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

[Jennifer3141]

I have a quick question... When the school year ended, everyone got their badges and arrow points. But because we meet so much during the summer (weekly in July. a few times in June, etc.) and we can keep doing our Wolf book's optional stuff if we choose... So tomorrow at flag raising and the parade in the evening, does DS wear his Wolf attire or the Bear stuff he starts in the fall??

 

At fishing day, I had him wear his Wolf stuff because I didn't care as much if he lost or damaged that stuff. But for "official" stuff, is DS a Bear now?

 

DD is so excited to be a Junior, we chucked her Brownie stuff and she's running around in her Junior vest. We are working in BOTH levels this summer for her because she's a Junior Aide to the Brownies anyway.

[chiguirre]

In our old pack, the boys had a ceremony where they walked across a bridge and got there new rank in May. After that they were the new rank.

[Jennifer3141]

We did a ceremonial dinner and such. So I guess that's it, right? Now he should be wearing Bear stuff?

 

They "bridge in BSA too? I thought that was just a GSA thing. But that's cool!!

 

Are there any other boys here working on Nova? We had a crappy experience at our fish hatchery yesterday. I know it's not release season but sheesh...

[felicity]

I have kind of a dumb question. My older dd is a Brownie. When we started her troop I was also a Cub Scout Den Leader and couldn't take on the weekly meetings, so another mom did. She's done a great job over the years now and I co-led last year. Somehow though, instead of being the outdoorsy troop we were planning to be, we do games outdoors but our meetings are mainly inside ones. The girls are fine with that but I'm not. I had to step down as co-leader again so I could concentrate on starting my younger dd's Daisy troop but I plan on helping the troop out as much as I can and planning outings, just not being an official leader. So, I have two questions for you now. How do I get the Brownies to go outside more--to hike and camp and go to the beach and how do I get my new Daisy troop starting off just doing those things? I'm pretty sure the answer is to just do them; that's why it's kind of a dumb question.

[Jennifer3141]

Felicity, are you close to a GS camp?

 

You got enough volunteers to do a 2 hour hike? Once the girls have a blast with that, you can stretch it to a 4 hour hike the next time. And so on..

 

How about a nature center? State or federal park with a cute program for kids?

[Plateau Mama]

 

Would your ds be similar -- carry stuff from campsite and put it aside for a ceremony?

 

HTH!

 

 

My son is more of a "I don't need this at this moment so I will just drop it and not think about it again until someone asks me where it is. At that point I will have no clue what I did or where I was at any point in the day so tracking my steps is a futile effort." Kind of guy.

 

On the plus side DH says he's having a blast and making good progress on his MB's.

[Susan in TN]

I feel like a big under achiever here. We simply wish to get through to Eagle. If we get no palms or if we get only 30-40 merit badges, so be it.

 

 

This was our ds. But achieving the rank of Eagle is a great accomplishment and something worth being proud of!

 

Ds finished his last merit badge just a couple days before his 18th birthday - the music mb. At his Eagle Scoutmaster conference, the scoutmaster was wondering why ds had never done the music mb, since pretty much his whole life revolves around music. For some reason that sparked ds into whipping through it and finishing it in the car on the way to summer music camp. :D

[Granny_Weatherwax]

DS finished his eagle project today. He is so happy. I am relieved. He began this project on 9/15/12 and finished on 7/3/13. He got the bug this weekend though and called a last minute work day and boom - his troop and crew showed up and worked to finish the project, about 50 hours in three days.

 

In case you were wondering - DS's project was to remove thorny locust trees (an invasive species) from a local nature preserve. Last fall he cut down about 200 trees, sawed what could be used into firewood, and burned the thorns and rubbish. The project was put on hold for the winter and a very wet spring. These last few work days involved cleaning the ash piles (20 yard waste bags of ash were removed), cleaning up the remaining cut logs and larger pieces of brush, and going back through and re-cutting the stumps and treating them with plant killer.

 

 

DH and I are so very happy that he finally completed his project. It has been driving us crazy having to take a back seat and letting him determine work days and progress. On to his paperwork and application. I hope he doesn't take another 9 months to complete that part of the process.

 

:)

[Plateau Mama]

I have a quick question... When the school year ended, everyone got their badges and arrow points. But because we meet so much during the summer (weekly in July. a few times in June, etc.) and we can keep doing our Wolf book's optional stuff if we choose... So tomorrow at flag raising and the parade in the evening, does DS wear his Wolf attire or the Bear stuff he starts in the fall??

 

At fishing day, I had him wear his Wolf stuff because I didn't care as much if he lost or damaged that stuff. But for "official" stuff, is DS a Bear now?

 

DD is so excited to be a Junior, we chucked her Brownie stuff and she's running around in her Junior vest. We are working in BOTH levels this summer for her because she's a Junior Aide to the Brownies anyway.

