Bear Scout - wooden tic tac toe project for Baloo the Builder

Hi everyone!
So I am a den leader of our Bear Den this year. I'm trying very hard to get all the bear requirements done by March.
One of the new changes or modifications for the requirements is that they changed Grin and Bear it to an elective and made Baloo the Builder a requirement for rank.
So, since most packs are on a budget  and I'm not very knowledgeable with working with wood, I had the great idea to make the Tic tac toe board on page 131 in the handbook.

What you need: 

Saw (we used a table saw)

Drill

Different size drill bits

2 x 4 wood (to be cut into 4-5 inch blocks

Sand paper

Safety glasses or goggles

1st aid kit

Latex gloves (or latex free gloves)

Paint brush

Rag

Wood stain

Polycrylic protective finish

Something to protect work station (drop cloth or thick cardboard)

Golf tees at least 2 colors (5 for x and 5 for o's)

I asked a friend for some left over 2 x 4 wood they had.
Then I asked my hubby to cut them to 4 inches. He used a table saw and they were not all the same size and some were uneven. But we work with what we have.
So next I measured where to add the lines. Well, since every single one was not uniform, after awhile, i just started guessing. I mean, i have drawn so many tic tac toe boxes in my life, it wasn't hard. I even had a line to write the name of the game at the top. The block was bigger than 4 x 4..
Next I predrilled some wholes in the middle of the boxes drawn. I only predrilled because I wanted the boys to drill only once due to 1 drill and 5 boys in a den meeting. Plus, my husband said if i drilled the bigger hole first, it would split the wood.

So now everything is precut, predrawn and predrilled. 

So at the meeting, the boys drilled each hole once with a thicker bit ( I made one at home 1st so I knew what drill bit to use. I drilled it bigger and bigger until the golf tee fit nicely.)

NOTE TO LEADERS- I was told afterwards that the boys couldn't use power tools for BSA projects. Then I had them sand all the sides so they were smooth.  I explained they didn't want a splinter later. Remember they HAVE to wear safety glasses or goggles. Also, when they drill, make sure you are holding the wood hard so the wood doesn't spin and hurt them. I had some boys hold it themselves and I had some that didn't hold it hard enough and it spun. Only 1 Band aid used during this meeting. Not bad! 

After drilling and sanding, I had them choose 10 pegs from a bag of golf tees (5 one color for "x" and 5 another color for "o"). Then I explained they should finish it at home. They can stain it, paint it, whatever they want. And they have to put a finish on it. 

My son loved this so much that he asked if we can use the extra wooden blocks for Christmas gifts. So on December 23rd, we were drilling and sanding. 

We also bought a dark stain for wood and a sealer at Walmart . 

We wanted it dark .. so we used latex gloves (you can get the latex free gloves if someone is allergic), and sponge brushes for the stain And an old white t-shirt cut up as a rag. 

Follow directions on can for each product. 

We painted 1 side with stain and wiped off with rag. Make sure you have a work place with something to protect your surface. We used an old popcorn box from the scout popcorn that we just delivered. Have them do each side. Of the block. Set aside to dry. We let it dry 3 hours. 

Next we traced the square and words with white paint ( we used acrylic paint). We also wrote on the back who its for, who made it and the year. Let dry. 

Then we used the sealer with a soft paintbrush. We left 1 side unfinished so we can place it down without sticking to the cardboard. Then 2 hours later, we would repeat the process but this time we made sure to get the side not sealed. We repeated this 4 times with 2 hours in between applications. 

Now grab your "x"'s and "o"'s and your set.  

Helped Plan a den Meeting for my den leader

I am not a den leader.. ( in 2016 I became a den leader. LOL) .but I do try to help ours out. 

So for last week's meeting, I planned it and filled the whole hour with stuff to do.

I gave the boys assignments of researching their heritage.  I bought a trifold poster for my son to write and glue all his info. Much more organized and easier to read off a board than a phone. And good practice for the years to come. 

Anyway, they were given 6 things to do before they came to the meeting. 

1. Bring in and share 5 things orange 

2. Share a story or bring in something to tell about your heritage

3. Interview a grandparent ( I made my son interview both grandmothers)

4. How did you get your name and what does it mean

5. Where did your family come from

6. Bring in a snack that represents your heritage

I made my son type his grandmother's responses... I made him write about family traditions on the board. I made him learn to research his name. I made him do most of it while I sat there and helped. 

Then at the meeting we brought soft pretzels,  german kinder chocolate,  and German cookies. The cookies were the biggest hit but we Had to bring something healthier because that's what the book said. 

Our boys were so bored during each others presentation. . We had to keep telling them to pay attention. 

Then after that, I had them make a den sheild together. Neither of them wanted to. But I made it easy and what I thought was fun. 

Then I had them make Derby neckerchefs. I premade everything for easy assembly.. apparently too easy. My son loved it and wore it as a ring. The other boy just looked at me like I was dumb.  But the boys got a lot done towards achievements.  And they were busy the WHOLE hour. That's success in my book. ( My son wears that Derby Neckerchief slide at every Pinewood Derby!) 

