A few weeks ago I discovered an award for scouts that is right up our ally- the Nova Award. This can be earned from Wolf Scout (the second rank in Cub Scouts) all the way through Boy Scouts and Venturing. I'm not sure how it works for the Boy Scouts since I don't have one but I do have the book for the Cub Scouts so anything I may be typing is in regards to that age group.
Basically what it is the BSA is trying to encourage the boys to learn more about the STEM subjects- Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. You can see why I'm so excited. There is also the Supernova Award that Babalu will be earning (Rookie is a Tiger and isn't old enough to begin his Nova work) for Cub Scouts and a separate one of Webelos (that he will be earning next year). It is a more in depth look at the STEM subjects and when he is a Webelo it has to be done under the direction of a mentor. Thankfully the Cub Scout award can be done with me.
For Babalu's Nova journey he has decided to begin with the science and engineering awards. I told him that he will get school credit for the work so he is excited about it. Next year he will work on the technology and math awards. It is a lot of work but he is determined to see it through. Plus he gets a really cool patch. When we plan all the work out hopefully I will be able to blog again about it.
*Sorry Mom for not blogging more*
Showing posts with label Scouting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scouting. Show all posts
Monday, November 25, 2013
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Tiger Den meeting 1 & 2
We have done two meetings so far and both have been mostly trying to get the boys to learn all of the things they need to know to earn their Bobcat badge. All new scouts have to earn this regardless of their age. To earn it they have to know things like the Cub Scout Promise and the Law of the Pack and all that cute stuff.
To earn the Tiger badge the boys have to complete 5 achievements and there are there three components- a family oriented component, a den oriented component and a "go and see it" component. Last week we completed our den activity for achievement 1- "Making My Family Special" by making scrapbooks. The family activity is to do a chore with your parent so Rookie and I (and Babalu) filled a bucket with warm and soapy water to scrub Snuggle Puppy's new (to us) playhouse. I know that one boy did this at home but I have to email the rest of the parents (which I am going to try to do every Thursday or Friday) to remind them to do it. I love that there are activities that the boys are required to do as a family.
Last night's meeting was a blast. After 20 or so minutes of listening to Big Daddy drill the boys on their Promise and Law I reminded him that we had a game to play. I had written the Law and the Promise three times each on card stock and then cut each line up. The boys were to put the lines in order. Then one of them decided that we (Big Daddy and I) hide the pieces for them to find. At first I was a little unsure about that but it turned out to be the best part. They had a chance to get up and RUN around and made the whole thing more fun. It also made us realize that at the beginning of each meaning we needed to spend 5 minutes "getting the wiggles out". Only 2 of the boys don't really need this but 3 of them do (including Rookie!). After all this I'm confident that at our next pack meeting (end of October, in fact we will come home from Las Vegas about 5 minutes before we have to be at the meeting) all 5 of them will earn their Bobcat badge.
We do have one boy who is going through some family changes and is a bit of a challenge to detach from Mom but I'm hoping that if we keep it fun he will stay interested.
Our next meeting we are going to be working on achievement #3- "Keeping Myself Healthy and Safe". When I made the plan for the meeting (centered around nutrition and fire safety) I will post about it. I wasn't able to find a lot of blogs for this sort of thing so I'm hoping when someone Googles for ideas my blog comes up and can be helpful.
In case anyone is wondering Babalu is going to earn his Bobcat Badge when his little brother does, he knows everything. Last night he said "quiz me Mommy", it was adorable.
Both boys have electives and belt loops to earn on top of the 12 achievements Babalu has to learn for his Bear Badges. And both of the boys are very ambitious with the electives and belt loops they choose to earn, especially Babalu, and they will be very busy (and broke because many of Babalu's electives require things we don't have around the house) doing all of the work. I'm working on a plan to help them earn similar (or in the case of belt loops the same) requirements together and, where I can, include it in our school work. I'm hoping to document the work they do to post on here so that Bubbe can see all the way from Texas.