 

He should be wearing his Bear uniform. He should also be working on his Bear Achievements/Electives. Bear was my favorite year for electives. Lots of science stuff. I did lots of den meetings from the Bear electives and the boys had so much fun.

[Plateau Mama]

I talked to my son today. He is convinced the camp raccoon took his pack into the great wilderness never to be seen again. But he is aving a blast and said camp was Awesome.

[Jennifer3141]

 

He should be wearing his Bear uniform. He should also be working on his Bear Achievements/Electives. Bear was my favorite year for electives. Lots of science stuff. I did lots of den meetings from the Bear electives and the boys had so much fun.

 

 

Thanks for your thoughts!!

 

DS wore his Bear stuff yesterday and did fine. Half his den wore their Bear stuff, half wore their Wolf stuff because they havne't gotten to the BSA store to get the new stuff so no one really cared. It's summer. We're all more relaxed.

 

DS did get see a kid with the Supernova medal and he got all excited by that and the knowledge that he could get TWO of those medals - one as a Bear and the other as a Webelo.

 

We do a lot of stuff as a Bear den so they are trying to hold everyone off on the Bear book until fall. That's fine with DS. He wants another couple silver arrows anyway. :)

[felicity]

My 12yo is off to his first Scout Camp on Monday morning. We've got him pretty much packed up with everything on the list and some snacks. But what are some things that he might want that aren't necessarily on the list? I'm trying hard not to be a helicopter mom and failing pretty badly, but this is his first time at camp. I'll be better once he's actually there and there's nothing else I can do. 

[Alessandra]

 

My 12yo is off to his first Scout Camp on Monday morning. We've got him pretty much packed up with everything on the list and some snacks. But what are some things that he might want that aren't necessarily on the list? I'm trying hard not to be a helicopter mom and failing pretty badly, but this is his first time at camp. I'll be better once he's actually there and there's nothing else I can do. 

 

 

Not sure what is on your list, but I pack:

-- small rug (like 24" x 30") (under $4)

-- swim goggles, cheap sunglasses

-- headlamp, overhead tent lamp, lantern (BSA has very inexpensive models of all these)

-- rope, clothespins, twine, small scissors, carabiners, shoelaces

-- personal first aid kit

--10 essentials

-- battery powered fan, small screwdriver that looks like a pen and has different mini blades ($2) for changing batteries

-- EXTRA BATTERIES, coin for opening BSA headlamp to change batteries

-- kleenex, hand sanitizer, hat, sunscreen, insect repellent

-- ground cloth, mosquito net

-- duct tape (wrap it around some credit card plastic)

-- string bag, 99¢ plastic poncho for string bag

-- sheet, because cots are not that clean

-- wrist watch with alarm, if you don't think ds will lose it (I skip this, lol)

-- this table

     http://www.amazon.com/Travelchair-Side-Canyon-Table-Silver/dp/B000A76XQ8/ref=sr_1_3?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1373162954&sr=1-3&keywords=travelchair+table

 

EXTRA COPIES OF MEDICALS, in case someone misplaces yours, BTDT

Print out meal menu, if it's the first year

 

If ds is doing MBs, pack any prerequisites.

 

If your ds has his Totin' Chip card, he should bring that. Double laminate it.

 

Have you sprayed clothing, sleeping bags, etc with Permethrin? That will help keep bugs at bay. Is everything labelled with ds's name (including the clothing he will be going up in)?

 

ETA Unless your ds has a driver's license and/or a credit card, you have to be a bit helicoptery, imo.

[felicity]

Not sure what is on your list, but I pack:

-- small rug (like 24" x 30") (under $4)

-- swim goggles, cheap sunglasses

-- headlamp, overhead tent lamp, lantern (BSA has very inexpensive models of all these)

-- rope, clothespins, twine, small scissors, carabiners, shoelaces

-- personal first aid kit

--10 essentials

-- battery powered fan, small screwdriver that looks like a pen and has different mini blades ($2) for changing batteries

-- EXTRA BATTERIES, coin for opening BSA headlamp to change batteries

-- kleenex, hand sanitizer, hat, sunscreen, insect repellent

-- ground cloth, mosquito net

-- duct tape (wrap it around some credit card plastic)

-- string bag, 99¢ plastic poncho for string bag

-- sheet, because cots are not that clean

-- wrist watch with alarm, if you don't think ds will lose it (I skip this, lol)

-- this table

     http://www.amazon.com/Travelchair-Side-Canyon-Table-Silver/dp/B000A76XQ8/ref=sr_1_3?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1373162954&sr=1-3&keywords=travelchair+table

 

EXTRA COPIES OF MEDICALS, in case someone misplaces yours, BTDT

Print out meal menu, if it's the first year

 

If ds is doing MBs, pack any prerequisites.

 

If your ds has his Totin' Chip card, he should bring that. Double laminate it.

