Webelos to Scouts "Graduation" Cake

Here is a picture of the cake we made for one of our boy's transition from Webelos to Cub Scouts. We frosted graham crackers as the trees and used pirouette cookies for the campfire. My favorite part is the camper in the tent. We took half the chocolate off a whopper for his head and used red two small pieces of red licorice side by side for his sleeping bag.

It really took no time at all! -  (compared to a lot of cakes decorated with fondant that we saw on pinterest).

And the best part was that he loved it and it made him feel special!

Making the Scholar Activity Badge Fun!

The scholar activity badge can be more than just having the boys do paperwork. Here are two ideas we came up with to make it fun!

Careers in Education Charades - Instead of just writing down and discussing full-time positions in the field of education, we decided to have our boys act out these careers. We came up with the positions, wrote them down and put them in a bowl. The boys acted them out and when the others had a hard time guessing, they used words to describe the career.

School System Chart with Chalk - Using information found online about our local elementary school and school district, I made five difference charts, one for each boy. After explaining each section to the boys and how they fit together, we had each of the boys recreate each chart on a section of my driveway with chalk. This was a very interactive and fun way for the boys to learn about their local school system and how each job fits together.

Keeping parents informed

The best way that we have found to communicate with our parents is through email. Especially for requirements that need to be done at home. We have found that the notes we send home with the boys may or may not be seen by parents. My co-leader and I like to meet quickly on Sundays so we usually send an email to all the parents on Sunday. The email tells them what we have done in our last den meeting, what they need to do at home, what is coming up in future den or pack meetings, and what requirements of Faith in God (LDS church) correspond to the activities we have worked on so the parents can sign off in the Faith in God booklet. I think it is nice for the parents to have announcements in email form so they can refer back to them for dates in the futures.

I have heard that other leaders like to send a weekly email and follow up with a text to the parents the day of den meeting if there are any reminders like a change of location or something the boys need to bring with them.We email weekly, then give each parent a phone call if we need to remind them of something.

We spoke with our parents and this seems to work the best for them...and us!

Gathering Activity - Learning the scout law with a tennis ball

I recently went to a scout training and heard this great idea for learning the scout law. This would be great as a gathering activity. As the boys arrive they can join in the circle. One boy starts with the tennis ball and says "A scout is trustworthy", then he bounces the ball in the circle to another boy who says "A scout is trustworthy, loyal" and then he bounces the ball to another boy and continues with the next word. This is a great way to prepare the webelos to learn the scout law since it is a requirement to earn the Arrow of Light.

Once all the boys arrive, then you can proceed with den meeting as usual. We like to have our Denner assign a boy to offer a prayer, assign another boy to lead us in the pledge/flag ceremony, and assign another to lead us in reciting the scout law, oath, sign, handshake etc (ideally we do one or two at the beginning of den meeting and one or two at the end).

In our den we say the prayer first, this way it shows the boys that God comes first in our lives before country (the pledge) and den (the scout law etc).

Quick Idea: Duct Tape Wallet for the Craftsman Activity Badge

I found out that a friend of mine is also a Webelos leader. This week they made duct tape wallets for the Craftsman badge and the boys loved it! Here is a link to some great instructions I found on pinterest: http://craftsbyamanda.com/2010/04/how-to-make-duct-tape-wallet.html.

Visit craftsbyamanda.com

Artist Badge - Primary Colors with a Halloween theme

This week we worked on #4 of the Artist badge, learning about primary and secondary colors, and #1, talking to an artist and learning about careers in art. I found acrylic paint and foam brushes on sale at Michaels last month and cute wooden halloween masks to paint.


First we gave the boys red, yellow and blue paint on paper plates and had them mix the colors to get secondary colors.


 


Then they painted the halloween masks.

FrankenScout

We ended the den meeting with a visit from an artist in our neighborhood that works for Disney. She taught the boys about all different kinds of careers in art including graphic design, interior design, and architectural design. She ended by showing us the commercial that she produced.

This was a fun way to work with paint and the boys really loved our visitor. This week was definitely a success!

Artist Badge - Clay Art

This week we made clay art which is #7 of the Artist activity badge. My co-leader found this recipe for salt dough off of pinterest.

http://diaryofaluckymom.blogspot.com

She added a little food coloring to her dough and I bought a small package of bright colors from the dollar store. Here is what the boys made:

                                                          

Welcome to the blog!

I am starting this blog as a way to gather ideas for our den meetings and share with others what we have done. Enjoy!