What are your Scouts working on? (Boys & Girls)

[Soror]

Welcome back Karen! 

 

Margaret, what an unusual project.

 

We're just keeping on, keeping on. Ds is finishing up personal management, probably this weekend. Next weekend he has Citizenship in the Community class. He's already done his community service and community meeting. I think he has one or two pre-requisites to finish. After that he only likes 2 badges, both Eagle required. He's set to take Sustainability in Jan and will have homework for that one (the counselor doesn't like them to do the work until after the class). Then it is Citizenship in the Nation which I think he is registered to take in February.

 

I believe he has all his requirements for Life rank, he just has to get in his 6 months and have Board of Review, which will happen in April. 

 

Dh starts Okpik training in a couple of weeks. He is also organizing a new MBU for this Spring, why he decided to take this on is beside me but he is working away. It will be mostly focused on Eagle required badges but he's also trying to find some unique electives for variety not to mention ds will likely have all his Eagle required badges by then. He is staying very busy with the new Troop. He is *still* working on straightening out advancement for the boys that transferred from the old Troop, it was so unbelievably messed up, he has 100+ hrs into fixing that (hunting down cards, updating with National, correcting mistakes). They had one boy who was hoping to get his Eagle but he doesn't come to meetings, missed an Eagle BOR, and thanks to the bad guidance of former leaders, did his project without prior approval and at the wrong time. Another boy just transferred in and his parents think he is going to be the first Eagle in this Troop but he's the same rank as my son, 2 yrs younger and is missing a ton of merit badges, you don't advance in rank if you never show up to meetings or activities, you don't gain rank simply by being registered. 

 

I'm frustrated as all get out w/ AHG. Our old leader was way too generous with scholarshipping people for EVERYTHING, so now we have this culture that thinks you don't have to pay for anything. Unless we get more people actually paying I don't see how we can keep this up. I haven't even counted how much has come out of my pocket for this year that I've written off, not to mention the $100+ that I'm STILL waiting for reimbursement on. I've had 2 groups by myself with no assistant, I have some parents that randomly show up but nobody I can count on. I've tried to plan extra events but cannot get any enthusiasm, I'm feeling a wee bit jaded now. My 2 girls raised 25% of the money we brought in for our fundraiser and they didn't sell that much. Our top seller brought in 25% by herself, so 3 girls raised over 50% of the money for the whole damn Troop. We have 20 girls registered!!!!

Edited November 25, 2017 by soror

[Soror]

Sorer--sorry to hear of the money woes! One of the things we learned was to never offer a full-ride to anything. They don't pay, they don't value it. We have an Elks Lodge in one of the US's ritziest ski towns who offer full-ride NYLT gigs. All too often, the parents blow it off, showing up the wrong week, wrong equipment, etc. I've become MUCH more selective about who I tell about it. 

 

The boy missed his OWN EBoR? How can that be? And if it wasn't a legal project, he should have even HAD an EBoR. At the wrong time? As he wasn't a Life Scout? NO way can he Eagle at this point. 

 

A boy MUST be active for rank advancement. Period. End of discussion. 

 

 

I know, the money thing is a mess, our old leader was a total softy (lovely lady but not a strong enough leader) but now we are paying the price, nobody thinks they have to pay anything or even raise funds. I am so tired of people taking advantage of others and very tired of being the one taken advantage of. People are entirely oblivious to how much time and money it takes to pull these things off. 

 

Yes, Margaret, it is a HUGE mess. Dh and the SM have told him just what you stated, it was not done at the appropriate rank and needs prior approval. They think the old leader pushed him through the project and was oblivious to what rank he was b/c they did a deplorable job keeping records, according to Council and National when he completed the project he was not Life. Dh asked them if there was a BoR before the project for him to get Life but the date they gave was after the project. The SM actually sits on the EBoR but has recused himself. Dh figures he will end up quitting and I'm sure he will blame the EBoR and dh and the SM when the fault total falls on himself and the former leaders.

 

He said he got lost on the way to the EBoR but their Troop meeting spot is less than 1 mi/1 minute away on the same road from where EBoR meets. The SM told him where it was, gave him directions, and told him to drive there to make sure he had it right. They finally had to call him 45 minutes late, we live in a small town, it only takes 15 min to get from one end to the next. Unfortunately, the 2 other active Troops see no problem with how it was done and think it is an injustice for him not to get his Eagle. This and many other reasons is why dh and the SM started a new Troop, they think they can make up their own rules

[scoutingmom]

My son earned his Pathfinder Scout Award (old program) and has a few things left towards his Chief Scout Award. (Old program)

 

HE is also working on his becoming a Beaver Youth Scouter. To do that he must do all the requirements that an adult Scouter must do. He is working on his Woodbadge 1 course. (He has helped as a 'Kim' with the Beavers for 3 years already.

 

My daughter is also helping the beavers as s Kim. She is in her second year as scout and so far is a victim of the changes in the scout program. It is a mess and she has not gotten the new program badges she earned, and I have no idea where she stands.

 

My next daughter, in Cubs, earned her 6 star award (old program) in a single year. She has started to get a few of the new badges awarded.

 

My next daughter, in Beavers, has earned a few badges. Soon we need to figure out a service project for her Northern Lights Award as this is her last year in Beavers.

 

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[Joyofsixreboot]

This seems like a great place to say my youngest son ranked to Eagle Tuesday night. Exciting. My 9 yo's GS troop is working on sewing pillows, transportation and had a service dog and it's human partner come see the troop.

 

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[Soror]

This seems like a great place to say my youngest son ranked to Eagle Tuesday night. Exciting. My 9 yo's GS troop is working on sewing pillows, transportation and had a service dog and it's human partner come see the troop.

 

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Congrats to your son!

[DawnM]

Youngest is not advancing.  He just isn't as into this new troop where he joined about 18 months ago.  He has one more requirement for First Class and he has been sitting on it for months and months.  In fact, he hasn't advanced for 18 months.

 

He has done several merit badges.  He has over half his Eagle required badges and all of his non-Eagle (or I should say he has enough), but he isn't going on as many outings, etc.....he honestly isn't really connecting with the boys much either.  Part of that has to do with him going to school now and making a lot of friends there.  The boys in his troop mostly go to his school, but they aren't his buddies at school.

 

I am sad to think he may be quitting after this summer.  He is in 8th grade and we are telling him he has to finish this year, get to at least First Class, finish up any "almost finished" merit badges, go to summer camp and get a few more, try to get Star, and then decide.  If he quits then, he will at least have enough to come back later and finish if he so chooses.

 

And we have told him he has to replace it with something......a sport, an activity, etc.....

 

But it makes me sad.  

 

The only troop he wants to go to is our old troop, which was HSing only, and he no longer HSs.  But he also knows the troop has changed drastically since we left so it wouldn't be the same anyway.  That makes me sad too.  

 

This may be the end of an era.   

