Scouter Life: October 2013

Bear Achievement - Self

SELF (do FOUR of the following)

RIDE RIGHT
Do requirement (a) and three other requirements.
1. Know the rules for bike safety. If your town requires a bicycle license, be sure to get one.
2. Learn to ride a bike, if you haven't by now. Show that you can follow a winding course for 60 feet doing sharp left and right turns, a U-turn, and an emergency stop.
3. Keep your bike in good shape. Identify the parts of a bike that should be checked often.
4. Change a tire on a bicycle.
5. Protect your bike from theft. Use a bicycle lock.
6. Ride a bike for 1 mile without rest. Be sure to obey all traffic rules.
7. Plan and take a family bike hike.
GAMES, GAMES, GAMES!
Do two requirements.
1. Set up the equipment and play any two of these outdoor games with your family or friends.
  (Backyard golf, Badminton, Croquet, Sidewalk shuffleboard, Kickball, Softball, Tetherball, Horseshoes, Volleyball)
2. Play two organized games with your den.
3. Select a game that your den has never played. Explain the rules. Tell them how to play it, and then play it with them.
BUILDING MUSCLES
Do all three requirements.
1. Do physical fitness stretching exercises. Then do curl-ups, push-ups, the standing long jump, and the softball throw.
2. With a friend about your size, compete in at least six different two-person contests. (Many examples in book.)
3. Compete with your den or pack in the crab relay, gorilla relay, 30-yard dash, and kangaroo relay.
NOTE TO PARENTS: If a licensed physician certifies that the Cub Scout's physical condition for an indeterminable time doesn't permit him to do three of the requirements in this achievement, the Cubmaster and pack committee may authorize substitution of any three Arrow Point electives.
INFORMATION, PLEASE
Do requirement (a) and three more requirements.
1. With an adult in your family, choose a TV show. Watch it together.
2. Play a game of charades at your den meeting or with your family at home.
3. Visit a newspaper office, or a TV or radio station and talk to a news reporter.
4. Use a computer to get information. Write, spell-check, and print out a report on what you learned.
5. Write a letter to a company that makes something you use. Use e-mail or the U.S. Postal Service.
6. Talk with a parent or other family member about how getting and giving facts fits into his or her job.
JOT IT DOWN
Do requirement h and four other requirements.
1. Make a list of the things you want to do today. Check them off when you have done them.
2. Write two letters to relatives or friends.
3. Keep a daily record of your activities for 2 weeks.
4. Write an invitation to someone.
5. Write a thank-you note.
6. Write a story about something you have done with your family.
7. Write about the activities of your den.
8. Complete the Character Connection for Honesty.
  - Know. Tell what made it difficult to be clear and accurate as you wrote details and kept records, and tell what could tempt you to write something that was not exactly true. Define honesty.
  - Commit. Tell why it is important to be honest and trustworthy with yourself and with others. Imagine you had reported something inaccurately and tell how you could set the record straight. Give reasons that honest reporting will earn the trust of others.
  - Practice. While doing the requirement for this achievement, be honest when you are writing about real events.
SHAVINGS AND CHIPS
Do all four requirements.
1. Know the safety rules for handling a knife.
2. Show that you know how to take care of and use a pocketknife.
3. Make a carving with a pocketknife. Work with your den leader or other adult when doing this.
4. Earn the Whittling Chip card.
SAWDUST AND NAILS
Do all three requirements.
1. Show how to use and take care of four of these tools.
  (Hammer, Hand saw, Hand drill, C-clamp, Wood plane, Pliers, Crescent wrench, Screwdriver, Bench vise, Coping saw, Drill bit)
2. Build your own tool box.
3. Use at least two tools listed in requirement (a) to fix something.
BUILD A MODEL
Do requirement g and two other requirements.
1. Build a model from a kit.
2. Build a display for one of your models.
3. Pretend you are planning to change the furniture layout in one of the rooms in your home.
4. Make a model of a mountain, a meadow, a canyon, or a river.
5. Go and see a model of a shopping center or new building that is on display somewhere.
6. Make a model of a rocket, boat, car, or plane.
7. Complete the Character Connection for Resourcefulness.
  - Know. Review the requirements for this achievement and list the resources you would need to complete them. Then list the materials you could substitute for items that you do not already have. Tell what it means to be resourceful.
  - Commit. After you complete the requirements for this achievement, list any changes that would make the results better if you did these projects again. Tell why it is important to consider all available resources for a project.
  - Practice. While you complete the requirements for this achievement, make notes on which materials worked well in your projects and why.
TYING IT ALL UP
Do five requirements.
1. Whip the ends of a rope.
2. Tie a square knot, bowline, sheet bend, two half hitches, and slip knot. Tell how each knot is used.
3. Learn how to keep a rope from tangling.
4. Coil a rope. Throw it, hitting a 2-foot square marker 20 feet away.
5. Learn a magic rope trick.
6. Make your own rope.
SPORTS, SPORTS, SPORTS
Do all five requirements.
1. Learn the rules of and how to play three team sports.
2. Learn the rules of and how to play two sports in which only one person is on each side.
3. Take part in one team and one individual sport.
4. Watch a sport on TV with a parent or some other adult member of your family.
5. Attend a high school, college, or professional sporting event with your family or your den.
BE A LEADER
Do requirement f and two other requirements.
1. Help a boy join Cub Scouting, or help a new Cub Scout through the Bobcat trail.
2. Serve as a denner or assistant denner.
3. Plan and conduct a den activity with the approval of your den leader.
4. Tell two people they have done a good job.
5. Leadership means choosing a way even when not everybody likes your choice.
6. Complete the Character Connection for Compassion.
  - Know. Tell why, as a leader, it is important to show kindness and concern for other people. List ways leaders show they care about the thoughts and feelings of others.
  - Commit. Tell why a good leader must consider the ideas, abilities, and feelings of others. Tell why it might be hard for a leader to protect another person's well-being. Tell ways you can be kind and compassionate.
  - Practice. While you complete the requirements for this achievement, find ways to be kind and considerate of others.

