Baloo the Builder, Day 1

REQUIREMENT(S) MET: Baloo the Builder Req. 1, Bear Claws Req. 3

Tonight we finished up our Bear Claws required belt loop by having the boys share their soap and balsa wood carvings. It was so much fun to see all the different ideas that came from the same blank bars of soap and blocks of wood! Most importantly, it sounds like the boys had fun and were safe while practicing their whittling.

We then moved on to our next adventure, Baloo the Builder! This is a natural progression as we started with whittling wood, and now we we'll move to using tools to create projects with wood.

We started with a fun game of "Akela Says" as a way of emphasizing the importance of listening when working with tools. Those boys were tough to trick! :)

For our first requirement, we talked about some different hand tools that the boys might want to have in their toolbox (Cub Scouts aren't allowed to use power tools in meetings yet). Then the boys got to experiment with all the different tools on a board. We had safety goggles, a hammer, a mallet, phillips head and flat head screwdrivers, a hand saw, a measuring tape, a level, and nails and screws. The boys did a great job and recorded the 4 tools they tried in their handbooks.

To meet the requirements of this adventure, the Scouts are to build one useful project and one fun project out of wood. The pinewood derby car will be the fun project, and we will build the useful project next week after our awards ceremony. Please have your scout bring safety goggles if he has them, as well as a small hammer. Also, the boys will need to wear uniforms since we have an awards ceremony, but they can bring an old shirt to change into as we will be working on our projects after and it might get messy.

Have a great week!

January 12, 2017 - Bear Claws Day 3

REQUIREMENT(S) MET: Bear Claws Requirements 2 and 3

Last Thursday was our first day back from the break and our first meeting of the New Year! For our meeting, we reviewed some knife safety rules and the boys got to share their soap carvings that they completed at home. It was so fun to see how the soap had taken shape for everyone!

After we finished the soap carving, the boys got to try their hands at carving balsa wood! The scouts who brought their knives with them were kind enough to share with the boys who had not so that they could try what it felt like to carve on the wood. Some stuck with it, but a lot of the boys were happy to back to carving soap again. :) Requirement 3 is that the boys complete 2 carvings, but they are welcome to do one soap and one wood or both soap -- either is fine. If they are carving wood, we talked about the fact that their carving doesn't have to have a certain shape -- it's just an opportunity for them to try their hand at different whittling techniques, such as the stop cut illustrated in their handbooks.

The boys will need to bring their completed carving to tomorrow's meeting so that they can share them with the rest of the den. That will complete their Bear Claws required adventure and they will earn the belt loop for the next award ceremony!