To earn the Tiger badge the boys have to complete 5 achievements and there are there three components- a family oriented component, a den oriented component and a "go and see it" component. Last week we completed our den activity for achievement 1- "Making My Family Special" by making scrapbooks. The family activity is to do a chore with your parent so Rookie and I (and Babalu) filled a bucket with warm and soapy water to scrub Snuggle Puppy's new (to us) playhouse. I know that one boy did this at home but I have to email the rest of the parents (which I am going to try to do every Thursday or Friday) to remind them to do it. I love that there are activities that the boys are required to do as a family.
Last night's meeting was a blast. After 20 or so minutes of listening to Big Daddy drill the boys on their Promise and Law I reminded him that we had a game to play. I had written the Law and the Promise three times each on card stock and then cut each line up. The boys were to put the lines in order. Then one of them decided that we (Big Daddy and I) hide the pieces for them to find. At first I was a little unsure about that but it turned out to be the best part. They had a chance to get up and RUN around and made the whole thing more fun. It also made us realize that at the beginning of each meaning we needed to spend 5 minutes "getting the wiggles out". Only 2 of the boys don't really need this but 3 of them do (including Rookie!). After all this I'm confident that at our next pack meeting (end of October, in fact we will come home from Las Vegas about 5 minutes before we have to be at the meeting) all 5 of them will earn their Bobcat badge.
We do have one boy who is going through some family changes and is a bit of a challenge to detach from Mom but I'm hoping that if we keep it fun he will stay interested.
Our next meeting we are going to be working on achievement #3- "Keeping Myself Healthy and Safe". When I made the plan for the meeting (centered around nutrition and fire safety) I will post about it. I wasn't able to find a lot of blogs for this sort of thing so I'm hoping when someone Googles for ideas my blog comes up and can be helpful.
In case anyone is wondering Babalu is going to earn his Bobcat Badge when his little brother does, he knows everything. Last night he said "quiz me Mommy", it was adorable.
Both boys have electives and belt loops to earn on top of the 12 achievements Babalu has to learn for his Bear Badges. And both of the boys are very ambitious with the electives and belt loops they choose to earn, especially Babalu, and they will be very busy (and broke because many of Babalu's electives require things we don't have around the house) doing all of the work. I'm working on a plan to help them earn similar (or in the case of belt loops the same) requirements together and, where I can, include it in our school work. I'm hoping to document the work they do to post on here so that Bubbe can see all the way from Texas.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Scouting
Until recently the Boy Scouts of America has been pretty anti-gay (they still don't allow gay adult leaders but at least they are allowing gay scouts. Not perfect but hopefully soon they will include everyone). As someone with a gay best friend that bothered me and I've been pretty vocal about that, probably to the point of looking like an ass. But as a Mom to 3 strapping young men I now see the value that organizations like the scouts have. They help young men build skills and character and connections. They will make friends and go on adventures.
So with that spirit in mind I signed my 2 older boys up. Babalu is now a Bear Cub Scout and Rookie is a little Tiger Cub Scout. Big Daddy and I will be sharing the responsibility of being the Den Leader for Rookie's Tiger Den and I'm looking forward to playing with all the little boys and helping them earn their Bobcat badge and Tiger badge. Babalu is pouring over his handbook and picking out the things he wants to do. They are boy super excited.
As for the anti-gay nature of BSA I will say this- our pack meets at a school so I am hoping that it never comes up. Also my boys are very offended by the thought that gay people don't have equal rights in our country so if anyone says anything they won't be swayed to think anything different.
So with that spirit in mind I signed my 2 older boys up. Babalu is now a Bear Cub Scout and Rookie is a little Tiger Cub Scout. Big Daddy and I will be sharing the responsibility of being the Den Leader for Rookie's Tiger Den and I'm looking forward to playing with all the little boys and helping them earn their Bobcat badge and Tiger badge. Babalu is pouring over his handbook and picking out the things he wants to do. They are boy super excited.
As for the anti-gay nature of BSA I will say this- our pack meets at a school so I am hoping that it never comes up. Also my boys are very offended by the thought that gay people don't have equal rights in our country so if anyone says anything they won't be swayed to think anything different.
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