Over the past month our Bear Den has been working on their "Bear Claws" belt loop and "Grin and Bear It"! We still have a little work to do to on "Bear Claws", but we did complete "Grin and Bear It" and they should receive their first Adventure belt loop of the year at the November Pack meeting!!!
WTG Bears of Pack 348!!!
The leaders rallied together and got some great supplies for the boys to choose from. This belt loop took 2 den meetings and a Pack meeting for us. The first meeting was the Den meeting to plan and prepare for the carnival. The Pack meeting came next, where we actually held our carnival. The last meeting we had some fun and played some challenging games, then we talked about the carnival, made some awards and presented them to our "Carnival Superstars"!
We collected a toilet seat, a box from a toilet, rolls of toilet paper, several big boxes, all sorts of balls, markers, tape, stickers, glue, an old Nerf game net, poster board, scissors and their ideas! We had 8 great games and had a really fun carnival!
The boys said that they liked the games, prizes and snacks. We had a mixture of candy and trinkets for prizes and the boys said they would have preferred more candy...lol. I was able to give several of them a break, but some of them did not get to play very many games. They would have liked an adult to step in for them as well so they could have more fun. Overall the carnival was a success and the boys were all happy to have gotten to work with their parent to accomplish it all!
Aiden helped me put together "Carnival Award Packs" before the following den meeting. I used a keyhole drill bit and a small hammer to punch holes in the back of a solid mason jar lid. Then I cut circles the size of the inside and had Aiden cut the yarn and then stuff the bags with one of each for each Scout.
At the beginning of the meeting we played a name game to get the boys more familiar with each others names, we tried to "group stand-up" game (not very many were successful at that game), and the "line up" game.
Then we settled down to talk about how our carnival what went well and what they would have done different. The talk didn't last long, but we covered the gist of things and were able to move on to something more fun and creative. Aiden made me a "Carnival Wonder Woman" award and presented it to me for helping him with his game and for giving him a break to play at the carnival! I was very honored and have it tucked away in my jewelry box!
Our next Den meeting is still 10 days away, but I am hoping that we can complete the "Bear Claws" belt loop next and be able to receive it and their Whittling Chip cards in November too! The requirement involves the boys using actual pocketknives and carving wood. Finding a project for 8-9 year old boys has been a challenge, but I think I found the perfect kits! They should be arriving tomorrow or Monday and I can't wait to check them out!
Stay tuned for more updates on our Scouting adventures!