[Caroline]

Our GS troop did a big overnight hike. The girls were great. It got below freezing. After this first one, they are excited to go again for longer and longer trips. One of our girls carried her dad’s pack from when he did Philmont. Considering he’s probably in his mid-late 50’s, that pack has been around for a long time.

 

There is a Venture Crew out of our Scout lodge. We think most of the girls will join that and continue on their GS path, too.

 

The overnight hike was the last part of the outdoor journey for cadets, so we will start training for the Silver Award now. My DD, who has Celiac Disease is hoping to work with her pediatrician and the medical study she is in to help other kids diagnosed with celiac deal with it.

 

Having two very different leaders has helped our troop, I think. I am not outdoorsy, I don’t like to camp, so the other leader and an accomplished hiking mom take the girls on those things. I am comfortable anywhere in the city (and am very STEM-y) so I take the lead whenever we do urban, STEM or crafty stuff. We have been co-leaders for 8 years now, and our troop is doing great. We mix it up doing lots of different events every year so our girls get exposed to lots of stuff.

[Soror]

1 local MBU down (our SM runs it)- I taught for the first time. I did the Communication Merit Badge. I had a great group of boys (16 in total), I really enjoyed teaching. It was originally planned for a half day but we took all day (I'm not sure how it was possible for the previous guy to get it done in that time, the speeches alone take a good while at 5 min each). I even had 7 boys get a complete, I was really impressed with some of the work they did, some built some sharp looking websites for their Troops, one boy was just so eager to show me his. My dh is running an MBU in the spring and I'm already looking forward to teaching again. 

 

Ds finished his Citizenship in the Community badge (he's been working on the pre-reqs for a month or so) and yesterday he completed Personal Management (he started that 3+ months ago). He now only has 2 badges left (and 4 extra electives as of now) and almost has all his requirements for Life which he is due for in a few months. 

 

We were off a couple weeks in AHG for holidays. Tonight we're working on the Kitchen Scientist badge, I need to figure out what we're doing as I was focused on teaching Scouts and put this off. We're got awards coming up at our Christmas meeting I need to doublecheck any requirements needed to finish badges and make sure my 1 new girl has finished her joining badge (it makes it hard when they sporadically show up). 

[ashfern]

My son finally got a project approved. I don't know why it's so hard to get people to call you back when you're wanting to volunteer to do something free for them. He's collecting toiletries and then making kits for a local homeless shelter. He'll finish this up a couple of weeks before he turns 18.  :hurray:

[SKL]

We're just hanging on here with so many other things going on in the fall.  Been skipping an average of 1 meeting per month.

 

Both kids finally finished their horsemanship badge, which should have been super easy for them.  One kid got her archery badge due to work at meetings  and at camp.  They are both up to date with required service stars.  They may or may not finish a couple of badges that the troop worked on where we missed some of the meetings.  It's up to them.  I can't worry about that.

 

With one kid crossing over this year, I need to make sure we don't miss things that she needs for that.  This coming Sunday is a mom-daughter event at the community theater, so we plan to attend that.

 

We have a lot of things that I keep saying we're going to do, but we just aren't getting to it.  The financial management badge, sports pins, other low hanging fruit.

 

Hopefully I have a better update the next time I post here.  :P

[scoutingmom]

Ok I need project ideas.... for my 7 year old. Here is the main part of the requirement....

 

--

4. Plan your project, and assess/manage the risks.

a) Choose a project that matters to you and that you believe will matter to your community.

 

You can come up with an original idea for a service project, or brainstorm ideas with your Colony (including Scouters). Examples could include picking up litter at a local park, making care packages for armed forces members serving overseas or sending paper and pencils to a school in need in another country.

--

 

It might be something she can do on her own or with family.... or possibly with her Beaver Colony (ages 5-7).

 

This would be towards her Northern Lights Award (which has only existed for a bit over a year)...

 

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[ScoutTN]

Dd (an AHG Pioneer) has finished Engineering, and is almost done with the Money Management badge. Their unit will likely finish Artastic before the spring is out. She will do Climb On at Camporee and will have most of the Theater badge done by the time her drama class wraps up for the year. It is nice when homeschool and scouts overlap and we can double-dip! Summer camp sign-up is in a week. 

 

By the end of this summer, she will only have one requirement left for her level award, to be completed by the end of next year! 

 

 

My Ds is a Web 1 in CS and enjoying it. He will go to resident camp this summer. He is a 10 yo 4th grader, so he will be turning 12 the summer he crosses over. He is ready for more independence now. Hoping to turn him loose on some of those electives next year, as a part of school, even.

 

 

[Caroline]

Our GS troop is doing an eco camping workshop this afternoon for some Juniors. That will finish out cadette journey so the girls can start working on their Silver Awards. They have worked hard on this journey, including a backpacking trip in subfreezing temperatures in the morning mountains.

 

For her Silver, my daughter is planning to work with the people in a medical study she is in to create a children’s book about celiac disease and translate it into the different languages of the countries where the study is.

 

We are planning a cabin trip this spring, and then backpacking again in the fall.

[felicity]

I love that this thread is back! It's so neat to see what all of our Scouts are doing.

 

My oldest ds is trying to get his Eagle started but he's having a heck of a time getting people to call/email him back. So he's back to the drawing board for ideas. DS15's troop is back in the swing of things, trying to help the boys advance so that's nice. He's 1st Class and needs just a couple of service hours for Star (and the BoR of course).

 

My dd12 is thinking about her Silver Award. She's been super inspired by the kids at Parkland so is thinking about doing something with that but isn't sure what or how. But she still has time to figure that out.  DD10 is going to Emerald Bay for GS weekend this coming Friday so that's really exciting. Her troop is planning a lot of fun activities and outings. It's a good age in GS. And of course, they're both selling cookies.

 

Actually, for all of you experienced Scout leaders, I have a question. We have to drive 90 miles to catch the ferry to EB next week and have several drivers taking us up there. One driver is going on the trip but she is paying for it in full since she's only coming because she doesn't want her dd to go without her. (For GS leaders, we don't need her for safety-wise numbers, she's just coming on her own.) There are 10 people total coming, 8 troop and 2 non-troop. The troop girls are completely covered for the trip by troop money and parent donations. We are planning to split the gas 10 ways with the 2 non-troop people paying. The driver that is coming is balking at that, saying that drivers shouldn't have to also pay for gas and questioning how many drivers are taking us up there. Is it reasonable that the drivers also pay for gas? The driver-mom sent me a novel-sized text last night with her complaints and that's her main one. I get texts like that 2-3 times a week and pretty much ignore her but I want to make sure I'm being fair. We've never gone on a longer-distance trip (longest is usually 45 miles) before and I usually drive but have never been reimbursed. Thanks for your help.

[SKL]

My kids are partway to mostly done with a variety of badges - textiles, cake decorating, world heritage, Bible basics, zoology, stick shifts and safety belts ... I'm not really sure how much they got done as a troop.  My kids won't finish all of them because we are just too busy.

