Cub Scouts 6 Essentials to take along on a hike

Paws on The Path

Requirement 1

Requirement 1- Show you are prepared to hike safely by putting together the Cub Scout 6 Essentials

When my son has to hike, I always make him wear a backpack with his 6 essentials plus some extra stuff. Do we use it? Sometimes. It's just better to get them in the frame of mind now better than later.

1. First Aid Kit- our 1st aid kit came from

a booth at a fun run or festival. Around here, a lot of hospitals participate with a booth where you get free stuff. Usually a small 1st aid kit and hand sanitizer. The one we have actually clips onto the backpack zipper, making it light, easy accessible, and doesn't take up space in the pack. We had one Webelos who had a big 1st aid kit but after a little while, he didn't want to wear it any longer. So he gave it to a den leader to carry around for a 3 mile hike. 

If need be, just make one with a Ziploc bag with neosporin, some band-aids, moleskin band-aid for blisters, hand sanitizing gel and I add tweezers for those pesky splinters.

You can also buy a small one:

I found them starting at 99 cents online, around $4 at Walmart, I mean they are everywhere!

2.  Flashlight

We have a $1 LED light that he got as a stocking stuffer in a burnt orange color, just so that it was easy to find in a backpack on the side.

Also he has a Cub Scout Flashlight that he received from his pack that we have inside the back pack.

This is the exact one he has that was $1 at Walmart.

3. Filled Water Bottle

Again, have a lot from Fun Runs and festivals that were free. Alot of times we will have an ozarka water bottle and then he has a water bottle that he received from Scout Day camp with his name on it.

4. Trail Food

We usually have beef jerky with, preferably from Bellville Meat Market. But sometimes he will make a mixture of nuts and chocolate to keep with just in case. But you can always just have an oatmeal bar or something.

5. Sun Protection-

My son hates hats! But on hikes, I make him wear one along with sun screen.

I tried buying the Bullfrog Sunscreen and mosquito spay in one.  I haven't bought it since. But I always have at least 30 spf sunscreen spray.  We burn easily so it is very important for us to keep on hand.

6. Whistle

He has the cub scout whistle that clips to his backpack. Works just as good as any other whistle, nothing special. So you can buy just a plain old whistle, just make sure it works.

Now I am going to suggest a 7th item for us southerners! This is just as important as the others, here in the south.

7. Mosquito Spray

LOAD UP!

They say everything is bigger in Texas. That includes the monster size mosquitos that I have seen. They bite through your clothes! So spray those clothes down too. Warning-They say don't use Deet products on children. They have child safe products out there. And load up a few more bottles if your camping. Your going to want them!

If you would like to help support James'

Scouting adventures,  please click 

Here

Thank you!

Wolf Requirements - Howling at the Moon

Howling at the Moon

My son completed this at our fall camp out and received 

his belt loop by the camp fire.

* BSA 2017 modifications don't change this one. Still need all 4 requirements from the book!

This has only 4 requirements, unlike Council Fire or Paws on the Path.

So it's easy to do!

Requirement 1- Show you can communicate in at least 2 different ways.

We discussed the 4 different different ways located in the book. We talked about each one. We used learned the ASL way of signing the Cub Scout Motto. We even did the American Indian Sign Launguage shown. Then we went to the library and checked out The Black Book of Colors by  Menena Cottin (Goodreads Author), Elisa Amado (translator), Rosana Faría (illustrator). It has braille in it, so it showed him that people can read another way too. 

And for our den activity, the boys were blind folded and were told which way to go to find an object. By the way, at this age, left and right are not always known. 

The kids will laugh and have fun with it but make sure they understand that for people that can't see, it's not fun and games.

Requirement 2- Create an original skit

My boys were hesitant about this. So I started throwing out suggestions on a subject. Minecraft and Pokemon Go were the 2 they had trouble picking between. Pokemon Go was chosen and they made a skit of walking in the woods looking for an elusive Pokemon. Also, they never said the word Pokemon, so it went kind of like this:

" It's over here!" " No, it moved behind that tree", you knew they were tracking something on a screen, just not what. Then another boy jumps out and roars and they say we found " insert weird name of fictional Pokemon creature here". The other scouts were laughing once hey caught on because a lot of them play Pokemon Go. Remember, if you don't have enough boys in your den, ask the other dens if someone would like to help. 

