SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES

It’s summertime – time to get those Cubs and Webelos OUTDOORS.   In April 2006, Baloo featured the Cub Scout Outdoor Award.  If your program was planned properly, once your Cubs have completed their time in Resident Camp or Day Camp, you can file your Advancement Form and get your Cubs the Outdoor Awards they have earned.  In March 2006, we featured the Leave No Trace Award which has your Cubs do three camping trips and other outdoor Activities.  Now the way to improve is to have more Cub Scouts earning these awards and so ... Even though I dutifully list a Special Opportunity for Cub Scouts each month, there is a whole section devoted to this on our site, 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.

Since it is summertime and families generally spend more time together in the summer, I chose this for August -

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:

• To strengthen families, and
• 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

Every Library I know ha a summertime reading awards program, so maybe you Cub Scout can get double credit for his summertime reading -

Boys' Life Reading Contest

Enter the 18th Boys' Life Reading Contest Now!

Write a one-page report titled "The Best Book I Read This Year" and enter it in the Boys' Life 2006 "Say Yes to Reading!" contest. 

The book can be fiction or nonfiction. But the report has to be in your own words—500 words tops. Enter in one of these three age categories: 8 years old and younger, 9 and 10 years old, or 11 years and older.

First-place winners in each age category will receive a $100 gift certificate good for any product in the Boy Scouts Official Retail Catalog. Second-place will receive a $75 gift certificate, and third-place a $50 certificate.

Everyone who enters will get a free patch like the yellow one above. (The patch is a temporary insignia, so it can be worn on the Boy Scout uniform shirt. Proudly display it there or anywhere!) In coming years, you'll have the opportunity to earn the other patches.

The contest is open to all Boys' Life readers. Be sure to include your name, address, age and grade on the entry. Send your report, along with a business-size, self-addressed, stamped envelope, to:

Boys' Life Reading Contest, S306
P.O. Box 152079
Irving, TX 75015-2079

For more details go to www.boyslife.org

Entries must be postmarked by Dec. 29, 2006.