 

Have you sprayed clothing, sleeping bags, etc with Permethrin? That will help keep bugs at bay.

 

ETA Unless your ds has a driver's license and/or a credit card, you have to be a bit helicoptery, imo.

 

Thanks. The list seemed too short to me, so this is great. I have him finding his totin' chip card right now. I don't have a laminator, so I'm going to cover it with contact paper. He's doing a bunch of MBs, but we haven't heard anything about prereqs. I'll look them up now. I like the duct tape idea. 

 

I hesitate giving him our lantern and I'm not going to make it down to the Scout store before 5am on monday, so he'll just have to use his headlamp. He loses everything (what can I say, he's 12) so I don't want to send much that I actually want back. 

 

Thank you for the list. It's a better one than we were given. 

[Plateau Mama]

My son returned from camp today. He competed First Aid and Swimming. He is almost done with cooking as well. He also earned his firemen chip. He's about 1/2 to 2nd class.

 

I still can't believe how much he enjoys this stuff. Now if I could figure out how to keep him from losing 1/2 his stuff every time he goes somewhere.

[Serenade]

I have a question about camp instructors.  Who does most of the merit badge teaching at the camps your boys go to?  Do fellow scouts do most of the teaching?

 

My son just returned from a camp and attended a number of merit badge sessions that were taught by 16 year olds, and at least one of them was an Eagle Badge (Citizenship and World).  He said that class was rowdy and the instructor/scout couldn't control them, so my son said they didn't really do much.

 

I'm wondering if it is normal to have such young scouts teach sessions?  I always thought the scouts who were counselors were more assistants than full-fledged instructors. This is my son's third summer at camp, but he went to a different one than usual because he's attending Jamboree.  At his usual camp, there might be a few young instructors doing badges like leatherwork and basketry, but most of the academic topics have college students or adults teaching.  It should not be a surprise that a 16 year old might have a hard time teaching scouts around his own age.

 

I guess we'll try not to go to this camp again.  My son had a good time, but it doesn't sound like he learned a whole lot.  I guess I'll make sure he reads the merit badge books from cover to cover.  He got completes on all 6 of his badges except for needing one more requirement for Citizenship and the World.  He can work on that tomorrow (the internet stuff), and then he'll be done.

 

Then in a week or so he's off to Jamboree.  I guess we better get going with some of those patches for his second shirt.

 

 

[Alessandra]

Thanks. The list seemed too short to me, so this is great. I have him finding his totin' chip card right now. I don't have a laminator, so I'm going to cover it with contact paper. He's doing a bunch of MBs, but we haven't heard anything about prereqs. I'll look them up now. I like the duct tape idea. 

 

I hesitate giving him our lantern and I'm not going to make it down to the Scout store before 5am on monday, so he'll just have to use his headlamp. He loses everything (what can I say, he's 12) so I don't want to send much that I actually want back. 

 

Thank you for the list. It's a better one than we were given. 

 

You're welcome. My ds loses stuff too. I lucked out at a scout shop sale -- lanterns and headlamps for about $5, overhead hockey puck type lights for about $3. But even at regular price, they are still cheap.

 

Almost forget -- camp chairs. They are on our camp list -- boys use them up at campsite. (I take the cover off mine -- one less thing to lose.)

 

Another idea -- I got some crazy colored duct tape and color coded things like chairs. When everyone has essentially similar items, color coding helps my ds identify what is his. He often forgets what his own things look like. 

[Alessandra]

I have a question about camp instructors.  Who does most of the merit badge teaching at the camps your boys go to?  Do fellow scouts do most of the teaching?

 

My son just returned from a camp and attended a number of merit badge sessions that were taught by 16 year olds, and at least one of them was an Eagle Badge (Citizenship and World).  He said that class was rowdy and the instructor/scout couldn't control them, so my son said they didn't really do much.

 

 

 

At my ds's camp, adults do the teaching. Some of the teachers I have talked to are ps teachers during the school year.

 

I would be disappointed in having the average 16 yr old as a teacher too, especially for a Citizenship MB class.

[Serenade]

At my ds's camp, adults do the teaching. Some of the teachers I have talked to are ps teachers during the school year.

 

I would be disappointed in having the average 16 yr old as a teacher too, especially for a Citizenship MB class.

 

I did some googling last night, and it seems that a number of camps DO use fellow scouts for instructors.  I guess I am really surprised.  I know the scout model is boy-lead, but it seems that it is maybe not in the boys' best interest to follow that model with academic topics.  Few 16 year old have the expertise needed to teach (or control) a class of same-age students about these types of topics. 

 

When our Troop sponsors merit badges it is always an adult who is the merit badge counselor. It just seems odd to turn that responsibility over to scouts, just because they are at camp.

[Serenade]

 

 

Another idea -- I got some crazy colored duct tape and color coded things like chairs. When everyone has essentially similar items, color coding helps my ds identify what is his. He often forgets what his own things look like. 