Bear Achievement - Family

FAMILY (Do FOUR of the following)

THE PAST IS EXCITING AND IMPORTANT
Do requirement g and two other requirements.
1. Visit your library or newspaper office. Ask to see back issues of newspapers or an almanac.
2. Find someone who was a Cub Scout a long time ago. Talk with him about what Cub Scouting was like then.
3. Start or add to an existing den or pack scrapbook.
4. Trace your family back through your grandparents or great-grandparents; or, talk to a grandparent about what it was like when he or she was younger.
5. Find out some history about your community.
6. Start your own history: keep a journal for 2 weeks.
7. Complete the Character Connection for Respect.
  - Know. As you learn about how Cub Scout-age life was like for adults you know, does what you learn change what you think about them. Tell how it might help you respect or value them more.
  - Commit. Can you think of reasons others might be disrespectful to people or things you value? Name one new way you will show respect for a person or thing someone else values.
  - Practice. List some ways you can show respect for people and events in the past.
WHAT'S COOKING?
Do four requirements.
1. With an adult, bake cookies.
2. With an adult, make snacks for the next den meeting.
3. With an adult, prepare one part of your breakfast, one part of your lunch, and one part of your supper.
4. Make a list of the 'junk foods' you eat. Discuss 'junk food' with a parent or teacher.
5. Make some trail food for a hike.
6. With an adult, make a dessert for your family.
7. With an adult, cook something outdoors.
FAMILY FUN
Do both requirements.
1. Go on a day trip or evening out with members of your family.
2. Have a family fun night at home.
BE READY!
Do requirements a through e and requirement g. Requirement f is recommended, but not required.
1. Tell what to do in case of an accident in the home. A family member needs help. Someone's clothes catch on fire.
2. Tell what to do in case of a water accident.
3. Tell what to do in case of a school bus accident.
4. Tell what to do in case of a car accident.
5. With your family, plan escape routes from your home and have a practice drill.
6. Have a health checkup by a physician (optional).
7. Complete the Character Connection for Courage.
  - Know. Memorize the courage steps: Be brave, Be calm, Be clear, and Be careful. Tell why each courage step is important. How will memorizing the courage steps help you to be ready?
  - Commit. Tell why it might be difficult to follow the courage steps in an emergency situation. Think of other times you can use the courage steps. (Standing up to a bully is one example.)
  - Practice. Act out one of the requirements using these courage steps: Be brave, Be calm, Be clear, and Be careful.
FAMILY OUTDOOR ADVENTURE
Do three requirements.
1. Go camping with your family.
2. Go on a hike with your family.
3. Have a picnic with your family.
4. Attend an outdoor event with your family.
5. Plan your outdoor family day.
SAVING WELL, SPENDING WELL
Do four requirements.
1. Go grocery shopping with a parent or other adult member of your family.
2. Set up a savings account.
3. Keep a record of how you spend money for 2 weeks.
4. Pretend you are shopping for a car for your family.
5. Discuss family finances with a parent or guardian.
6. Play a board game with your family that involves the use of play money.
7. With an adult, figure out how much it costs for each person in your home to eat one meal.

