Friday, February 27, 2015

3 BIG CHEERS for Cub Scouts!!!


In the midst of the past political controversy surrounding the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, I feel that I would love to share what I think is so wonderful about Cub Scouts. 
Cub Scouts is for boys first grade through fifth grade.  In First they are Tigers, they get a handbook and they have to complete X amount of achievements to earn their badge, then 2nd is Wolves, 3rd is Bears, and 4th and 5th are Webelos.   They are also going to earn their Bobcat badge, which covers the basic of Cub Scout like the Law of the Pack, Meaning of Webelos, Hand Shake, Salute, Motto, Child Protection Exercises,  and Cub Scout Promise.  Once they have mastered these, they get their Bobcat badge.   Every level has their own activities to accomplish and the activities are really useful life skill  and character building activities.
This week my son wrapped up earning his Bear badge and I thought that this would be a great time to share some of the activities that he did to earn his badge and some of the wonderful activities he did all year.

Once they passed 2nd grade they could begin working on their Bear badge over the summer.  So over the summer we visited museums, took 4 long hikes where he learned about hiking safety. Through the summer he  kept reviewing the safety tips, like what to do if you get lost and how to plan for a hike.  He learned the basic rules for bike safety,  how to maintain his bike,  and we took long bike rides.  He had activities that helped him plan camping trips, family outings and picnics.
In the fall they had a camp out where Cub Scouts from all over the area got together for a weekend of Cub Scouting fun!  The families could stay overnight together and on Saturday morning the fun really began!  We had the flag ceremony and breakfast, then we went to several planned activities!  First there was an wonderful team building actives, my favorite to watch was when the boys had to work together to get a ball into  a bin in the middle of a large circle, BUT they could NOT enter the circle and all the had was string, a rubber band, teamwork and brain power!   They made food on outdoor campfires, made a shield, shot bb guns and did archery .  We had a beautiful impromptu hike to a gorgeous view and the greatest and funniest thing was the Polar Bear Plunge!!!  Now we live in Alaska, this is in Late September, where there is frozen ice on the ground and it is COLD outside!!  The boys earned a badge for plunging into the lake in their swim trunks ( mine went in 7 times)
Throughout the rest of the year we did many different activities.  Things that I came to realize I probably would have never thought of doing on my own, but were important none the less.  Like he worked on knife safety and how to cut with a knife.  I had never thought  about teaching him to sharpen a knife, but we did it and he had a great time.  They even lay out guidelines for knife safety and they can earn a card pledging that they will abide by the safety rules.  He learned how to tie knots, about tools  and every year he makes something.  We visited a police station and learned about law enforcement, cooking, money management, sports and being a leader!  We went bowling as a pact and had a Christmas party.

There are the yearly events that we participate in like the Pine Wood Derby.  The boys will take a chunk of pinewood, shape it and paint it and we will meet and they will compete for whose car is the fastest.  In the fall we have popcorn sales.  I love this personally, to see my son be mature and asking people to please buy popcorn to help support the many great activities that Cub Scouts offers.
I even have to admit, as a homeschooling mother, I get really bored of our curriculum sometimes and it is actually fun to use our achievement and  sports and academia book to use for learning activities!  We had a day where we played math money games like Payday for math,  there are endless science activities, we wrote friendly letters for writing and so on.
One of my most valued favorites of cub scouts is that every year the achievements emphasis preparedness in emergencies.  You visit fire stations and learn what to do in case of a fire.  Just the other day he drew out the house, the escape routes and we did mock fire drills.  I had him in a room near the garage and I asked him what he would do if the other way was blocked, how would he get out.  I was really surprised to see that he said he could not go out the garage because his father said that he was never to go into the garage alone.  This is so important that I was so very glad that I had the opportunity to clarify with him that in this instance it was okay!  I love how in all the achievement books they will have sections about safety, in Bears it is “Information Please”  where we discuss what to do in various emergencies.  This is really just something I forget to do, and I am so thankful to get the opportunity to do it with my son.

In addition to the Bear Book, there is the Academic and Sports Book, this is where the boys can earn belt loops and pins.  There is an AMAZING variety of activities for the children to accomplish and grow from!  It ranges from art, to bowling, soccer, video games, science, weather and so on and on.  Then there are the Conservation awards and Outdoor Ethics Award. 

At the end of the year my son feels really good about all the things that he has accomplished, learned and all the friends he gets to share great times with.  Please take the time to consider scouting, you can join any time of the year.  It really is a great opportunity for young boys in helping them to be prepared for life!