Activity Day

Fall would be a fun time to collect leaves and flowers to press. The pressed leaves and flowers could be used to make bookmarks or note cards. After the note cards are finished, they can write a note to a grandparent or other relative. To make bookmarks, laminate the items with clear packing tape. To make note cards you can either glue or use the packing tape or clear contact paper to attach the items to a card made from card stock paper.

Here are some instructions for pounding leaves between layers of muslin to make book marks or other fabric items.

Cub Scouts

September is a great time to collect leaves to make a leaf collection. Teach the boys how to press them inside of a book one week, and then mount and label them the next week. While out in the neighborhood collecting leaves they can also pick up liter.

Take the boys to a nature center or other place. Our boys went to see the wildlife displays at a local outdoor store.

The boys can learn about birds and make bird feeders. I've seen fun ones with peanut butter and pine cones, cereal hung on yarn, and birdseed 'cookies' made with birdseed and unflavored gelatin molded in cookie cutter shapes. Check and make sure your boys don't have any food allergies. We had to find an alternative from the peanut butter pine cone feeders this year because of a peanut allergy.

Activity Day

Girls like doing outside activities too. Plan a  short hike or bike ride. Visit the park (and maybe pick up trash in addition to playing). Consider asking each girl to take a turn planning, preparing, and leading an outdoor game. It is important to give children opportunities to present ideas in front of others.

Some fun outdoor activities include making giant bubbles, sailing paper boats (or make from pool noodles), learning to throw a Frisbee, playing hopscotch, or playing a game with a ball.

I found a fun leaf craft to make bugs from leaves and other natural materials here.

Cub Scouts

Cub Scouts love to run and play together outdoors. Take advantage of summertime. Have the boys plan and participate in a picnic (Wolf elective). Ask for volunteers to make an obstacle course in their backyard (be sure to ask parents). Take time to work on the feats of skill for wolf age boys and building muscles for bear age boys.

Cub Scouts

Summertime is in full swing and a good time for boys to be having outdoor fun. Our July plans include day camp, the Bear requirement for games, the Wolf requirement for making good choices (also a Bear elective), and learning to sing Choose the Right if the boys don't already know it (be sure to include a discussion on agency to complete a Faith in God requirement). The Cub Scout core value for July is courage so be sure to discuss how sometimes it takes courage to make good choices.

A good story that goes along with this is called Another Kind of Courage from the Friend magazine (June 1986). Years ago I had some boys act out scenes from this story for a slide show to be used in Sharing Time (back when we had to use real slides and a slide projector). It would be fun to have the boys act out scenes from the story to be shown in pack meeting as you read the story.

Activity Day

Here's a fun idea for your activity day girls to do during July. Play some old fashioned games and make pioneer dolls--either cloth, yarn, or sock dolls. There are lots of ideas if you do a web search for "pioneer doll making" or "handmade rag doll." You can make them with fabric scraps or handkerchiefs and very little sewing.

Cub Scouting in Small Units

I recently visited with a friend who works with BSA. I was telling him about the annual plan I had put together for combining our wolf and bear dens (see my post on annual planning) . His comment was: "Oh, like the Year A and Year B plans." He then told me about the BSA materials available that work through all the requirements for boys to get their rank advancements while being combined in dens. These are really good references with ideas that can be used if you are combining 2 dens together or all dens including Webelos together. How have a been a Cub Scout leader for 15 years and never heard of this? This plan is designed to be used by either small units that need to combine dens because they don't have enough boys, or by larger units that need to combine dens because they don't have enough leaders. The PDF versions of these materials can be found here for Year A and Year B.

I also recently heard David Beck (current LDS General Young Men's President) talk about 'Real Growth through Scouting.' The LDS Church would like to welcome boys who are not LDS into our LDS scout units. Brother Beck emphasized that this is not to be used as a proselytizing tool, but only as a chance to bless the lives of all boys-whether they are LDS members or not. So if your unit is small, look for those other boys in your neighborhoods who could benefit from the Boy Scout Program. Welcome them into your units, encouraging these boys to do their best at doing what they believe is their duty to God.