Cub Scouts

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Jun 29

Cub Scout Fun Day

By Brian Boy Scouts, Brian, Cub Scouts, Declan, Kieran, Nature, Owen No Comments »

Declan and Owen went to their first Cub Scout Fun Day last month. This is a day when Camp Munhacke is open to the Cubs and their families. There are lots of things for them to do. The usual shooting sports stations are open as well as crafts, sports, and Minute To Win It games!

The boys walking down the back road. Still early and a little chilly.

Owen’s already over and Declan is about to clear the hurdle on the obstacle course

They had to put their whole body through the hoops.

Climb the wall, and try to not fall down the other side!

They’re on their way to the next adventure. Can Dad keep up?

Their first try at archery using real bows and arrows. Neither of them were that impressed this time.

Owen enjoyed the BB Guns. He hit the pie plate target a couple of times!

Declan also hit the target a couple of times. A very successful first attempt!

Kieran and the other Boy Scouts from Troop 240 were running the Minute To Win It game station during fun day. We finally got there by mid-day. Stick the Landing involves tossing a half full plastic water bottle and trying to get it to land upright on the table.

This Minute To Win It game involved stacking five apples on top of each other. All in one minute. Without them falling.

Declan’s favorite station of the day was the wrist rockets. He shot a whole lot of dog food!

Owen is really pulling that slingshot back.

It was a very fun day. My compliments to the volunteers who made Cub Scout Fun Day happen. My boys and I really appreciate how much effort you put into making our day memorable.

Tagged with: Archery • BB Guns • Camp Munhacke • Cub Scout Fun Day • fb • Minute To Win It • Obstacle Course • Wrist Rocket

Mar 26

Declan & Owen’s First Pinewood Derby

By Brian Cub Scouts, Declan, Owen No Comments »

Today was Declan and Owen’s first Pinewood Derby. It’s their first year as Cub Scouts and the Derby is one of the highlights of the year. They picked out their car designs from a book mom brought home from the library. It wasn’t much of a plan, just a shape. So we improvised the rest.

The cars from all the dens were raced in various heats. When it was all said and done only the scouts from a particular den competed against each other. There are eight other boys in the Tiger Den with Declan and Owen. In the end Owen took first place and Declan took second place! They were both incredibly excited.

Here are the boys and their cars and their winners trophies. They had to take a serious picture first.

After the serious picture it was time to get goofy!

Tagged with: fb • Pinewood Derby • Vroooom

May 18

Pinewood Derby at the Ypsilanti Street Rods Car Show

By Brian Boy Scouts, Brian, Cub Scouts, Kieran No Comments »

Boy Scout Troop 240 helped run a Pinewood Derby during the Ypsi Area Street Rods Show & Shine on May 2. Kieran and I were there helping out. Well, Kieran did much more than me. There were two tracks with two lanes each. There were no electronic timers so the Boy Scouts had to spot the finish line and call which car won each race. They also helped setup the track and tear it all down afterwards.

It looked like it might rain the whole time we were there, but it held out and we had a fun time. I hadn’t heard of the Ypsi Area Street Rods before, but they seem like a nice group of people doing good things.

The two tracks are ready for racing

Kieran awaits the race so he can spot the finish

Some very handsome trophies were donated for the winners

When it was all done the scouts posed for a group photo

Tagged with: Pinewood Derby • Troop 240 • Ypsi Area Street Rods

May 16

From Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts

By Brian Boy Scouts, Brian, Cub Scouts, Kieran No Comments »

Beginning in September 2008 I became the Den Leader for a great group of Webelos Scouts. Webelos is the name of the scouting rank that is technically part of Cub Scouts, but is focused more on getting the boys ready to be Boy Scouts.

We set about working our way through the Webelos program and earning the highest award a Cub Scout can achieve, The Arrow of Light. Along the way I always had the support of a wonderful group of parents. No matter what I needed, I know I could count on them. So I want to thank Kathy, Nancy, Gregg, Christine, and Jackie. You made it possible to give the guys a good Webelos experience.

Over the year and a half we earned some activity pins, belt loops, and patches. We spent some time at Camp Munhacke for Resident Camp, Haunted Munhacke, and several other events. We tried to make our way through a corn maze with a GPS. We did woodworking projects in my garage in the cold months. (Perhaps not my best planning effort, that.) We raced Pinewood Derby cars. We raced up and down the sidewalk.

In the second year we had to figure out which Boy Scout Troop we wanted to join. The four boys knew they wanted to stick together and join a troop together. There are three Troops in Ypsilanti. They all invited us to attend their troop meetings. They planned campouts and hikes for us to join too. They each gave us a feel for how they work and how their existing scouts work together. In the end all of the boys and us parents agreed that we felt the most comfortable with Troop 240.

So on February 8th Pack 295 has their annual Blue and Gold banquet. All four of the boys in my den earned their Arrow of Light and received it at the banquet awards ceremony. After the awards ceremony the folks from Troop 240 joined us up on stage for the Crossover. I was proud to see the four boys Kane, Zack, Matthew, and Kieran walk across the bridge from the Cub Scout Pack to the Boy Scout Troop. The Troop even surprised me by having me walk over the bridge too. They switched my uniform from Cub Scout blue to Boy Scout green as well. Pretty sneaky those Boy Scouts. It worked, as I’m now an Assistant Scoutmaster in the Troop.