 

My eldest needs to finish a least one "personal well-being" badge, and who knows what else, if she wants to get the level award.  She has until March 22 to finish anything that is meant to count for the Explorer level.  Cross-over is sometime in April.

 

I finished teaching the "world heritage" badge.  It was fun, if stressful.  The girls, on average, researched their individual countries much better than I had expected.  We still have some individual stuff we need to do.

 

I'm drawing a blank on upcoming stuff.  We just finished the lock-in, but I feel like there was some other important stuff coming up.  I assume we will be camping in June as usual.  Haven't heard anything on that yet.  I guess I should be happy that nobody is asking me for anything yet.  :p

Edited March 3, 2018 by SKL

[chiguirre]

Trinqueta just got back from doing the lunch for our town's BSA mulch sale with her ship. A solid 6 hours of Sea Scout volunteer hours. She's almost done with her Apprentice rank requirements. She just needs some volunteer hours (either Sea Scout or community) and a swim test. I think she'll volunteer to help spread mulch at our sponsoring church and help open the GSA Mariner camp in a couple of weeks so she'll have plenty of Sea Scout hours and community hours, bonus that they'll be sailing related. She attended Sea Scout Academy in January on her own because her shipmates all go to the same school and had a conflict. She learned a ton of practical seamanship skills and had a good time even as a lone scout. I hope they do a summer cruise at Sea Star Base because the spring cruise doesn't fall during her spring break and it sounds like a great opportunity to sail a variety of boat styles. We'll see. If not, she'll spend a week at Mariner camp sailing sunfish.

[scoutingmom]

My son has 1 requirement for Chief Scout Award... well it was to do a challenging program with Leadership, Citizenship, Personal Development and Outdoors. We have been trying to get info from the leader for a bit. Once he had everything else done, the leader said he could pick 4 badges he hasn't done that fit into those categories. My son has lots of badges.

 

Anyway, outdoors was looking like it would be a problem (almost all he has not done are water related... Sailing, Canoeing, White Water etc.... and he only has about 6 weeks left. Fortunately, the scouter approved him doing pioneering for this, and he has it 90% done already. The rest should work out ok. He is the last to earn this using the old program (there are no other scouts his age in our troop this year).

 

My youngest is finishing up her project for the new "North Star" Award in Beavers. She will be the first to earn it in our group.

 

My other 2 are kind of floundering in the new program. There is nothing for them to work on really. I'm not impressed.

 

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[scoutingmom]

I'm surprised that it's not laid out what he has to do.

The requirement at that stage is that he is to design a challenging program in those areas, get it approved by the court of honour and do it. We do not have a running court of honour (which is kind of different in Cabada than it is in BSA.) I had been trying to get an idea of what the scope of this requirement since the fall. I honestly don't think the kids that earned chief scout in this troop did much (if anything?) for this requirement... certainly my son had no idea what they had done. Maybe the scouter had them do something similar.

 

The scouters seem to expect more from my son. (Yet, at the same time, they don't seem to fee he is capable at other times... sigh).

 

I saw what a couple of the boys did last year for the requirement for the presentation in Canadian scouting in the world... I know what my son did. The one scouter was going to make my son redo it, yet it was so much better. His concern was my son had glanced at the powerpoint screens he had made during the presentation. The main scouter approved it though.

 

The environmental project the one scout did last year, planting a butterfly garden, was totally arranged by a scouter. The planting was done during a camp and the scouter had to prod the boy to take the scouts out to do it. My son's was painting storm drains with yellow fish to inform people that the storm drains go straight to the river. I had to sign it as an adult, but he made the arrangements, and found workers, then found some for the backup date, then found ones when both dates were rained out. None of the scouts helped.

 

Most of the scouts get the minimum badges needed to get the award. I'm trying to figure out how to get 4 more badges on his sleeve.

 

Sorry, just venting. This is the last requirement. He also needs in this requirement 30 hours of leadership service... which I believe his scouter has approved his almost 4 years of working with the Beavers (scouts age 5-7). At least we know the finish line. I hope it doesn't move.

 

 

My daughter is kind of upset because there is nothing for her to do in the new program. She is finishing her 2nd year in scouts. There are 2 types of badges in the new program. Personal Achievement badges have no fixed requirements... she has to make up requirements and get them approved. They are totally optional and there are 16 of them. The other are Outdoor Adventure Skills (OAS). There are 9 of those with 9 levels each, and are used from Beavers (ages 5-7) to Rovers (ages 18-26). The new Chief Scout Award requires 18 OAS levels. She has, I think, 24 right now. The other requirements are basically to participate each year (do adventures in 6 'areas'). And then a project in her last 6 months. There is no challenge.

 

My next daughter is a cub. She still has another year. She needs to get something like 10 OAS for the new Seonee Award. She has 17 I think... maybe more. Everything else is like I said for scouts. There is no challenge left for her.

 

My daughter the 3rd year Beaver is thrilled because Beavers have badges now. She is just finishing up her project.

 

I'm worried that with the new program no more progress is going to happen and their scouting will become going to the bowling alley and the archery range. The OAS my kids have are mostly from translating what they had already earned to the new program. I think this new program is horrible... and we are stuck.

 

Anyway... sorry for venting.

[Soror]

My son is working on the last badge he needs, Sustainability, he's got about 3 wks of tracking left for it. BoRs are scheduled for 1 month and he will be eligible for Life Scout then, he plans on working on his Eagle project this summer. With dh's MBU he'll have enough for his first Palm and by the time summer camp is over he'll have another, although he is going to be taking some free time this year and will be helping out. 

 

Dh is starting an MBU in April at the local high school and has been working on that, sign-ups started a week ago and he is 2/3rds full I think. Their Troop is now the biggest in town and things are settling down, hopefully, with some experience under their belt this fall won't be as busy as the last. They just had another join last week from the old Troop due to disorganization and lack of advancement work. 

 

My AHG Explorers are finishing up cooking next week and then on to Engineering. This week is the Gardening Club is doing a Troop meeting to work on Gardening & Plant Science. I *need* to do a history badge with them to finish up the year but the girls aren't too enthused about that and honestly neither am I, I need to look at the options again. They study American History repeatedly in PS they really don't want to do it in their off time. 

 

My own girls have pretty much everything needed for their level awards, except earning their yearly service hours (they are supposed to be earned for each year). When you come every week it isn't that hard. 

[ScoutTN]

 

My AHG Explorers are finishing up cooking next week and then on to Engineering. This week is the Gardening Club is doing a Troop meeting to work on Gardening & Plant Science. I *need* to do a history badge with them to finish up the year but the girls aren't too enthused about that and honestly neither am I, I need to look at the options again. They study American History repeatedly in PS they really don't want to do it in their off time. 

 

My own girls have pretty much everything needed for their level awards, except earning their yearly service hours (they are supposed to be earned for each year). When you come every week it isn't that hard. 

 

That Engineering badge is a lot of work! It was our troop-wide badge this year. The newer badges are longer and more complex than many of the ones in the big handbook. 

