothing happened. I just got a blank page. I didn't get a confirmation e-mail and there hasn't been a debit to my account, so I'm not sure the order went through, but I don't want to go back and double-order, either. When you ladies finished your order, did you get some sort of purchase confirmation?
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To add to all of the above, our family was watching a show on either Discovery or the Science Channel that dealt with the human brain. If I had known exactly how much I would get out of that video, I'd have written down the title and other important info, but I didn't, so sorry...
However, one of the main points it brought out is that the teenaged brain has grown more than at any time since the toddler years. All of those new neurons are there, but unused. As teens learn more - must be different things - more neurons are turned on and used. An analogy was made to a skyscraper with several rooms, all dark. As new and different info was learned, lights were turned on and rooms were used. The learning had to be DIFFERENT things, not just highly into one thing (an example of piano was used). One thing highly develops one room, but not the rest. Different things are "stored" in different rooms.
Then, when one reaches their early 20's, all those neurons not used DIE and are gone. The chances to learn new things so easily is gone. Older folks can learn - some new neurons appear, but it takes a lot more effort than it does in the teen years. Usually older folks need to learn new things using the same "rooms" turned on before. If the older folks have many "rooms" learning new things is easier than if they have few. It was speculated that this is why some adults have an easier time learning and some do not.
Then a projection was made concerning Alzheimers - the idea being that more neurons in the brain would make it easier to retain memory longer if Alzheimers is an issue. More research was being done on that.
The teen years have great potential to set up life as an adult in many ways. Brain capability is one. Use it or lose it. I want to give my boys the best advantage possible. After watching that show, they want it too. ;) A variety is good (not just academic, but tools, sports, games - it all opens different rooms just like different topics in academics).
We would also be really interested in the name of that video, if you find it again. It sounds fascinating - and what a terrific reinforcement for your boys that they now want this for themselves!
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Hilarious!! Thanks for sharing, I totally needed that laugh this morning!
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We all cringed at our house, as well. I felt badly for her.
As a contrast, The Dixie Chicks sang the National Anthem so beautifully during the 2003 Superbowl. It made me sad that shortly afterward, they were nationally vilified by some for not being "patriotic" enough.
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Heck yes! It was a huge blow to have our team eliminated early from the playoffs, but we are Packer lovers anyhow, so we are looking forward to a great game. (And party. And commercials. LOVE the Superbowl!)
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Their latest creation was a trebuchet. Yikes!
My husband's Christmas present this year was Home Depot gift cards so that he could get materials to design and build a trebuchet; he and my youngest spent this past weekend in the garage (in frigid temps) building the base. So, sometimes they never outgrow that phase. ;)
As for what he did growing up, he talks about riding bikes in the gravel pit behind their house, and climbing up on the house roof with sleds and sledding off once the snow on the ground got high enough. :scared: His brother broke an arm swinging from the rafters of the garage. Parenting sure has changed...
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board games like Risk, Axis & Allies, Settlers of Catan, Scotland Yard
trading card games
airsoft battles
rubber band wars in the basement
snowball fights
I also try to have plenty of food - sometimes sitting and having a snack gives them a transition time where they can discuss what they want to do next.
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And you should not be anyone's assistant. Your job is big enough, and you need to support all of the positions.
Yes, I was going to say exactly this. Not only is your job more than big enough, but if the other parents perceive that you're willing to do it all... you'll find yourself doing it all. (Ask me, as a former Pack Committee Chair, how I know this. ;))
A troop can't run without appropriate parental involvement. In our troop, it is written in the by-laws that EVERY parent (or guardian/grandparent/adult friend) takes on a job - at least one parent from each family, period. Nobody gets to sit on the sidelines and have their boy participate without contributing to the success of the group. I don't know what your troop situation is, but you may need to call in your COR and DE to help make your other parents understand that they need to step up. If your troop is so small that there's just not enough bodies, can you get the DE's help to start recruiting? (And then make sure that parent involvement policy is in place, and that you've got your Scoutmaster's support.)
I know it's hard, but put your foot down about getting more volunteers; your troop will be so much the better for it. (And once you've got 'em, get. them. trained.)
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<raises hand> Another mom who's about to take over as Committee Chair of a troop in a challenging political situation. I know where you're at.
Is there another parent in the troop that needs a job, who could assist her? Perhaps, as new CC, it's a logical time for you to start implementing a policy that officer positions such as Advancement, Treasurer etc. all have assistants? They are big jobs under the best of circumstances, and ones that could benefit from help and a level of transparency. What is your troop's schedule for committee elections? According to the Troop Committee Guidebook, they should be held every year around rechartering time - so if you're not already doing that and you think it would be good for your troop (or some variation thereof; perhaps every two years), now would be a good time to do that as well. I'm thinking you can use your newness to your advantage to make some policy changes that improve the troop committee overall, while also giving cover so that you don't have to single this person out.
