Saturday, October 14, 2006

Scouting: the pace picks up

Both boys have now earned their intro Cub Scout badge (Bobcat), and Son1 is well on his way to his Webelos badge, a couple of other badges, and stuff that will contribute to the Arrow of Light (his big challenge for the year). Son2 enjoys being a Tiger Cub, and the two boys love to practice their den yells and the hilarious one of a Boy Scout patrol (learned on their campout).

A newer development: I get to sew a bunch more patches. Yes, dear husband is almost certainly going to be the den leader for Son2's Tiger Cubs den. Time to buy his shirt and another set of patches, plus whatever den leader specifics are required. Got my thimble and needles; I might break down and buy the set of spools of thread that match the various Cub Scout uniform/patch colors!

The rest of this weekend will, apparently, be devoted to lots of sanding and painting. The boys' Raingutter Regatta race of balsawood boats takes place on Tuesday, and they need to shape their boats and paint them, and then decorate the sails. So... my plan is to do my own thing -- Web site updates, write articles, background reading for homeschooling and for me, and catching up on laundry and meal planning -- while the guys do their thing.

We have a few more calls to make to finish our attempt at selling popcorn for our first Cub Scout fundraiser. Between dear husband and me, this is our "getting our feet wet" fundraiser; we expect to spend more time on the mulch sale in the spring. The boys' share of the funds raised will help them go to day camp in the summer and on campouts here and there; apparently we can also tap into the funds to help them get needed gear from approved scouting-supply stores in our area.

At some point dear husband will probably attend the two-weekend outdoor skills training for adults, which means two Saturday overnights for him and tons of learning so he can teach Webelos. How cool is that?!?

A few days after Christmas, Son1 and dear husband are going to participate in the four-day, three-night Dead of Winter (brrr!) campout for Webelos with the Boy Scout troop they'll probably bridge into. Apparently it's a test of what the Webelos have learned. They are dropped off at a prepared site with the gear/supplies that were hidden around the area for them. As teams they must find the needed gear/supplies and set up camp (shelter, fire, water, etc.). Wow!

Dear husband and I are talking about camping and hiking/outdoor gear as potential family gifts for Christmas, and both gear and uniform parts (pants, long-sleeved shirts, hats) as potential birthday/Christmas gifts for the boys. I'm pretty sure long underwear for outdoor activity will be on that list as well, with the Dead of Winter thing around the corner! Hmm. I think this Cub Scouting thing has struck a really good chord with all of us. Dear husband and I are a bit bemused by how well Cub Scouts fits right now, when a year ago we weren't interested.

1 comment:

Stephanie not in TX said...

You are just where I was a year ago. Now I've got a Webelos II, a Wolf, and next year I'll have another Tiger. And DH just became Assistant Cub Master.

It's fun! Which is good, because sometimes it seems like it's taking over my life.