 

The Heritage badges are all sort of bookish. Harder to get excited about when the spring is upon us. Everyone would rather be outside or do something more active. World Heritage is a fun one, if you haven't done that. Not American-focused. 

[Soror]

I'm planning on doing Wood Badge (finally) this summer and one of my ticket items will be a MBU here. We're a long ways from anywhere, so we'll have to offer some pretty cool ones to get people to drive up. 

Good for you, our SM did a MBU for his Wood Badge too, I cannot remember what dh did (that is bad, huh?). I'm not sure what spurred dh to start this MBU, like he needs more work to do!!! The STEM MBUs are popular, that or Eagle Required- of course, those require pre-reqs or homework but that should be expected. SM got an angry email from a Mom that her sons didn't get a complete for Sustainability at the MBU he taught at, utterly ridiculous, if you read the badge at all you should know you cannot complete that in a day, let alone a few hours.

 

That Engineering badge is a lot of work! It was our troop-wide badge this year. The newer badges are longer and more complex than many of the ones in the big handbook. 

 

The Heritage badges are all sort of bookish. Harder to get excited about when the spring is upon us. Everyone would rather be outside or do something more active. World Heritage is a fun one, if you haven't done that. Not American-focused. 

We did World Heritage last year and most of my girls were here for that. I did some of the work from Engineering as a hs science class so I've got some experience with it, I'm sure they are going to love it. ITA about the new badges, we did Pen and Paper Arts last year and it took us FOREVER!!!

[felicity]

And things are finally moving on. My ds15 had his Board of Review last night for Star and he passed! So yay!

[mom2scouts]

My son is starting his Eagle project and working on a few of his required merit badges. The Eagle project is pretty ambitious, but something he really wants to do. He's had some issues contacting the person within the organization because the man has been on vacation, so the project is moving very slowly right now. 

 

My daughter does Frontier Girls as a Pioneer (independent) and I've been neglecting it lately. I want to get back to a regular time for activities and badge work. We did do SWAPS with two other Pioneers in other states and she always enjoys that.

[scoutingmom]

Sorry to hear of the disorganization. How does that work--that a Scouter did the organizing? Isn't that the point, that the Scout do it? I spend hours and hours telling Scouts just that--that it is HIS Eagle project! I'm glad that ours is clearly laid out. When I'm questioned, I quote them chapter and verse. It's not uncommon for me to turn down a project; I shot down one two days ago. In BSA, the Eagle project canNOT benefit the BSA. So, the project the Scout had in mind won't fly. His first project idea would have taken about 35 minutes, one afternoon (he wanted to finish a Billion Graves mapping for our local cemetery--only it's already been done). So, no go on that one, but then he did nothing for 4.5 months. Not my problem. He ages out in 3.5 WEEKS. I had a discussion with his SM, but that was 4 days ago, and the boy hasn't contacted me. Oh well.

Well, to be fair, Chief Scout is a bit lower than Eagle Scout. Scouts here are only up to age 14 (9th grade... so could be 15 before done). Equivalent to Eagle Scout would be the Queen's Venturer Award. So the projects are a smaller scale, but are (in the old program) a part of the World Conservation badge or Scout Environjent Award so must be environmental in nature.

 

But yes, they are supposed to be selected and organized by the scout. My view was as a parent / cub leader for the group. So I was at the camp as a cub leader. I also saw the emails as the leader arranged permission for the butterfly garden to be planted at the scout camp with the area scouter in charge of the camp.

 

The group doesn't work the way it is supposed to. Yet, it is one of the better ones in the area... sigh. They also have a no scout left out policy... they have bought our kids uniforms, helped with registration fees, paid for camps.

 

As I said though, they seem to expect more from my son, while at the same time expect less.... or see him as younger than he is. He had a lot of trouble last year as the other scouts... and the leaders... kept trying to send him with the younger scouts when they were working on badgework.

[2_girls_mommy]

I haven't read through this in quite awhile, but we have been very busy with scouts lately. My dd13, a Cadette girl scout, just finished all paperwork for her Silver Award. She did it with a group of 4 other girls. It was a neat project. We will be doing a related field trip on it over Spring Break when the public schooled girls can go as it is only available during school/work hours. They will be visiting our state's Regional Food Bank that has large gardens. They will be working with the garden manager getting a tour of the gardens and doing some hands on composting. This relates to their Silver Project.  For their next badge (besides the Cookie Marketing badge we just completed in our meeting since we are in the cookie selling season here...) is the book binding badge which is a cool one. We will wrap that up over the next two meetings, have one overnight family camping trip, our council's award ceremony for the year and our troop's ceremony for the end of the year and be done for a few months over summer. 

 

My dd15, a senior scout, is working on her Gold Award. She has been working on it all year. She has gone before the committee two months ago, but her project was not fully approved at that time. She has continued to work on it with her advisors, and finally she got approved last week with a couple of caveats. So right now she is planning her fundraiser. She had to speak last night at our Service Unit's meeting to get support from other troop leaders and ask them to spread the word about her fundraiser night to their scouts. They were very supportive. We hope it actually works out that they will bring paying scouts to raise the money.  She is working on a Cookie Loyalty badge and she just finished the senior art collage badge in meeting times. She will go on the field trip and camping trip and our troop's award ceremony. She won't wrap up her her Gold Award this year, so she won't be recognized until next year. 

 

 

[Lucy the Valiant]

Just got home from Court of Honor where DS12 earned his Tenderfoot. <3

 

Scouts has been such a perfect thing for DS. I am so thankful and impressed.

[Lucy the Valiant]

Just got home from Court of Honor where DS12 earned his Tenderfoot. <3

 

Scouts has been such a perfect thing for DS. I am so thankful and impressed.

[SKL]

Hi, I posted this in a separate post also, but what can my AHG kid do real quick for the "Special Event" requirement to get the Explorer level award?  I did not realize this was something she needed to come up with on her own.  She has to get it done pretty fast.

Edited March 7, 2018 by SKL

[Rosika]

It's not uncommon for me to turn down a project; I shot down one two days ago. In BSA, the Eagle project canNOT benefit the BSA. So, the project the Scout had in mind won't fly. His first project idea would have taken about 35 minutes, one afternoon (he wanted to finish a Billion Graves mapping for our local cemetery--only it's already been done). So, no go on that one, but then he did nothing for 4.5 months. Not my problem. He ages out in 3.5 WEEKS. I had a discussion with his SM, but that was 4 days ago, and the boy hasn't contacted me. Oh well. 

