Fur, Feathers, and Ferns- Bear Scout Requirement

Fur, Feathers and Ferns

Bear Scout Requirements

* The modification version with pages from the Handbook that you can find the activity on.

Complete Requirement 1 plus 3 others

Requirement 1

While hiking or walking for 1 mile, identify 6 signs that any mammals, birds, insects, reptiles or plants are living near the place you choose to hike or walk. Pg 73-77

* We did this during our Spring Camp out. The older boys needed a 3 mile hike, so all scouts went with. It's always interesting to see what they kids will find.

Now that you did Requirement 1, you need to do 3 others from the list below.

2. Visit 1 of the following: zoo, wildlife refuge, nature center, aviary, game preserve, local conservation area, wildlife rescue group, or a fish hatchery. Described what you learned. 

Pg 81

3. Name 1 animal that has become extinct in the last 100 years AND 1 animal that is currently endangered. Explain what caused their declines. Pg 78-80 in handbook

4. Observe wildlife from a distance. Describe what you saw. Pg 82-83

5. Use a magnifying glass to examine plants more closely. Describe what you saw through the magnifying glass that you could not see without it. Pg 84-85

6. Learn about composting and how vegetable waste can be turned into fertilizer for plants.

Pg 86-87

7. Plant a vegetable or herb garden. Pg 88-89

*My scouts did # 3, 4 and 5. We were camping so I packed binoculars and a magnifying glass . The kids in 3rd grade learned about extinct and endangered animals so we just reviewed what they had learned. Now for the extinct, it has to be in the last 100 years but they will all try to say dinosaurs..  too funny.

Remember have fun with it. Kids at this age still get bored easy and their attention span while outdoors is short.Try to keep each requirement as short as possible. And if you know they will finish this while on camp out, make sure to have their belt loops so that they can get while everyone is around the fire.

Bear Cub Scout Fellowship and Duty to God- requirement

Fellowship and Duty to God

*With the modifications

To all my Den Leaders out there, I told my den that they had to work on this at home. With as many different types of religions out there, I wanted the kids to know what their family practices.

Complete the following requirements:

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.

*My son basically told me that he tries to be nice to everyone. He helps kids at school that don't understand the assignment ( I said that was fine as long as it's NOT a test or quiz), he sticks up for his friends, he is polite to the teachers and people that work there, ect When I asked how that was a Duty to God, he said God was all about Love and that we should help people that need it.I was happy with that answer.

2. Complete at least 1 of the following:

A. Identify a person whose faith you admire, and discuss this person with your family

B. With a family member, provide service to a place of worship or a spiritual community, school, or community organization that puts into practice your ideals of duty to God and strengthens your fellowship with others.

* LJ chose to do option A. He learned about the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr in school and that's who he chose to admire. I was once again, happy with his answer.

3. Complete at least 1 of the following:

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

B. Make a list of things you can do to practice your duty to God as you are taught in your home or place of worship or spiritual community. Select 2 things to do and practice doing them for 2 weeks.

*As I am writing this, we are in the middle of our 2 weeks. LJ chose to help someone at school to help understand the math. He also chose to pray every night. If you choose the religious emblem of your faith and need help, contact your den leader on how to do that.

Congrats you are done with Fellowship and Duty to God! Your scout or scouts is 1 step closer to reaching their bear rank. Remember, try to have fun with this. 

Bear Necessities- Bear Requirement

Bear Necessities

* The modification Requirements!

Ok, You have to complete requirements 1-4. 5 and 6 are optional!

Requirement 1- While working on your Bear badge, attend 1 of the following:

A. A daytime or overnight campout with your family or pack.

B. An outdoor activity with your den or pack

C. Day Camp

D. Resident Camp

* My son always attends the District Day/Twilight camp every summer. But if you have kids that just signed up and didn't get a chance, the pack camping trip will do just fine. We camp twice a year. And this last time, he camped with another camp that is bigger and the kids had fun. Or as a den, you can always go on a hike, play an outdoor game, or even do some experiments outside. Even planting trees can be done while working on your conservation award. Anything outside that is BSA approved.

2. Make a list of items you should take along on the activity selected in Requirement 1.

* If you are hiking or camping, make sure to take you 6 essentials. Also, what else do they need? We went to our Spring campout, with everything we thought we needed. In the 2 hour drive it took to get to the national park, the temp dropped from high 70's to 42 degrees with lots of wind. The only thing that we packed that was for cooler weather were hoodies. Needless to say, when we got there, we didn't even unpack our tent. We stayed for 4 hours and headed home afterward. Just too cold for us without the right equipment. Funny thing, no body was really prepared.

You can tell there is fog on the water. We were freezing cold! I had a pair of gardening gloves that were my son's in the car and that what he used to try to keep his hands warm. The wind was over 10 miles an hour with drops of water in that wind, making the 42 degree weather feel even colder.