Next week they have more homework. They have to show loyalty at school for a whole week. I already wrote my son's teacher about that. They also have to find a task to do at home. My son's task is cleaning the table for dinner every night. And they have to build a castle out of recycled material to display at next week's pack meeting. 

But with limited den meetings, I suggest packing as much as possible into each meeting. Especially the "share with your den" ones...lol

Wolf Requirement- Running with the Pack

Running with the Pack

Running With the Pack

* 2017 BSA Modifications are exactly the same as in the handbook for Running with the Pack

 Complete the following requirements.

 Requirement 1. Play catch with someone in your den or family who is standing 5 steps away from you. Play until you can throw and catch successfully at this distance. 

Take a step back and see if you can improve your throwing and catching skills.

( Easy- had our boys do this with a ball from the dollar store . Did not take long.)

 2. Practice balancing as you walk forward, backward, and sideways. 

(did this at Camp on a tree that was down. The boys loved it.)

3. Practice flexibility and balance by doing a front roll, a back roll, and a frog stand. 

( Had the boys do this during a den meeting. Easy and they were laughing at how they looked.)

4. Play a sport or game with your den or family, and show good sportsmanship.

(We started playing this during a den meeting with just wolves but others started joining in .)

 5. Do at least two of the following: frog leap, inchworm walk, kangaroo hop, or crab walk.

( We did this at the same time as the front roll, back roll, ect from Req 3.)

 6. Demonstrate what it means to eat a balanced diet by helping to plan a healthy menu for a meal for your den or family. Make a shopping list of the food used to prepare the meal.

(My son decided on grilled chicken, corn on the cob, and salad. )

After that, your child will get the Running with the Pack  beltloop. 

Remember, have fun doing it!

Wolf Requirement- Paws on the Path

Paws on the Path with BSA modifications

My son did all the requirements from the handbook BUT 

BSA has issued a 2017 modification to the Wolf Scout handbook

to make it easier. So to make life easier on your scout, thats what I will post.

Paws on the Path

 Complete requirements 1–5. Requirements 6 and 7 are optional.

( In the handbook you have to do 8 requirements vs these 6, even though #2 combines req 2 and 3 together))

 Requirement 1. Show you are prepared to hike safely in any outdoor setting by putting together the Cub Scout Six Essentials to take along on your hike.

(Req 1 in handbook)

(I wrote a whole post on this that you can view here. )

 2. Tell what the buddy system is and why we always use it in Cub Scouting. Describe what you should do if you get separated from your group while hiking. 

( Req 2 and 3 from book)

3. Choose the appropriate clothing to wear on your hike based on the expected weather. 

( Req 4 from book)

4. Before hiking, recite the Outdoor Code and the Leave No Trace Principles for Kids with your leader. (This may be combined with requirement 3 of the Call of the Wild adventure.) After hiking, discuss how you showed respect for wildlife.

(Req 5 from book)

 5. Go on a 1-mile hike with your den or family. Find two interesting things that you’ve never seen before and discuss with your den or family.

( Req 6 in handbook)

Now after you did 1-5, choose one more from below to do.

 6. Name two birds, two insects, and/or two other animals that live in your area. Explain how you identified them.

( Req 7 in book)

 7. Draw a map of an area near where you live using common map symbols. Show which direction is north on your map.

( Req 8 in book)

Motor Away- Wolf Scout

Motor away

Ok, so anyone who has read anything on my blog

knows my son is not athletic. So for his STEM patch, he had the choice of 

doing either Motor Away or Paws of Skill. 

He chose Motor Away!

So lets follow the directions to finish it. 

Also, it seems like there are no changes for this even with the modifications.

So lets begin!

I always read what it say in the book to my son, then we do what it says to do.

Requirement 1A

Create and Fly 3 different types of paper airplanes. ( Love this!) Before launching them, record which one you believe will travel the farthest and what property of the plane leads you to this prediction. 

( We made it into a competition. Like I would let him choose one, I wrote his name on it. I chose one too. Then we flew them. Then we would scream " Mine beat yours", if it did. )

Here is the Arrow Plane above from page 269. 

Great this about that Wolf Handbook is that it GIVES you the 

directions on how to make 3 airplanes. We followed those directions.

Here below is the Delta airplane from page 271.

And Lastly, here is the Dart from page 272!

Now here is all 3!

If you noticed, we wrote on them, which will go farthest and which will go least.

We did multiple races. It was funny!

Requirement 1B-

Make a paper airplane catapult.  Before launching, record how far you believe it will travel and explain what info you used to make this prediction. After, launch the plane and measure how far it flies.

We used the 3 airplanes from 1A. We punched a hole in all 3. After launching one, we would take the rubber band out and and launch the next 1. 

Remember to record at least one on how far it flew. We had to go back and do that because we forgot the measuring tape.

See, more fun if it's a competition.
Again, make sure to record your measurements!!

Requirement 2
Make 2 different boats and sail them. Choose 2 different shapes.

We chose to make 3 different boats.
I asked the question about paper boats. He said paper doesn't float.
So, we followed this video on YouTube to make one.