 

Let me ask you about a project. I sat for an Eagle BOR last week, for a young man I know well. He's newly 16, very intelligent, a natural leader, and all around great kid/scout/person. He is the poster child for the Scouting program. I'm wondering if the fact that I know him is clouding my perspective on his project. Here it is:

 

He was working with a local wildlife group that regularly offers this as an Eagle project. They gave the boy a written proposal to submit to BSA. He did tweak it to be more in his own voice. Then he built ten bat houses to set up in the city park. The group ordered pre-cut bat houses and delivered them to the boy. His parents paid out of pocket for the $900 in material costs, no fundraising was necessary. In one afternoon, this scout and three friends assembled the bat houses. On a second afternoon they used a power tool (drill) to secure the bat houses to posts. The wildlife group had previously poured concrete and prepared the lower half of the posts, so the scout needed only to assemble his parts (like putting together a fake Christmas tree, top part goes into bottom part.) And that's it. 

 

I feel like it was a box-checking project. If anyone is capable of executing a well thought out project, it's this kid. And he's the kind of kid you KNOW is going to be a leader in life, and this project could have really refined and honed his natural skills. But does that mean he should have to?? Am I holding him to a higher standard because i know him and what he's capable of? Honestly, this project (done this way) would disappoint me in anyone who did it, but I'd understand it coming from someone on the cusp of aging out or something. I'm especially disappointed because my son expressed an interest in doing this for his project, too. (But i'm not bankrolling him, so he'd at least have to figure out a fundraiser.) I will be disappointed in my son if he chooses this project. He's capable of more, too. He will age out this fall, but he still has time to get a "legit" project (IMO).

 

Am I being stupid about this? I guess it boils down to "letter of the law vs. spirit of the law" for me. Maybe I need to get over it. I tend to get overly invested in my kids LOL. Tell it to me straight. 

[scoutingmom]

I'm surprised that they can do a Chief Scout project FOR Scouts. BSA doesn't allow it. I had to turn down a project last week because of that.

The thing is, in Canada, the Scout Leader is the final authority. There is no Board of Review.

[ScoutTN]

Hi, I posted this in a separate post also, but what can my AHG kid do real quick for the "Special Event" requirement to get the Explorer level award?  I did not realize this was something she needed to come up with on her own.  She has to get it done pretty fast.

 

 

Hey SKL, 

She should NOT have to do it all on her own! Didn't her unit leaders scaffold this for her? They are supposed to mentor the girls though these things. We give our girls a packet with budget requests forms and planning sheets, all to be approved well ahead of time by the board. PM me if you want a copy of the packet. Our Explorers usually help a PiPa who is actually leading the event, esp becaue Explorers don't need tons of hours. We take the calendar and board (esp. advancement chair), unit leaders and girls levelling up see what is planned or what they want to add and we go from there.

 

That said, the two easiest things I have seen planned are a skate night or trash pick up. Skate night: call the rink and see if you can get a discounted entry fee. Make a flyer and circulate to other troops. Do NOT make it a drop off event! Parent required to stay, siblings welcome. That way you do not need to be crazy over leader ratios. You will need a CPR certified health/safety lead designated. You will need permission forms. Ask everyone to wear a class B. Gather everyone at some point for a photo. 

 

Trash pick up is weather dependent and so trickier this time of year. Call your city or county public works dept. and see if they sponsor this. Ours will drop off and pick up grabbers, trash bags, gloves, reflective vests and hand sanitizer. they will take the trash too, but we usually just put it in the dumpster at park we clean up or at the one belinging to our charter. Again, NOT drop off. Make it a family thing. Nice because it only takes two hours (for the organizers) on the day of the even and an hour for everyone else. Nice because it makes us visible in our community and the girls enjoy chatting as they walk and pick up. 

 

Other things we have done that are not major planning include a park day (hike and naturalist's lesson in a wooded park), food drive for local food pantry, and service to our charter (yardwork, deep cleaning nursery and toys). Events where you can take advantage of a program someone else runs and all your Explorer has to do is organize our people to show up are good. History museums and the zoo work well, but can be pricey. We have also done outdoor things in cooperation with BSA troops. 

 

A "Popcorn and Presentation" night can work too. For any girls who need to present to finish up a badge. Rent a popcorn machine, serve cheapo lemonade and water with it. This can be done multi-troop. This is usually not drop off b/c paretns want to see their kids present. Have back-up games ready in case the girls run through their stuff too fast. We usually need a sound system and computer/projector for this. 

 

Do you have a campout or camporee coming up? Can your Explorer lead a SWAPS making night in preparation for that? Easy and fun. We do one craft for everyone. They may not finish, but take the material home to finhs later. We usually plan 10 SWAPS per girl. This does require supplies and a good bit of prep - can she enlist her untito help?

 

That's all I've go off the top of my head. hth! 

Sorry your girl is stuck at the last minute! Shouldn't happen...

Edited March 7, 2018 by ScoutTN

[SKL]

Hey SKL, 

She should NOT have to do it all on her own! Didn't her unit leaders scaffold this for her? They are supposed to mentor the girls though these things. We give our girls a packet with budget requests forms and planning sheets, all to be approved well ahead of time by the board. PM me if you want a copy of the packet. Our Explorers usually help a PiPa who is actually leading the event, esp becaue Explorers don't need tons of hours. We take the calendar and board (esp. advancement chair), unit leaders and girls levelling up see what is planned or what they want to add and we go from there.

 

That said, the two easiest things I have seen planned are a skate night or trash pick up. Skate night: call the rink and see if you can get a discounted entry fee. Make a flyer and circulate to other troops. Do NOT make it a drop off event! Parent required to stay, siblings welcome. That way you do not need to be crazy over leader ratios. You will need a CPR certified health/safety lead designated. You will need permission forms. Ask everyone to wear a class B. Gather everyone at some point for a photo. 

 

Trash pick up is weather dependent and so trickier this time of year. Call your city or county public works dept. and see if they sponsor this. Ours will drop off and pick up grabbers, trash bags, gloves, reflective vests and hand sanitizer. they will take the trash too, but we usually just put it in the dumpster at park we clean up or at the one belinging to our charter. Again, NOT drop off. Make it a family thing. Nice because it only takes two hours (for the organizers) on the day of the even and an hour for everyone else. Nice because it makes us visible in our community and the girls enjoy chatting as they walk and pick up. 

 

Other things we have done that are not major planning include a park day (hike and naturalist's lesson in a wooded park), food drive for local food pantry, and service to our charter (yardwork, deep cleaning nursery and toys). Events where you can take advantage of a program someone else runs and all your Explorer has to do is organize our people to show up are good. History museums and the zoo work well, but can be pricey. We have also done outdoor things in cooperation with BSA troops. 

 

A "Popcorn and Presentation" night can work too. For any girls who need to present to finish up a badge. Rent a popcorn machine, serve cheapo lemonade and water with it. This can be done multi-troop. This is usually not drop off b/c paretns want to see their kids present. Have back-up games ready in case the girls run through their stuff too fast. We usually need a sound system and computer/projector for this. 

 

Do you have a campout or camporee coming up? Can your Explorer lead a SWAPS making night in preparation for that? Easy and fun. We do one craft for everyone. They may not finish, but take the material home to finhs later. We usually plan 10 SWAPS per girl. This does require supplies and a good bit of prep - can she enlist her untito help?