3. Make a list of equipment that the group should bring along in addition to each Scout's personal gear for the activity selected in Requirement 1.
* We talked about firewood, snacks, water, lanterns, ect

4. Help set up a tent. Determine a good spot for the tent and explain to your den leader why you picked it.
*I had a Bear parent ask why his child had to help set up their tent. Your in Cub Scouts, where we try to make it all about family.  In 2 years, my son will be with Boy Scouts ( hopefully) and he will have to know how to do this himself. Plus it's a bonding thing. He is helping, not doing it his self. " Do your Best"


Ok, those were the 4 you HAD to do. Now the next 2 are just for fun if you want to do this.

Option 1- Demonstrate how to tie two half hitches and explain what the hitch is used for.
* Once my son is done earning his Bear patch, I will work with him on this knot. Until then, I put it on the to-do- list. Maybe on a rainy day?

Option 2- Learn how to read a themometer and a barometer. Keep track of the temperature and baromtric pressure readings and the actual weather at the same time everyday for 7 days.
* Another one I would like my child to learn. But I am probably going to make it a field trip to the weather museum 1st, then learn about this. And we will probably make it into a STEM thing.

Well that's it. Really, this was the easiest for us to do. We had a lot of fun working on Bear Necessities!  Remember, you want to make each lesson fun as possible but educational too!

Bear Claws beltloop - Bear requirement and Whittling Chip

Bear Claws

With the new Modifications!

My son finished Bear Claws at our District Summer Camp, which was awesome. We have the same person, that comes in every year, who teaches our boys the whittling chip. He is awesome! So I took what I learned from him and taught my bear den the same way at camp. Only difference was that at day camp, our boys learned while whittling wooden neckerchief slides.  At our fall camp out, I taught my boys on soap.

OK, so to earn the Bear Claw belt loop you have to:

1. Learn about common designs of Pocketknives. You can find the 3 designs on page 33 in your bear handbook. It explains what they want you to teach them. I actually brought 2 knife designs to the camp out but I didn't have a penknife to show them. So, I made sure to show them in the book.

2. Learn knife safety and ear your whittling chip.

There is a list of knife safety rules they need to learn and live by on page 35and 36 of the handbook. Basically, they need to learn a knife is a tool and not a toy. With as many video games out there where people are stabbing of killing with knives, even some cartoons on TV, it's best they learn what NOT to do and what to do with a knife. I made sure to go over this before camp out and at the camp out before starting. I even asked questions, like is it ok to throw a knife at a tree?, Is it ok to keep using your knife while someone is standing right next to you? I made them think, I made them practice what to do if someone comes in their safety circle, I made them understand. One of the fathers was there telling them about his friend, who wanted to cut this thick rope and was cutting wrong. He said his friend ended up loosing his thumb. The kids took it seriously after hearing someone loosing a body part.

We learned the Pocketknife Pledge- located on page 36.

I brought a sharpening stone and showed them how to sharpen a knife, then had them all do it.

I brought a small block of pine wood and showed them how to make stop cuts. Then had each one do it so that they would know. 

Then we discussed first aid for knife cuts.

* When my son was a wolf, at a camp out, the bear den leader had all the boys at a table whittling wood. Out of 6 boys, 4 cut themselves within minutes  of each other. Please be prepared and make sure they know what they are doing before letting practice.

Once they know and understand the rules of knife safety, know how to take care and sharpen their knives, know how to make stop cuts and first aid, then they earned their whittling chip. I made them at least 1 pc of soap just to make sure they understood in the end before I granted their whittling chip.

Make sure they carry this pledge signed by a leader and signed by them when they carry their knife to any BSA event. People will ask to see it, if they see your scout with a knife.

Yes they get a patch too. Your scout can wear it as a temporary patch on their uniform. Or what my son did was he had me sew it on a fleece blanket that he has for camping, along with his other patches.

3. Do either a or b but they don't have to do both!
a)  Using a pocketknife, carve 2 items. My son carved 2 wooden neckerchief slides, ones that they sell at the scout shop. Here is the arrow he worked on at camp.

Of Coarse when we went on our camp out, I had bars of soap because it was cheaper and I thought it would be easier. So each boy was given 2 bars of soap to carve. It tells you on pages 39-41 how to carve the soap. I didn't like it so much because the soap kept sticking to the blade and we had to keep cleaning them. Also, the smell was kind of aggravating from the soap the whole time you were carving. I let the boys design what they wanted to carve, that way it was more fun. I tried the bear but I only did a bear head. Turned out OK.

If you don't want the boys carving 2 items, they can do section b!

b) With a pocketknife, safely perform each of these tasks:

(1) Demonstrate how to cut a piece of rope, twine or fishing line.

(2)Open a sealed box without damaging the contents

(3)Open a can with the can opener tool on a pocketknife

(4)Remove and replace the screws on an object with the screwdriver tool on a pocketknife

(5)Open a letter

Remember they do either A or B , they don't have to do both. 

Congrats, your den has completed their Bear Claw requirement AND earned their Whittling Chip!

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!