February: the Perfect Storm

Whew!  February was a busy month for our pack.  We had so many events that I promised my wife, "No weekend Scout events in March."  I'll write about the art of delegation, and the terrific parents of my pack who step up, in another post.

Today, I'd like to tell you how our month got so crazy.

In years past, we have held our Pinewood Derby in January, which is the traditional month in Cub Scouts.  The theme for January 2016 was The Great Race, and the Scout Law point was Trustworthy.  We would have gone along with that plan, but our Pinewood Derby Chair was travelling for work, so we pushed it to the first weekend in February.

Our awesome Pinewood Derby Chair found a new track for us on Craigslist last summer.  He drove to Milwaukee to buy it from en engineer, who had used it to run a business.  We bought a 6 lane wooden track, electronic timing system, stanchions with rope, car carriers, and car display racks, for $500.  To make our investment back, we decided to run races for area packs without tracks - we call it the Pinewood Pit Crew.  Our first two events were scheduled for January 30 and February 22.  This added to our Perfect Storm.

Another event we usually plan for January is our Webelos Winter Weekend.  I wrote about our plans in a previous post.  This is a campout for Webelos only, and they really enjoy being the only scouts in camp.  This year, no one had a free weekend in January, so we planned it for the third weekend in February.

Now, the traditional February event for Cub Scout Packs is the Blue and Gold Banquet.  This year, the monthly theme was Friends Near and Far, and the Scout Law point was Friendly.  Two of our moms put together a Heritage Pitch In, and every family brought a dish representing their heritage.  Since we have first generation immigrant families from several countries, as well as American-born families with strong ethnic traditions, it was quite a feast!  I'll write all about it in another post.  The point to make here is that we scheduled it for the last Tuesday in February.

The other event that the Pack Committee planned for February was a community service project.  The scouts would go to a nearby assisted living facility, where they would make valentines with the residents and play games with them.  This project would be a chance for any den who still needed to complete service for an adventure belt loop to do so.  It was supposed to happen the Saturday before Valentine's Day, but you can see what happened to all the weekends in February.  The Wolf den, who needed it the most, completed it over two den meetings.  They made cards on one Tuesday and walked to the senior center to deliver them on the next.  Luckily, the other dens had already completed their required projects!

Now, we have some of the best parent volunteers ever, but February called on them so much that I felt like I was abusing their Scout spirit.  Here's what we're doing to prevent this from happening next year:

1. We have declared that the Pinewood Derby will be held on the last Sunday in January.  Now everyone can plan ahead for this new pack tradition.

2. At the Pack Planning Conference in June, I'll set a January weekend for the Webelos Winter Weekend and stick to it.  Whoever can go, will go.

3. We will recruit more parents to the Pinewood Pit Crew and put up available weekends early.  We hope to work 5 races next year, which will put us into the black on the track.

4. We have a Tiger Den mom who is a pastor and an expert at recruiting volunteers.  She'll come to next month's pack committee meeting and tell us her tricks!  Then, we can put one parent in charge of each event, which will prevent ME from changing it at the last minute :)

How does your pack handle scheduling SNAFUs like this?  How do you recruit enough volunteers to handle it?

Scout On!
Cubmaster Rhys

Webelos Winter Weekend: the Plan

Our pack has a special event coming up.  It's our annual Webelos Winter Weekend, when we take just the oldest Cub Scouts on a campout.  We like to go to Pokagon State Park, in far northern Indiana.  The park has trails that are Webelos-friendly, a great nature center,and a toboggan run.

When we first get to camp, one of the dads will lead a class on cold weather safety and first aid.  The forecast calls for temps in the 50's, but it will drop below freezing overnight.  Since the Guide to Safe Scouting prohibits tent camping for Webelos dens in winter, two of our families are staying in the inn at the park and the rest will sleep in a camper.  The camper has multiple tip out full beds with curtains for privacy, as well as gas heat and electrically heated mattresses.

This year, the nature center is having a program during our day in the park called, "Bluebirds of Happiness".  The scouts will learn about bluebirds and then help the park rangers clean out the bluebird nesting boxes in the adjacent woods.  After the last nest box is clean, we'll switch to a different trail to add enough distance to total three miles.  At the point farthest from camp, we will pull out the backpacker stove and teach the boys how to make mac n cheese or oatmeal on the trail.  These activities help the scouts meet several requirements for the Webelos Walkabout adventure, which is required for their rank.

Several boys have already begun the Into the Woods elective, which replaced the Forester activity pin when the new program was published last June.  They should be able to complete their pins by talking to the ranger at the nature center and exploring the exhibits there.

We'll head back to camp for hot soup and cocoa.  If there were snow, now would be the time to build igloos and have a snowball fight.  Since the weather will be mild, the best we can hope for is a great mud puddle.  I'll call boys over in pairs to test them on their pin requirements and sign their books.

At dusk, we'll change into dry clothes and head over to the toboggan run.  It's refrigerated, so it will still be fun in warmer weather.  The first year we made this trip, the Webelos exclaimed, "It's like a Pinewood Derby....for HUMANS!"  Each family rents a toboggan for an hour; that's about how long we can endure carrying the 45 lb. sleds back up the hill!  The Webelos will carry the toboggans up at least once, to practice teamwork and tire out.

By the time we get back to camp, everyone will be starving.  One of the dads will have stayed behind to get a fire started and make shepherd's pie.  All of the Webelos have learned to lay a cooking fire and cook at least two camp recipes, so they don't have to cook on this trip.

A Boy Scout troop chartered to a church near our neighborhood will also be in the park that weekend, so we'll get together for a campfire show, marshmallows, and stories.  The Webelos can make it to about nine pm before they start tiring out, so we end our night earlier than the older Scouts do.

The next morning, I'll make everyone cinnamon rolls, bacon, and eggs for breakfast.  It's too bad our barista dad is in the Bear den.  Next year, we'll have him along on this trip.  He brings a coffee press and some fancy beans that he grinds in camp!  We break camp right after breakfast and head home.  Our Webelos den leader teaches Sunday School, even on campout weekends.  I'm hoping to fit in a nap after the gear is clean and stowed.

Hopefully, I'll have some great pictures from the trip to show in a few days!

Til then,

Scout On!

CM R