Troop Reorganization

As our Little Scout Troop passed its first anniversary, we had a bit of a shake-up in the organization. The original Troop Leader decided to step down, leaving the Scouts to decide to either continue the troop someone or quit. I was the only remaining leadership, being the Social Media Coordinator. At the next scheduled meeting, I and some of the most active members of the troop decided we would continue meeting as Little Scouts Troop 346. And we decided on a few changes to make.

We now have a leadership team of six people - two leaders, a badge master, an activity director, someone assisting both the badge master and the activity director, and me; I'm going to keep being the social media coordinator. One of the first things we did was all get on a Slack group so we could communicate - and boy do we; almost every day. That way everything could be all coordinated.

Then we started looking at the badges and patches. A big complaint was that it seemed too complicated and too much work to earn a lot of them. So we came up with some simpler formats for the awards. Patches are now PDS - Plan It, Do It, Share It. They should be pretty simple one-afternoon or one-evening efforts. And Badges are now SCOUT - Self, Create, Outreach, Understanding, Teach. These take a little more work, but maybe not so much as before, when we had ten different steps to put together. And sometimes the steps were a little weird to try to fit into the ten categories.

Once we simplified the awards, we started converting the old awards to the new formats. That means that all my posts earlier than this will be in the old 'legacy' format, and my new ones will be in the new formats. But anything earned on one of the legacy forms stays; Scouts earning those things anew will use the new format, and it'll be just a little easier for them. Like I earned the legacy Leatherworking Badge that I designed; I don't have to earn it again. But someone else that earns it will use the converted Leathercrafting Badge sheet, and they'll have a few less steps to do.

The only place that needed special exception, really, is the Friendship Braiding Badge. See, at their first meeting, all Scouts get to make a Friendship Bracelet. Before, that covered a couple of steps into earning a badge. And nobody except for me had ever completed it. So we changed the Friendship Braiding to a PDS patch, and now everyone earns that as their first patch at their first meeting! But what about all the work I'd done on the old one? I converted that into a different badge, and called it the Paracord Bracelet Badge. So now I'm the only one that's earned that one, instead.

We reorganized the meetings a little, too. We now have someone working the front desk and checking people in. And we have some meet-and-greet time before we have the orientation slideshow. Oh, and I totally redid the slideshow so it takes like 20 minutes instead of an hour, and is a lot more fun! That was a lot of fun work to make it look good and be less boring. And I found a ton of Red Panda images to scatter all over the place for it.

So I'm in charge of keeping up all the FetLife stuff - the troop profile and the discussion group. That means keeping up links to all the badge & patch worksheets, too. Which means keeping up with the troop's Google Drive and all that information. Unfortunately, in the transition, we got locked out of the old Google Drive, so I had to create everything up from what I could salvage. I'm also the goto for our Slack group for troop leaders.

It's a lot of work, but it's almost all online, and I really enjoy doing all the background stuff without having to get up and talk in front of people and stuff. The only thing I do 'live' is be in charge of a box of goodies that goes to every meeting for Scouts to get prizes out of.

COMPLETE - Fall Friends Patch

Fall Friends Patch

Designed by: Paul & Tiffy

Order Info: Advantage S-0531

Associated Costs: $2 for patch, craft supplies

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Plan It

Go look at the pinecone felt squirrels at https://liagriffith.com/pinecone-felt-squirrel (be sure to look at the other pinecone animals, too).  As a group (or in a journal), discuss how squirrels spend their fall preparing for winter.

- I put together this worksheet with Tiffy's help, so I spent a lot of time looking at those critters.

- Squirrels prepare for winter by eating a lot to build up fat reserves and caching food to eat during the winter, when they will stay in their den a lot. They bury the food in shallow holes, and hope they can find it when they get hungry!


Do It


Gather materials to make a new little friend - a pinecone, scissors, felt, a penny, and hot glue. What else do you think you might want to use? Googly eyes, a marker? Cut out your felt pieces according to the pattern and glue them all together according to the instructions. Adjust the pattern to make your squirrel (or other critter) special!

- With Tiffy and Sage, we got all the materials together and designed and cut out templates for the other Scouts to use. I made a squirrel with an acorn using our patterns, and it turned out pretty well!

Share It

Show everyone your new critter. Pick an animal you like and tell us something about how that animal prepares for the coming winter during the fall. 

What are your plans this fall? Tell about the fall activities you’ve already done or plan to do. Include your Halloween and Thanksgiving activities, too!


