Month: January 2012

These are the meeting minutes I wrote up following a meeting we had on Jan 11 of this year. I recovered it from my email archive. I’ve only modified it to remove names, per my custom here on the blog. I’m adding them to the blog for 2 reasons: first, because my being an SAHD is the major reason I’m a Den leader making the content entirely blog appropriate; and second, they might prove useful for other Den leaders looking for ideas.

Attendance at yesterday’s meeting was huge. It was great to see everyone come out like that. I’m not even sure I need to send this out since almost everyone was there. That said, I know some couldn’t make it, so here’s what we did.

The main goal of yesterday’s meeting was to help the Wolf Scouts earn an Astronomy Belt Loop. Towards that end, one of the Scouts brought in his telescope and I also brought in my own for the Scouts to use. Another parent contributed a pair of binoculars for the boys to try. During the meeting we went over astronomy terms like planet, star, solar system, galaxy, meteor, comet and so forth. We also named all of the planets in our own solar system.

After finishing those requirements, we let the Scouts check out the telescopes. As luck it would have it, for the last 15 minutes of the meeting the skies cleared up and they were actually able to use the telescope to view the moon.

In addition to earning an Astronomy Belt Loop, I also assigned Achievements 10 and 11: Family Fun and Duty to God. We quickly discussed what it means to “cooperate,” as it pertained to Family Fun and then we discussed what “faith” meant. I handed out some worksheets that duplicate the questions in the handbook for those achievements.

Thus far, home assignments that I’ve given have been 3a (healthy habits chart), 4a and 4e (emergency contact list and doing chores), and now Achievements 10 and 11. If any of the Scouts have completed any of these assignments, let me know so I can recognize them at the Den meetings.

Obviously, the big upcoming event is the Pinewood Derby on the 21st at 3:30. If there is anyone who does not have the resources to cut out their car shape and intends on racing, email me so I can help out. I don’t want a Scout to not enter because they couldn’t make the car they wanted.

That’s it. Thanks again to everyone for coming last night. Our next meeting will be in 2 weeks on the 24th. Site TBD.

I’ve been a den leader for the boy’s Cub Scout Pack for the past 2 years. As a courtesy to the parents of the kids in our Den, I send out a recap so that those not in attendance know what went on at the meeting. Since boys are so forth coming with information (sarcasm!), I figured this was the best way to make everyone feel comfortable with what their boys were learning. I’ve decided to start posting the recaps (minus names of course) because planning the meetings is not as easy as it would seem. Accordingly, I thought other leaders perusing the interwebs might find them useful should they stumble upon them. I’ll be slowly adding the previous meetings to the blog as I go to fill out the repertoire.

Finally, I’m adding it because Scouts has been a worthwhile experience for the boy. It’s an extra chance to get together with his friends, but it’s also a chance for parents to have a direct impact on what they learn since we choose the curriculum. As such, it has probably belonged on the blog all along as a memento of formative years. There’s wisdom in here. Somewhere.

We opened the meeting, as always, with a simple flag ceremony where we recited the Pledge of Allegiance and then the Cub Scout promise. The Scouts still haven’t mastered the skill of unfolding the Flag and then raising it on the pole, but it hasn’t been for lack of trying. We’ll continue to do it through the remainder of our meetings.

I then took care of some old business and handed out some awards for our Popcorn fundraiser. From there, I started the new business with a discussion on what “courage” is. All of the Scouts had their own thoughts on what it meant, mostly centering around being brave and doing exciting things. I tried to explain that courage is a little more than that: it’s a willingness to do something even though they might be scared or uncertain. They quickly grasped the idea and started offering a range of examples from fighting in wars to going into haunted houses.

When we finished this, I assigned Activity 12 from the Wolf Handbook. There are a series of scenarios that are listed in this activity and the Scouts have to pick 2 of them and explain how they think they should act given the conditions described. I then walked them through an example: What if you’re alone at the house and a stranger calls and asks if their parent’s are home. What should they do?

All the boys realized they should either lie and say that their parent’s are home but unavailable or simply hang-up the phone. I tried to point out that this is one case where lying was OK because they were protecting themselves- but don’t tell their parents that I said it was OK to lie.

After a quick break, we moved on to the main event: learning how to read maps. I brought a map of a local state park as well as a road map. We talked about what the different lines on the map mean, what the “legend” is used for, and how to properly orient the map using the North indicator that all maps have.

That led into a discussion about how to use a compass and how a compass works. Most of the boys thought a compass tells what direction it’s pointing in. I explained that a compass actually only tells one direction: it always points North. But once we know which direction North was, it’s easy to figure out the other directions. I also explained a little about magnetism and why the compass always points North and even used a magnet on the compass to control the needle to demonstrate. When they saw the compass moving around with the magnet, they all wanted a turn trying that.

Afterwards, we practiced orienting the maps properly since we now knew where North was and then all the Scouts took turns finding there homes on the road map. The Dads present also got involved at this point helping them find where they lived. The road map was gridded, to help locate things quicker on the map, and I explained that concept to them as well. As a final, somewhat humorous, note I also explained that maps are the reason that Men never ask for directions.

I wrapped up the evening by telling them if they drew a map of their neighborhood and brought it to the next Den meeting, they would then have earned a Map and Compass belt loop. To offer them a little direction, I told them their map should include their house, their street, a “compass” so it could be oriented, and any important buildings or landmarks near their house. Obviously, they don’t need to worry about scale too much.

That activity concluded our night and I let them play on the foos ball table that our meeting room features until parents arrived to take them home.