Family Scouts

Our scout group is in a transition stage right now, but we are making the most of it. The older boys are all in fourth grade and have been in Cub Scouts together since first grade. This summer, several families decided to break off of Boy Scouts because the organization was making decisions we didn't agree with. Enough groups are severing ties with BSA that a new organization is forming called Trail Life USA, but that isn't going to be up and going until January (hopefully!) Several of our families have stayed close and wanted to continue scouting. In fact, our girls are all around the same age and had been looking forward to scouting together, and our younger boys were also all around the same age and were hoping to be Cub Scout Tigers this year. Five families decided to stick together, and with eight parents (both moms and dads) willing to volunteer, we decided to call our transition scout troop "Honor Brigade". Our group is made up of eight fourth-grade knights, five ladies in first- through third-grade, and six first-grade squires. The moms have been working with our church to charter a troop of American Heritage Girls, but for now, the girls are the Honor Brigade ladies.

Our meetings are fun and all our kids seem to enjoy it. Usually, the kids are separated into the three groups. Using a Cub Scout-type curriculum, we chose to work on different themes each month. Sometimes, the kids rotate through different stations to learn similar, but age-appropriate, lessons. Other times, all the kids work together. So far, they spent a month learning to be good citizens, collected food and funds for the local food pantry, spent a month learning about emergency preparedness (from fire escape plans to first aid to stranger danger.)

Our group has been hiking and fishing, we did a community walk to city hall while we mapped the route, and we toured the local fire station.

We recently had a weekend camp out. At the campout, the kids loved getting to play together without adults telling them what to do. But, we also had some organized shooting events -- archery, BB guns, and sling shots. -- that they all enjoyed. We practiced what we learned about fire safety, and one of our activities were some first-aid relays with the teams of kids racing to see who could treat injuries and illnesses most quickly and correctly.

In the end, our four kids favorite activities were:

• playing fairyland with the moss and bark dishes and stones for the eggs at the tea party
• playing war -- using sticks as pretend guns and "killing" the bad guys
• running through the piles of woodchips and through the trails in the woods
• climbing the little bridge

All the activities they chose as their favorites had nothing to do with adults... that's what the kids were doing when the adults were sitting around the all-day campfire trying to stay warm, telling stories about our kids, and sharing challenges we face in parenting.

This past weekend, we had a lock-in at the church. (Who decided that was a great idea, anyway??) Friday evening, the kids had fun playing silly games like laying on the floor with an animal cracker on their foreheads and trying to move the cookie to their mouth using only their face, walking with a popsicle stick in their teeth while carrying stacked dice on the end, and standing an unsharpened pencil up and knocking it down with a marble. After a silly gift exchange (camping gear for boys, craft kits for girls), the kids settled down and watch Polar Express until they all dozed off... around 1:30AM!!! The kids woke up at nearly 9AM. After breakfast, the younger kids made up their own games, while the big boys played basketball against the dads. Overall, the event went well. Since our family was so tired the next day, it was mostly a day of rest.

Now, we are wrapping up the semester with the kids working in their three separate groups to write and perform plays based on Bible stories. The younger boys are working on an Adam and Eve puppet show, the girls are writing the Christmas story from the animals' perspectives, and the big boys are working on an elaborate storyline based on Revelation. The moms are working on getting details finalized and training done so we can start our American Heritage Girls troop in January, and the dads are waiting for their parts in the Trail Life set up. I have really enjoyed being a part of our family scout group this fall, but I think working with the kids is more fun than jumping through hoops setting up the official scout group.