Our Summer Long Time Capsule Project

With just a month to go before the boys get out of school, we have already begun collecting and planning for our summer fun.

Recently, we were doing some deep cleaning at our home and we came across a time capsule project my husband and I had done 15 years ago, when my husband and I were still dating. It was fun to look back and see how things had changed. The Tennessee Titans arena was just being built. Dodge had just released it's incredibly beautiful new body truck, and you could still buy a Pontiac. Our original time capsule was pretty simple. A newspaper and some pictures around Nashville of things we thought would change.

We have all decided that it's time to do this project again. Only this time we have little ones to change our perspective. Our little project is growing this year, and we are going to add the following things to our 2010 time capsule:

1. Journal. Every member of the family will have a journal. We will sit down and write in it twice a week. Each member of the family will be free to write about anything they want as long as it happened in the last 3 days.

2. Toy. The boys want to include one toy that they think represents what's popular in 2010.

3. Newspaper. Our last time capsule was done in July of 1995, so we'll pick up our newspaper in July this year as well.

4. Pictures. This year will be fun to add pictures of things the boys think will change. Last time we took lots of pictures of cars since my hubby is a car enthusiast, what perspective will the boys bring? What do they think is important to take pictures of? I can't wait!

Last year when the Scout Shop had patches on sale, I picked up some "time capsule" patches. They'll get to remember this fun project on their patch blanket each time they look at it.

Summer is about to begin!

Well, it's been a while since I've updated my blog. I quit being a scout leader last year and have spent my time trying to catch up on all those things that I have been neglecting. Although we are no longer active in cub scouts, I'll link up the scout activities with the scout books as I come to them, so you can continue to use this blog for your electives and requirements. I'll be linking up with the Webelo and Wolf books, since those are the ages of my kiddos.

Now let's get back to helping boys have fun!

With the summer fast approaching, I'll be listing fun activities that I will be doing with my boys and hope that you will enjoy doing them with your boys too.

Hope you have a great summer!
~Jenifer

Bass Pro Shops Free Summer Clinics

Bass Pro Shops is offering free Summer Clinics on bird watching, plant and insect identification, animal identification, hiking, fishing, camping, archery and BB shooting. They are 30 minute clinics that are lead by a BPS employee and they have a video presentation along with it.

The kids get a a little 4 page informational Q and A sheet with some games and pictures. They have a little Scavenger hunt around the store with Q and A's for the kids, followed by receiving a pin for the program.

The Bass Pro Shops program is best suited for 6-8 year old, although there were some older kids there. Classes are held Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from now through July 5th.

Manna Bags

Teaching your Scouts one way to help others this Summer...

One day while I was in Bible Study, the topic came up about how to help some of the homeless/hungry people that we see standing on the corners so frequently around Nashville.

One of the ladies told us about "Manna Bags" that she keeps in her car and hands out to those in need. I think it's a great idea and wanted to share it with you. I know that I'll have my boys help make some of these up for Daddy to keep in his car as he travels around Nashville.

Suggested items to include in your bag:
-first aid kit
-tuna or chicken kit
-travel size wet ones
-water bottle
-travel size toiletries
-napkins
-travel pack tissues
-plastic utensils
-fruit cup -tic tacs/gum
-pop top canned veggies
-raisins
-pop top pork and beans
-Bible (with highlighted scripture)
-peanut butter cracker packs -local shelter/food bank info
-cereal or granola bars -note from family and/or child(ren)

Have fun and get creative as you help others in your travels this Summer!

What have your boys taught you?

As I wrapped up my year as a den leader, I reflected back on my year and thought about my boys. So in an open to letter to my boys... here is what I have learned from them. I urge you to think back about how each boy is special and let them know how much you have learned from them this year.

What my boys have taught me this year.

I have spent countless hours preparing for den meetings. Making lesson plans, researching activities, gathering supplies… and then there is entering all those advancements into scout track. But while I was busy thinking I was teaching these young men, they in fact, were actually teaching me.

Mr. Loreant and Mr. Gifford have taught me to be the best I can be. These two young men are my over achievers. They have pushed me to be more innovative, more creative and to always bring my A game.

Mr. Reid and Mr. Denson have taught me enthusiasm. They ask more questions and answer more questions than any other boys in my den and they do so with great enthusiasm.

Mr. Sheppard has taught me determination and attitude. He started the year with “I can’t” and “I won’t” and has ended the year with “I can” and “I’ll try.”

Mr. Baker has taught me confidence.