Requirement 3- Work together with your den to plan, prepare and rehearse a campfire program to present at a den meeting

1st- I read the story of the Lone wolf to them.  Then we already planned our skit and the boys chose to sing a song about underwear. We also howled by the campfire. The next morning, my son went and grabbed some of the cold ashes for the next campfire to " keep the scouting tradition
alive"

Requirement 4- Practice and perform your role for a pack campfire program

Skit didn't take a lot of practice but the underwear song did. They even had to read some of the forgotten words as they sang in front of the fire. Cub Scouts are supposed to "Do your Best" and they did. They gave it their all and we still had a blast.

Congratulations! See how easy it was? 

I wish I had some of the videos of the skits and songs but I can't seem to find them. Ugh! 

Maybe next camp out!

If you would like to help support
LJ'S pack click https://www.trails-end.com/scout/C4Q135N2
Thank you

STEM Experiment- Elephant Toothpaste

Scoust started a fairly new program that involves STEM. 

It's only around 5 years old, from what I understand. 

Starting at wolf, your son can start it. Some areas have a large STEM

program but ours doesn't. So, I signed up as his STEM councilor. 

Here is a link for more info, if you haven't already signed up your child.

It is a great source for all things STEM in scouts.

http://www.scouting.org/stem.aspx

Even if you don't want to do STEM and just want to entertain your children, this is a cool experiment!

It's called Elephant Foam.

We did this experiment in my STEM class at Scouting University. As soon as Spring Break started, I had to do this. Here is a picture of my son before the experiment and after. 

As you can tell, he really didn't want me to disturb his entertainment time on YouTube. After the experiment, he had me do it again. That worked out well because I took a video the 1st time and the 2nd time we took pics.

Remember, BSA has safety rules in place to protect your children. Safety gear is a big deal. Safety goggles is a must, lab coats too but I haven't found any on Amazon yet. These directions were from my class I went to. I just added what I may have done differently. 

OK, here is what you need to do:

ELEPHANT’S TOOTHPASTE - KID VERSION

This is a kid-safe version of the popular Elephant's Toothpaste demonstration using common household materials. A child with a

great adult helper can safely do this activity and the results are wonderful.

Materials

• 16 oz. empty plastic soda bottle (preferably with a narrow neck such as those made by Coca-Cola)

• 1/2 cup 20-volume hydrogen peroxide (20-volume is 6% solution, purchased from a beauty supply store) ( Mine was a 40 volume with exactly the same results as in class with the 20- volume)

• Squirt of Dawn dish detergent

• 3-4 drops of food coloring ( I'd suggest the liquid but gel was used by us and it worked) ( Also, at 1st we used just blue. But the 2nd time we turned the yeast pink and the peroxide orange. So if you look at the foam pictures closely, you can see both colors mixed up.)

• 1 teaspoon yeast dissolved in approximately 2 tablespoons very warm water ( I added more water because it didn't want to disolve in the 2 Tablespoons)

• Funnel ( I used a laminated paper because I had no funnel. Remember a scout is thrifty)

• Foil cake pan with 2-inch side’s Safety glasses Lab smock

Experiment

• Have students put on their safety glasses and lab smock. Each student should have in front of them a cake pan, plastic bottle, Dawn in small cup, food coloring, 1/2 cup peroxide, and the dissolved yeast mixture.

• Stand the bottle up in the center of the cake pan. Put the funnel in the opening. Add 3-4 drops of food coloring to the

peroxide and pour the peroxide through the funnel into the bottle. Show a water molecule diagram and a peroxide

molecule diagram, pointing to the extra oxygen that will be set free in the reaction.

• Add the Dawn detergent to the peroxide in the bottle.

• Pour the yeast mixture into the bottle and quickly remove the funnel.

• The students can touch the bottle to feel any changes that take place.

How Does It Work?

Talk about the addition of the yeast as a catalyst, which makes the peroxide molecule release the oxygen atom faster. The teacher

who submitted this experiment claims to have done this with hundreds of students from kindergarten through fifth grade and some

adults who all loved the experiment. It is very easy and safe to do again at home using regular hydrogen peroxide from the

drugstore.

Observations

The reaction creates foam that shoots up out of the bottle and pools in the pan.Ours didn't shoot high but in some YouTube videos it can shoot high.  Ours began to come out in a

foamy stream that looks like toothpaste being squeezed out of a tube. The students can play with the foam as it is just soap and

water with oxygen bubbles. ( Our foam was hot vs my classes. I really think it had to do with the peroxide %.  So please be careful and touch the foam 1st to make sure!)