 

This is a good idea.

[posybuddy]

This was our ds. But achieving the rank of Eagle is a great accomplishment and something worth being proud of!

 

Ds finished his last merit badge just a couple days before his 18th birthday - the music mb. At his Eagle Scoutmaster conference, the scoutmaster was wondering why ds had never done the music mb, since pretty much his whole life revolves around music. For some reason that sparked ds into whipping through it and finishing it in the car on the way to summer music camp. :D

 

This is my son - his whole life revolves around robotics, and he has one requirement left to finish for the Robotics merit badge. However, since everyone (in good fun) has given him such a hard time about it, now he refuses to finish the badge. :rolleyes: He figures he earned his Eagle rank, has enough mb's and time to get a couple of palms before he ages out, and so he's all good. I figure it's his experience, so I just work on keeping my mouth shut. Sort of, lol.

 

He is working camp staff this summer (and having a blast), where yes, as a 17 year old he is helping teach the Archery MB. Our camp has scouts as staff, and plenty of them do a fine job. Some of them are a little rough around the edges but leading a MB is part of their learning/leadership experience, too.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Re: scouts teaching merit badges

 

The scouts are assistants.  Somewhere on camp grounds is a registered adult merit badge counselor.  According to BSA regs the MBCs must be over 18 yo.  Younger scouts may teach the info/skills but they cannot be MBCs.

 

The ideal is to have the MBC meet with the assistants to determine what info will be taught, how it will be taught and to set standards and guidelines.  The MBC is supposed to visit the MB sites regularly and determine if the counselors are maintaining those standards.  They are also supposed to meet as a group at the end of the week and discuss how things went and whether or not the criteria was met to sign off on the blue cards.  Unfortunately, I don't see this happening as often as it should. 

 

Parents who have doubts or questions about how merit badges are run at camp should contact the council and speak to someone about their concerns. 

 

[Miss Marple]

I feel like a big under achiever here. We simply wish to get through to Eagle. If we get no palms or if we get only 30-40 merit badges, so be it.

 Dawn, that's where my boys found themselves as well.  They had the required and a few extra (enough for a Palm) but they finally just wanted to be done.  Our troop has really dwindled and there was little incentive to do anything extra.  But they both made it to Eagle...well, ds#4 is awaiting his Eagle BOR still.

 

 I'm in awe of those scouts who do what Margaret's son has done - and in awe of the momma who helped make it all happen.  

[Serenade]

Re: scouts teaching merit badges

 

The scouts are assistants.  Somewhere on camp grounds is a registered adult merit badge counselor.  According to BSA regs the MBCs must be over 18 yo.  Younger scouts may teach the info/skills but they cannot be MBCs.

 

The ideal is to have the MBC meet with the assistants to determine what info will be taught, how it will be taught and to set standards and guidelines.  The MBC is supposed to visit the MB sites regularly and determine if the counselors are maintaining those standards.  They are also supposed to meet as a group at the end of the week and discuss how things went and whether or not the criteria was met to sign off on the blue cards.  Unfortunately, I don't see this happening as often as it should. 

 

Parents who have doubts or questions about how merit badges are run at camp should contact the council and speak to someone about their concerns. 

 

Yes, I think this must be sorta what happened at my son's camp.  There were probably adults in charge, somewhere, but it doesn't sound like they ever came around to check on how things were going.  Of  course, perhaps the scout leading the merit badge didn't bother to mention he was having issues with one of the classes, but it seems like an adult should come around once in a while, regardless.  I wonder what they suggest the scouts/session leaders do when the attendees get rowdy.  My goodness, boys in this age category naturally are rowdy, seems like adults would make their presence known, KWIM?

 

I'm guessing there is also heavy pressure on the session leaders to give our merit badges, regardless of whether or not all the criteria were met.

 

Oh well.  I guess I'll have to rethink whether or not the camp experience is worth the cost.  My son had a good time, so that's worth something, I guess.  

[Serenade]

 

 

He is working camp staff this summer (and having a blast), where yes, as a 17 year old he is helping teach the Archery MB. Our camp has scouts as staff, and plenty of them do a fine job. Some of them are a little rough around the edges but leading a MB is part of their learning/leadership experience, too.

 

I hope they have an adult around shooting sports, at least!  Our Troop has an annual shooting sports weekend, and they are very strict about the training the adults have to have in order to be in charge of any of the shooting activities. 

[posybuddy]

I hope they have an adult around shooting sports, at least!  Our Troop has an annual shooting sports weekend, and they are very strict about the training the adults have to have in order to be in charge of any of the shooting activities. 

