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!
No comments:
Post a Comment