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scouting at home

Basecamp at Goshen Home Camping!

July 10, 2020 by Byron Andrews

I would like to give a huge shout out to the Goshen Home Camping staff and support personnel. I know it was a lot of hard work and challenges to put this all together but your passion and dedication really showed.

While maybe not in the mountains of Goshen Pass, we still was able to transform our dining room into our own basecamp. This far exceeded our expectation and kept my Scout active and engaged.

Avoided a mess on the floor from tie/dye and Adventures in Science!

To learn more about Goshen Home Campng or to sign your Scout up today please visit gotogoshen.org.

Filed Under: At Camp Tagged With: adventure, homecamping, scouting at home

Cub-A-Day Program Week 5 (July 6th – July 11th)

July 6, 2020 by The Scouter Digest Staff

Hey, Cub Scouts, it’s Make Something Monday

You’ve learned some handy skills with Make Something Monday; time to put some of them to good use.  Make a pine cone or toilet paper roll bird feeder.

When you are done making it, find a place to hang it that you can watch the birds that visit.

You can find instructions and some ideas for Adventure requirements you can complete using your feeder here: https://cubscoutideas.com/209/cub-scout-den-meeting-bird-feeders

Are you hungry? It’s Taste Something Tuesday…

It’s summertime and the weather is hot – Cool off by making custom ice pops at home!

https://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Ice-Cube-Tray-Popsicles/ is a good place to start, but you can use your favorite juices or add fruit chunks to make them your own.

All who wander are not lost… especially on Wander Around Wednesday

Use a map (paper or digital) and locate where you live.  Draw a route that would get you to a local grocery store, park, your school, or somewhere else you visit often.

Use the map to plan a walk around your neighborhood and then head out and see how well you can follow your route.

Wolf Scouts can use this activity to Finding your Way #1 or #4.  Orienting a map and working with a compass is also a NOVA Science Everywhere activity.

It’s time to Do Something Thoughtful Thursday
Reflect on what one point of the Scout Law means to you.  Talk with your family about what that point means to them.  See if you all think about the Scout Law the same way and what you can learn from your family and their point of view.
It’s Family Fun Friday… family time is fun time!

The family that goes to places together has FUN!  Take a hike or bike ride with your family today.  Try to find a new and exciting place to explore – a nearby park, a new area of town, or nature preserve.

This activity fulfills a Cub Family Summertime Passport Activity (A completed Passport counts as Cub Summer Camp! for the Outdoor Activity Award)  Get your passport here: https://www.ncacbsa.org/cubspa/

It’s Safety Saturday…but it’s also International Scouts Trash the Trash Day!

Scouts Trash the Trash Day is a cooperative community clean up – If everyone picks up just 1 pound of trash – The world would be so much cleaner.

Practice safe habits while you pick up trash in your neighborhood, on a trail, or around shared community spaces:

1) Know the weather
2) Dress for the place you are cleaning.
3) Wear sturdy gloves and consider rubber gloves over those.
4) Have a traffic lookout if you are near a road
5) Don’t try to pick up anything sharp or that you can’t identify.

Register your unit for Scouts Trash the Trash day here: https://www.scoutstrashthetrashday.org/ and you can access their Garbage Scavenger Hunt!!

Filed Under: Scouting Programs Tagged With: Cub Scouts, cub-a-day, scouting at home

Aquia OA Chapter Leaders Bring 2020 Virtual Flag Day to Life

June 26, 2020 by Mike Haas

All of us have been living the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic with many of this year’s annual spring and summer Scouting events being canceled. But, as Baden-Powell once said: “A Scout goes about with a smile on and whistling. It cheers [them] and cheers other people, especially in times of danger, for [a Scout] keeps it up all the same.” A Scout is Cheerful! All Scouts live this part of the Scout Law; Order of the Arrow Arrowmen are specifically committed to “Cheerful Service” and promise to “… seek to preserve a Cheerful Spirit” (excerpted from the Order of the Arrow Obligation).

