Anyone up for a scout check-in?

[funchicken]

How's the year going? Has your girl or boy scout troop done anything especially fun or meaningful? Do you do stuff over the summer or does your troop take a break?

[mightymaude]

DS is graduating to Web 2 next month. He has been visiting Boy Scout troops to check them out and likes them ALL, so we are glad we started early. His pack is going camping this weekend, but he didn't want to go b/c morning temps are going to be close to freezing.

DD quit girl scouts last spring because the meetings caused major anxiety. The leaders couldn't manage the girls well and it was chaos. She keeps asking to go back now though, because girls at school gush about it. She also knows that our cub scouts pack is starting some girl dens, so she kind of wants to do that too, b/c cub scouts have "cooler" uniforms (she really wants a neckerchief and a belt full of belt loops). The girl scouts troop is currently full, so we aren't sure what direction we want to go yet.

[funchicken]

DD1 is in 4th and has been with her GS troop since first grade. We've had a really good year as a troop this year. Yesterday we took the troop to an indoor skydiving place, and it was really cool. They had a blast. My co-leader and I have been trying to increase the field trips and decrease the regular meetings because we have a lot of really active girls. It makes things harder logistically, but it makes things more interesting for them. We usually take the summer off, but DD does attend a GS day camp that she loves.

DD2 is bridging from daisies to brownies this year. I think she wants to continue, but some days it's hard to tell. Running a daisy troop is kind of like herding cats, and DD2 is one of the calmer kids, so she gets frustrated when the other girls are running around and not paying attention.

[waverly]

DS got all his belt loops. His den meetings are over until fall but he still has pack meetings. I told DH to take the form to whomever for the camp out- no idea if he actually did this because I am not taking him to another camp out this year anyway. So I am out of it.

We still have rain gutter regatta. What should I expect for that? And some kind of ceremony in May.

Our Blue and Gold ceremony was 3 hours long! Way too long! I’m looking forward to it slowing down in summer although DH does take him to most the Sunday meetings which is nice.

[orval]

My ds is on his first Boy Scout camping trip right now. His pack was huge and probably weighs as much as he does! Still trying to figure out how to meet the rank requirements. There are a lot!

[funchicken]

Apr 20, 2018 12:40:05 GMT -5 mightymaude said:

DS is graduating to Web 2 next month. He has been visiting Boy Scout troops to check them out and likes them ALL, so we are glad we started early. His pack is going camping this weekend, but he didn't want to go b/c morning temps are going to be close to freezing.

DD quit girl scouts last spring because the meetings caused major anxiety. The leaders couldn't manage the girls well and it was chaos. She keeps asking to go back now though, because girls at school gush about it. She also knows that our cub scouts pack is starting some girl dens, so she kind of wants to do that too, b/c cub scouts have "cooler" uniforms (she really wants a neckerchief and a belt full of belt loops). The girl scouts troop is currently full, so we aren't sure what direction we want to go yet.

Girl Scouts started early bird registration for next year at the beginning of this month. Troop leaders should start to know if they're going to have openings for next year. You could reach out to the troop leaders and see if they think they'll have any spaces in the fall. It helps if you offer to register as a volunteer, as well. Being a troop leader is a lot of work, and sometimes they'll take an extra girl (even if the troop is full) if you can help out with cookies or volunteer to be the First Aider or something.

[funchicken]

Apr 21, 2018 5:49:02 GMT -5 orval said:

My ds is on his first Boy Scout camping trip right now. His pack was huge and probably weighs as much as he does! Still trying to figure out how to meet the rank requirements. There are a lot!

I hope he has fun!

[miranda]

Our biggest news is that DS (who will be Arrow of Light next year) wants to continue on to Boy Scouts. We had our Blue and Gold and he loved the ceremony. We discussed with him that we will not be active in the Troop unless he is. I am not going to drag him to meetings and I have no plans of camping with him. Word was circulating that he wasn't interested in Scouts anymore and our pack leader sat him down and told him about all the fun stuff they are planning. They were going to hike Kilimanjaro, but determined it was too strenuous. So they are paddling the Amazon instead. And they are going to Sea Base next year. I don't really foresee DS being able to do these things; he is SO low tone that anything fatigues him. But maybe he'll surprise us.

I'm excited for our last year in scouts. Partly because I'm kindof over it, but also because it should be memorable. The pack pays for a special field trip for AOL kids, usually a sleepover at the Aquarium at the Mall of America. It's also the 100 year anniversary of our Pack, so I volunteered our den to build an AOL bridge to replace the plain chunk of wood they were previously using.

I'm also excited that our last den meeting for the year is this week. And that another parent actually volunteered to lead it (first time in 4 years someone has volunteered to help..)

