TIGERS

Not sure how many Tigers anyone has at this point in time.  Last year's Tigers should have been promoted to Wolf in June.  Our spring recruitment only had one kindergartener sign up, so we are counting on  the Fall.  Anyway, here are some things for Tigers to do.  In the September issue (October's theme) I will begin a series on each of the Achievements.  CD

The year is over and it’s a great time to reflect on your accomplishments.  Reviewing the requirements for the National Den Award would be a good thing to do during the summer so you can improve on your program if it was not achieved.  Learning new games and activities for the upcoming year would be helpful if the ones you typically use did not hold their interest.

Wax Paper Sun Catchers

Capital Area Council

ü  Collect leaves, flowers, weeds and press them for a few days before the Tiger meeting in a large phone book.

ü  Tigers place leaves, flowers etc. on a sheet of waxed paper (about 12" square). 

ü  The Tigers then make crayon shavings with an inexpensive plastic pencil sharpener.

ü  They sprinkle a few wax shavings between the flowers and leaves. 

ü  Cover the wax paper with another sheet of wax paper. 

ü  The DEN LEADER (or other Adult) then uses an iron on medium setting to fuse the two pieces of wax paper together and melt the crayon shavings (works best if you put a piece of brown paper sack under the bottom piece of wax paper and another piece of the brown paper sack between the top piece of wax paper and then iron.)

Bubble Fun

Capital Area Council

Blow a soap bubble and watch it float in the air. 

Blow gently to keep it aloft without popping it. 

Have a contest to see who can keep a bubble in the air longest, or how far you can blow your bubble before it bursts.

Basic Bubble Solution

1 cup Joy or Dawn

3-4 Tablespoons glycerin (optional, available at drugstore)

10 cups clean cold water (up to 50% more on dry days)

Directions

In a clean pail, mix the ingredients well. 

Do not stir too much, you don't want froth on the top. 

Leave it overnight if you have time. 

You don't have to have glycerin but it makes the bubbles last longer and you get larger without breaking.

Giant Bubble Wand

Thread the string through both of the straws and knot the ends. 

Lay the straws and string down in the BUBBLE SOLUTION. 

Gently lift up the straws, one in each hand. 

Spread the straws apart as you lift, and a giant bubble will form. 

Wave your arms across in the air, and it will be set free, to float up, up, and away!

Assorted Wands

Twist thin wire into fun shapes. 

Use beads for handles for smaller wands.

Weather Rocks

Capital Area Council

Collect a quantity of "weather" rocks to pass out to every family at the pack meeting. 

Photocopy the following directions and sandwich between layers of clear contact paper. 

Give one with each rock. 

Make a big deal out of this wonderful present your den is giving away.

Weather Rock Instructions

1.       For best results, place your weather rock outside:

2.       If you rock is wet…it's raining.

3.       If your rock is white…it's snowing.

4.       If your rock is moving…it's really windy.

5.       If your rock is stiff…it's freezing.

6.       If your rock is gone…sorry, you've been ripped off!

Bees And Butterflies

Capital Area Council

·         The next time your den is anyplace where there are a lot of flowers, pretend that all of you are bees and butterflies. 

·         Zigzag from one flower to another. 

·         Look at a blossom from the insect point of view. 

·         Stick your finger down into the blossom to find the pollen. 

·         How would you get to it if you were an insect? 

·         Feel the pollen and smell it. 

·         Be careful that you don’t run into a real bee!

Listening Post

Capital Area Council

ü  Find a spot just for you within sight of your leader and listen carefully for two minutes. 

ü  Then come together and tell each other what you heard. 

ü  How many sounds did you hear? 

ü  Could you tune out sounds from the world of people?

Sport Stacking

Have you heard of one of the newest sports – Sport Stacking.  Founded in 1995 and formally known as cup stacking, this sport can be completed by individuals or as teams.  Current world records are set by 13 and 14 year olds.

Participants of sport stacking upstack and downstack cups in pre-determined sequences, competing against the clock or another player. Sequences are usually pyramids of three, six, or ten cups. Proponents of the sport say participants learn teamwork, cooperation, ambidexterity, and hand-eye coordination.

There are four main types of stacks in competition. All stacks can be made from left-to-right or right-to-left (individual preference), but the same direction must be maintained for both "up stacking" (setting the cups into pyramids) and "down stacking" (unstacking the pyramids and returning them to their nested position).

3 - 3 – 3
Uses 9 cups. Cups start in three nested stacks of 3. The stacker must create three pyramids of 3 cups each and then down stack the cups back into nested stacks of 3 in the order that they were upstacked.

3 - 6 – 3
Uses 12 cups. The stacker must create three pyramids made up of three cups on the left, six cups in the center, and three cups on the right (3-6-3), then down stack the cups in the order that they were upstacked into their original position. Also used as the first transition of the Cycle Stack.

6 – 6
Uses 12 cups. The stacker must create pyramids of 6 cups on the left and 6 on the right and then down stack both of them to create one pile of cups. This stack is only used competitively as the second transition in the Cycle Stack.

1 - 10 – 1
Uses 12 cups. The stacker begins with a single downstacked pile. He/she must take two cups off the top, turn one upside-down (stacker's choice), then upstack the remaining ten. The stacker must then tap the opposite sides of the single cups and take down the ten stack into a downstacked 3-6-3. This stack is only used competitively as the third transition of the Cycle Stack

The Cycle Stack
The most complicated stack is called the Cycle Stack. It involves a sequence which includes, in order: a 3-6-3 stack, a 6-6 stack, and a 1-10-1 stack, finishing in a down stacked 3-6-3.

Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_stacking

or http://www.worldsportstackingassociation.org/

to learn more about the sport and to watch world record holders compete.  You’ll be amazed!