And so, in true Scouting Spirit, the Arrowmen of the Aquia Chapter of the Amangamek-Wipit Lodge 470 of the Order of the Arrow (OA) cheerfully pressed on, looking for ways to uphold the OA’s commitment to community service. The Fredericksburg Luminary is the Chapter’s biggest service event leading into the summer months, followed by the Flag Day Ceremony at Quantico National Cemetery. The Luminary was really beyond a creative solution, but the Aquia OA leadership were determined to put their heads together to figure out a way to offer a virtual alternative to the Flag Day event.

A typical American Flag retirement ceremony is mostly centered around disposal – putting Old Glory to flames in a way that honors those U.S. Ensigns whose service life has ended and are no longer fit for public display (e.g., ripped, torn, frayed, faded, etc.). As an alternative, Aquia OA Advisors, Lorraine Lince and Karen Purinton offered the challenge of a virtual Flag Day event to the Chapter Chief and his team. Chapter Chief David Grabber and his Vice Chiefs Josh Floersheim, Michael Holliday and Sean Nodurft seized the opportunity and moved out smartly. They recruited fellow Aquia OA Arrowmen and family members to help produce various segments for their Flag Day video.

Enthusiasm was running high! The Scouts immediately began to come up with ideas that would both honor our Nation’s Flag and offer instruction, demonstration, and education to fellow Scouting families. Every level of Scouting incorporates a Scout’s Duty to Country. The OA leaders’ goal was to make it so any individual Scout or Scouting Unit would be able to use the video as a resource. Parents could use this at home with their Scouts and other family members as well. Since the idea began the last week of May, they only had about two weeks to hit their video’s targeted release date of June 14th, Flag Day – this included production and editing. Very ambitious!

For the virtual event, the OA leadership wanted to offer all Scouts information about the history of the American Flag itself and give information about how U.S. Flag care fits into advancements – ranks, belt loops and merit badges. The Chapter Officers decided that the first order of business was to demonstrate opening (Flag raising) and closing (Flag lowering) ceremonies, complete with appropriate bugle calls. Other elements included how to correctly fold the Flag, display the Flag, and show how to properly retire a Flag in a ceremony honoring its service to our Nation and Citizens. The Scouts also included “fun Flag facts” highlighting important dates and lesser known facts about our national ensign.

The biggest challenge was doing this virtually. Obviously, due to the on-going COVID-19 constraints, the Aquia OA team couldn’t work in person or as a group, so the collaboration had to be done completely via group phone calls and video conferences. Another challenge was that everyone had different devices that took videos in different ways – a real challenge when editing; but the team pressed on undaunted. A Google Drive was set up so that each participant/contributor could upload a video or slide from home. The Aquia OA Advisors then took all submissions and put them together into one presentation. It was successfully uploaded to the Aquia and Aquia OA Facebook pages on the target date for Flag Day, June 14, 2020 and shared at this link: https://youtu.be/qX6BQCQiY1E.

All in all, it was a great learning experience for the Scouts. They did a great job coming together as a team, working towards their common goal and they did a great job executing and overcoming the challenges caused by the pandemic. We are proud of them!

Filed Under: Scouting At Home Tagged With: Aquia, flag day, OA, scouting at home

NEW Leadership Seminar: How To Deliver Engaging Unit Meetings Over Zoom

June 25, 2020 by Cullen Bengtson

Based on attendee feedback from our first Seminar, many Scouts are looking for ways to keep their Unit meetings engaging and exciting over Zoom. NYLT Staff are developing a second Leadership Seminar to share tips, tricks and ideas to help you deliver a fun program Scouts will want to attend.

NYLT Staff will offer this live 50-minute webinar on
Tuesday, June 30th @ 5pm
The event is FREE, but space is limited
Register at: https://ncacbsa-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Gp-GgpNaSNCYfDNr0G34sw
(Scouters welcome though the target audience is Youth)

FAQ
Q. Is this an “Online NYLT course?”
A. No. NYLT is a 6-day practical learning experience. We are offering this webinar to help Scouts who have attended NYLT (or are thinking about attending NYLT) focus on a few specific leadership topics in a fast-paced online format.