[miranda]

orval, You'll have to update us on how it went!

[mightymaude]

Apr 23, 2018 9:51:17 GMT -5 miranda said:

Our biggest news is that DS (who will be Arrow of Light next year) wants to continue on to Boy Scouts. We had our Blue and Gold and he loved the ceremony. We discussed with him that we will not be active in the Troop unless he is. I am not going to drag him to meetings and I have no plans of camping with him. Word was circulating that he wasn't interested in Scouts anymore and our pack leader sat him down and told him about all the fun stuff they are planning. They were going to hike Kilimanjaro, but determined it was too strenuous. So they are paddling the Amazon instead. And they are going to Sea Base next year. I don't really foresee DS being able to do these things; he is SO low tone that anything fatigues him. But maybe he'll surprise us.

I'm excited for our last year in scouts. Partly because I'm kindof over it, but also because it should be memorable. The pack pays for a special field trip for AOL kids, usually a sleepover at the Aquarium at the Mall of America. It's also the 100 year anniversary of our Pack, so I volunteered our den to build an AOL bridge to replace the plain chunk of wood they were previously using.

I'm also excited that our last den meeting for the year is this week. And that another parent actually volunteered to lead it (first time in 4 years someone has volunteered to help..)

OMG, those are AMAZING trips.

[sahara78]

DD received a packet from Girl Scouts at her Pre-K, so now she says she wants to be a Scout when she grows up. Kind of nice to read about other experiences on here first. Will have to start looking for a troop.

[orval]

Apr 23, 2018 9:52:24 GMT -5 miranda said:

orval , You'll have to update us on how it went!

The camping trip went great!  He had fun which is the most important thing.
They hiked to their camping location Fri night and he put up his tent by himself.  My dh was on the trip but he didn't help and had his own tent to set up.  He had another boy scout in the tent with him.  
They had to cook their own meals in their patrols.  They were simple but he ate (he is very picky and won't even try things).
They got back Sun late afternoon.  His hips are sore where his pack buckles around his waist -- he is a little to skinny and had to keep tightening the pack.   It was definitely a success!

miranda -- Most of those big trips are for older boys --  like 13 and up.  So your ds might have some time to gain some strength.  Park of their rank is physical fitness so they have to keep a log of activity and are timed on a mile run, sit ups etc once a month.  I think that is helping my weak ds.  

[funchicken]

miranda, so how does it work next year when he moves up? Will you be off the hook for leading meetings?

Our last meeting is the first week of June, but I'm really looking forward to having a couple of months off this summer. I'm one of the leaders for DD1's troop, and DH is a leader for DD2's troop. We're kind of drowning in scout activities over the next month. My troop is trying to complete a requirement to work on their bronze award next year, and DH's troop is bridging to the next level.

[funchicken]

Apr 23, 2018 11:53:25 GMT -5 sahara78 said:

DD received a packet from Girl Scouts at her Pre-K, so now she says she wants to be a Scout when she grows up. Kind of nice to read about other experiences on here first. Will have to start looking for a troop.

I think Girl Scouts has been great for DD. DH and I are very involved with both troops, but we enjoy it. 

[miranda]

funchicken, Yes, once he's in Boy Scouts I'm out. Boy Scout meetings are "boy led" and there is supposed to be little adult involvement. More importantly, the Troop he would move into has very strong adult leadership. They have been giving me the pitch to join for awhile, but neither DH and I are excited about it. We are not extreme campers. Last year they went to Denali in Alaska to camp for TWO WEEKS. NOPE. Not interested. I don't have that kind of vacation time to throw around! They camp once a month all year round. Another big NOPE from me. I have been pushing 4-H for some time, and even considered becoming a leader in an urban club (I was a 10 year 4-H alum), but DS is drawn to the "leveling up" that scouts provides. He really has made some unique friendships, too. He's not BFFs with any of them, but they all pull together when needed.

We do not do summer stuff with scouts. Last year our leader promised we'd meet in August to get a jump on things, but that never materialized. He isn't very organized, which has been maddening. There are some things I definitely won't miss about scouts. I especially hate that we meet Friday nights. The boys are squirrely as heck and no one, adults included, really wants to be there.

[miranda]

Apr 23, 2018 11:54:06 GMT -5 orval said:

Apr 23, 2018 9:52:24 GMT -5 miranda said:

orval , You'll have to update us on how it went!

