Double Duty (or: Biting off more than you can chew.)

In the other scout-related blogs I read, I don't often see people telling stories about things that don't work. Here I'd like to include a few things like that when they happen to me or our pack.

I made a mistake this year. Yes, really, it can happen to anyone. At the beginning of the year, the leader of our Webelos 1 den had to withdraw from pack leadership because his son decided to devote his attention to another activity. A perfectly acceptable reason for both of them to leave the scouts; that isn't the issue. The issue here is now we have a Webelos den with 4 boys, one of them is my son, and no leader. At the time, we also had a Bear den with no leader, but that was solved. We were in desperate need of several committee positions also.

Here's where I went a little crazy. I decided that I could lead the Webelos den. Here's my justification:

1. Its just four boys.
2. I was their Asst. Den Leader when they were Bears. It'll be fun!
   
3. I have to be there on Monday nights anyway, I might as well run the meetings.
4. Maybe I'll find an assistant along the way.

Yea, right. First, since its just four boys and we've been together for more than a year, its harder to get and keep on topic. The work load of a Webelos leader is more than that of a Bear leader. Since parents step out of the way and let the boys be more like Boy Scouts, I'm missing that extra bit of discipline that their mere presence provides.

I think my time would be spent better being a Cubmaster on Den meeting nights and visiting all of the dens. I should be helping with all dens, not running one by myself. I could use that time to make sure all of the programs are running smoothly and working on pack meeting plans. I would be better off assisting the Webelos leader and helping plan and carry out Webelos outdoor activities and Webelos to Boy Scout transition.

The result?

As a Webelos leader, I feel the den is working. We're on our way and will complete all of the requirements. But, it could be better.

As a Cubmaster, I'm not on top of the program where I belong. Sure, I get the job done, but I'm not excelling. The program and the pack meetings aren't what I would like them to be. I'm not setting the example for the other leaders and I'm not having as much fun as we should have as leaders.

The moral of the story: Don't skimp on Den Leaders. The committee can function without a membership chair or awards chair, but the Den can't function without a Den Leader. Committee is important, but direct-contact leaders are a requirement.

Punkin' Chunkin' Weekend at Camp Pipsico

Just before Thanksgiving, our council held its first annual Pumpkin Chunkin' event at the Pipsico Scout Reservation in Spring Grove, VA. The Boy Scouts built and operated catapults, trebuchets and gigantic sling-shots that launched 4 lb. pumpkins nearly 90 meters. The banner image above shows all of them. Pictures on our Tidewater Council Website


We, the Cub Scouts, were also invited to both watch and enter a golf ball chunkin' contest. We had a blast! One of our scout parents designed and built the catapults. The boys had a great time launching them and they also had a great time watching the Boy Scouts do their thing.

There wasn't as much participation from Cub Scouts as I would have hoped. Only three packs came out for the event and one of them used a store-bought water balloon sling-shot instead of building a catapult. Our pack earned the award for accuracy. I'm guessing the distance award went to the water-balloon people. (so much for the rules...grrr!!)

Attendance by Boy Scout Troops was much higher than the council expected. They had more than double the expected participation. They managed to keep everything together; a great credit to the council and camp staff!

To our disappointment, we have found out that Cub Scouts won't be invited to the event next year. :( That's OK, we'll find something fun to do in its place. We are glad we had the opportunity to go to the first one.

Happy New Year!

I want to wish everyone a happy New Year. Since this is a scout-related blog, I hope your next year in scouting is as successful and fulfilling as last year was for me. Because I know my year was better than yours! [ Just kidding ;) ]

I received word from my Committee Chair that we made Centennial Quality Unit for 2007. Since its that time of year, I hope your rechartering went well!

Dave

Podcasts about Cub Scouting

A while back, I started listening to podcasts. I was playing around in iTunes and subscribed to WAY too many that any human could possible listen to. When I cleaned out the ones that weren't good and cleaned out the ones that weren't great, I ended up with 4 that related to Cub Scouting. I share them here:

The first is:

Cubcast - "An audio podcast featuring a variety of how-to and information topics for Cub Scout leaders and parents." This is a monthly podcast by BSA National. Right from the horse's mouth, it is a great podcast that follows the monthly themes and has a special topic each month.

