FOCUS

Cub Scout Roundtable Leaders’ Guide

Spring is in the air!!  What a beautiful season to take a trip to a national or state park..  Learn map and compass skills to explore and navigate the park’s trails.  Take your easel outdoors and become an “artist in residence,” capturing nature’s beauty on canvas.  Pack your backpack with the day’s necessities and enjoy adventures in the great outdoors!

CORE VALUES

Cub Scout Roundtable Leaders’ Guide

Some of the purposes of Cub Scouting developed through this month’s theme are:

• Sportsmanship and Fitness, Boys discuss healthful eating habits and the conditioning needed before taking a hike.           
• Personal Achievement, Boys will be introduced to new skills as they learn about state and national parks and how we protect our lands.
• Funs and Adventure, Cub Scouts will enjoy planning their den hike at a local park using their map and compass skills.

The core value highlighted this month is:

• Respect, Cub Scouts will understand the need for conservation and the Outdoor Code.

Can you think of others??? Hint – look in your Cub Scout Program Helps.  It lists different ones!! All the items on both lists are applicable!!  You could probably list all twelve if you thought about it!!

COMMISSIONER’S CORNER

This has been a fast month – working 7 PM to 7 AM at our planned outage at work. Wood Badge staff weekend.  Roundtable.  Donna and I finishing planning a trip to see our daughter in Italy (Except for walking into Canada and Mexico and a Caribbean cruise we have never been out of the US).  Not everywhere is like here – that is good and bad.    We certainly did learn to appreciate how well our travel systems (reservations, planes, and stuff) work here.  Maybe I will be able to get an Italian Boy Scout Handbook??

Be sure to get the word out – www.USScouts.org is back!!  Readership of Baloo seems to be down.  I hope Scouters didn’t give up on us.

There certainly are a lot of songs in this issue.  And they all are good.  I love leading songs (even though I cannot sing in tune.  It is said I am always breaking into song because I can never find the key JJ).  The key to song leading for me is to always move your arms.  Give the people a beat and they will sing.  The front of the Cub Scout songbook has some great song leading tips and next month Bill Smith’s Training Topic will be on Song Leading. (It was supposed to be this month but I jumped ahead with his Pack Outings tip because it fit the theme so well)

My nephew in Lovettsville, VA, crossed over to Boy Scouts and had his first camping trip in a downpour!!  The weekend after his dad did Introduction to Outdoor Leadership Skills in the rain.  Dad and son are both really excited and said  they want to go to Philmont with me in a few years!!!

Saw the movie, “Down and Derby” about Pinewood Derbies.  Check it out at http://www.downandderby.com/home.php .  My wife and I thought it was funny.  We think some of the dad’s portrayed in the movie came from our pack JJ The ending is great!! Hopefully, it did good enough to get a full widespread release on Father’s Day.  Don Murphy who created the first Pinewood Derby in 1953 is introduced in the movie.  Maybe your pack can do some recruiting when it comes out – a pack night at the movie, recruiting posters in the theatre.  Give tickets as prizes for something.  Think about it and write me with ideas so others can try them, too.

How about the “Drive for Five”

Drive for 5 is a program to recognize Cub Scout Packs that recruit 5 Scouts over their previous year end membership total. Cub Scout packs whom do this will receive one pinewood derby car for each scout in their pack (plus some other goodies I am told). The car kits are being supplied by Chevrolet, the National Sponsor of the Pinewood Derby.  I don’t have many details now because our council is rolling this out at the June Program launch sessions.  And a web search only found me one council with info.  But ask your Commissioners and Execs about if you haven’t heard anything yet.

Months with similar themes to
Destination Parks

Voyageur Area Council

April 2000-        See the Forest for the Trees
April 2002-        Forces of Nature
July 2003-         A Hiking We Will Go

THOUGHTFUL ITEMS FOR SCOUTERS

Prayer for our Parks

June Theme Prayer

Cub Scout Roundtable Leaders’ Guide

May our land be blessed and protected
May our park rangers be blessed and protected
May our wildlife be blessed and protected
May all who enter our parks be blessed and protected
May our land be blessed and protected
AMEN

A Tree is a Good Scout

By Lord Baden Powell

Piedmont Council

Piedmont Council had this as an opening Ceremony.  I like it as a Cubmaster’s Minute.  San Gabriel Valley, Long Beach & Verdugo Hills Councils has it in their book for both opening and closing.  For Opening, they recommend having each line read by a different boy. Your choice.  CD

 Did you ever pause to think about how helpful a tree is?

It provides a nesting place for birds, shade from the sun, and protection from the rain.

It discards its dead branches, providing wood for building fires and cooking food.

A tree adds beauty to the countryside and to camping areas. We much admit that a tree gives a lot more than it receives. We can learn a lesson from the tree—by doing our best to always be helpful to others and by putting our fellow Scouts first and ourselves second.

Remember the lesson we learn from the tree—to give others more than we receive.

John Muir Quotes

San Gabriel Valley, Long Beach & Verdugo Hills Councils

“Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.”

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.”

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”

Scouters Prayer

Circle Ten Council

Dear Lord, from your judgment seat on high
Look down on a Scouter such as I.
Search me through and find me whole,
Then help me Lord to reach my goal.
Help me Lord to work for thee,
Guard my homeland – Keep it free.
Help me work with others and be kind,
Helpful with my hands and mind
Keep me Lord, both well and strong
To help our growing boys along
Control my thoughts; keep them right
Sound, clean weapons for life’s fight
Protect my morals; keep them high
Grant this to a Scouter such as I.

Cub Scout Benediction

Circle Ten Council

And now may the Great
Master of all Cub Scouts
Guide and guard our footsteps
Today, tomorrow,
And for the tomorrows to come

Hell, there are no rules here—we're trying to accomplish something.   Thomas Edison

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

Benjamin Franklin,

Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759.