The bottle will feel warm to the touch as this is an exothermic reaction. With me, the aluminium pan was also hot when I touched the bottom where the foam was sitting. 

Have fun with it and be safe!
 Here is a video of our 1st time doing it!
My son makes the funnest surprised sound in it. LOL

If you would like to support

James in his scouting adventures

Please click Here

Thank you!

Wolf Requirements- Duty to God Footsteps

Duty to God Footsteps

BSA has done some modifications that I will post at the end of this post. It will make doing this easier.

This one took my son a little long to do but thankfully you dont have to do them all.

Requirement 1A- Visit a religious monument or site where people might show reverence

So, my son was in the middle of completing his Texas badge when we started this. One of his requirements was to visit a Texas monument of some kind. Well, near Houston, we have a Battleship and also the San Jacinto monument. So we visited both. The monument is where a big battle took place in favor of Texas where a lot of people lost their lives. 

also, some of Texas's greatest heroes fought here or remembered the Alamo there.

Requirement 1B- Create a visual display of the monument and show how it made you feel reverent

So my son drew the San Jacinto Monument and stated that people died there in a battle. And that the monument was so tall that when he went to the top, he felt like he was closer to God. He also said some other stuff but that is the thing that stayed with me. 

Here is a picture taken from the elevator that shows how tall it is:

Requirement 2A- Give 2 ideas that you can practice your duty to God. Choose one and do it for a week.

We were talking about StandUp for kids during the time he did this so he chose:

1. Help others

2. Praying for others

So he prayed every night for a week straight to God to help the homeless people. Also, this has not stopped. At least 1-2 times a week, he still prays that He helps them.

Now- you know you don't have to do 2B-2D... just choose 2

My son Chose 2B and 2D- he doesn't like singing in front of others 

So for 2B- Read a story about people that came to America for religious freedom

He learned about Christopher Columbus.

2D- Offer prayer with Family, den or pack

Yup, my son prayed for our family that is spread over the southern states and in Europe. He asked God to make them all happy. Sounds good to me!

If your son decide to do 2C- have him sing a song of praise

Like, " He's got the whole world in his hands," or other children worship songs

Now your son is finished with Duty to God Footsteps!

When he gets his beltloop, make sure to give him a hug, high five or even a fist bump. Tell him your proud.

BSA Modifications 2017

Duty to God Footsteps
 Complete requirement 1 or 2 plus at least two others. 

Requirement 1. Discuss with your parent, guardian, den leader, or other caring adult what it means to do your duty to God. Tell how you do your duty to God in your daily life.

 2. Earn the religious emblem of your faith that is appropriate for your age, if you have not already done so.

Now do 2 of the following below!

 3. Offer a prayer, meditation, or reflection with your family, den, or pack.  ( Req 2D from handbook)

4. Read a story about people or groups of people who came to America to enjoy religious freedom.
( Req 2B in handbook)
 5. Learn and sing a song that could be sung in reverence before or after meals or one that gives encouragement, reminds you how to show reverence, or demonstrates your duty to God.
( Req 2C in handbook)

6. Visit a religious monument or site where people might show reverence. Create a visual display of your visit with your den or your family, and show how it made you feel reverent or helped you better understand your duty to God.
( Req 1A and 1B in handbook)

Hopefully this will help make it easier! Remember to have fun with this!

Wolf Requirements- Council Fire

Council Fire

This one took forever to do!
That's why the BSA in 2017 made some modifications to make it easier.
So you can do like in the book or you can do the mods. I will post the modifications at the end of this post.

Requirement 1- Participate in flag ceremony and learn to fold the flag

Ok, we always switch up who does the flag ceremony. So that was easy for us. Learning to fold the flag was a little more difficult. We brought a flag for a wolf den meeting but all the scouts wanted to learn. So a quick demonstration took a little longer. But I am happy that our other scouts took the time to learn it too. And I had the opportunity to learn it too!

Requirement 2- Work with den to make a den duty chart

Parents, this is a den activity! It will help your den leader with clean up and organization. And the boys are made to help, like chores. I just used a sheet of paper to get our boys to write what their chores would be. At the same time, we were working on the SCOUTStrong Healthy Unit Award for wolves. So I made the boys take turns bring healthy snacks and bottles of water.