Site URL: http://www.scouting.org/cubscouts/podcast/index.html
Feed URL: http://www.scouting.org/cubscouts/podcast/cubcast.xml


The other three are all done by a group of guys who used to run separate podcasts, but somehow ended up combining under one group. Its still three podcasts though.

PTC Media

These are each different and talk about scouting from different leader's perspectives. Akela's Adventure is led by Den Leader Bob with great input from his son, one of his cubs. You get to hear from the leader AND the scout. An Hour a Week features Cubmaster Chris from Central Texas. The Leader's Campfire is more of a round table with Cubmaster Chris, Den Leader Bob and several other guests.

Akela's Adventure XML iTunes
An Hour a Week? XML iTunes
The Leader's Campfire XML iTunes


Enjoy!

Scouting Colors

Trying to match the blue from the Cub Scout logo with the borders on your pack newsletter? This may help.

A while back, I found these images on the National BSA site. I believe they are color samples for many of the emblems that we use. For example, these two are the blue and gold of the Cub Scout logo with the wolf:





The color values I extracted from them with Photoshop are below in hex and decimal RGB format:

Blue: #005E9C (Red:0, Green:94, Blue:156)
Yellow: #FFD401 (Red:255, Green: 212, Blue:1)

Here are the red and green from Boy Scouts:





Red: #EC1848 (Red:236, Green:24, Blue:72)
Green: #01713F (Red:1, Green 113, Blue:63)

If you know what those numbers mean and you work on any scout websites or graphic designs, you'll know what to do with them.

There are many more colors used in scouting, like the orange of the Tiger Cubs. Send me any you find and I'll add them here. Also, send me corrections if I'm wrong about any of these numbers.

Who am I, you ask?

I am Dave, Cubmaster of Pack 499 in the Kempsville District of the Tidewater Council in Virginia Beach, VA. I have just completed my first year as Cubmaster. Yea, I'm not all that experienced, but I'm getting there. I was a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout for a total of eight years. I have two sons, one 10 (Webelos) and one 2. So, I'll be around for a while.

This blog is a dumping ground for scouting-related stuff I find interesting. I'll post information about ceremonies I try, ceremonies I want to try ... ceremonies I'm afraid to try. There will probably be a little bit of Pack Meeting stuff, but there is already so much out there, that I'll probably just post links with some brief notes. I really want to focus on things that relate to Cub Scouting in general.

I want to talk about the fun stuff Cubmasters get to do. That one little thing that makes every boy in the room, (or around the campfire,) stare, jaw dropped in awe; that one little thing that makes the whole room laugh; the stuff that gets them and their parents, excited about Scouting.

Here's a little more about me:

I love this stuff! I love everything we do as scouts and scouters. My childhood scouting ended as a Life Scout after my family moved and I never got back into it. I do regret that now. Maybe that's why I'm so into it. Scouting has been in my family from the beginning. My Great Grandfather used to tell me that he was the first scout to sign up in New Jersey back in 1910. My Grandfather was a scout. Even my Mother used to help out when her cousins were scouts. Later, she was my first Den Leader in Cub Scouts. I was a Cub Scout in the South Texas Council and a Boy Scout in the Palmetto Council in Rock Hill, SC. Once my oldest son became interested and joined a Pack, I jumped right in as soon as I was asked. I went from Assistant Den Leader to Cubmaster in two months.

I've had a lot of training from my excellent district and council trainers and the BSA web-based training.

The Basics:
Cub Scout Fast Start:
Tiger Cub Den Leaders
Wolf/Bear Cub Scout Den Leaders
Webelos Den Leaders
Cubmaster
Pack Committee Fast Start
Boy Scout Fast Start (Good Stuff for Webelos Leaders)
Youth Protection (Not just for Scouters!)
New Leader Essentials
Leader Specific:
Cub Scout Den Leader
Cubmaster

Other Great Stuff:
Safe Swim Defense
Safety Afloat
BALOO
Outdoor Webelos Leader Skills (Great Fun!)
University of Scouting (Associates)
Boy Behavior
Geocaching to Promote Scouting
Geocaching (part 2)
Ceremonies
Summer Program
Conducting a Safe Outing

I hope to attend Wood Badge this year, I'll let you know how it goes...