PRAYERS & POEMS FOR SCOUTERS

A Prayer For Den Mothers
Heart of America Council

Dear Father,

Be with us today as the little boys burst in for their important meeting.  Be with each Cub, the one who jostles, the one who disappears with a book, the one who works so carefully, the one whose face is always smudged.  I love them all and thank Thee for the privilege of knowing them in these years when each is so completely his honest self.  Help me engage their wonderful enthusiasm in worthwhile projects which catch their imagination, for then all trouble ceases and we move ahead like a canoe in swift waters.  I ask Thy blessing on their rumpled heads and pray that in some measure these meetings may help them grow to be their own best selves. Amen.

- Josephine Robertson

(Skits, Puppets, Ceremonies 1963)

The Key

The key to getting along with others is when you are  wrong be easy to change and when yoü are right be easy to live with.

The key to the Cub Scout Program is FUN.

A key to teamwork. is remembering that Greater is he who gets ten men to work than he who does the work of ten men:

The key to success is to climb the ladder instead of sitting

and waiting for the elevator.

The key to involvement is TRY IT - YOU’LL LIKE IT!

A key to Good Leadership is consideration.

A key to a smooth running pack is teamwork.

A key to the success of not becoming completely wrapped up in ones self is to remember that when that happens you are a very small package.

The key to character is to be yourself for character is what

you do when no one is looking.

A key to being helpful to others is to remember that the important person is the other fellow, not yourself.

Survival Hints For Den Leaders
Heart Of America Council

You can be a den leader and enjoy it. You’ve taken care of your own son for eight years and you’re still fairly normal, so adding seven or eight more boys to the roost isn’t all that hard.

The first rule is - clothe yourself with optimism- grin a lot.  And be prepared at least an hour before they’re due to arrive, with everything you need in your meeting room.  One enthusiast in the group always comes early.

Don’t feel you’re copping out if you use the Cub Scout Program Helps for games to play and projects to make. Scout headquarters  has a lot of experience with this sort of thing, and you need all The help you can get.

Soon as the meeting opens, collect the dues, make announcements, and explain the day’s project.  You’re not likely to get their undivided attention again.

Cub Scouts have little enthusiasm for the more worthless things in life and may refuse to waste their time on such stuff as table decorations that can’t be played with later, or artificial flowers or on crepe paper things.

Good den leaders know where to look for supplies - they scour their basements, attics and trash barrels. Keep your projects simple.  If you don’t, you know who will be putting the finishing touches on 10 projects the night before your pack meeting.

Learn enough carpentry so that you know how to build a bird feeder or a wooden bank,

Cub Scouts love to hammer, but your den dad should do most of the sawing in advance.  Remember to be patient; keep 1-inch bandages on hand; decide what you’ll do about unsavory words that might follow after the boys bang their fingers with a hammer a few times.  Even if it’s a birdhouse they have to paint, have them use a washable paint. And never leave the room full of Cub Scouts all alone with paint buckets.

If you’ve made something out of plaster of paris, check the Crafts section on how to paint.

Cub Scouts love to wait their turn to use supplies or tools, it gives them time to explore your closets, to test each other’s endurance to punches and pokes and leaves time for races and shouting contests. There are two ways to avoid this; get together with the other mothers and make up a den box.  It should contain all those things nobody cares to own ten of, and use back dues to purchase other items, or better still get the boys to make all those toys the Cub Scout literature gives patterns for.

Remember how the kindergarten teacher pinned notes on your Son’s shirt?  He’s too old for that now, so put the notes for home inside each Cub’s pocket.  Let a corner show so his, mother finds it before his shirt goes in the washer.

Always make it clear that everyone left in your house after the meeting must take a hot bath and then clean out your garage. This spurs the cubs to have their mothers pick them up right after the meetings and saves you driving them home.

Den Leaders gain some very useful knowledge.  They learn that their son is quite typical and normal.  He even behaves better than some other boys.  These cubs you’ve gotten to know when you were a den leader will be around your house for years as your son grows up.  Believe it or not, some of your dearest memories will be of them in their cub scout days.

Opportunity knocks but once in the life of a boy! 

Make it happen

Don’t Forget He’s Just A Boy!
Heart of America Council

Get to understand the lad -

He’s not eager to be bad.

If the right he always knew

He would he as old as you

Were he now exceeding wise,

He’d be just about your size.

When he does things that annoy

Don’t forget he’s just a boy.

Could he know and understand,

He would not need a guiding hand.

But he’s not you and hasn’t learned

How life’s corners ‘must be turned.

Doesn’t know from day to day

There is more to life than play.

More to face than selfish joy.

Don’t forget - he’s just a boy.

Being just a boy, he’ll do

Much you will not want him to.

He’ll be careless of his ways,

Have his disobedient days.

Willful, wild and headstrong too,

Things of value, he’ll destroy,

But reflect, he’s just a boy.

Just a boy who needs a friend -

Patient, kindly, to the end.

Needs a parent who will show

Him the things he wants to know.

Take him with you when you walk

Listen when he wants to talk.

His companionship enjoy.

Don’t forget he’s just a boy.

Author Unknown

“O Lord, help me to understand that You ain't going to let nothing come my way that You and me together can't handle.”
Anonymous African Boy

God Our Father
(Tune: "Frere Jacques"-can be done as a round)
Middle Tennessee Council

God, Our Father, God, our Father,
Once again, once again,
We would ask Thy blessing; we would ask Thy blessing.
Amen, Amen.

Little Eyes Upon You

 

There are little eyes upon you
and they're watching night and day.

There are little ears that quickly
take in every word you say.

There are little hands all eager
to do anything you do;

And a little boy who's dreaming
of the day he'll be like you.

You're the little fellow's idol,
you're the wisest of the wise.

In his little mind about you
no suspicions ever rise.

He believes in you devoutly,
holds all you say and do;

He will say and do, in your way
when he's grown up just like you.

There's a wide-eyed little fellow
who believes you're always right;
and his eyes are always opened,
and he watches day and night.

You are setting an example
every day in all you do;

For the little boy who's waiting
to grow up to be like you.

Author Unknown