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

[Alessandra]

I wanted to add to my long post above. I mentioned doing work above and beyond a requirement, is scout is interested. I should have included that no one, not SM, DL, or parents, can require extra work. That would be contrary to advancement policies.

 

Some one mentioned that some of the belt loop requirements were pretty easy -- like getting a library card. The Cub Scout program is pretty well designed, imo, to serve boys from many different family backgrounds. Getting a library card may be challenging for many boys. At least in my area, a kid can't just go in and sign up for a card, but parents need to be there too and provide proof of residence. Not all boys have the luxury of parents who are able or willing to do this. On the other hand, if a belt loop is super easy for a kid, he can always go on and do the academic/sports pin, if he wishes; they are much more challenging, while still being age appropriate.

[Alessandra]

Looking for a fabulous Eagle gift? A friend who helps me with EBoR just gave me an 1st edition of James E. West's and Green Bar Bill's Scout Field Book. They aren't as expensive as I would have thought on Amazon. I took my new treasure to meeting last night and the Scouts AND the Scouters were fascinated.

 

At some point -- when/if I have time -- I would like to collect some of the old BS books. I did this last year with GS books, as part of 100th anniversary activities for our little group. The old GS badges are 1,000,000 more interesting than the new ones, in my not so humble opinion. Our troop had a great time doing (trying to do) parts of the sewing badge. For GS, I found a great blog on old GS handbooks.

 

http://danialexis.net/2011/05/28/collecting-girl-scout-handbooks-1/

 

http://danialexis.net/2011/07/11/collecting-girl-scout-handbooks-2/

 

Is there anything similar for BS materials?

[Mrs Mungo]

 

MM, since your DD is different than her AHG peers by schooling how has scouting (does AHG call it, "scouting?") worked for her?

 

Our current troop is quite large (70 girls). In that setting? Some are homeschooled, some are in public school, some are in private school. Some girls are advanced, some girls are behind, some girls are on the spectrum and may be a bit different. It is my experience that it all shakes out. They find girls that they mesh with.

[jen3kids]

Does anyone know if a Boy Scout can do 2 BofR at once, or is there a required wait time between them? Younger ds is finished both 2nd and 1st Class requirements and now needs his SM conferences and BofR. He'd be thrilled to get the both knocked out at once!

[Alessandra]

There is a WEALTH of info on BSA books. Here's some on the Field Book:

http://www.troop97.net/bsfb1.htm

 

For the 100th anniversary three years ago, BSA brought back 4 historical badges. They DID change the name of one from Stalking to Tracking and dropped the stalking of a person requirement... :lol:

 

My son missed the historical badges by one year -- he was so disappointed.

 

I had no idea about the stalking -- OMG!!!!!

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Does anyone know if a Boy Scout can do 2 BofR at once, or is there a required wait time between them? Younger ds is finished both 2nd and 1st Class requirements and now needs his SM conferences and BofR. He'd be thrilled to get the both knocked out at once!

 

This is one of those topics that gets older scouters in a tizzy. Technically, no. In reality, it happens on a regular basis.

It can only occur though with 2nd and 1st class. If the troop holds scheduled BORs, like every three months, then holding doing two BORs at once is acceptable, IMO. But that is only if questions are asked about the requirements for both ranks. I don't like generic, one size fits all BORs.

 

If the troop allows boys to request BORs and then grants the BORs immediately, then I prefer the boy have a week or two in between.

 

Scouting isn't a race to see who can finish the quickest, it's about the journey.

 

Whatever your troop allows your DS to do I wish him congratulations on his enthusiasm and for earning those ranks. I can't wait to hear about his future activities.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Oldest son is waiting until JUNE to find out about OA... I'm dying here... LOL I really wanna cheat and hack into some database somewhere and find out. Is that possible? :lol: LOL

 

He also just informed me that his newest goal is to finish his Eagle by March of next year. He's decided he wants to join Venture after eagle. And now he wants to also start visiting those in the area... eeek! :coolgleamA: Don't know much about venture, to be honest. Just kinda had Boy scouting figured out! LOL

 

FYI - your DS can dual enroll as a Boy Scout and a Venturer. My DS is currently dually enrolled and loves it. His Crew is all about high adventure so he gets to do fun things with older teens/young adults and then he gets to go to scouts and help with leadership of a very young troop. It has worked out quite well.

