Here's a little post to prove that I am okay, and it is November 1st! Yay for me!
For all the moms of boys out there. . .
With so many boys in our family, you know it'll be either sink-or-swim for us when it comes to Scouting and Faith in God. For a while we really struggled with a routine for it. Poor Exacto barely finished by the skin of his teeth (ON his birthday for his Wolf!) for several of the early ranks. With them gone all day to school, and then homework and sports and music when they got home, it really was tricky. Then Fluffy became a Cub Scout, and Exacto entered Boy Scouts, and we were really floundering.
Luckily, I have a brilliant mom, who raised 5 Eagle Scouts and was a den mother herself for years and years. She suggested the following, and it has worked like a charm for us ever since.
1. Get yourself some Little Debbies, or a charming, inexpensive substitute. :)
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2. Put them into the birdhouse that your Wolf scout made for one of his requirements with a diligent den leader (no way could WE have pulled off this good of a job!)
3. Require your sweet son to spend 15 minutes a day (time it!) working on either Scouts or Faith in God. Be available to help, but try to have the burden of looking in the book for what to do, etc. on HIS shoulders whenever possible.
4. When he signs off a requirement, let him choose a treat from the birdhouse!
This is working so well for us, because it has become part of the daily routine. We include it with the practicing they do. (They only have to practice on the days that they eat--ha :). Fluffy is more than halfway done with his Bear and it's only been a few months since he started it. Exacto just finished his 1st class (he turned 12 in June). And I have finally caught the vision--guess what? Scouting is FUN! Who'd have thought?
(caveat: I should mention that we have stopped all sports for now. Music is so important to us, and there really isn't time to do both that and sports AND Scouting. Scouting is the Church's program for the boys in that age group, and so we consider it necessary. But you could totally make this work with sports and Scouting, of course. :)
I'm so grateful for this idea from my mom! Just had to share for anyone out there overwhelmed with helping their boys get this done.
What can I say? In this family, SUGAR TALKS. :) It's all about routine and sugar, mmhmm.
12 comments:
I've got just the post for you to read regarding the needs of kids and sugar: <a href="http://www.keepapitchinin.org/2009/11/17/sweet-good-news-about-between-meal-snacks/> keepapitchinin</a>
In a few years, I'll totally be following your idea...thanks!
Great idea! Sugar is a good motivator around here, also. I sure do enjoy going into clean rooms with beds made now. Having 2 Eagle Scouts, I agree that scouting is very important. Way to go!
Way to change your attitude, Michelle! It's amazing what happens with your boys when the parents are totally focused on their achievements. One suggestion that helped me with was having a "Scout" envelope for each of my boys--and I put any certificate, awards, etc into it. It's especially important to save the card that is attached to each merit badge because sometimes the committee chair person doesn't record it with the official scout office--and if you have the card your son won't have to re-earn that merit badge before he gets his eagle!
@Sharon BeckThanks, Aunt Sharon. That is an awesome idea! I will definitely be doing that.
i totally need one of these for myself for working out, reading to the kids, and oh yah...for the kiddos to do their chores too (i guess). love the idea! when my two boys get into scouts, i'll be doing this for sure too.
smiles!
Thank you for that! Not growing up around any boys (all my cousins my age are girls and my only sibling is a sister) has made me feel overwhelmed about scouts. Even as the Primary President, I've never really grasped the full vision of it and Landon starts cub scouts in June! I know it's important from seeing what it does for the boys in Primary. Thanks again :-)
That is great that it is working for you. I might try that if we start stalling, but so far so good. I am up to 2 in scouts, I think Chandler will be out by the time Hayden is in. Thanks for the idea. I will definitely keep it in mind. I hope you all are doing well. I love all your posts, keep up the great work.
thank you. I am just getting my feet wet, and have no idea what I am doing.
I'm liking the idea!
I think I'll gather all the Halloween candy and put in in-- that way when they either practice.. or scout they can grab a treat...
thanks for the tip on PDF files.. I am going to try it today--
More piano. Less violin.
Thank you for the nice post. Just as a "rest of the story": After serving for over five years in Cub Scouting back in the late 80's and early 90's, I was just released last Sunday from the RS presidency. In the same meeting I was sustained as the new Cubmaster. Here we go with another round of Cub Scouting. I'm excited to have one grandson--Fluffy--in this age group and look forward to two more joining the ranks in 2-3 years.
Gotta love bribes.
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