 

That's all I've go off the top of my head. hth! 

Sorry your girl is stuck at the last minute! Shouldn't happen...

 

The timing is tough - and it's partly my fault because I lost track of time, I guess.  The BORs are due April 12 and the cross-over is May 3.  The troop has no planned events between now and then.  If I had been thinking, I would have pushed for my kid to help with the lock-in we had in February.  But nobody suggested it all year.  (The leader did confirm today that the Special Event doesn't have to be completely done before the BOR, but it needs to be fully planned and scheduled.)

 

I found a couple of possibilities that involve outdoor work - planting trees in a national park, or clearing gardens for planting at a charity for kids' mental health.  These are existing opportunities so my kids would just coordinate the communications / sign-ups and participate in the event.  That should be do-able.

 

I don't mean to point fingers - I am partly to blame for not monitoring my own kid better; the unit leader quit last month over some ongoing personal issue; the troop leader is trying to step back as her kid is ageing out of AHG. The volunteer who enters kids' progress is behind.  The girl handbook could be clearer.  The website could offer more useful info.  :P

[ScoutTN]

The timing is tough - and it's partly my fault because I lost track of time, I guess.  The BORs are due April 12 and the cross-over is May 3.  The troop has no planned events between now and then.  If I had been thinking, I would have pushed for my kid to help with the lock-in we had in February.  But nobody suggested it all year.  (The leader did confirm today that the Special Event doesn't have to be completely done before the BOR, but it needs to be fully planned and scheduled.)

 

I found a couple of possibilities that involve outdoor work - planting trees in a national park, or clearing gardens for planting at a charity for kids' mental health.  These are existing opportunities so my kids would just coordinate the communications / sign-ups and participate in the event.  That should be do-able.

 

I don't mean to point fingers - I am partly to blame for not monitoring my own kid better; the unit leader quit last month over some ongoing personal issue; the troop leader is trying to step back as her kid is ageing out of AHG. The volunteer who enters kids' progress is behind.  The girl handbook could be clearer.  The website could offer more useful info.  :p

 

Well, if the troop planned it at the beginning of the year with the girls, it wouldn't fall into your lap at the last minute! As they get older, it gets more important because multi-troop or community outreach events that take 15-20 hours of work don't happen last minute. Our tentative calendar for next year exists and the PiPa girls levelling up next spring (inlcuding mine!) have already chosen their events. They don't get to do the same event twice. So if they helped with Operation Christmas Child as an Explorer, they don't get to plan that one as a Pioneer or Patriot. 

 

Yep, going with an existing event that y'all can just show up for is a good level for an Explorer! 

 

The handbook desperately needs revision! It is WAY out of date for Stars and Stripes information and even for Dolley Madison, the Patriot level award. AHG spends way too much time making rules intended to protect them from litigation (creating more paperwork to drown their TCs in!) and not nearly enough directly on the girls and the troops. 

Yes, the documents available on AHG Source are insufficient. That is why we created a packet to show our girls, step by step, what is necessasry to pull off an event. It helps them to be so much more proactive. They know exactly what is expected of them. Doing these level award events well will make their S&S projects less fearsome because they will have been trained and have some experience. 

[felicity]

My Junior troop (4th graders) just got back from Camp Emerald Bay on Catalina Island. Twice a year the BSA camp does a GS weekend and we were able to go. It rained the entire weekend and my girls started saying things like, "I want to do archery but probably won't if it's raining." So we declared it a Try-It Weekend and they tried and then loved everything. It was the first time a lot of them have done archery, they were able to paddle board, kayak, and just play in the freezing-cold water. They petted sharks at the aquarium. They (and I) loved everything. Well, everything except the boat ride there and back. Apparently we are not a sea-faring troop.

 

I was telling my older daughter (12yo, Cadette) about how fun it is and she started getting all excited about it but then realized that their troop tends not to participate when they go on camping trips so the money and time would be wasted on that troop. (They do a lot, but like to just hang out when camping.) But I'm seriously thinking about enrolling them in both Boy and Girl Scouts when things are organized for girls just so they can have the experiences at these camps. I love GS but I do think that at least in our area, BSA camps have more to keep the kids interested. We shall see.

[SKL]

My kids have six partially-completed badges.  Looks like they will not finish most of them before cross-over.  We need to finish Bible Basics (the only personal well-being badge my eldest will have) and can probably finish cake decorating.  They finished the World Heritage badge.

 

With that and the Earth Day event my kid is working on, I think we are set for the level award for my eldest.  The troop track website is not in agreement with me, but hopefully that doesn't matter.

 

I don't like being so close to the deadline.  Hopefully we are more proactive to finish the next level requirements early.

[scoutingmom]

Ok, frustrated. My son was testing for his Cultural Awareness badge which is one of the 4 he is doing to finish up his chief scout award. He did the various requirements including making German Pretzles for his troop - which everyone liked.

 

He gets home from the meeting... Did you get the badge?

No...

Ok, do you know why?

No

Do you know what else you need to do?

No

Well, did Scouter ... not have his badge box, or did he not test you, or do you need to do more?

Frustrated non-answer....

 

I should have gone to the stupid meeting. I shouldn't have to go to the meeting, but it somehow goes better when I am there even when I do nothing...

 

Next week the troop is doing a regimental museum tour... I'm not sure what is up after that. Advancement meeting is the first of May. I'm not sure when the deadline for being in the huge cerimony in the province is... He is running out of time and I always feel like they keep putting obsticals in front of him.

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

[chiguirre]

But I'm seriously thinking about enrolling them in both Boy and Girl Scouts when things are organized for girls just so they can have the experiences at these camps. I love GS but I do think that at least in our area, BSA camps have more to keep the kids interested. We shall see.

 

BSA offers Venturers which is a high adventure program for 14-21 yos that's been coed since the 1970s. There are lots of crews around, usually loosely affiliated with a BSA troop.

 

Trinqueta is a Sea Scout which is a similar program dedicated to sailing. It's been a great experience for her because youth are given more responsibility and freedom since they're older. It's a very different vibe than a BSA troop where there are 11 yos who have just crossed over.

[felicity]

BSA offers Venturers which is a high adventure program for 14-21 yos that's been coed since the 1970s. There are lots of crews around, usually loosely affiliated with a BSA troop.

 

Trinqueta is a Sea Scout which is a similar program dedicated to sailing. It's been a great experience for her because youth are given more responsibility and freedom since they're older. It's a very different vibe than a BSA troop where there are 11 yos who have just crossed over.

My oldest is in a Venture Crew and i think by the time Scouts is organized for my dd12 tomjoin, Venture will still be the better choice. But for my dd10 I think actual Scouts will work well. She’ll be close to the same age of the other kids crossing over.

 

And yes, my ds17 likes Venture in part to get away from the 11yos. But it seems like his Crew doesn’t do the Scout Camps like EB is. They do the bigger trips instead.