 

Also, once a boy has earned first class and is 14 he can become a Venturer and earn ALL Boy Scout ranks and awards without belonging to a troop.

 

Maybe we can bribe your SM with a some cupcakes or something so he will tell you about the election results.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Since I am the OP and I enjoy reading this thread I am going to ask that everybody please stop the bickering. I love scouting of all kinds and I believe that scouting benefits our children and our families. I want to hear about the progress, advancement and achievement of these hard working young people and celebrate along with you.

 

Since BSA National has already voted on and passed the new requirements that ALL levels of scouting (Cubs, Boys, and Venturers) will learn and uphold the Scout Oath and Scout Law, let's begin now, shall we. Let's be the example for our scouts.

[Alessandra]

btw, he couldn't get the mb, but I think some of the historical requirements would make for some cool outings!

 

Good idea! Ds saw some of the activities -- like signaling -- at out Council's 2010 Camporee, but he was a Webelos at the time.

[Ameena]

At some point -- when/if I have time -- I would like to collect some of the old BS books. I did this last year with GS books, as part of 100th anniversary activities for our little group. The old GS badges are 1,000,000 more interesting than the new ones, in my not so humble opinion. Our troop had a great time doing (trying to do) parts of the sewing badge. For GS, I found a great blog on old GS handbooks.

 

http://danialexis.ne...ut-handbooks-1/

 

http://danialexis.ne...ut-handbooks-2/

 

Is there anything similar for BS materials?

 

 

The old GS materials are way way better than the ones now :)

 

I was blessed to find a 1933 GS handbook at a local thrift shop for .75 - dd wants to do the patches out of it when she is old enough.

[starwarsmomma]

Margaret-- tell your son CONGRATS! That is awesome!

 

 

Both boys passed BOR's today-- so now we have a Life Scout and a 2nd Class Scout. :D They're off selling camp cards right now... trying to pay for summer/winter camps. :D

WOOHOO!

[starwarsmomma]

He has ideas, but wants to wait a while to commit. He does want to do something meaningful. Right now he's leaning towards something for soldiers.

 

His SM is pressuring him to run for SPL-- which he is kinda burned out on leadership right now. As a matter of fact, that actually came up at his BOR -- he even said he has NO interest in ANY kind of "leadership" in the troop today to the BOR (great impression, uugh! LOL) -- Problem is, he's a GREAT leader, and the adults AND kids know it-- he always has a problem with kids actually in leadership running off and forcing him to take on a leadership role when he is on campouts/events... and the adults sometimes tend to do the same. So he does the work of the leadership when he isn't supposed to... it's burned him out.

 

Does that make sense? That's a very simplified version of what is going on...

 

I think he needs a few months break from leadership... if that is possible.

 

Anyway, he has a GREAT organization he is hoping to do his eagle project with, but he wants to wait a bit before starting it. He still has to finish camping MB too... As long as he is staying active and going to camp outs I'm going to let him go at his own pace...

 

He wants to join venture crew next year, and I did ask him to finish his eagle before going to crew.. so hopefully it will be done by then! LOL

[felicity]

It's fun to read about Eagles and Eagle projects. I've been telling my ds12 about them so he get ideas of what other boys are doing. He's working on three badges and only needs his BoR for First and Second classes. He's planning for Sciut Camp fundraising too. It's amazing how busy he is.

 

My 10yo Webelo just received 4 activity pins and 2 belt loops & pins the other night at his Pack Meeting. He was so proud of himself. He got to help change the oil in his leader's car the other day and gave me a step-by-step replay of it afterward. He loved it.

 

 

[starwarsmomma]

Anyone else having a rough time fundraising this year? Seems like this year camp-card sales are much harder than last few years...

(we're exhausted trying to sell!)

Yes, I said WE-- because when the kids need to sell, it's ME that has to go along. :D

[Jennifer3141]

 

My 10yo Webelo just received 4 activity pins and 2 belt loops & pins the other night at his Pack Meeting. He was so proud of himself. He got to help change the oil in his leader's car the other day and gave me a step-by-step replay of it afterward. He loved it.

 

 

Which ones did he get, Felicity??