And here is our special paper boat!

We made 2 and yes they float.

Here my son used recycled stuff to make a sail boat.

And lastly, a aluminium barge.

All 3 floated. Sail boat was the most difficult to sail in the bathtub later because the sail kept falling off. The Barge held up a lot of weight. Also learned about displacement. Made a small one vs a large one and kept adding coins to both until the smaller one sank.

Requirement 3
Create a car that moves under its own power

We tried 2 different Balloon cars. Had 4 adults and my son work on them. Both cars failed to move. I think if you plan on making one, maybe try a bendy straw and see if you can have the straw blow against the ground. Might work then.
So since that failed for us, we also made the Spool car.
Make sure if you do this one, that you have the washers. I forgot at 1st and it did not move. After the washers were on, it moved. My son played with it till the rubber band finally popped.

And there you go. If your child likes crafts,  creating something, science or even competition,
he will love Motor Away!
So have fun with it. And if something doesn't work like it should, ask your scout what he would change to make it work. Add some suggestions. Make sure they try their best.
And remember, if your scout is doing STEM, the Motor Away works for either Tech Talk or Swing. But you can NOT use it for both.
Have a great day.

STEM Experiment- The Thirsty Candle/Rising water secret

I honestly don't know what the actual name of this experiment is

but I heard someone refer to it as the thirsty candle or Rising Water Secret.

Here is an experiment that I saw in my 3rd grade science fair and forgot about.

Until Scouting University, where they did the experiment in a Nova class I took!

So for Spring Break, I allowed my son to do it.

Note: This uses dye. My son spilled the watered dye on our light counters in the kitchen.

It took a lot of bleach to get off. Please put plate in something so that it doesn't spill. Or use an aluminum tray instead of the plate.

Ok, so what you need is:

1 candle

1 plate or aluminium tray

water

dye

lighter/matches

clear glass

Experiment

1. Adult Supervision because of the matches or lighter.

2. Fill a cup with water, doen't need to be a lot.

3. Add 2 or 3 drops of food coloring to the water. My son used the gel stuff and gave it a good squeeze.

4. Pour the water into the plate or pan and place the candle in the middle of the water.

5. Light the candle.

6. Cover the candle with the clear glass and think about what is taking place both inside and outside of the vase. What invisible thing is

inside the vase? Carefully observe what happens to the water around the vase. It's bubbles a little. What happens to the candle flame?

It goes fast, so you may want to do multiple times. We did it once and then searched for answers. Apparently it wasn't as cool as the Elephant toothpaste, according to my son.

What Is actually happening?
How Does It Work?
The candle flame heats the air in the vase, and this hot air expands. Some of the expanding air escapes out from under the vase —
you might see some bubbles. As the flame goes out, the air in the vase cools down and the cooler air contracts and creates a
vacuum. This imperfect vacuum is created due to the low pressure inside the vase and the high pressure outside of the vase. We
know what you're thinking; the vacuum is sucking the water into the vase right? You have the right idea, but scientists try to avoid
using the term “suck” when describing a vacuum. Instead, they explain it as gases exerting pressure from an area of high pressure to
an area of low pressure.
A common misconception regarding this experiment is that the consumption of the oxygen inside of the bottle is also a factor in the
water rising. Truth is, there is a possibility that there would be a small rise in the water from the flame burning up oxygen, but it is
extremely minor compared to the expansion and contraction of the gases within the bottle. Simply put, the water would rise at a
steady rate if the oxygen being consumed were the main contributing factor (rather than experiencing the rapid rise when the flame
is extinguished).
*This information was sent to me by one of the SHAC STEM guys out of Brazos.

If you would like to help
Support James' pack
Please click Here
Thank you and enjoy!

Scout card with stats

OK, So I am the one in our Pack that does all the awards and crafty stuff for us.
After searching Pinterest, I found something that was like a pit pass for someones Pinewood Derby.
They made the frame and had each boy take pictures in it, then printed them.
So of course, I had to do that too but I knew I didn't have time to do everything 2 weeks before derby. So I made a stat card for each boy for Blue and Gold.
I made the frame out of black poster board.
Then I cut out some shapes and glues it on for the derby car, the tent, the boat and the fire. I even used some paint for the fire to make a little more real.

 The Pack # was in gold because it looked cool and they were getting these at Blue and Gold!
I glued on the year and the pack # permanently to the board, along with those designs of the car, boat and fire/tent.
The names were done with letters that were like sticky notes, so I was able to redo them over and over without messing up the frame. This is what I used:

And here is a link where you can buy them:

Letters

It made it personalized for each kid and they loved it.

Then, I just took the pics, printed them and glued them on to a thick scrapbook paper that I bought at Hobby Lobby for 50% off. I also found out info on each kid and put it on the back.

Like, what year did they join?

What is their fave food?

Fave scout activity?

Birthday?

Just basic stuff.

Then I laminated each card. I don't know how the other boys like them but I know my son loves his. I made 2 for each that way they can give one to their parents as a keep sake, or trade them like baseball cards. Here are some examples of the  cards. Enjoy!

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!