If you want to know more about the SCOUTStrong Unit Award, here is a link:

http://www.scouting.org/scoutstronghealthyunit.aspx

Requirement 3A- Learn about changes in your community and create a project to show den.

Easy, I made this into a den activity but parents you can do this at home. I downloaded a bunch of pictures of Houston through the years. Like the old Astrodome, Astroworld, how Houston had fields instead of buildings. Also, I made sure each picture had the year on it. Then I had the boys use normal printing paper to glue the pictures in order from past to present. They found it interesting. Especially Astroworld, which was a six flags park. It is no longer a park and the boys thought it was so cool that we used to have an amusement park 30 min away instead of 3 hours.

Requirement 3B- Select one issue in your community and present to your den

A couple of months ago, Houston Schools were in the news because of the "lack" of library's in school. So I thought this would be perfect for it. Little did I know my son couldn't care less. He saw something on kids being homeless all over the US and decided that is what he wanted to present on. 

The solution was to find an organization to help, which we chose StandUp for Kids Houston.

Requirement 4A- Attend pack committee meeting leader meeting. Present ideas for service project!

Ok, it took forever to get the meeting, I even lost my other wolf in the process due to family circumstances. Down to only my son again! So, we made a poster board of StandUp for Kids Houston. We researched it and talked to Eric, who is like someone in charge there. He told us 3 possible ways to help. And my son presented 3 possible way to our leaders. Only problem is, after 2 months, I just asked our Pack Leader is he could do it before a pack meeting. When the pack meeting came up, our pack leader asked LJ if he wanted to present it to all the boys. So my son stood in front of everyone, presenting how we could help kids in Houston. He had note cards that he read off of then did a Q & A session.  Everyone clapped and said good job but we haven't heard about us actually helping. So my son has had me buy protein bars and drinks so that we can make care bags for our Houston kids to eat. He wants to continue it as his service project! Love that!

If you are interested, here is the link for StandUp for Kids Houston:

http://www.standupforkids.org/Houston/default.aspx

Requirement 4B- Work together on a service project

There are lots of service projects out there. We help with the school garden, pick up trash on our hikes, do the Superbowl for Caring in February, ect. So we used the one where we picked up trash on our 3 mile hike during our campout.

Requirement 5- Talk to military veteran, law enforcement officer, fire dept, or someone who works for the community. Talk about their service. Make them a thank you card!
Ok, so we have one veteran that is a dad in scouts. He really doesn't like to talk about it. But I gave him a list of questions that my son would ask, nothing personal or about killing. So agreed to a quick interview. At the next den meeting, he gave Mr Matt a thank you card he made that looked like an American Flag. He also shook his hand and said " Thank you, sir, for your service."  Easy as that!

Requirement 6A- Learn about Recycling
This was easy because our 2nd graders were learning about it in school and I just used what they learned to talk about it a little further. I also printed up a sheet with different materials and showed what they can be reclyed as, or reused as. Not to mention how to reduce.

Requirement 6B- Make your own recycling center
Yes, we recycle at home anyway. But I made my son decorate a box with the recycle symbol and then everytime I cleaned, if he was home, I would ask if it goes in the box. This actually worked well, because we had a lot of coke bottles that later we used for bowling pins for another requirement later. And he used some of the stuff to make a den project. For my 2nd wolf, he never did it but I gave him a pack of markers and a box and asked him to make a box for home. He moved before he could do it.

Requirement 6C- Create den project from recyclables for a pack meeting
The picture in the book shows little robot type stuff, which my son didn't want to do. So he decided he was making a Ghost Rider piggy bank to save money for StandUp for Kids Care packages. LOL, turned out not bad. We used everything that was leftover or in our recycle box.
We used an Ozarka gallon jug for the body, little water bottles for arms, a Bush's baked beans can for head, Popsicle sticks for hair that we wrapped in old red tissue paper. Then I cut a small slit in the back for money to go into. 

Like I said, the thing that took the longest was attending the leader meeting. We don't have those very often, every 3-4 months, so it was easier to just settle on a pack meeting. 

Now if your son has done all of these, congratulations! 

He has earned his Council Fire Beltloop!

Modifications from the BSA

Council Fire (Duty to Country)

 Complete requirements 1 AND 2 plus at least one other. 