Q. Will this session be offered again?
A. This is currently the only time we are offering this seminar.

Q. Is there a certificate of completion I can share with my Unit Leader?
A. All Scouts will have an opportunity to receive (via email) a certificate of attendance.

Q. May Scouts who are not in NCAC attend this activity?
A. Of course. We will advertise within NCAC primarily but welcome Scouts outside NCAC who wish to explore leadership concepts.

Q. Will these webinars be placed on YouTube?
A. Not currently… but we’re looking into it. No participants are recorded because we use the Zoom “Webinar” package.

Q. When is the next opportunity to take NYLT in NCAC?
A. We are planning on holding courses in 2021, starting with a Winter course running across two 3-day weekends (MLK and Presidents’ Day). Registration typically opens in October but fills quickly. We anticipate running courses in the summer of 2021 as well.

Have questions? Email contact@myNYLT.org!

Register at: https://ncacbsa-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Gp-GgpNaSNCYfDNr0G34sw

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Leadership, NYLT, scouting, scouting at home, seminar, summer

NCAC Celebrates Juneteenth!

June 19, 2020 by The Scouter Digest Staff

What is Juneteenth?

Juneteenth is an annual holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, enslaved African-Americans in Galveston, Texas, were informed of their freedom. Now, 155 years later, people in cities and towns across the U.S. continue to mark the occasion with parades, picnics, family gatherings and other celebrations.

Why Celebrate Juneteenth?

For many Juneteenth is a day of reflection and rejoicing. It is a time to see how far the black community has come and just how far we have to go.

Some may ask, why not celebrate it in September, when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed? Unfortunately, many slaves were not informed President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation freeing them from slavery in 1863. But on June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger, along with two thousand soldiers of the 13th Army Corps, marched through Galveston, TX, reading General Order, No. 3, which stated:

“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.”

The ending of slavery was monumental in the black community. It changed the course of their lives from education to employment for generations to come.

Today, state governments and companies are beginning to recognize the importance of Juneteenth for the black community. Twitter and Nike have announced Juneteenth will be an official company holiday, and the state of New York and the Commonwealth of Virginia are currently advancing legislation to make Juneteenth a state holiday.

How Can Scouts Celebrate Juneteenth?

Scouts and Scouters can celebrate by learning the history behind Juneteenth. Good activities for a unit could include:

• Take a virtual tour of a museum.  https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/exhibitions,
• Read a book or visit a website that explains the significance of Juneteenth and lead a discussion. http://www.juneteenth.com
• Visit your local parks and recreations websites to find local events to attend. Please be sure events comply with NCAC’s guidance for resuming in-person activities. http://www.pgparks.com/780/Juneteenth
• Learning about Juneteenth can also help Scouts working on the American Cultures merit badge. 

Did your unit celebrate Juneteenth? Let us know what you did! Submit your stories to weownadventure.com/submit! 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Juneteenth, scouting, scouting at home

Ashburn Troop 997 Brings Scouts Back Together to Feed the Hungry

June 16, 2020 by Rich Pender

Troop 997 has been busy in recent months, running virtual Troop meetings, new Scout training programs and numerous virtual merit badges. But they wanted to do more for the community and those in need, and if possible, do it together.

Scoutmaster Terry Kolb’s first Troop challenge was to get each Scout to take their family out to nearby walking trails and parks to clean up litter and debris. Twenty-one Scouts answered the call!

Scoutmaster Kolb thought big for his second challenge – he asked the Troop to distribute flyers in their neighborhoods asking for food donations to replenish the shelves of the Dulles South Food Pantry. Twenty-three Scouts and seventeen parents/siblings collected food, sorted it (in a social distanced manner) and filled the Troop trailer with food for the Pantry, collecting nearly 1400 pounds of donated food, and accruing 100 service hours for Scouts and adults in the process.

Post-job pizza allowed Scouts to reconnect after a Spring of video-only interaction, and now that new rules are allowing for Troop activities (following prescribed guidelines) to recommence, the Scouts are looking forward to resuming Troop meetings, weekend activities and more service opportunities.

Filed Under: Scouting At Home Tagged With: do a good turn, scouting at home, Troop 997

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