CUBMASTER'S MINUTES
Think About a Tree
Sam Houston Area Council
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 fires and cooking food. It adds beauty to the countryside. We must 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 by putting others first and ourselves second. Remember the lesson we learn from the tree ] to give to others more than we receive.
The Acorn
Sam Houston Area Council
Materials: Acorn, Pot, Dirt, Watering can, Sunny location
(Holding up an acorn) This little acorn isn’t much, is it? It’s barely a lunch for a squirrel. But, if we plant this nut in the ground (place in pot and add dirt), water it well (pour water in the pot), protect it (“Shoo squirrels!”), and help it find enough sun (move the pot to a sunny spot), then some day it will grow into a tall oak tree like those over there (point at nearby oak trees).
When you boys were young, it was your parents’ job to care for you and help you grow into the responsible young men that I see in front of me today. As you get older it becomes your job to find the best ways to grow into strong, capable men who are an asset to society.
Unlike this acorn, you have a hand in what you will grow into and how you will handle the storms that will come along in your lives.
A Naturalist Is….
San Gabriel Valley, Long Beach Area, Verdugo Hills Councils
No matter where you live, there is a world of undiscovered secrets of nature still waiting to be explored.
A naturalist is a student of natural history, which includes the many things found in nature, both above the ground and found by “Diggin in the Dirt,”. This month, our dens have (briefly review some of the den activities as the theme)… There are many more interesting activities to help you Cub Scouts learn more about the world of nature and to develop an appreciation of it.
A naturalist stands like Columbus on the prow of his ship with a vast continent before him…except that the naturalist’s world can be at his very feet…a world to be investigated and discovered. It is as near as your own backyard; a nearby park, the woods and fields or even a country road. These places are inhabited by many kinds of insects, birds, plants, animals, trees and other forms of life. Continue exploring the world of nature and you will find many wonderful things that God has given us to enjoy.
Roots:
Heart of America Council
The giant sequoias in California have a lesson to teach us. The sequoia tree’s roots just barely grow below the surface of the ground. You may think that’s impossible. If a tree’s roots don’t grow deep in to the earth, won’t it fall over in the wind? Not so, for the sequoias. They grow only in groves and their roots intertwine underground, so when the strong winds blow, the hold each other up.
There’s a lesson here: People are like the giant sequoias. Family , friends, neighbors, religious organizations, and other groups – like Cub Scout packs – should be havens, like a grove of trees, so that when the strong winds of life blow, we can strive together to hold each other up . May soft winds blow until we meet again: Good night.
Nurture Your Sons:
Heart of America Council
Boys grow so fast that sometimes we say they grow like weeds. Weeds are plants that grow without any attention from us and become pests. Our valued plants are those that we pay attention to and nurture.
Trees in a forest with good soil and weather will grow to be strong and straight and tall. That same tree grown in a harsh environment with little care will grow to be misshapen and warped, but it will still grow.
Spend time with your sons and nurture them carefully, so that they reach their full potential like strong trees, and not become pests like weeds.
Heart of America Council
Cubmaster’s Minute 1: Let us all take the time to look at all the things around us, to find the beauty in a sunset and the lessons hidden in every leaf and rock. Let us seek strength, not to be superior, but to be helpful to others.
Cubmaster’s Minute 2: The dictionary defines adventure as an exciting or unusual experience, a bold undertaking or a search, for excitement. Cub Scouting helps boys learn about the outdoors so that their outdoor adventures will be happy ones.
Cubmaster’s Moment:
Heart of America Council
Across the field of yesterday
He sometimes comes to me,
A little lad just back from play –
And yet he smiles so wistfully
Once he has crept within ’
I wonder if he hopes to see
The man I have might have been.
Healthy Minds and Spirits
Alapaha Area Council
Arrangement: on the head table is a vegetable seedling and a fully mature vegetable plant.
Cubmaster: This tiny seedling doesn’t look like much, does it? It’s very weak and fragile. But if we plant it in good soil, and if we make sure it gets lots of sunshine, air and water, it will grow up to be a big healthy plant like this one.
Cub Scouts are like this seedling. They need certain things, too, like proper food, rest, and exercise. But Cub Scouts need something more than that. If they are going to be the kind of men we all admire, they have to have healthy minds and spirits, as well as healthy bodies.
In Cub Scouting, and later in Boy Scouting, boys develop that extra quality of mind and spirit. They do it by following the Cub Scout Promise and later, the Boy Scout Oath.
Will you all please stand now and join me in repeating the Cub Scout Promise?
