"You shouldn't even think..."

We have a copy of the "Trails to Testimony" CD for the sole purpose of loaning out to anyone in our ward or the other wards we help, that we can get to listen to it. Recently we got a new bishopric in our ward. We were talking to one of the counsilors one day, and he expressed a desire to know more about Scouting. He was never in scouts himself, so his knowledge of the program was limited to watching his two sons go through it. We told him as soon as our CD was available, he could be the next to have it.

He drives a lot for his job, so once he had the CD, it didn't take him long to listen to the to hour-long talk. Then he got a copy for himself.

He returned ours to me at church yesterday, and I could see the excitement in his eyes. He talked about how the CD would change perspectives and programs would be so much different if everyone would listen to this talk. He said, "You shouldn't even think the word Scouting - you or your kids - without listening to this first."

As LaVar Burton would say, you don't have to take my word for it. Here's another testimonial about Trails to Testimony and why you should get a copy or two to spread around your own ward.

Faith in God by Month - Complete File

I recently finished compiling my list of Faith in God activity ideas by month (core value). I put the entire year into one file for download. For each month I tried to include 2-4 suggestions for FiG requirements to work on, ideas for activities to go along with those requirements, and ways those requirements overlap or can overlap with Cub Scout requirements. I have uploaded the file in three different formats, so that you can download it in the format that works best for you:

Faith in God Ideas .pdf

Faith in God Ideas .doc

Faith in God Ideas .odt (Open Office)

[Legal note: Feel free to use in your ward and distribute to your friends, but please don't sell my file and remember to give credit where credit is due. If you are sharing online or via e-mail, I would appreciate it if you would provide a link to this post rather than to the file itself. Thanks.]

Hands-on Experience

For the last few months I have been enjoying a new Scouting position, different than anything I've done in Scouting before - being a scout parent. Now that our oldest is finally a Cub Scout (after attending various scout meetings and functions since before he was born) I have been getting a whole new perspective on the program.

I have to say that I love it. Yes, I do brag sometimes about my unfair advantage - having a working knowledge of the program from the get-go, where most parents come in confused and full of questions - but I am still learning things from this new perspective that hopefully will make me a better leader and trainer.

One thing I have gained a new appreciation for is the Cub Scout Academics and Sports program. I can see in my son how the immmediate recognition and the variety involved keep him more interested in the program than he would be just working on rank advancement. He was way more excited about receiving his first belt loops than he was about getting his Bobcat.

That said, and while I can see a lot of ways to work belt loops into den meetings, I think belt loops are something that parents should be encouraged to be working on with their boys. I know this is easier said than done. One suggestion I have is to start with whatever the boys are doing anyway. Get to know the boys, then give their parents information about relevant loops and pins. For example: got Cubs in soccer? Send them home with worksheets for the soccer belt loop. We have a family in our den that is into roller skating and roller derby. I told the mom about the roller skating belt loop. Instead of just working on it with her son, though, she offered to set up an activity at the local skating rink and work with the whole den on the belt loop (don't you love it when someone else volunteers to plan and run a meeting?). Once they get started and know a little about belt loops, I have found many parents are very interested in learning about all the belt loops so they can find more things to work with their sons on.