Every year Boys’ Life has an FABULOUS reading program for Scouts. This contest/program, “Say Yes to Reading” was detailed in the June issue page 13, of Boys’ Life.

Write a one-page report titled "The Best Book I Read This Year" and enter it in the Boys' Life 2001 "Say Yes to Reading" contest.

The book can be fiction or non-fiction. But the report has to be in your own words - 500 word tops. Enter in one of these three age categories:

8 years old and younger

9 and 10 years old

11 years and older

Send your report with your name, address, age and grade in school along with a business-sized, self-addressed stamped envelop to:

Boys' Life Reading Contest - S304

P.O. Box 152079

Irving, TX 75015-2079

Entries must be postmarked by Dec. 31, 2001.

Okay, Summer is flying by and the flowers are fading, and summer time activities are drawing to a close.  Time to start planning the Fall and Winter Calendar.  Time for everyone to send me the Pow Wow/University of Scouting Calendars.  Yes, allow me to put your BIGGEST & BEST training event for Cub Scout Leaders in Baloo’s Bugle.  Also, I am looking for PowWows within a 2 – 3 hour driving distance of Huntsville, Alabama, so I can attend them myself.  So hearing from Nashville, TN, or Eastern Mississippi would be GREAT!

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ANNOUNCEMENT

Months ago I reported that we would be going to a new ISP.  It has happened.  My new email-personal- address is cmr1954@knology.net   My USSSP account is has been unchanged, at it is: cmr1954@usscouts.org

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Cub-L E-mail Discussion List

Sometime around September 2001 we will be opening a new e-mail discussion list called Cub-L for use by all Cub Scout Leaders to discuss topics of interest. We anticipate opening up a dedicated server just for e-mail discussion lists. Once we arrange hosting for this server and set it up, we'll announce the availability of CUB-L via the USSSP E-News. You can subscribe at http://usscouts.org/usscouts/ussspenews.html.

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Indian Nations Council

Songs bring life to Cub Scouting through many avenues.  Songs can bring a pack meeting or campfire to a frenzied pitch, and can also deeply touch the emotions of parents, leaders, and boys.  They can cause laughter and they can cause learning.  With Cub Scouts, leaders need to keep in mind that boys are looking for songs that are funny, tell stories, have action involved, and use tunes they like to sing.  If you are going to have a songfest with Cub Scouts, star t out with these types of songs.  You can then work in songs that have more meaning once they have broken the ice.

Leading and teaching songs is fun.  It helps if you can carry a tune, but even if you can't, if the boys know the tune, all you have to do is get it started.  Don't avoid singing because you feel you don't sing well.  The boys won't mind a bit.

Here are some tips you can use to help when you lead and teach songs:

·         Relax. If you appear to be uptight, it will carry across to the boys. Smile! Don't worry, be happy!

·         Pick the songs you want to sing in advance and make sure you can sing them and can teach them with confidence.

·         Set the pitch (you won't want Frankie Valli or Wayne Newton impersonations) and if the tune is not well known, sing a few bars if necessary.

·         Start the song, keep time, and control volume with hand motions.  Keep your hand open--closed fists are not conducive to song leading.

·         Move around to inject enthusiasm and to ensure everyone is singing.  Overdo the enthusiasm--it's contagious and the boys will love it.  Where appropriate, get CRAZY!

·         Don't try a new song until you have the audience warmed up with a couple of songs they know.  Avoid opera and medieval chants.

·         Provide copies of the words to the songs.  Make use of the Cub Scout Songbook, or copied pages from the Pow Wow book or roundtable helps.

·         Use accompaniment if possible.  There may be some parent who can play guitar.  This will add a lot to the singing.  However, avoid taking pianos to campfires unless using for firewood.

·         Make use of actions songs.  It's good aerobic exercise for you and the parents, and it will wear some of the excess energy off of the boys.

Sources for songs, are numerous through the Cub Scout Literature.  Let yourself go and you’ll come up with some wild and crazy things the Scouts will love.

This is the first gathering of the pack after the summer. You will be welcoming new scouts or gathering the scouts to prepare to welcome the new scouts from School Night for Scouting.  It should be more relaxed, there may not be many awards but Definitely give highlights from the summer pack activities.  Have one or more dens give their accounts of the summer pack activities.  This gives the new scouts an opportunity to hear what Fun they will be having this year in scouting.

Songs are dreadfully discounted as “not fun”.  Not true.  Who says everyone has to be on the right note??  It should be Fun!  Modified oldies and regular oldies are great fun for the scouts to sing. 

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BALOO Me : )

DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR?  If so, never miss the opportunity to make a silly joke.  For instance, this past weekend (June 8) I bought an outside decorative birdhouse and on the roof, the words painted are “Home, Sweet Home”.  With Cubs, I would start a discussion by pointing out that hopefully some birds would read : ) that and bring it’s family to live there.  This statement meant only as a joke could lead to an interesting talk about nesting and bird habitats and to get your Cubs talking about birds, where they live and protecting their habitat. We actually have two birdhouses in our backyard.  The other has grapevines and twigs added to it for a more rustic natural look.  So now which of the two, if any, will my feathered friends choose?  I’ll keep my eyes open to see what happens, over the next year.

Ohmigosh--two scouters have contacted me based on my talking about my job.  Gary from South Carolina has emailed the Thrifty Nickel in Huntsville stating the Bugle is great.  Thanks Gary.  And Don, a scouter, from Illinois called me at work about potentially placing an ad for his wife’s at home business.  Sometimes it surprises me that scouters actually read the Bugle. 

Last month, I asked you all to click on the URL below.  Dang, the luck, our work site wasn’t responding.   PLEASE try again and visit our home page at http://www.thriftynickelads.com/dsp_paper_home.cfm?paperid=1099

Just a click, that’s all.

I have an additional offer to those that direct me to a viable lead, on my other job.  I will pay 10% of my commission to your council’s endowment fund in your name.  No, I am not looking for a tax deduction, just for some help in my “other” job.  Call me at 1-866-533-4285 and I can help you with National Advertising (121 papers) in the Thrifty Nickel.