[ScoutTN]

Dd and I are camping with AHG twice this month. Friday and Saturday she will get to do some trail riding, in conjunction with camping. Hoping the rain holds off til afternoon Saturday. Then in a few weeks, we have Camporee. Dd is working on the Climb On badge ad I am leading Hiking for the Explorers. I will participate in BOR next week, which I always like. 

Dh and Ds have a CS camping trip coming up too. Ds is hoping to do some fishing.  Their pack had this year's Arrow of Light ceremony last week. Nicely done. It is always interesting to me to see what the parents say to their sons during the ceremony. Some have well thought out words and others very superficial. I am thinking even now about what we will say next year. Got Dh and Ds signed up for summer camp this week too.  Woohoo for Webelos resident camp! 

[Heatherwith4]

DS11 is receiving his Scout rank at the troop’s CoH this week.  He is well on his way to Tenderfoot as well.  

He’s electing not to go to summer camp this year.  He doesn’t feel ready and DH and I are in agreement.  He’s done some other smaller camps with the troop, though.  

DD8 is on hiatus from Girl Scouts because of new baby.  Not sure what we will do next year.  I would love to get her into Cub Scouts, tbh. 

[Soror]

Ds is receiving Life rank on Monday. And I believe finally has all his homework done from Sustainability, the last badge he needs. He'll be busy this summer working on an Eagle Project. 

Dh's 1st Annual MBU went off w/out a hitch, 160 boys registered, woot!

AHG is not going well. I'm about ready to jump ship. At this point, it is only me and one other person that are really dedicated, we have a couple of other part-time leaders that I honestly don't expect to be back next year. We only have the girls and leaders for  small groups of Tenderhearts and Explorers. I've been here since inception, on the board and leading units, 6 yrs now, it is wearing thin. As it is all the Troops at our Charter are doing poorly and with the Cubscouts dropping by 70% it dropped the number we had as well. We keep losing leaders but cannot get replacements. We have some that think it is great but will do nothing to help, that just doesn't work.  We've tried to add more activities to help retention and attract new people but that is only serving to make more work for me. It is just not nearly as fun when you only have a few girls(we had just 9 total Monday night and 3 were mine!). There is a new Cub Scout Pack starting that will be co-ed AND is in the same location as dh has Scouts but I don't know how many they will have that are older. I don't know, I imagine I'm going to make some people mad and some happy but I have to weigh the options. 

My AHG girls are doing Engineering, we did our contest last week and I think that just about finishes it but I've got to double check.

[ScoutTN]

38 minutes ago, soror said:

Ds is receiving Life rank on Monday. And I believe finally has all his homework done from Sustainability, the last badge he needs. He'll be busy this summer working on an Eagle Project. 

Dh's 1st Annual MBU went off w/out a hitch, 160 boys registered, woot!

AHG is not going well. I'm about ready to jump ship. At this point, it is only me and one other person that are really dedicated, we have a couple of other part-time leaders that I honestly don't expect to be back next year. We only have the girls and leaders for  small groups of Tenderhearts and Explorers. I've been here since inception, on the board and leading units, 6 yrs now, it is wearing thin. As it is all the Troops at our Charter are doing poorly and with the Cubscouts dropping by 70% it dropped the number we had as well. We keep losing leaders but cannot get replacements. We have some that think it is great but will do nothing to help, that just doesn't work.  We've tried to add more activities to help retention and attract new people but that is only serving to make more work for me. It is just not nearly as fun when you only have a few girls(we had just 9 total Monday night and 3 were mine!). There is a new Cub Scout Pack starting that will be co-ed AND is in the same location as dh has Scouts but I don't know how many they will have that are older. I don't know, I imagine I'm going to make some people mad and some happy but I have to weigh the options. 

My AHG girls are doing Engineering, we did our contest last week and I think that just about finishes it but I've got to double check.

I am so sorry your AHG troop is spiraling down! Wish you could be here with ours. The BSA programs are very good, if well led, and I totally understand your interest in CS. I would probably jump ship too.  

I am so thankful that our AHG troop has plenty of good leaders. Our troop is not as adventurous or outdoorsy as we would like, but we add that element in other ways.  We did the Engineering badge this year too. 

[SKL]

Hi!  Today is a big day for us - my eldest has to finish 3 requirements for her level award (a badge, BOR, and announcing her upcoming event.  While she has done the work for all 3, it's been a few weeks and she might not remember when put on the spot.  Today is the deadline so she needs to get it right, and I somehow need to prepare her, though I don't have a lot of time ....

My daughter's event is a volunteer project for earth day - planting trees.  So far nobody has indicated that they are joining us.  Well, at least she will have 3 people (the SKL trio).  :P  So far she sent out an email and posted on the facebook page (of course it looks like I did it since she doesn't have her own social media).

My other kid is not crossing over, so I am not pushing her.  She did finish the requirements for the Bible Basics badge, so she can get that signed off if the leaders have time.  Actually she already has all the requirements done for her level award, except for things that must be done in her final year.  She has several partially finished badges that she can finish at her leisure over the next year.  Or not.  She seems to want to do it, so this is an opportunity for her to be proactive and get it done.  I am going to focus on the next level once we get today's meeting behind us.

Another girl has arranged an event for later this month at a skating rink.  Sounds like fun, so I will try to make it.

I believe our next campout is in June.  I expect that my eldest will go as a Pioneer, so no mom needed, and my youngest will not participate, as she hates camping and already has all the badges.  Like every year, it will be right before a couple of huge work deadlines, so I will not appreciate any guilt trips about staying home.  Hopefully my eldest makes some good progress toward her camping & outdoor skills badges, and starts on her way to the Stars & Stripes requirements.

Over the summer, I plan to have both of my kids do the Family Helper and Home Care & Repair badges.  I might not tell initially tell them the work is for scouts.  :P  These are things they should be doing anyway.  It would be great if my eldest could also do the Physical Fitness badge, as that is right up her alley, along with some sports pins.  She should be able to easily finish running, martial arts, and get another ring on her gymnastics pin, and maybe add basketball, bowling, and volleyball since they do them for school.  Theoretically we could easily do some others also, but I seem to say that every year and it doesn't happen, so ....

My kids are finally working on their pen pal letters.  We are doing them via email this year, which is a lot easier from the motivation standpoint.  That will be part of their writing practice over the summer.  :P  A travel journal for the travel badge sounds like a great idea too (though my younger already has her level travel badge).

[Soror]

22 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

I am so sorry your AHG troop is spiraling down! Wish you could be here with ours. The BSA programs are very good, if well led, and I totally understand your interest in CS. I would probably jump ship too.  

I am so thankful that our AHG troop has plenty of good leaders. Our troop is not as adventurous or outdoorsy as we would like, but we add that element in other ways.  We did the Engineering badge this year too. 