- Coyotes are our favorite animal. In the fall, they grow a thicker coat of fur that will help them keep warm. They also eat a lot in the fall to bulk up for winter, focusing on insects and small mammals instead of berries and fruit. When it gets too cold for small prey, they'll start hunting larger prey, like deer. Fall is when younger coyotes may leave the rout (or pack) to search for a mate or territory.

- Our fall activities have also been preparing for winter, kind of. We're going to be in a production of A Christmas Carol in December, so we've been in rehearsal mode since early October. We did make it to a few Halloween parties and a haunted house, though!

Troop Service Awards

In May of 2018, I took on the role of Social Media Coordinator for the Little Scouts Troop. That means all my duties should be just online stuff, which I think I can handle. I don't have any swag for that to show here, though.

Extra Mile Service Award

At our one-year Anniversary Party and troop meeting, our troop leader handed out service awards, and I got one! This is what she said about me:

"Paul. @Paul_Meronym, has always been an outstanding example of what this program is about. He goes after badges, he contributes new material, he stays organized for all of us, he is always ready to pitch in and help out. And he has taken on the role of social media coordinator like a champ. I don't know what I would do without him. His smile lights up the room. Thank you Paul, you're a dang fine scout."

Build-a-Badge Badge
We did a workshop on creating new badges at our October 2017 Troop Meeting. I created a Polyamory Badge, which I'll be working on soon. But for building a badge together, we'll be getting this extra badge! --- This is now called the Badge Builder Award, and is awarded as a Service Award to any Scout who designs (and has approved) at least four badges or patches that the troop uses.

IN PROGRESS - Camping Patches/Badges

There may be a lot of camping-related badges and patches, so they get their own page.

Camp-In Patch

We worked on a patch together at our Scout Troop meeting. Although there is a patch worksheet, we didn't have to fill one out to get this camp-in patch. We put up tents - indoors! - and made candy campfires.

First Campout

We had our first troop trip for camping at Edgar Evins State Park. While there, we did some workpages to earn our First Campout patch.

We also did all the work in the Tennessee State Parks Junior Ranger workbook to earn a Junior Ranger pin. This was a Level 1 campout, which means we stayed in cabins, but we did a hike that was pretty hard for me, and I'm proud of how much I did. One of my favorite things I did was coloring this picture of a coyote.

COMPLETE - No Worries Patch

No Worries Patch – Troop #346

Scout Name: __Paul_Meronym
Date: ____________________

Costs: ___Condom & Flour for step 2 & 7  – Less than $10____________     
Patch - $2________

Directions: Listed below are 10 steps to complete. At the end get Miss Anarcadia or Beta-Pup to mark them off. Then turn in the sheet and patch fee to receive your patch (to be ordered) or order your own.

1. Guided meditation is a way of picturing a scene in your head through verbal prompts. This has been shown to lower stress levels and even alleviate some low levels of pain. Either as part of a group or on your own with a recording, participate in a session of guided meditation. Afterward, consider the effects it had on you.

- We did this exercise during the January Scout Troop meeting. It didn't work well for me, though. The image we were directed to was a beach with ocean waves. For some reason, that image created a lot of anxiety for me. And with my eyes closed in a room full of people, I got pretty panicky. Once I opened my eyes and watched our troop leader walking around I was able to control it, but I think my imagery needs to be more caves and closed comforting spaces instead of open bright spaces. Our fitbit does a 2-minute guided breathing exercise that does help sometimes when I get anxious, though.

2. Make a condom dolphin or fish! This step incorporates both laughter and physical activity to help reduce stress. Take a condom and fill it with flour. Try to pack it in there pretty hard (giggles). Once it’s filled, tie the end and then add a face and details with a sharpie.

- Boss and I both participated in this activity. I cut up first a cup, then a plastic bottle, to use as a funnel, and I think it helped with filling the condoms. Boss's condom-worm is the one with orange and yellow face. Mine is the gold fishy-looking one. The second one I made, I tied it off in two sections, and colored lips, a nose, and some facial hair on it.
 
3. Sending positive vibes can be helpful and an easy first step to help others. One look at the newspaper can show that the world can definitely use some of those positive vibes. For one week, take a few minutes out of every day to meditate on world peace.

- Okay, we've done this for one week!

4. Many cultures around the world have various ways to unwind. See if you can find a few different ways people destress in cultures other than your own.

- We talked about some of these ways in the troop meeting. We talked about zen gardens, Native America hook pulls, dance, tai chi, labyrinths, sweat lodges, siestas, yoga, sensory deprivation, foot baths, and peace pipes.