Mr. Morris has taught me humility.

Mr. Waldon has tried to teach me patience, although, I still don’t have any.

Mr. Childress has taught me unconditional love and acceptance.

Mr. Sandlin has taught me the value of friendship.

When we started our year, we made a den flag. Leave no Trace… leave nothing but footprints. I knew I would be awarding it to one of my scouts at the end of the year. I was going to give it to the young man who best embodied what Scouts means. And it was a tough decision. But a couple of weeks ago, while we were preparing to work on our softball belt loop, a couple of the boys were messing around, not listening to me as usual. And one of them fell off the bleachers and landed on his arm. While were waiting on his Mom to come pick him up and take him to the doctor, with tears streaming down his face, he said “But Ms. Jen, I just want to play softball with my scouts.” He hurt his arm, but all he wanted was to play with his scouts. So it my great privilege to present our den flag to Mr. Trey Sandlin.

Leave No Trace Banner

For our Leave No Trace Banner/Poster we decided to let the boys walk through paint with their bare feet. Let me say, the boys LOVED it! The concept behind our banner is that when you leave nothing but footprints, eventually your footprints will fade away, but what you leave behind (such as trash) will not.

The boys will be signing the poster and then we will be taking pictures on our service project tonight... a hike with a trash pick up on a frequented trail.

Also... for additional fun, be sure to check into Geocaching. It's on online "treasure hunt". I happen to know that there are "caches" on the trail, so we'll be introducing the boys to that fun activity as well!

Emergency Preparedness Awareness Award

With Spring weather being so unpredictable this year, I thought now would be a good time to work on the Emergency Preparedness Award.

The requirements are different for each cub scout level, however the guidelines for all scouts can be found at http://www.scouting.org/Media/Publications/EmergencyPreparedness/award.aspx

For Wolf Den:

1. Complete Wolf Cub Scout Achievement 9*—Be Safe at Home and on the Street. This is a check of your home to keep it safe.
2. Complete Wolf Cub Scout Elective 16*—Family Alert. This elective is about designing a plan for your home and family in case an emergency takes place.
3. With your parent or guardian's help, complete one of the following activities that you have not already completed for this award as a Tiger Cub:
   • Take American Red Cross Basic Aid Training (BAT) to learn emergency skills and care for choking, wounds, nose bleeds, falls, and animal bites. This course includes responses for fire safety, poisoning, water accidents, substance abuse, and more.
   • Make a presentation to your family on what you have learned about preparing for emergencies.
   • Join a Safe Kids program such as McGruff Child Identification program. Put on a training program for your family or den on stranger awareness, Internet safety, or safety at home.

I found great resources on the following websites to help with this program:
*
If you want to buy kits:
http://www.mcgruff-safe-kids.com/boyscouts/mcgruff-identification-kit.html
*
If you want to make your own:
Internet Safety, Stranger Abduction, Gun Safety
http://www.fbi.gov/kids/k5th/safety2.htm
*
Finger Print Kits
http://www.fbi.gov/kids/k5th/fingerprintcard.htm
*
Emergency Preparedness
http://www.ready.gov/kids/home.html

Web Rangers

I stumbled upon this fun website for kids while planning our upcoming family camping trip. It's a National Park Service site for kids. http://www.webrangers.us/index.cfm

Perfect for the upcoming May theme of Leave No Trace. The website is full of fun activities and a "virtual patch blanket". Activities range from easy to difficult and include lots of activities that Scouts do, such as recycling, be safe in the parks, artifacts, dinosaurs, maps, and all sorts of other fun things to do. When they complete all of the activities, the National Park Service will send them a patch! And we are all about the patches!

Definately worth checking into!

New BSA Family Program

There is a new BSA Family Program. They have taken the old program and revamped it into a 5 part program. You can earn patches and pins for completing 2 activities in each of the 5 sections.

• Shaping your Families Identity
• Developing Personal Skills
• Building a Family Team
• Connecting with your Community
• Facing Family Challenges

You can create a fun summer program while keeping your scouts engaged this Summer.

Tie it Right Elective 17

We are doing all of Elective Chapter 17 in one den meeting. We are setting up stations and having the boys move from one station to another upon successful completion of each activity.

Elective 17A~ Tie a knot
Elective 17B~ Tie your shoes
Elective 17C~ Wrap and tie a package
Elective 17D~ Tie a stack of newspapers
Elective 17E~ Tie two cords together
Elective 17F~ Tie a neck tie
Elective 17G~ Whip a rope