 

The area director is a 20-something who's been in charge for a couple of years, but I'm sure there are times when the director is gone for a period and the scouts are left in charge, and as far as I know they handle themselves quite ably. Everyone on the shooting ranges, regardless of age, takes safety VERY seriously, and if they weren't deemed responsible enough they wouldn't be working there. My guy, who in everyday life is a pretty major goof-off, gets really fracked at scouts and especially ADULTS who don't listen to instructions and then get irritated and mouthy with staff when they get kicked off the range for the week. 

[DawnM]

Both of my boys were voted in as patrol leaders tonight.  Yeah!

[AK_Mom4]

DH and DS17 leave tonight on their great adventure - National Jamboree.  After months of dealing with paper work and forms and gear (DH is Scoutmaster for one of the troops), it's hard to believe that they are finally leaving. Kids are arriving today from all over the state to fly out to the Jamboree.  Some of these kids are coming from remote areas and very small troops, so this is quite the adventure. They will fly all night to get to DC, do some touristy stuff, go caving and whitewater rafting, then head to the Jamboree next week.  DH and DS17 will be gone nearly three weeks - it will definitely be quiet around here!

 

DS17 finished up a Motor Boat merit badge over the weekend so he could get his third Palm(?) to wear on the trip.  He is one of the oldest scouts going and is pretty excited to be a patrol leader.  He has met most of the guys in his patrol at the shake-out camping trip and says they are all young (14-15) but easy to get along with. 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

DH and DS17 leave tonight on their great adventure - National Jamboree.  

 

 

 

 How exciting!  Our contingent leaves late Wed night/early Thurs morning.  Their departure time is 3am. 

 

I can't wait to hear or read about Jambo stories in a few weeks.

[Serenade]

DH and DS17 leave tonight on their great adventure - National Jamboree.  After months of dealing with paper work and forms and gear (DH is Scoutmaster for one of the troops), it's hard to believe that they are finally leaving. Kids are arriving today from all over the state to fly out to the Jamboree.  Some of these kids are coming from remote areas and very small troops, so this is quite the adventure. They will fly all night to get to DC, do some touristy stuff, go caving and whitewater rafting, then head to the Jamboree next week.  DH and DS17 will be gone nearly three weeks - it will definitely be quiet around here!

 

 

Mine doesn't leave for Jamboree until next Monday!  Of course, we're on the east coast, so driveable in a day.  

 

Sheesh!  We just got e-mails from our Jamboree organizer that the online medical forms/disclaimers we all submitted weren't sufficient, and now we have to do the paper ones after all.  My DH was not pleased to print out a dozen odd pages last night to do them all over again, since it took him a long time to do online.  From the e-mail that was sent, it sounded like National decided that online forms aren't sufficient -- I guess legal stuff?  This is what was said:

 

"BSA National has determined that your electronically submitted forms for consent, talent release, and acknowledgement of risk are not sufficient."

 

We kinda just wish this would have been determined earlier because everyone had issues with the online forms to begin with, but we were told they had to be submitted online.  Just wondering what other Troops did...

 

Right now, I'm still madly scrambling to get the patches on the two uniform shirts.  Seems like we are a couple of patches short -- I hope they give them out tonight.  And oh, how it hurts to rip out our regular troop badge, only to be resewn after Jamboree.

 

But I am so excited for my son!  I can't believe he's really going next week!  I hope, hope, hope, that he has fun and uses his time wisely.  My big fear is that he's going to be overwhelmed and will wonder aimlessly about, without really doing anything.  Our Jamboree Troop is really young -- I think most kids are 13 and younger, with only a handful 14 and older, so no experienced leaders.  I don't think any of the scouts have been to a Jamboree before.  We have a contingent going to the event in Japan (pre World Jamboree?)  this year, and I think that's what most of the older scouts are doing.

[Serenade]

 How exciting!  Our contingent leaves late Wed night/early Thurs morning.  Their departure time is 3am. 

 

I can't wait to hear or read about Jambo stories in a few weeks.

 

 

I wonder if it would be worthwhile to have a separate Jambo thread?  Or is that bad to suggest, since I'm kinda new to this thread...

[AK_Mom4]

Mine doesn't leave for Jamboree until next Monday!  Of course, we're on the east coast, so driveable in a day.  

 

Sheesh!  We just got e-mails from our Jamboree organizer that the online medical forms/disclaimers we all submitted weren't sufficient, and now we have to do the paper ones after all.  My DH was not pleased to print out a dozen odd pages last night to do them all over again, since it took him a long time to do online.  From the e-mail that was sent, it sounded like National decided that online forms aren't sufficient -- I guess legal stuff?  This is what was said:

 

"BSA National has determined that your electronically submitted forms for consent, talent release, and acknowledgement of risk are not sufficient."

 

We kinda just wish this would have been determined earlier because everyone had issues with the online forms to begin with, but we were told they had to be submitted online.  Just wondering what other Troops did...

 

Right now, I'm still madly scrambling to get the patches on the two uniform shirts.  Seems like we are a couple of patches short -- I hope they give them out tonight.  And oh, how it hurts to rip out our regular troop badge, only to be resewn after Jamboree.