Requirements 1. With your den or pack, participate in a flag ceremony, and learn how to properly care for and fold the flag. ( Req 1 in handbook)

2. Participate in a community service project with your pack, den, or family.( Req 4B in handbook)

So after doing the 2 above- just choose one more down below to do. Makes it much easier!

 3. With your parent or guardian’s permission, talk to a military veteran, law enforcement officer, member of the fire department, or someone else approved by your den leader. Talk about his or her service to the community or country. After you have visited with the individual, write a short thank-you note.( Req  5 in handbook)

 4. Learn about the changes in your community, and create a project to show your den how the community has changed. ( Req 3A in handbook)

5. Select one issue in your community, and present to your den your ideas for a solution to the problem. ( Req 3B in handbook)
6. Work with your den to develop a den duty chart, and perform these tasks for one month.
( Req 2 in handbook)
 7. Participate in an event such as a parade or assembly celebrating military veterans.

So they made it easier by taking out all of the recycling stuff and making you do only 3 things instead of 10 things. Nice!

Wolf Requirements- Call of the Wild

Call of the Wild Requirements and how to do them

This was done before the Modifications were done to the handbooks in 2017. 
So, if you scroll down to the end of this, I will list what you can do instead.

Requirement 1- Attend a campout

We did this right before we went on our Fall campout. It's basically a check list of what you need to bring. Easy! You can also do this for a family campout or a day long activity with your den.

Requirement 2- Overhand Knot and Square Knot

We did this at camp between fishing and hiking. I bought black and orange para-cord string. It was easier to use 2 different colors, like in the book. I would suggest burning the ends to keep from coming apart. You can actually teach this anywhere but we had time at the campout.

Requirement 3- While on an outing, identify 4 different types of animals. Explain how you identified them.

We did this at camp also. We had like a 3 mile hike with our pack and my son was running around looking at the animals. We also had the boys picking up trash during this hike, which helps with service hours and Leave No Trace Behind.

You can also do this at a nature trail or any kind of hike.

Another leader told me what they did and I want to try this!

They took an old white sheet, put it down far away from the camping area right at dawn, set fruit and veggies in the middle of the opened sheet and waited till the next morning. The next morning there were all kinds of tracks from animals. The kids got to see it and were excited about it. Then when the leader brought it home, they washed it and are going to use it for the next camp out.

Requirement 4- Make a list of possible weather changes that might happen on your campout. How will you prepare?

Easy. They have it in the book to write answers. Sit down with your child and talk about what kind of weather you might expect. Cold-need jacket. Hot- t-shirts and water. Rain- umbrella or poncho.

Requirement 5- Show or demonstrate what to do:

Stranger approaches you or family, natural disaster, and keep from spreading germs.

The NO, GO, Yell, TELL

Natural Disasters in your area

how to wash your hands

Did all this before camp and again at camp just to make sure he got it.

Requirement 6- Prepare a song or skit and perform at campfire

My boys tripped me out. Ok, they did both a skit and a song. Skit they did all on their own, acting like they were catching a Pokemon. We actually had an older scout help us. The song we got from the internet. I believe it was " Mom, wash my underwear!" and everyone laughed. 

PS- Very surprised that my shy little man had a blast with these and was just having fun. They even did other skits with the bears about knife safety. And our Webelos were making up skits for like an hour! My wolves decided 2 weeks before camp what they wanted to do and we practiced at each den meeting til camp.

Requirement 7A-Recite the Outdoor Code 

My son and I did this during summer. Then I did it again with my wolf den at camp. It is located on the very last page in their wolf handbook.

Requirement 7B- Recite Leave No Trace Behind. Talk about how that supports the Outdoor Code

Leave no Trace behind is also on the last page in handbook.

Once again, we did this during summer and at camp with my wolves

Requirement 7C- AFTER campout, list the ways you were careful with fire

We had a slight problem with out Webelos wanting to always fan the fires and trying to get it to go huge. The other "little" kids found this fascinating and wanted to do this also. Parents were in chairs around the camp fire talking and not telling the kids to stop. So it became a safety issue. Just because this is a campout, does not mean that others will babysit your children the whole time. If you see them doing something wrong, please stop them. As den leaders, we can only talk to your children and tell them to stop. We will also explain why they have to stop. That doesn't always work. So parents, that's when YOU need to step in. We even had one guy, go and put the magic fire into the fire where the kids were going to do smores. A parent! Then he sat down as we waited for that fire to die down so we could get a clean fire where the kids could roast over. He laughed about it. We were livid. Parents, we have a plan and schedule. Please ask before doing something like that.