[chiguirre]

Does anyone have any awesome ideas for a GSA Bronze Award project? We'll have 3 2nd year and 5 first year Juniors participating plus lots of Brownie and Daisy helpers.

[Jennifer3141]

Does anyone have any awesome ideas for a GSA Bronze Award project? We'll have 3 2nd year and 5 first year Juniors participating plus lots of Brownie and Daisy helpers.

 

What are your girls interested in?

 

One of our local chapters did a feral cat rescue. One of our smaller farm towns was having a huge problem with overpopulation of cats.

 

So, the girls got a couple of vets involved who explained humane trapping and altering. And the vets donated their time and charged a ridiculously low rate for surgeries.

 

The girls raised money for the traps, for the vet work and then it spun into trapping the pregnant females and setting up an adoption program for the kittens and any of the tamer adults. So then they got involved with a rescue group. The girls set up the cutest FB page for the adoptables and they are very proud that they have a 100% adoption rate and it seems like all the cats are in loving homes.

 

It took them two years or so to really get it going but they are known as the, "Cat Girls" in our local council. They will leave an event or arrange for parental help if a cat needs help. So darn cute!! :)

[felicity]

 

 

Which ones did he get, Felicity??

 

 

He earned the Athlete, Handyman, Artist, & Craftsman Activity Badges and the Astronomy and Science Belt Loops and Pins. He is working on the pins for science this year--it's been fun and interesting. Right now he's doing the Geology Pin. I'm really proud of how he's doing.

 

This is him at the Pack Meeting:

 

http://wonderhouse.blogspot.com/2013/04/pack-meeting-sam.html

[felicity]

Does anyone have any awesome ideas for a GSA Bronze Award project? We'll have 3 2nd year and 5 first year Juniors participating plus lots of Brownie and Daisy helpers.

 

 

There is a troop in our service unit that is collecting suitcases for homeless and foster kids. I'm not sure that alone would be enough for the award, but it seemed like a neat idea.

[MarinesWife]

For our real go-getters, I recommend to the parents that they work on electives in the book, instead of (Wolf) requirements, during the summer. That way the requirements can be done with their den in the fall.

 

Also belt loops, but maybe not so much the pins. Then the pins are something he might work on the following summer if he is still a go-getter Cub Scout!

 

Also check out other awards: Leave No Trace, World Conservation, Summertime Activity Award, NOVA.

 

Be forewarned too that if your son comes into the meetings in the fall with a list of awards earned, your pack might ask you to pay for them yourself. We have an average that we spend for awards, and a little high and a little low evens out, but a huge list at the very beginning of the year would be out of our budget.

[Jennifer3141]

We get an extra week! Our CM had to reschedule our year end barbeque/raingutter regatta/year end ceremonies and DS is just grinning. At our service project today, the CM asked what else he could do in a week and DS just got the biggest grin. He and his little friend spent a couple hours this afternoon watching a BBC Bluray on the ocean giants and now I am supposed to help research how long a parrotfish can hold its breath while being hunted by sharks. Thanks for not giving me something TOO SPECIFIC to search for, boys! :laugh:

 

And they ate almost an entire bag of corn kernels. I'm going to have to email the Mom about the special high fiber diet... :lol:

[Jennifer3141]

And Felicity, I keep forgetting to tell you that your son is adorable! He looks so proud in the pic! :)

[Caroline]

Our Brownie troop went camping this weekend. We went Letterboxing, hiking, cooked over a fire, ate s'mores... We were supposed to canoe, but the lake was too choppy. We had lots of fun.

[dm379]

We had our spring camporee this past weekend. Ds had a blast! Three days of non-stop sports and fun. We had very cranky children last night.

[Jennifer3141]

Our Brownie troop went camping this weekend. We went Letterboxing, hiking, cooked over a fire, ate s'mores... We were supposed to canoe, but the lake was too choppy. We had lots of fun.

 

 

 

Did you spend one night or two out and about? I'm wondering how that age does on overnights.

[felicity]

And Felicity, I keep forgetting to tell you that your son is adorable! He looks so proud in the pic! :)

 

[felicity]

And Felicity, I keep forgetting to tell you that your son is adorable! He looks so proud in the pic! :)

 

 

Thanks, he was so proud of himself. He worked very hard for those awards.