 

But I am so excited for my son!  I can't believe he's really going next week!  I hope, hope, hope, that he has fun and uses his time wisely.  My big fear is that he's going to be overwhelmed and will wonder aimlessly about, without really doing anything.  Our Jamboree Troop is really young -- I think most kids are 13 and younger, with only a handful 14 and older, so no experienced leaders.  I don't think any of the scouts have been to a Jamboree before.  We have a contingent going to the event in Japan (pre World Jamboree?)  this year, and I think that's what most of the older scouts are doing.

 

Scoutmaster DH has a backpack to carry on the plane.  In the backpack are three neoprene waterproof laptop cases.  In each case are 15 plastic waterproof files.  In each file is every.single.piece of paper for a scout, including medical releases and original permissions forms.  His pack weighs about 20 pounds(!) but he is taking no chances. 

 

Additionally, we scanned every single document and have them out on a shared folder that is accessible by the other scout masters and by us support folks at home.  It may seem like overkill, but our contingent had some bad experiences at the 2005 Jamboree when our scoutmasters were killed, so now multiple copies are the rule, with backup plans in place.

 

Just to make it exciting, they found "one last form" at 2pm today!  Eeeeek! Scramble Scramble Scramble!

[Granny_Weatherwax]

 

 

 our contingent had some bad experiences at the 2005 Jamboree when our scoutmasters were killed,

 

 

 

What?!?!?  I am so sorry to hear this.  :(

 

[Serenade]

 

 

Just to make it exciting, they found "one last form" at 2pm today!  Eeeeek! Scramble Scramble Scramble!

 

Makes it fun, huh?

 

I actually feel better about everything tonight.  They had a good meeting tonight, and many of my concerns were addressed.  I didn't attend, but DH did, and it sounds like the scoutmasters are giving the boys strict orders that they can't remain in camp, and they must go out and do things!  A few changes -- they are thinking the boys should travel in small groups, rather than just with a single buddy, and I believe they will help kids, like my son, try to find companions to go to some of the less popular activities, like bird watching.  (My son is really into nature; moreso than high adventure, but I don't know if there are any other kids in the troop with such interests.)

 

One thing we've been confused about all along is the phones.  We read something somewhere that all the kids are getting phones for the Jamboree, but apparently they are just programming/marketing devices that do not actually function as phones. My husband thought they were all getting real phones, too, so I'm not sure where that communication error occurred. 

 

The troop gave each scout 9 shirts to wear throughout the Jamboree.  They are all the same, and they were told that after they wear them once, they can trade them. :-)  I guess kids really do trade shirts, huh?

 

And I was happy to hear that the scouts really only need one Class A after all, so I am saved from sewing patches on the other shirt, at least for now.  Woohoo! 

 

[Alessandra]

Scoutmaster DH has a backpack to carry on the plane.  In the backpack are three neoprene waterproof laptop cases.  In each case are 15 plastic waterproof files.  In each file is every.single.piece of paper for a scout, including medical releases and original permissions forms.  His pack weighs about 20 pounds(!) but he is taking no chances. 

 

Additionally, we scanned every single document and have them out on a shared folder that is accessible by the other scout masters and by us support folks at home.  It may seem like overkill, but our contingent had some bad experiences at the 2005 Jamboree when our scoutmasters were killed, so now multiple copies are the rule, with backup plans in place.

 

Just to make it exciting, they found "one last form" at 2pm today!  Eeeeek! Scramble Scramble Scramble!

 

Oh, no. I remember reading about this at the time, and I just googled it. I am so terribly, terribly sorry. What an unbelievable tragedy. My heart goes out to the boys and their families.

[Jennifer3141]

The Jambo tragedy is hard to even think about but all the talk of Jambo has me smiling. We did a parade and flag raising on the 4th with our CS troop and since we won't see a couple of the older boys in our BSA troop, we said early goodbyes. The cubs all looked so wistful! Next one!

 

I walked in the parade next to a man who has been to a ton of them and picked his brain on our boys. It was a great time.

 

We had DS' CM and his family over this week for wine and s'mores around our backyard fireplace after the CM and I went to a summer roundtable. Good times and DS has been approved for his first Nova stuff! We are on track for finishing that this summer. Then DS and I are going to start PALA together. What the heck... I'm already in Weight Watchers. lol

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Oh, no. I remember reading about this at the time, and I just googled it. I am so terribly, terribly sorry. What an unbelievable tragedy. My heart goes out to the boys and their families.

 

I googled it too.  What a terrible tragedy.

[felicity]

My son just got back from his first overnight Scout camp. He had so much fun and is completely filthy. Apparently they had showers but none of the boys would use them. We got our first bit of rain in five months this week, so instead of the camp being dusty, it got muddy and then dusty again. The camp is out in the desert where it got to be about 103 most days. Thankfully Harry wore his hat and slathered himself in sunscreen. 