Now your Wolf has completed his Call of the Wild requirements!

I knew I would get my wolves done at camp, so I had out Pack Leader buy the beltloops so that I can present it by the campfire. My wolves loved it and the other kids thought it was cool. I mean, come on, how often in cubscouts will we be able to do that?

Modifications 2017 from BSA
Wolf Required Adventures
 Call of the Wild
Complete requirements 1–4 down below plus at least one other. 

Requirement 1.
 Attend one of the following
 A. A pack or family campout
B. An outdoor activity with your den or pack
C. Day camp
D. Resident camp

2. With your family or den, make a list of possible weather changes that could happen during your outing according to the time of year you are outside. Tell how you will be prepared for each one.
(This is the same as Requirement 4 in the book or above)

 3. Do the following:
 A. Recite the Outdoor Code with your leader.
 B. Recite the Leave No Trace Principles for Kids with your leader.
Talk about how these principles support the Outdoor Code.
C. After your outdoor activity or campout, list the ways you demonstrated being careful with fire or other dangers.
( This is the same as requirement 7 from the handbook)

4. Show or demonstrate what to do:
 A. In case of a natural disaster such as an earthquake or flood.
B. To keep from spreading your germs.
( Same as Requirement 5 from handbook)

Now choose one of the following:

 5. Show how to tie an overhand knot and a square knot.

6. While on a den or family outing, identify four different types of animals you see or explain evidence of their presence. Tell how you identified them.
Hope this helps!

Summer time Pack activities

Summertime Pack Activities

I know its hard in the summer to plan around family vacations, summer school and general life. It's also kind of important. 

The boys can earn some of their requirements to help them get a head start and they can earn the National Summertime Pack award.

To get this award, you have to participate in a pack activity one time a month in June, July and August. I would suggest to Pack Leaders to schedule more than one activity per month so all the kids have a chance at this. We had, literally, 1 activity per month. And we missed the August one due to forgetfulness on my part. 

And Cubmasters, you can choose activities that are really cheap or free.

In 2016, we went to the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center as a pack. It was free! 

We hiked and they had a center of discovering local wildlife. 

For Wolves, we got to finish a lot just from the hike alone;

1. Call of the Wild: Requirement 3, 7A, 7B

Paws on the aAth: Requirement 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ( could have done 6 but forgot that one),  and 7

That is alot just from one Summer time Hike. Make sure the boys have water and stay hydrated! 

Another adventure we did was meet at an Airplane museum. This place was pretty cool!

Houston Wing CAF. was a nice and informative place. There were people flying in and out all the time. The kids loved learning about the planes. But it was hot ( Houston in Summer is like 100 plus degrees!) And we forgot to bring water, thinking it would be mostly inside. It's like a hanger for planes, so it gets hot. Kids outside were hiding under plane wings, trying to get some shade.  Oh, and this place was free too!

Our 3rd pack thing we had, in August, was a picnic that the pack put together. No pics, sorry. But we did recruit 2 new kids just from that. Oh, and a lot of our older scouts went to a Houston Astros game too in the summer. Parents had to pay for themselves.

Here are some good rules for packs. 

1. When planning something, plan ahead, not last minute.

2. For summer activities: pack pays for one, make one free and make one cheap for parents. 

Here are some Free activities that you can do: 

water balloon fights, water gun fights, swim party at someones pool, hike with pack, check out small museums that appreciate donations, Fire department visit, police officer visit, a pack sports game like tug a war or football, the list can go one!

Cheap activities: 

Bowling, sports games, picnic at the park, skating ring ( yes they still have those), or look on your local area council page for some scout days

Parents pay:

You can go to a planetarium, a museum, scout days again, nerf gun wars,over nighters at places like a battleship or baseball fields,  the list is long

So ya'll have a great summer and hope it is packed full of fun!

District Summer Day / Twilight Camps

Scout Day Camps

     There are so many different Scout camps out there. You have your big camp sites that are there year round. You have your pack camps, like in Fall and Spring. AND you have your summer day or twilight camps.