 

It's especially sweet to me that he's able to get up in front of people and accept the awards. He's my super-shy, selective-mutism kid. Scouts has worked for him just the ways it's supposed to. I was his leader for most of Wolves & Bears, but once he had different leaders, they have all been completely understanding and supportive of him. They recognize that things are more difficult for him and really push him without pushing too much. I know Scouts doesn't always measure up to it's own ideals, but in my son's experience it really has.

[Jennifer3141]

Thanks, he was so proud of himself. He worked very hard for those awards.

 

It's especially sweet to me that he's able to get up in front of people and accept the awards. He's my super-shy, selective-mutism kid. Scouts has worked for him just the ways it's supposed to. I was his leader for most of Wolves & Bears, but once he had different leaders, they have all been completely understanding and supportive of him. They recognize that things are more difficult for him and really push him without pushing too much. I know Scouts doesn't always measure up to it's own ideals, but in my son's experience it really has.

 

 

 

Felicity, I have had the exact same experience with our local pack and council. DS is gifted and an Aspie. They have really gone above and beyond what I thought a volunteer run organization would do. And the CM and I had a good long talk about it all yesterday. They LOVE kids like ours because our kids are mellow and shy. Some of these kids are just BURSTING with energy after school and they can get out of control really fast. So having a couple of kids who always speak quietly, who use their manners, who are quieter by nature can mellow out the group as a whole. With selective mutism, your son is probably just a nice kid. That tends to be one of their positive characteristics. :)

 

With Aspies, nice is a rule. And you don't break rules. Plus, as an Aspie you have an intimate knowledge of what it feels like to be excluded by the hyper kids so you look deliberately for the fringe kids who may be overwhelmed by the hyper kids.

 

So our boys can help give a pack or den some real cohesion, just by being themselves. :)

 

DS' den leader is married to an SLP. This is great for us because DS does have a speech impairment and he speaks very quietly. I was thrilled to hear he would be moving onto Bears with us. He's a quiet man himself with a quiet little guy of his own. So DS' den is split evenly between hyper boys and quiet boys now. All the quiet boys are going on. I'm reasonably certain we are going to lose at least one hyper kid over the summer. It's hard for me not to think, "Woohoo!" over that. I have a harder time personally with the hyper kids.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

DS calculated his camping nights this weekend. Our computer crashed and he lost the initial Excel file; four years worth of tracking, down the drain. :( As he entered everything he could remember he realized that he has over 100 nights of camping and, as soon as he completes Cooking MB, he will qualify for the NOA-Camping segment with 3 gold devices. He has 17 nights to go until he has enough for the silver device.

 

His nights are all tent camping; he didn't count anything in a cabin. He wants to check with the Council to see if the nights he will have as a CIT will count as camping. CITs sleep in cabins and not in tents. DS will be a CIT for 12 nights and a camper for 6. He would love to be able to count the 12 cabin nights. He is really unsure about cabin nights, though.

 

Here is the wording from the requirements for the NOA-camping:

 

Camping. A Boy Scout or Varsity Scout may earn the National Outdoor Badge for Camping upon successfully completing the following requirements:

1. Earn the First Class rank.
    
   
2. Earn the Camping merit badge.
    
   
3. Earn two of the following three merit badges: Cooking, First Aid, Pioneering.
    
   
4. Complete 25 days and nights of camping—including six consecutive days (five nights) of resident camping, approved and under the auspices and standards of the Boy Scouts of America—including nights camped as part of requirements 1 through 3 above.
   

 

A gold device may be earned for each additional 25 nights of camping. A silver device is earned for each additional 100 nights of camping. The Scout may wear any combination of devices totaling his current number of nights camping.

 

But these are the requirements for the Camping Merit badge (bolding mine):

 

Show experience in camping by doing the following: a. Camp a total of at least 20 days and 20 nights. Sleep each night under the sky or in a tent you have pitched. The 20 days and 20 nights must be at a designated Scouting activity or event. You may use a week of long-term camp toward this requirement. If the camp provides a tent that has already been pitched, you need not pitch your own tent.

 

 

He is thinking no on cabin nights (which is totally fine; he will have more than enough campouts in the next two years that will qualify; Jambo nights alone will boost his total) but I wonder what they do for the counselors who work all summer and stay in cabins. Do six weeks of summer camp not count for anything?? We have an email in to the Council but haven't heard anything yet.