 

He earned five badges and two partials. He did orienteering, lifesaving, swimming, citizen of the world, and astronomy. The partials are wood carving and cinematography. 

 

It's nice to have him back. He needs to shower for a while and then nap. Apparently having fun with friends until 12:00 and then getting up for the day at 6:30 leaves you a little taxed in the pleasantness department when your mom picks you up. 

 

Just a quick update.

[Jennifer3141]

Felicity, I'm chuckling about your description of how tired your DS must be. I'm glad your baby is home safe and content!

[chiguirre]

Geezle and 8 of his fellow patrol members finished the requirements for Tenderfoot at an overnight camp. It was so incredibly hot. We were the only campers in the park, which hosts several large groups in more temperate months. No one got dehydrated and all the boys met their goals. It was a really good campout.

[Serenade]

My son just got back from his first overnight Scout camp. He had so much fun and is completely filthy. Apparently they had showers but none of the boys would use them. We got our first bit of rain in five months this week, so instead of the camp being dusty, it got muddy and then dusty again. The camp is out in the desert where it got to be about 103 most days. Thankfully Harry wore his hat and slathered himself in sunscreen. 

 

He earned five badges and two partials. He did orienteering, lifesaving, swimming, citizen of the world, and astronomy. The partials are wood carving and cinematography. 

 

It's nice to have him back. He needs to shower for a while and then nap. Apparently having fun with friends until 12:00 and then getting up for the day at 6:30 leaves you a little taxed in the pleasantness department when your mom picks you up. 

 

Just a quick update.

 

That is how my older son's first 2 years at camp went.  This year, it was different.  I guess he's older and needs less sleep, although he still napped pretty well when he got back.  The unpleasantness was nothing compared to in the past, however.  He was much more pleasant and communicative, although getting camp details out of him is always a struggle.

 

Oh, he still doesn't use the showers at camp.  Well, not much.  This year he proudly told me he took a shower. That's shower in the singular.  I guess that's one more than last year, however.  :cool:

[Serenade]

Geezle and 8 of his fellow patrol members finished the requirements for Tenderfoot at an overnight camp. It was so incredibly hot. We were the only campers in the park, which hosts several large groups in more temperate months. No one got dehydrated and all the boys met their goals. It was a really good campout.

 

Glad they had a good time, despite the heat.  It's always fun to advance in rank.

[jen3kids]

That is how my older son's first 2 years at camp went.  This year, it was different.  I guess he's older and needs less sleep, although he still napped pretty well when he got back.  The unpleasantness was nothing compared to in the past, however.  He was much more pleasant and communicative, although getting camp details out of him is always a struggle.

 

Oh, he still doesn't use the showers at camp.  Well, not much.  This year he proudly told me he took a shower. That's shower in the singular.  I guess that's one more than last year, however.  :cool:

 

 

My son just got back from his first overnight Scout camp. He had so much fun and is completely filthy. Apparently they had showers but none of the boys would use them. We got our first bit of rain in five months this week, so instead of the camp being dusty, it got muddy and then dusty again. The camp is out in the desert where it got to be about 103 most days. Thankfully Harry wore his hat and slathered himself in sunscreen. 

 

He earned five badges and two partials. He did orienteering, lifesaving, swimming, citizen of the world, and astronomy. The partials are wood carving and cinematography. 

 

It's nice to have him back. He needs to shower for a while and then nap. Apparently having fun with friends until 12:00 and then getting up for the day at 6:30 leaves you a little taxed in the pleasantness department when your mom picks you up. 

 

Just a quick update.

 

 

My oldest is now 16 - he has packed clean clothes for everyday and plans to shower everyday, maybe twice because it will be hot.

 

My youngest is 12 and has packed 3 changes of clothes and I'll be lucky if he even gets close to water.  However, he's starting to get a little acne and he's freaked out by it, so there's a chance of at least some face washing!

[Serenade]

My oldest is now 16 - he has packed clean clothes for everyday and plans to shower everyday, maybe twice because it will be hot.  

 

Tee hee!  This is encouraging.

 

 

 

My youngest is 12 and has packed 3 changes of clothes and I'll be lucky if he even gets close to water.  However, he's starting to get a little acne and he's freaked out by it, so there's a chance of at least some face washing!  

 

I confess, but I still do most of my son's packing for camp.  Although I told him this was the last year.  It's hard to give it up when he requests that I pack him a complete outfit WITH underwear and socks in individual plastic bags, and then he actually wears a fresh set of clothes each day. If he had to root around in his bag, I know he wouldn't. 