     I would suggest that all scouts be put in your local District Summer Day Camp. I did it last year for my son and he loved it. 4 days of Summer fun scout activities. You know, my son is very outgoing ( insert sarcasm here)! Who am I kidding, I have tried all kinds of sports and he hates it all. His obsessions consist of  You Tube Gamers. He will sit for hours, if I let him, watching people play video games on the net. It's aggravating and a little unsettling. So Day Camp was a must, just to get him out of his room. The plus side was that he loved it and couldn't wait to go again. 

     In the summer of 2016, we had the Western Day Camp. The summer of 2017 was Safari Day Camp.This year, 2018, is going to be Passport to Adventures. 

     So, I wanted to blog a little to give new scout parents an idea of what Day Camp is like. For most of you, you will drop off your child in the morning and pick him up in the afternoon for Day camp. Or drop him off around 3pm and pick him up again around 8pm for Twilight Camp.I cant give you exact times since all districts have different start times and end time. But it felt like 9-2 or something for us during the day. Your child will get a shirt that he HAS to wear everyday, for 4 days. And let me tell you, when you pick them up, they will be sweaty, dirty and hungry. I live in Texas and the summers are HOT, HOT, HOT here! So, yes, sweat was a big factor. But when we got home, I would start a load of laundry, throwing in the offensive, smelly T-Shirt, socks and whatever else he wore that day, that way he would smell like Ocean Breeze and Bounce for his mornings/ afternoons at camp the next day. That was probably the ONLY downside I had. 

     So, remember when I said that most of you will just drop off your child/children?For my 1st year,  I was a lucky volunteer at our Summer Day Camp, meaning I taught several classes of wolf scouts about "AIR of Wolf". It was a blast! ( I also had to throw my clothes in the laundry everyday too!) The district provided everything for our classes, including a schedule of what I was doing everyday. I had kids that were quiet, shy, loud, inquisitive ( my fave), and I even had some that would act like they didn't want to be there, until I busted out my craft/experiment for the day. Sorry, getting off subject.
    My next year, I signed up for a den leader. Den leaders need wagons, so I went out and bought one from Academy for $50. I decorated it like a jungle/safari theme. We want the kids excited about coming!. I also made each kid a necklace out of wood, with our theme on the front and their name on the back. And at the end of camp, I made each kid an award out of wood, that I thought they deserved. Like most athletic, most enthusiastic, bear-tastic, ect. They loved it.I also took pictures of the kids all day, I would put each kids pic into a photo collage with the date and send them to their parents. That way they knew what their children were doing all day.

     So why do I say that Summer Day Camp is awesome for all our scouts and their siblings?

1. We typically work on 2 of the electives that are in your scouts new handbook. In the past, we had wolves working on Finding you way and Air of Wolf. Bears last year worked on Balloo the builder, Marble Madness, whittling badge, and Make it Move.  Webelos made their own camp chairs that folded up one year and a side table the next. These kids spent 4 days working on them, it was so cool. Others painted a fence board like them in their Boy Scout uniforms, that they turned into a post.  It was helping them advance in their ranking and the kids had fun.
2. Kids had sports class and obstacle courses built with wood and ropes, so a lot of physical activities. They also had bows and arrows and BB guns were for Webelos .  The instructors keep track of bulls-eye and mark the kid's shirts for each one. Gives the kids a sense of practice makes perfect. Also, at our camp, the kids received beads for any accomplishment they did, be it answering a question right, or helping to pull the dens wagon. My son came home with a whole string of beads that he has proudly displayed next to his 1st place Derby medal. 
3. Get patches! My son loves his patches. He received one for marksmanship, he got the shooting sports patch and one for day camp.Those along with his Best wagon puller ribbon, his best buddy ribbon, his bear-tastic award and his beads are all proudly displayed. 
4. There is plenty of water breaks, bathroom breaks, and someone came around with Popsicles multiple times a day. So hydration was a big thing and the kids got rewarded for it.
5. They make friends with kids their ages, in their rank. My son would come home telling me about what so and so did, or how this kid was awesome in what they did.
6. Your kids will Love-it!

And for any Cubmasters out there, think of using the Day Camp as a incentive for popcorn sales. Our pack has it to where if you sell $600 in popcorn sales, they pay for his Day Camp. Or for coupon books, make it 1st place gets to go to camp free. Parents will work a little harder getting the kids selling, so that they don't have to pay for camp. Meaning more sales/money for your pack!

And Parents, I know that in our area, the camp registrations start in March. You can find the registration on your Area Council's website, with dates and times. Have Fun!

Here are some pictures, hopefully these will help: