Welcome to Baloo's Bugle!

N
A
V
I
G
A
T
I
O
N

Back to Index
Baloo
Special Opportunity
Prayers & Poems
PowWow
Training Tips
Tiger Scouts
Pack/Den Activities
Pack/Den Admin
Den Ceremonies
Fun Foods
Games
Webelos Citizen
Webelos Showman
Pre-Opening Activities
Opening Ceremonies
Skits
Stunts & Cheers
Audience Participation
Songs
Advancement
Closing Ceremony
Web Links

Baloo's Bugle

 

September Cub Scout Roundtable Issue

Volume 10, Issue 2
October Theme

Once Upon A Time
Webelos Citizen and Showman
  Tiger Cub Achivement #
2

 

 PACK AND DEN ADMIN HELPS

Marbles

Kris Monroe

Laurel District, Old Hickory Council, NC

This reminds me of the old Good Conduct candle used to help encourage the Cubs to behave.  I really liked the idea when I saw it on Scouts-L.  In discussing this with Baloo, she commented that she never needed an incentive in her Den for good behavior.  They kept the Cubs very busy!!  Commissioner Dave

Each boy has the potential to earn 3 marbles at every meeting.  Although the boys earn marbles individually, they are used to earn a reward for the entire Den.  It is important that the Cubs get idea of teamwork – working together.  Don’t embarrass a boy who misses a marble –there may be a good reason.

After the pledge they line up and get 1 marble for being in uniform, 1 for having their rank (Wolf, Bear, Webelos) book and another for telling about a good turn they have  done since we last met. (Alternately, they can tell how they used one of the Cub Scouting's core values.)

The Denner then gives each boy his marbles.  Then the boys put them all in the jar (I use a Mason Jar) and I shake it really loudly - they love that.

When the jar is full we get to do something fun.  On another list I read about a huge ice cream sundae in a rain gutter and thought that would be a good one.

Instead of regular candles, if you use floating candles for a ceremony, you can pour all the marbles into the bowl to represent your accomplishments as a den.  Much to my surprise, my Cubs always note how many more marbles were in the bowl than last time.

Marbles can be bought really cheap at Wal-Mart or a dollar store, and I carry the mason jar and a smaller jar for the Denner to pick from in my tote bag and of course it's really noisy when I walk and they love it.  I have had super success with it - my boys are in uniform every time and with rank book every time and are starting to internalize the idea of doing a good turn each day.

Once, I even had a boy make his dad run home to get his rank book so he could get his marble.  Cool.

 Also, if you're too late to line up, you're too late to get your marbles.  Punctuality has increased greatly too, we don't wait.

Leader Recruitment

Circle Ten Council

The following is a skit from the 2002 Circle Ten Pow Wow book that can be used very effectively to recruit new leaders.  You should modify as needed to better deescibe your unit and its needs.  Commissioner Dave

Who Else…

Set Up: Have all the Cub Scouts and Webelos line up at the front of the room with a spotlight shining on them.  Have the adults read the following parts from the back of the room.

Assistant CM:  Boys are the nicest things that ever happened to me … those arrogant, self-assured little men-children who assume that all the great big world revolves around them.

Tiger Leader:  Who else can carry half a worm, one crushed daisy, a piece of scrap metal, a three-day old apple core and two cents all in one pocket?

Den Leader:  Who else can take a bath without getting their shoulders wet, and wash for dinner without turning on the faucet?

Den Leader:  Who else can believe that right is right and wrong is wrong, and the good guy always wins in the end?

Webelos Leader:  Who else can be a fireman, sword fighter, cowboy, deep-sea diver, all in the space of an hour, and then solemnly hold a funeral, complete with cross and box, for a shell off a turtle lost a month ago?

Webelos Leader:  Who else can be a cutter without teeth, meaner without malice, kinder without embarrassment, sillier without foolishness, and clean without neatness?

Committee Chair: The world gains much in leaders and manpower when boys grow up … but it loses something too.  That magic feeling that comes with being nine!  The feel of dust between bare toes and the ability to lie quietly while time stands still, to watch a minnow in a brook.

Cubmaster:   Me … I like Cub Scouts - the boys!  They smile when I need a smile; they tease me when I'm somber; they keep me from taking myself too seriously.  No, I don't wish that I were nine again.  I just hope that somehow God will see to it that I always have someone nine years old in or near my house and heart.

All:   Cub Scouting is the nicest thing that ever happened to ME!

At this point you begin your recruitment of new leaders and committee people building off the theme of that the adults enjoy Cub Scouting too.

 

 

clear.gif - 813 Bytes

Materials found in Baloo's Bugle may be used by Scouters for Scouting activities provided that Baloo's Bugle and the original contributors are cited as the source of the material.

Materials found at the U. S. Scouting Service Project, Inc. Website ©1997-2003 may be reproduced and used locally by Scouting volunteers for training purposes consistent with the programs of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) or other Scouting and Guiding Organizations. No material found here may be used or reproduced for electronic redistribution or for commercial or other non-Scouting purposes without the express permission of the U. S. Scouting Service Project, Inc. (USSSP) or other copyright holders. USSSP is not affiliated with BSA and does not speak on behalf of BSA. Opinions expressed on these web pages are those of the web authors.