 

Jamboree is different though -- no individual outfits in separate bags.. His troop provided 9 tee shirts and they are to wear one each day, after which they can trade it if they want.  And he is only bringing scout pants/shorts, other than sleep clothes, so he's on his own.  I hope this will be the transition I am hoping for.  Although, I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up wearing the SAME exact shirt each day because they all look the same, anyhow.  Unless he trades it or remember to put it in a dirty laundry bag, it will probably always remain at the top...

[felicity]

 

My oldest is now 16 - he has packed clean clothes for everyday and plans to shower everyday, maybe twice because it will be hot.  

 

Tee hee!  This is encouraging.

 

 

 

My youngest is 12 and has packed 3 changes of clothes and I'll be lucky if he even gets close to water.  However, he's starting to get a little acne and he's freaked out by it, so there's a chance of at least some face washing!  

 

I confess, but I still do most of my son's packing for camp.  Although I told him this was the last year.  It's hard to give it up when he requests that I pack him a complete outfit WITH underwear and socks in individual plastic bags, and then he actually wears a fresh set of clothes each day. If he had to root around in his bag, I know he wouldn't. 

 

Jamboree is different though -- no individual outfits in separate bags.. His troop provided 9 tee shirts and they are to wear one each day, after which they can trade it if they want.  And he is only bringing scout pants/shorts, other than sleep clothes, so he's on his own.  I hope this will be the transition I am hoping for.  Although, I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up wearing the SAME exact shirt each day because they all look the same, anyhow.  Unless he trades it or remember to put it in a dirty laundry bag, it will probably always remain at the top...

 

 

I didn't even think to put his clothes into individual bags. That's brilliant. I asked ds if he wore all of his clothes and he said no. When I pulled the clothes out of his bag though, they all seemed pretty dirty. But it's camp. Dust goes everywhere. And stays forever. 

[sparrow]

I'm finally joining this conversation!  It sounds like everyone is having a fun and productive summer.

 

Ds is headed to summer camp today. He is signed up for swimming, orienteering, leather working, fishing, and archery.  The week is supposed to be hot and humid, so I'm really glad swimming is one of his merit badges :) .  They have a family dinner on Wednesday, so we'll get to see how he's doing and get the tour. Next month, his troop is going on a canoe trip.

 

Dd is working on her bronze this summer.  They are doing a pet supply drive for our local humane society, which nearly closed last month due to lack of funding. It's a good cause and I'm proud of her troop.  We also have an overnight at the zoo scheduled for next month.

[Alessandra]

I picked up both ds and dd at their scout camps yesterday. Everything is washed, dried and put away. Ground cloths are hung up and drying out. Sleeping bags are about to go into dryer (no heat) with a tennis ball. I almost fainted when ds brought almost everything back home! 

 

The only things missing are:

-- waterproof match box ($1.99) and matches. Someone else melted it in a fire.

-- mini screwdriver from screwdriver pen thingy (about $2) from local hardware store.

-- Totin' Chip card. Cannot be replaced, must be re-earned. Not my problem.

 

I am still in shock at how little went missing, compared to when ds first joined Boy Scouts. Even the flashlight and headlamp came back. Wow!

 

Dd is so organized. Her first year at camp and no losses at all!

[chiguirre]

I am still in shock at how little went missing, compared to when ds first joined Boy Scouts. Even the flashlight and headlamp came back. Wow!

 

Dd is so organized. Her first year at camp and no losses at all!

There's hope yet then. Geezle would lose his head if it weren't attached. It's slowly getting better, but he's got a long way to go. Trinqueta is like your dd. All of her stuff made it home from camp in good shape.

[Alessandra]

There's hope yet then. Geezle would lose his head if it weren't attached. It's slowly getting better, but he's got a long way to go. Trinqueta is like your dd. All of her stuff made it home from camp in good shape.

 

During ds's first year, I went up to camp during the week and found about 16 things missing -- including rain gear, beach towel, goggles, waterproof watch w/ alarm, expensive hiking boots, 3 MB handbooks, pocketknife, flashlight, ds's entire insect & shell collections for Nature MB, and more. It's now ds's third year, but the nightmare of year 1 is still vivid. If my ds could improve, there is hope for everyone, lol!

[sparrow]

During ds's first year, I went up to camp during the week and found about 16 things missing -- including rain gear, beach towel, goggles, waterproof watch w/ alarm, expensive hiking boots, 3 MB handbooks, pocketknife, flashlight, ds's entire insect & shell collections for Nature MB, and more. It's now ds's third year, but the nightmare of year 1 is still vivid. If my ds could improve, there is hope for everyone, lol!

 

:svengo:

 

I was just responding in another thread about my absent minded ds and now I read this after dropping him off at camp 3 hours ago!?

 

Luckily, the only thing of real *value* that he has with him is his Scout book. I'd hate for him to misplace that!  I sent him with a freshly washed pack of white Hanes t-shirts. I don't care what happens to those.  His scoutmaster said that now would not be the time he'd buy his son new hiking boots or tennis shoes, but that that was up to us :) .