[chiguirre]

Trinqueta and I are going to a Service Unit campout tomorrow and Saturday. The girls will be able to canoe and hike and we'll have a campfire. This is our first camping trip as a troop instead of a group of families, so it will be a new experience for us leaders too.

 

Geezle and I passed our BSA swimming test, so we're good to go to Schlitterbahn on our next campout. That should totally fun and get the new scouts excited about being boy scouts. Camporee was fun, but it got down to 36 which is very, very cold for the Houston area. We all survived with our 40 degree rated sleeping bags, but I'm glad we don't live in the North.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Margaret - I tried to quote and reply but I kept getting kicked out. :glare:

 

There is an application the scout has to fill in and submit. Here's the link: http://www.scouting..../430-509_WB.pdf

 

It's fairly easy to fill in. DS submitted his list of riding miles when he applied for the riding segment.

 

Here's the link to the biggie: The Outdoor Achievement Award

http://www.scouting.org/filestore/Outdoor%20Program/pdf/430-041_WB.pdf

 

This is the one DS is going for. The requirements are fairly fierce and time consuming. He hopes to be able to complete it before he ages out. These awards may not be earned by Venturers so he has a little less than two years left to complete the requirements. He has already completed LNT so that is one of the biggies. He has the Backpacking MB left for req. #4.

 

Wilderness First aid has a minimum age req. (16 years). Now that DS is old enough he wants to get that out of the way as soon as possible.

 

I hope he can do it.

[dm379]

Last night ds's pack had a fund raiser at McDonald's. The leaders worked behind the counter and the boys did clean up in exchange for 10% of the profits. It took all of 20 minutes for ds to decide that it was no fun and that McDonald's wasn't the career path for him. lol

[Seasider]

Anyone else having a rough time fundraising this year? Seems like this year camp-card sales are much harder than last few years...

(we're exhausted trying to sell!)

Yes, I said WE-- because when the kids need to sell, it's ME that has to go along. :D

 

I confess that this year we simply did the fundraising buyout. No plans for extended camp this summer as ds will be pursuing Eagle.

 

Aaaaannnnnd.... did the buyout for my AHG girl, too. Just not our year for fundraising. :closedeyes:

 

As far as what's we're working on, fire building clinic tomorrow for some younger scouts - should be fun! I am praying for no rain and a gentle breeze, just enough to feed some flames but not enough to make it rough.

[jen3kids]

My younger ds earned 2nd class last night.

 

He has one requirement left for 1st Class and he'll hopefully get that done this weekend. He's hoping to be Star by the end of September. He's looking forward to doing 3 merit badges over 3 weekends that a local Venturing Crew is organizing this summer.

[joannqn]

I'm glad this came back to the top of the forums. DS11 just joined boy scouts four weeks ago. It is our first time involved with scouting in any way so everything is still pretty overwhelming. But he is having fun and meeting boys his age. He's decided to work on astronomy and space exploration first. He's going on his first camp out next weekend where they will be working on first aid.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I'm glad this came back to the top of the forums. DS11 just joined boy scouts four weeks ago. It is our first time involved with scouting in any way so everything is still pretty overwhelming. But he is having fun and meeting boys his age. He's decided to work on astronomy and space exploration first. He's going on his first camp out next weekend where they will be working on first aid.

 

Welcome to the joyous world of scouting! Your son, you and the rest of your family are in for a treat.

 

Astronomy and Space Explor. are two great merit badges for a young scout. He should have fun with both of those.

 

If you have any questions regarding scouting, please don't hesitate to ask.

[joannqn]

 

Welcome to the joyous world of scouting! Your son, you and the rest of your family are in for a treat.

 

Astronomy and Space Explor. are two great merit badges for a young scout. He should have fun with both of those.

 

If you have any questions regarding scouting, please don't hesitate to ask.

 

 

Thanks! We are still in the overwhelmed state but it seems to be working out fine. The troop we joined is boy lead. Most of the boys seem friendly, and he chose his patrol because they were very friendly and patient with his questions. The adults all seem friendly and helpful and patient with my questions. Our neighbor is also into scouting and has an eagle scout and another boy in scouting. Between everything, I think we are having a pretty easy start.

