CubScout Mom Help!

[Soror]

Dh is signed up to be leader for the next few months for our group of Tiger Scouts and we have a few requirements for the Tiger Cub badge we are trying to figure out. We need to do the communication Go See It, we have a local radio station and newspaper- no tv. Newspaper is not open when we do meetings and when I talked to the radio they acted like it would be too late as well(I'm awaiting confirmation). In the mean time I'm trying to figure out other options. I was thinking of perhaps seeing if someone from the radio would make a visit to talk about it- or the library- books are communication tools as well, right?

 

Also, your favorite ideas for fulfilling the history/family Go See It- I was thinking Nursing HOme visit. We have a small local museum but I don't think it is open then.

 

Thanks in advance!!!

[Samiam]

I was the Tiger Den Leader when my middle DS went through Tigers.

 

Sometimes GoSeeIt's have to be done as Saturday, or Sunday afternoon field trips. Most places like the Communications one, it's just not going to be possible to do in the evenings, and with most parents working, late afternoons M-F won't work either.

 

I found that particular one the most frustrating. Radio Stations and Newspapers in our area didn't do tours for that age. But as luck would have it, our local college was more than happy to host our boys at their radio station (one of our Tiger parents had a connection and able to make arrangements).

 

So first, appeal to your fellow Tiger parents, they might have connections that could get you in the door somewhere, and second, check out your local colleges for radio/newspaper.

 

As far as history....at the time we lived 30 minutes from St. Augustine FL, so a plethora of historical sites for us to visit. I would look for something in your area that is going to hold an interest for your boys. Almost every area has some sort of historical something.

[justasque]

I agree with the PP. In my experience, most scout field trips were not scheduled at the meeting time. Schedule for a weekend or another evening (Friday?). Some will be able to come, some not. If there is a fee, get the money up-front. Make kids/parents sign up in advance or otherwise commit/communicate or it will become very frustrating for you when they don't show. Also, look for local museums, nature centers, and such that offer trips or events designed specifically to fulfill scout requirements. That will make it easier on you.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I could never get a good time for that one, either, so we ended up doing it as an individual thing. I told parents that if they were able to actually go somewhere, then do it and let us know. Otherwise, they could look up on the internet how one of those places worked.

[Soror]

Thanks for the input. WE are entirely new to all of this. It just seemed that it was expected that everything take place during meeting time or it has so far anyway. I sent an email to our Pack Leader as well to see if she can give an idea of what others do in our area. I'll keep thinking on the History one. I cannot think of any sites to see locally, well anything that is somewhat close.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Thanks for the input. WE are entirely new to all of this. It just seemed that it was expected that everything take place during meeting time or it has so far anyway. I sent an email to our Pack Leader as well to see if she can give an idea of what others do in our area. I'll keep thinking on the History one. I cannot think of any sites to see locally, well anything that is somewhat close.

 

We went to a small local history museum, but we did it right after school one day, not during our regular meeting time. The kids found it pretty boring, though. Maybe check with your library to see if they know of a storyteller who does a program about local history.

[Soror]

OH, there could be some historic houses and I think there is a Holiday tour as well. The closest TV station is I think 1.5 hrs away. There were some great reenactments earlier in the year but none now. I 'll have to ask about the Roundtable meetings. Again appreciate the ideas it is helping me think of some options.

[Soror]

Alright, I talked to our Den Leader and evidently there is a tv station that is only 30 minutes away and 6 min away from there is a Military Museum. She suggested we just make a day of it one Saturday so now I just need to call and see if we can schedule a tour.

[Tigger]

Last year our Tiger den visited the local TV station in the evening - we lucked out since the weather folks are always there and the meteorologist on that night was the one who answered the phone when I first called, she agreed to do it even though they don't normally do tours at night. (The call was well in advance, she knew it was her night to work, so scheduled it for us)

 

That said - my back up ideas of places to do for the communications included the newspapers (both the local one and the college one) and the radio stations in the area. Most radio stations are on through the evening and if you can, call to talk to an evening host - they might agree to something as our local meteorologist did! If you have a college nearby, most will have radio and newspaper offices too - give them a try! Also within communication are magazines, website development companies, bloggers, etc. - the purpose of the Go See It is to learn about communicating to others via a form of media, so you have some flexible options if you need to modify!

 

The one thing that was stressed to us last year, as new Tiger den leaders was that A) it IS try your best on the achievements and B) as den leader you have final discretion to amend and modify the achievements when you have difficulty arranging some of the necessary requirements - you can opt to do something similar as long as the parents in the den are agreeable with the modification.

 

Our difficulty last year was the history Go See It.....with few options that were going to be able to be done in the evening, we opted to do "a parent remembers way back when" with the den for the evening - all the parents in our den collaborated to put together a bunch of things we all remember in our growing up that our kids will never experience (rotary dial wall phones, 8-track tapes, roll down windows in cars, records, etc.) and sit around and talk about them with the kids and where available, have on hand the items for them to see, touch and play with. We all also dressed the part for the evening too! It was a blast!

Edited November 30, 2011 by Tigger

[QuirkyKapers]

Fuuny, our pack is taking care of this requirement today. Like others have said, the big newspaper places don't want Tiger age kids to tour. So, we are touring a smaller place that produces pulbications for the Catholic community.

[Soror]

I ended up setting up a tour of our local paper today. I found a contact through our Den Leader who agreed to stay late. We are doing a local railroad museum for history on a Saturday. I had thought about doing the tv station but dh who is the official leader wanted to do things close.