The camping trip went great!  He had fun which is the most important thing.
They hiked to their camping location Fri night and he put up his tent by himself.  My dh was on the trip but he didn't help and had his own tent to set up.  He had another boy scout in the tent with him.  
They had to cook their own meals in their patrols.  They were simple but he ate (he is very picky and won't even try things).
They got back Sun late afternoon.  His hips are sore where his pack buckles around his waist -- he is a little to skinny and had to keep tightening the pack.   It was definitely a success!

miranda -- Most of those big trips are for older boys --  like 13 and up.  So your ds might have some time to gain some strength.  Park of their rank is physical fitness so they have to keep a log of activity and are timed on a mile run, sit ups etc once a month.  I think that is helping my weak ds.  

That is great that your son had fun! LOL, putting his tent up by himself is actually one of the ways DH has been trying to talk DS out of scouts. So DS has been fretting about that part. We were using it as an example to show him that Scouts isn't like Cubs; he can't phone it in because his parents won't be there. He started perseverating over putting up a tent so I finally explained to him that he'd have help from other scouts and wouldn't be forced to sleep outside. That made him feel better.

True, about the age reqs. I figure we have to just wait and see. 

[orval]

miranda -- DS practiced putting up his tent by himself before they went on this trip. he has always helped in the past so he had a some idea how to do it. Our Troop also has great adult leadership and a parent does NOT have to go on the camping trip. My DH enjoys it so he will go some of the time if he can. I do think it is a good way to get our kids to learn independence and advocating for themselves - especially as they head to middle/high school. Most of our boys have been together since 1st grade. We also have several special needs kids - mine with DCD/Dyspraxia, a few ADHD, SPD.

[agedsubaru]

Cub Scouts. All is well with ds.

Girl Scouts. DD transitioned to a new troop this year as a 2nd year junior. Our prior troop merged with our current troop since our leader's life imploded (she is amazing). There isn't a cadet level in our new troop so we will be looking for a new troop next year. She transitioned well and is now without me in the meetings. Leadership is not encouraged in our current troop so it is a skill we have to work on.

[auntie]

Apr 23, 2018 9:51:17 GMT -5 miranda said:

Our biggest news is that DS (who will be Arrow of Light next year) wants to continue on to Boy Scouts. We had our Blue and Gold and he loved the ceremony. We discussed with him that we will not be active in the Troop unless he is. I am not going to drag him to meetings and I have no plans of camping with him. Word was circulating that he wasn't interested in Scouts anymore and our pack leader sat him down and told him about all the fun stuff they are planning.


Will your DH being camping? I wouldn't be comfortable with a newly bridged scout camping with ASD camping w/o a parent or para. By the time he's First Class you can back off, but initially he'll need one of you looking out unless you know and trust the adult leadership on the trip. DS's den leader "got" him, so I was comfortable but he died on an outing 2 years later much to all of our loss. His assistant cub master could be OK and really liked DS but sometimes would argue with DS which wasn't ideal. His scoutmaster would forget DS has ASD- even now he does. 


They were going to hike Kilimanjaro, but determined it was too strenuous. So they are paddling the Amazon instead. And they are going to Sea Base next year. I don't really foresee DS being able to do these things; he is SO low tone that anything fatigues him. But maybe he'll surprise us.


Fabulous trips. Trips to the BSA Jamboree and High Adventure Bases are restricted to First Class and above. A scout can get to First Class in a year if he's really focused and participates actively. 


DS did Sea Base live aboard- it was his single favorite camp out of all time. 

I'm excited for our last year in scouts. Partly because I'm kindof over it, but also because it should be memorable. The pack pays for a special field trip for AOL kids, usually a sleepover at the Aquarium at the Mall of America. It's also the 100 year anniversary


There's a special patch for members of a unit that are active when it reaches 100. It's pretty cool and quite rare. Ask about it. 

of our Pack, so I volunteered our den to build an AOL bridge to replace the plain chunk of wood they were previously using.


Look into Monkey Bridges. You can often get boys from the unit into which they are crossing to do this for you. 


scoutpioneering.com/2012/12/27/double-a-frame-monkey-bridge/

I'm also excited that our last den meeting for the year is this week. And that another parent actually volunteered to lead it (first time in 4 years someone has volunteered to help..)


About friggin' time. 

[auntie]

Apr 23, 2018 16:55:00 GMT -5 miranda said:

 Yes, once he's in Boy Scouts I'm out. Boy Scout meetings are "boy led" and there is supposed to be little adult involvement. More importantly, the Troop he would move into has very strong adult leadership. They have been giving me the pitch to join for awhile, but neither DH and I are excited about it. We are not extreme campers.


You can help without camping. Units always need help around advancement. You're an attorney, no? I could see you helping with some rank requirements (First Class 9a) or as a Merit Badge Counselor (Cit Community/Nation come to mind, also Law, Animal Management, EnviSci, etc). I worked with older boys as a coordinator for Eagle Scout candidates helping them with project management. I also say hundreds of Boards of Review from Tenderfoot on through Eagle.