Scouting

My son working on a scout service project

My oldest son hasn't been very motivated to do his boy scout merit badges lately.  I thought I'd solve the problem by telling him that he wouldn't be able to get his driver's license until after he'd earned his Eagle Scout rank.  After I made this threat, I realized that I had a lot of work to do if I wanted him to finish by the time he's sixteen.  We spent the summer finishing up the personal fitness, personal management, and family life merit badges.

One thing I really love about scouts is that it teaches my sons skills that they really need for life.  I want my sons to grow up being physically fit, knowing how to handle money, and knowing how to work hard.  It has been a lot of work helping my sons learn these skills, but it would have been even harder without the boy scout agenda.  Once I started working harder with my sons, I noticed that my husband also got motivated to help my sons with other necessary skills like auto maintenance and woodworking. 

I have five sons, so I currently have a star scout, a first class scout, and a bear cub scout.  I also just became a wolf scout den leader.  I'm living and breathing scouts.

It is sometimes pretty frustrating to figure out the ins and outs of scouting.  Last month, we had a boy scout court of honor, which is when the scouts advance in ranks.  Even though my son had done all the work for his merit badges, he didn't earn them because he'd never gotten a merit badge counselor.  We had talked to his scout master about all the work he'd done, but since he didn't have a blue card filled out, he couldn't get his badges.

So here is a picture of a little blue card, just in case you ever have to help someone earn a merit badge.  You'll need to get one of these from the scout master, fill it out, and sign it.  Merit badge counselors (people who help scouts pass off skills for merit badges and fill out blue cards) need to be registered with the Boy Scouts of America.