Or maybe none of that would work in your situation, in which case feel free to disregard. ;) But you've got my sympathy, either way.
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Congratulations from one FLL mom to another! We are waiting for our state championships in January.
How exciting - the kids must be walking on air!
We are crossing our fingers for the Spacebots - practice, practice, practice!!
(And yes, they are walking on air. And I'm frantically trying to get press releases out while ironing tuxedo shirts for tonight's orchestra concert. Not much school is getting done here today.)
You already mentioned the Arch--that's a must-see, of course. And the Old Courthouse is right there...it's really cool.City Museum is a very unique, non-museum. It's an active place made of nifty recycled things like an antique fire engine and airplane. It's the favorite place in StL of all 4 of my kids.
The zoo is excellent.
My kids' baseball will be underway--that's always a good time! As a second sports choice, the Cardinals season will have started, too! :lol:
That should keep you busy for a couple of days!
Hey, my in-laws just yesterday told us that the courthouse is a must-see. And City Museum sounds awesome! And of course, your kids' baseball if time permits. ;) Thanks for the great ideas!
CONGRATS!Thanks so much! We're pretty pumped.
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I get it. Congratulations!
I just thought someone was bragging about first grade achievements in grammar. I could imagine the pride: He knows how to define a NOUN!
:party:
:lol:
rofl! Well, some days I'd be thrilled at that level of achievement, even with a 14 and 17 year old. :lol:
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CONGRATULATIONS!!!! No chance you were at the TN state competition? Would just be cool if we'd seen y'all. What your team accomplished is amazing. Our team was blown away by what we saw at competition. And to win the whole thing!! Wow! Tell your team the MechAlliance is rooting for them!! Best of luck in St. Louis!
BTW - Our team won a teamwork trophy yesterday and are so psyched!! FLL is the best organization. My kids chattered the whole time about the great judges and volunteers they met and how they all want to become engineers. :)
Awww, thank you so much! Nope, we weren't at TN. Much, much colder. ;)
We are so psyched that they won it all. They work very hard as a team, and have come close at state several times. This year they set a goal to win the state tournament, and busted their chops to make it happen. Yesterday they had a couple of judges with experience at the World Festival level tell them (after the tournament) that if they keep working, they have a real chance of winning World. :w00t::w00t::w00t: They will have to decide if that's a goal they want to shoot for.
Congrats to the MechAlliance! A teamwork trophy is a big deal, they should be very proud of themselves! It sounds like they had FUN, which is the most important thing. Have fun, learn stuff, practice core values. (wear funny hats. :D)
I agree, FLL is awesome. Our team has been together for 5 years, and the stuff they've learned in that amount of time has been phenomenal. My son and a couple of other team members are aging out after this year, and they're already talking about whether they want to move on to FIRST - that would be cool. Those are the kids that go on to become engineers.
We will take the well-wishes of the MechAlliance with us to St. Louis! Thank you so much!
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You guys will have a blast! St. Louis is so much fun!
We are so looking forward to it! Our family has never been to St. Louis before - what should we be sure to do?
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Congratulations! That's wonderful! Where in St. Louis will the World Festival be held?
Thanks!
It will be in the America's Center/Edward Jones Dome. It's a 3-day event, and I'm expecting the tournament will plan tours to the arch, etc, as well. (At least I hope so! We're definitely planning on sightseeing!)
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Congratulations! That is so exciting!
I am guessing that FLL in this case does not stand for First Language Lessons....:tongue_smilie:
Ack! Too many TLA's, heh. No, in this case it's FIRST Lego League - it's a robotics competition, with teams all over the US as well as the world. We've been lucky enough to meet teams from Britain, Iceland, Germany- it's so cool!
How are all the No S Dieters doing?
in General Education Discussion Board
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Yes! I'm a big fan of accountability. ;)
That is so very cool. I love all the real benefits, as well as the psychological benefits. You probably feel very strong and capable!
I like his ideas as well but kinda freak out at swinging a sledgehammer around my living room, heh. But - you're doing something! This is why it irritates me to take neighborhood walks; we are not GOING anywhere. I know I need to exercise and sometimes I can just make myself do it, for the greater good of getting in shape blah blah blah, but mostly it's just easier to stay in bed than go to the gym in the wee hours of the morning.