[joannqn]

Awesome. Welcome to the adventure.

 

Be sure and start a binder for record keeping.....he'll need to keep track of his camping nights, hiking hours,swimming hours, riding hours, and service hours as well as have a place to put his merit badge and rank advancement cards. Also grab some tan thread so he can sew his merit badges on when he gets them.

 

Thanks for this. No one has suggested that I need to keep track of this stuff. He's already been swimming with the troop, and I didn't know I needed to keep track of it.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

YOU don't need to keep track of this stuff--HE needs to!

I agree with this. Let the boy do it.

 

Here's what I did. I bought some of the baseball card holders and put them into a binder we had at home. To the binder I added some lined paper, some dividers and a copy of an Excel sheet DS and I created at the beginning of every school year (we used merit badge activities to support DS's academic interests and to provide that all important socialization during the school day. Plus we met some pretty neat people and went on some awesome field trips). The Excel sheet had a month by month Merit Badge goal, which badge he wanted to work on, where he would do it and the name and contact info of the merit badge counselor. The dividers were used to divide the binder into three sections: 1) blue cards and advancement cards in the baseball card protectors; 2) copies of notices, menus, etc of everything used for troop outings; and 3) worksheets or work he did for merit badges at clinics, summer camp or with the MBC.

 

When DS was a Tenderfoot, I would guide him to fill in the appropriate information after every campout and outing. We would sit down and write in number of nights camped, where he camped etc. As soon as he would earn a MB, the card was slid into the protector. He learned to do it immediately and not to let the cards sit. After about two years he began to ask me to do the additions with him. It became a time for us to sit and discuss his outings and share in some mother-son time. I wanted the BSA excursions to be time when DS was able to be a boy without my influence so I never went. The time spent recording info with DS was dear to me. Now he just does it on his own(has since about Life Rank). No help from mom needed. :( I guess I should be happy, though, it means he's learning and growing as a scout.

 

The binder was a great system and worked well for him; most of it still does. The only problem is he took the handwritten sheets and entered them into a computer file, after which he promptly threw away the handwritten sheets. Now that our computer crashed and the scouting file was unable to be saved, DS no longer has a complete record. :( Lesson learned: keep all handwritten documents if they are even remotely important.

 

The best part about his binder (well, now it's actually two, one binder for blue cards and important documents and one for the MBC worksheets and other paperwork he has completed for merit badges and special trips, like Sea Base) is that if and when he completes Eagle we will have a ready made chronology of his Boy Scout years. I hear that the binders make it much easier to complete the Eagle application, too.

 

 

ETA: I can't stop talking about scouts. I am random and pathetic, I know. I think it comes from being an Advancement Chair and watching so many boys lose their info or not know what they are eligible for.

[Jennifer3141]

 

Thanks for this. No one has suggested that I need to keep track of this stuff. He's already been swimming with the troop, and I didn't know I needed to keep track of it.

 

JoAnn, you are going to end up with a binder full of notebooks on how to earn everything and the charts... Oh, the charts you will make. :laugh:

[Granny_Weatherwax]

JoAnn, you are going to end up with a binder full of notebooks on how to earn everything and the charts... Oh, the charts you will make. :laugh:

 

:001_tt2:

 

Just you wait, Jennifer, you too will see the benefits of binders. :001_cool:

[joannqn]

JoAnn, you are going to end up with a binder full of notebooks on how to earn everything and the charts... Oh, the charts you will make. :laugh:

 

Maybe you should just send me the files for blank charts and save us the work. :tongue_smilie:

[joannqn]

Ya'll are talking like your boys know how to sew. Mine wouldn't even know where to start....as in the thread getting onto the needle part.

[Jennifer3141]

Maybe you should just send me the files for blank charts and save us the work. :tongue_smilie:

 

You can google most of them!! That's what I did.

 

DS was supposed to track his personal hygiene for a week or two and some other CS mom out there made the chart for me. Voila! Then we needed pet chore charts and regular chore charts and a hiking chart and a biking chart... You're going to have a LOT of charts, my dear.