I think the big problem is that unlike Boy Scouts people don't see the value in sticking with it, there is prestige w/ the Eagle Scout. We are the only AHG Troop for 1.5 hrs+ in any direction, so we constantly have to explain what our Troop is and does.  People just see it as something to try out and drop if you don't have anything better. So, they try it awhile then the girls get older and have other things going on and it gets dropped. Really, Boy Scouts has the same problem but it is just magnified because our numbers are fewer to begin with. And the lack of good training w/ AHG and red tape is getting on my nerves. 

The guy spearheading the new Pack is amazing, he is running the new Troop with dh and I've never met anyone more organized, he knows his stuff. His last pack had well over 100 and their Troop that is not even a year old already has around 25 boys.

Dh and I are doing BSA Challenge Course Training at the beginning of May and then Rock Climbing Training the beginning of June. I had hoped to take my AHG girls on it but IDK w/ their restrictions on age and how few older girls we have I don't know that it will be possible. 

Oh, and our AHG Troop has a camp-out the end of April, Mother-Daughter Tea in May, and Dad/Daughter Fishing in June. 

My fil is still in hospice though so I've told everyone that we need other helpers b/c I cannot guarantee I will be able to attend.

[SKL]

1 hour ago, soror said:

 

AHG is not going well. I'm about ready to jump ship. At this point, it is only me and one other person that are really dedicated, we have a couple of other part-time leaders that I honestly don't expect to be back next year. We only have the girls and leaders for  small groups of Tenderhearts and Explorers. I've been here since inception, on the board and leading units, 6 yrs now, it is wearing thin. As it is all the Troops at our Charter are doing poorly and with the Cubscouts dropping by 70% it dropped the number we had as well. We keep losing leaders but cannot get replacements. We have some that think it is great but will do nothing to help, that just doesn't work.  We've tried to add more activities to help retention and attract new people but that is only serving to make more work for me. It is just not nearly as fun when you only have a few girls(we had just 9 total Monday night and 3 were mine!). There is a new Cub Scout Pack starting that will be co-ed AND is in the same location as dh has Scouts but I don't know how many they will have that are older. I don't know, I imagine I'm going to make some people mad and some happy but I have to weigh the options.

I'm one of those moms who can't help much, because of work.  Do you have any ideas for how moms like me can be better at supporting you?

[Soror]

5 minutes ago, SKL said:

I'm one of those moms who can't help much, because of work.  Do you have any ideas for how moms like me can be better at supporting you?

I would say that I know not everyone can help, we're just at the critical point with not enough people. I don't even have a helper. Our one other leader is only there half the time.

Staying late or coming a bit early to help clean up or set up is a huge help, whether it is for meetings or special events. Even if you can't help at all of them pitching in when you can is great. Helping to provide 2 deep when there is no one around, sometimes you just need another adult. Making sure you are current on any financial obligations, not only are people not wanting to help they aren't paying their share either. I'm sure you probably do your fair share.

[ScoutTN]

8 minutes ago, soror said:

I think the big problem is that unlike Boy Scouts people don't see the value in sticking with it, there is prestige w/ the Eagle Scout. We are the only AHG Troop for 1.5 hrs+ in any direction, so we constantly have to explain what our Troop is and does.  People just see it as something to try out and drop if you don't have anything better. So, they try it awhile then the girls get older and have other things going on and it gets dropped. Really, Boy Scouts has the same problem but it is just magnified because our numbers are fewer to begin with. And the lack of good training w/ AHG and red tape is getting on my nerves. 

The guy spearheading the new Pack is amazing, he is running the new Troop with dh and I've never met anyone more organized, he knows his stuff. His last pack had well over 100 and their Troop that is not even a year old already has around 25 boys.

Dh and I are doing BSA Challenge Course Training at the beginning of May and then Rock Climbing Training the beginning of June. I had hoped to take my AHG girls on it but IDK w/ their restrictions on age and how few older girls we have I don't know that it will be possible. 

Oh, and our AHG Troop has a camp-out the end of April, Mother-Daughter Tea in May, and Dad/Daughter Fishing in June. 

My fil is still in hospice though so I've told everyone that we need other helpers b/c I cannot guarantee I will be able to attend.

Yes, the bolded, so much! AHG has twice as many rules and policies as necessary. Too many lawyers and people who have no clue what the reality of running a troop is. National staff should be required to serve as a unit leader and on the board, preferably a TC, before they have any real authority. And the training is weak.Outdoor related training is non-existent.  

Does one have to be a leader with a particulal BSA pack/troop/crew to be a registeed leader and get their training? Because I want to go get it and take several AHG women with me! 

[vonfirmath]

2 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

Dd and I are camping with AHG twice this month. Friday and Saturday she will get to do some trail riding, in conjunction with camping. Hoping the rain holds off til afternoon Saturday. Then in a few weeks, we have Camporee. Dd is working on the Climb On badge ad I am leading Hiking for the Explorers. I will participate in BOR next week, which I always like. 

Dh and Ds have a CS camping trip coming up too. Ds is hoping to do some fishing.  Their pack had this year's Arrow of Light ceremony last week. Nicely done. It is always interesting to me to see what the parents say to their sons during the ceremony. Some have well thought out words and others very superficial. I am thinking even now about what we will say next year. Got Dh and Ds signed up for summer camp this week too.  Woohoo for Webelos resident camp! 

 

We're supposed to say something significant at the ARrow of Light?!!!! My son has his coming up next month.

[Soror]

2 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

Yes, the bolded, so much! AHG has twice as many rules and policies as necessary. Too many lawyers and people who have no clue what the reality of running a troop is. National staff should be required to serve as a unit leader and on the board, preferably a TC, before they have any real authority. And the training is weak.Outdoor related training is non-existent.  

Does one have to be a leader with a particulal BSA pack/troop/crew to be a registeed leader and get their training? Because I want to go get it and take several AHG women with me! 

You know I'm not certain how it works to take BSA training if not w/ BSA. I'd already done basic youth protection training since I'm a Merit Badge Counselor. If you've got a son in BSa you can just be a registered adult. I've not been a leader in BSA since ds was Tiger age (b/c we started AHG after that). Some of our people did do some AHG training thing but said it was almost entirely about how to do the paperwork and they only found out nitty gritty details from talking to other Troops, which is ridiculous, it should not require that much training to just figure out how to do their dag blasted paperwork.

Fwiw I've only been to a couple of Arrow of Light ceremonies but parents didn't speak at either of them, I'm guessing it varies based on the Pack/Troop. 

[Soror]

Of course, Margaret knows the answer to any BSA question. 

So, dh has had a new boy transfer to his Troop, now his old SM will not release his MB cards, it has been over a month now. He isn't even answering dh's texts or messages anymore. The last message dh sent and copied the DE and his Charter Rep, still nothing. So, dh is jumping through these hoops to get replacement cards, like he doesn't have enough to do w/ a dying Dad b/c this dude wants to be a jerk. I'd love to give him a piece of my mind.

Oh, and I sent the SM an email about the new Pack and they are having an info meeting next week I'm going to try and go to, I know our current Troop leader won't be happy w/ me but I've put a lot more time and years in than she has, I'm not obligated to keep on forever.