SPECIAL
OPPORTUNITY
After I had been dutifully chronicling Special
Opportunities for Cub Scouts for a few months, I found out that our site has a
whole section devoted to this. Go to
http://usscouts.org/advance/cubscout/specialops.html
and you can see the “Special Opportunities for Cub Scouts and Webelos Scouts”
pages of the USScouts website.
The Boys’ Life reading contest for 2003 ends this month.
So if your Scouts are planning on entering, please have them send in their
entries by December 31, 2003.
For more details check out last
month’s Baloo’s Bugle or go to
www.boyslife.org. As soon as I receive
information on the 2004 contest, I will put it in Baloo’s Bugle. CD
The BSA
Family Program
Adapted from
Great Salt Lake Council Pow Wow Book,
Pack 263, Boulder Creek, CA (http://www.geocities.com/pack623/index.htm),
Pack 215’s Virtual Cub Leader’s
Handbook (http://www.geocities.com/~pack215/home.html)
and
Pack 172, Westfield, NJ, (http://www.westfieldnj.com/pack172/index.htm).
The BSA Family program is a series of activities designed to help strengthen
all families - whether two-parent, single parent, or nontraditional. All
family members are encouraged to participate and may earn the BSA Family
Award. The BSA Family Activity Book is the primary resource for the
program. It is filled with suggested activities to enhance the children's
personal development and enrich and strengthen the family.
The BSA Family Activity Book is divided into the
following five sections and is a great resource!
1.
Learning Through Fun and Adventure (family
fun, make-believe, talents, patriotism)
2.
Strengthening Family Relationships (mealtime,
traditions, siblings, love, communication)
3.
Developing Character (duty to God, self
esteem, success, trust, giving, differences)
4.
Teaching Responsibility (responsibility, being
prepared, planning, organizing, money)
5.
Handling Difficult Situations (obstacles,
moving, illness, loss of loved ones)
Families are the basis of
society. In the family, children learn about love, values, and social
interactions while they prepare for today's world. The family is vital to the
future of our community and our nation.
The Boy Scouts of America
has a great interest in the strength of the family. Scouting's aim is to
develop boys, young men, and women into participating citizens of good
character who are physically, spiritually, and mentally fit.
The organization recognizes
that it is the responsibility of parents and family to teach their children.
However, Scouting is an available resource that can help today's families
accomplish worthy goals while building and strengthening relationships among
family members.
The purposes of the BSA
Family program are twofold:
1)
To strengthen families, and
2)
To encourage family involvement in Scouting.
In much the same way that
Cub Scouts and Webelos Scouts use their handbooks to earn their badges and
awards, the family uses the BSA Family Activity Book to earn the BSA Family
Award.
BSA Family
Award Requirements
To earn the Boy Scouts of
America Family Award, a family will complete, within a 12-month period,
requirements 1 and 2 plus three more of the remaining requirements.
As a family:
Decide how many times each
month you will meet to achieve the Boy Scouts of America Family Award. Make a
commitment.
Improve skills discussed in
six or more of the 14 Family Talk areas.
Plan and participate in one
or more family outings.
Start one new family
tradition.
Do a "Good Turn" for an
individual, a group, or your community (elderly, needy, handicapped, nursing
home, charitable fund-raisers, cleanup days, etc.)
Attend religious services of
your choice at least monthly.
Attend or participate in at
least two Scouting activities or functions (Scouting shows, pinewood derby,
Scouting banquets, flag-raising ceremonies, etc.).
Identify your local BSA
council and neighborhood Cub Scout pack.
Ideally, the award will be
presented to the family in pack meeting. If this is not possible, it may be
presented by a member of the pack committee in an appropriate setting mutually
agreed upon. If these options are not possible, the award may be mailed to the
family