:laugh:

 

But it's SUPER easy to sit down with the CM or SM with all the charts and go over stuff. I found out yesterday DS qualified for another badge because I had charted everything. We're well on our way to Nova! :)

[Ameena]

Well, that's where he needs to be taught! I hold a sewing clinic two weeks before every CoH, and the older boys teach the youngers, too.

 

 

Care to do a Youtube version for those of us here at WTM? I need to start sewing DD's GS stuff on instead of using Badge Magic, as her hair sticks to the edges where the Badge Magic shows. But I haven't a clue how to sew on patches and have them look good!

 

I do sew though, both machine and hand sew. It's just the patches that scare me!

[felicity]

 

 

Care to do a Youtube version for those of us here at WTM? I need to start sewing DD's GS stuff on instead of using Badge Magic, as her hair sticks to the edges where the Badge Magic shows. But I haven't a clue how to sew on patches and have them look good!

 

I do sew though, both machine and hand sew. It's just the patches that scare me!

 

 

Badge Magic is evil. I used it for my dd's Brownie badges and they all fell off. There must be something in the fabric of the sashes and smocks that does that. So I ended up sewing them all on after paying an obnoxiously high amount for the Badge Magic.

 

Our GS Service Unit had a membership drive this afternoon--they invited any interested girls to come and have a "day in the life" of a GS. Only three of our ten girls could make it, but given the turn out of potential GS, it was very successful. It was also run incredibly well. I'm so used to activities that start twenty minutes late and just are haphazardly done, that this was a breath of fresh air.

 

Of course, the most exciting thing of all was that my three 7yo girls got up and led all of the girls there in a song. I was so proud of them for wanting to get up there and doing a great job. It says a lot about the organization that they've created a space where the kids can be silly and they don't think twice about it. Okay, that's my gush of the day. And my two cents about Badge Magic.

[felicity]

So, if a boy (hypothetically) loses a blue card, what happens? Not that it's happened. (Whistling while I walk off with my hands behind my back. Nothing to see here. Nosireebob.)

[Ameena]

 

 

Badge Magic is evil. I used it for my dd's Brownie badges and they all fell off. There must be something in the fabric of the sashes and smocks that does that. So I ended up sewing them all on after paying an obnoxiously high amount for the Badge Magic.

 

Hmm...we've used Badge Magic for 3 years now and never had that problem. For us, it stays TOO sticky - thus why dd's hair sticks to the edges of her patches. Plus our council raised the price on it yet again, and it's just too costly at the rate dd earns badges - we can go through an entire sheet in 2 months easily.

[felicity]

Hmm...we've used Badge Magic for 3 years now and never had that problem. For us, it stays TOO sticky - thus why dd's hair sticks to the edges of her patches. Plus our council raised the price on it yet again, and it's just too costly at the rate dd earns badges - we can go through an entire sheet in 2 months easily.

 

That's great that the Badge Magic works, sorry about your dd's hair. My dd's isn't long enough to reach her sash, so she doesn't have that problem. I wish the Badge Magic worked, it would make my life so much easier.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

So, if a boy (hypothetically) loses a blue card, what happens? Not that it's happened. (Whistling while I walk off with my hands behind my back. Nothing to see here. Nosireebob.)

 

Scouts lose blue cards quite often. It really isn't something to fret over and can be easily fixed if caught early.

 

These are my first thoughts about a missing blue card:

 

It depends on where in the process the scout lost it.

 

If it is at the beginning or in progress and he has just begun working on the requirements, I would have him go back to the SM and request a new one and give it to the merit badge counselor to fill in with work completed up to that point.

 

If the merit badge was complete, and the card was not yet submitted to the Advancement Chair, I would request a copy of the MBC's portion of the blue card. There's a good reason those blue cards go to three different people (MBC, Scout, Advancement Chair).

 

If the merit badge was completed and already presented to the boy and the card was in need of being put aside for record keeping, two things could happen. A copy of the record could be obtained from the Advancement Chair or the merit badge counselor (again the three parts come in handy). The merit badge should have been presented to the scout with a small card of merit. This is an acceptable form of proof of having earned the badge.

 

If the blue card is from a local merit badge counselor, getting a copy should be easy; simply contact the MBC and ask for a copy of the record. If the blue card was from a merit badge university or an MBC outside of your district, it might take a bit more leg work.

 

HTH