I found this article about de-stressing around the world. It talks about having a ritual to separate outside from chaos from the home, hot showers, trying not to push for 'perfect' when 'good' is enough, massage, social eating, exercise, laughter, taking walks, taking breaks with friends, foot soaks, and focusing on the positive.

5. For many people, Age Play is a calming way to get rid of stress. Share with the troop how age play helps you to unwind.

- As we talked about in the troop meeting, I'm not age-playing like the rest of them are, but being around ageplayers, like at the troop meeting, gives me an opportunity to make friends who accept me as the kid I am and support me. And doing Little Scouts gives me an opportunity to accomplish things that are specifically me that I can get some sort of recognition for, which means a lot to me.

6. Sometimes it’s not ourselves that need help with stress but those close to us. Share with the troop ways that you can help a stressed-out friend. Then later, go put your ideas into action. You’ll be surprised at how it can help you out as much as your friend.

- run them a bath
- watch their kid(s) to give them a break
- cuddle/pet them
- scene with them
- listen to them, let them vent about what's bothering them
- cook for them, feed them
- remind them to take their medicine
- do karaoke or another fun activity with them
- color a picture or make a gift for them

7. Share the gift of laughter and relaxation! Make a second condom dolphin or fish to give to someone.

- We gave our condom-fish to MM's daughter. At a restaurant. She said it was the weirdest gift she'd ever received, and that's saying quite a lot coming from her!

8. You’ve now done a lot of things to relax. Now’s the time to reflect on how you felt and why it’s important to relax every so often. Journal about the benefits of relaxation both mentally and physically.

- Reducing stress in your life will help you be calmer, be a nicer person, make better decisions, sleep better, make fewer mistakes, and keep your job and friends.

9. People relax in different ways based on their own preference. Some curl up with a good book, some play on the computer, some do martial arts. What are some ways you like to relax? Share them with the troop. Who knows, maybe someone never thought of that and can help them too. We’ll also post them to our online resources too.

- I posted a thread in our troop fetgroup for this so people can share online resources: https://fetlife.com/groups/144714/group_posts/12008608 - and my contribution to the thread:

One of our favorite ways to de-stress is to hang our hammock over our bed and play games on our phone - https://fetlife.com/users/120724/pictures/66906371. 

And of course, playing with Lego really destresses me. There's a lot of focus required to build things, and to break them down and organize for storing.

10. Remember those ideas you found about relaxation around the world? What are some ideas that you like? Journal a bit about them and try to incorporate one or two into your everyday life. 

- Some things I do to relax:
- Play with Legos - whether I'm building or breaking down and organizing, I focus intensely and it makes me stop worrying about other things.
- Hammock & Game - we have a hammock over our bed I can swing in and play games on our phone.
- Coloring - it's not as big a thing for me as for Kiara, but I do keep a coloring book in my Scout bag to give me something to focus on.

From the ideas around the world, some of the things that we try to keep in our life our hot showers, social eating, massage, and ritual. Ritual is really important for my system as it lets us all get things done regardless of who is out. Sensory deprivation is also something that helps all of us. Being in the hammock usually means with the lights off, and kind of just floating in there. I can get really overwhelmed with sensory input sometimes, and getting somewhere dark and quiet and just doing a single activity that I'm completely focused on helps a lot. We'd like to do more walking and light exercise - it's something we try to do more of when the body is up to it, and it's definitely the one we need to keep working on.

COMPLETE - Webrangers

The National Park Service has an online spot called Webrangers to do online activities. The address is https://www.nps.gov/webrangers. Here's my Ranger Station!

I went ahead and did some activities. I did all the animal activities, and earned a trophy for my shelf!

I finished all the Animal, Puzzle, and Science activities - that's over 25 activities. I got three trophies, and arrowheads indicating my total progress!

A notification came up after I finished a certain number of activities, asking me if I want a badge! It had me enter an email address, and then emailed me the link to request a badge. So now I'll have something to put on my Little Scouts sash!

You can see from the screenshot that it was at least 35 activities, and now the badge image at the bottom is all lit up - I assume that's what the badge will look like.

Well, I guess it's done - I've completed ALL the activities available for Webrangers! They have their own virtual badge-sash - and I've got all the badges! Boy, when all the badges are the same size and shape, you can make them look really neat.

But now I'm done with Webrangers, since I've finished it all. Here's what my Ranger Station looks like at the end. You can see that I've lit up the lamp on my awards shelf - you have to finish everything to do that.