Bear Achievement - Country

COUNTRY (Do THREE of the following)

WHAT MAKES AMERICA SPECIAL?
(Do requirements (a) and (j) and any two of the other requirements.
1. Write or tell what makes America special to you.
2. With the help of your family or den leader, find out about two famous Americans. Tell the things they did or are doing to improve our way of life.
3. Find out something about the old homes near where you live. Go and see two of them.
4. Find out where places of historical interest are located in or near your town or city. Go and visit one of them with your family or den.
5. Choose a state; it can be your favorite one or your home state. Name its state bird, tree, and flower. Describe its flag. Give the date it was admitted to the Union.
6. Be a member of the color guard in a flag ceremony for your den or pack.
7. Display the U.S. flag in your home or fly it on three national holidays..
8. Learn how to raise and lower a U.S. flag properly for an outdoor ceremony.
9. Participate in an outdoor flag ceremony
10. Complete the Character Connection for Citizenship.
  - Know. Tell ways some people in the past have served our country. Tell about some people who serve our country today. (Don't forget about 'ordinary' people who serve our country.)
  - Commit. Tell something that might happen to you and your family if other people were not responsible citizens. Tell one thing you will do to be a good citizen.
  - Practice. Tell three things you did in one week that show you are a good citizen.
TALL TALES
Do all three requirements.
1. Tell in your own words what folklore is. List some folklore stories, folk songs, or historical legends from your own state or part of the country. Play the Folklore Match Game in the handbook.
2. Name at least five stories about American folklore. Point out on a United States map where theyhappened.
3. Read two folklore stories and tell your favorite one to your den.
SHARING YOUR WORLD WITH WILDLIFE
Do four of the requirements.
1. Choose a bird or animal that you like and find out how it lives. Make a poster showing what you have learned.
2. Build or make a bird feeder or birdhouse and hang it in a place where birds can visit safely.
3. Explain what a wildlife conservation officer does.
4. Visit one of the following:
  Zoo, Nature center, Aviary, Wildlife refuge, Game preserve.
5. Name one animal that has become extinct in the last 100 years. Tell why animals become extinct. Name one animal that is on the endangered species list.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR PLANET
Do three requirements.
1. Save 5 pounds of glass or aluminum, or 1 month of daily newspapers. Turn them in at a recycling center or use your community's recycling service.
2. Plant a tree in your yard, or on the grounds of the group that operates your Cub Scout pack, or in a park or other public place. Be sure to get permission first.
3. Call city or county officials or your trash hauling company and find out what happens to your trash after it is hauled away.
4. List all the ways water is used in your home. Search for dripping faucets or other ways water might be wasted. With an adult, repair or correct those problems.
5. Discuss with an adult in your family the kinds of energy your family uses.
6. Find out more about your family's use of electricity.
7. Take part in a den or pack neighborhood clean-up project.
LAW ENFORCEMENT IS A BIG JOB
Do all six requirements.
1. Practice one way police gather evidence: by taking fingerprints, or taking shoeprints, or taking tire track casts.
2. Visit your local sheriff's office or police station or talk with a law enforcement officer visiting your den or pack to discuss crime prevention.
3. Help with crime prevention for your home.
4. Be sure you know where to get help in your neighborhood.
5. Learn the phone numbers to use in an emergency and post them by each phone in your home.
6. Know what you can do to help law enforcement.

Bear Achievement - God

GOD (Do ONE of the following)

WAYS WE WORSHIP
Complete both requirements.
1. Complete the Character Connection for Faith
  - Know. Name some people in history who have shown great faith. Discuss with an adult how faith has been important at a particular point in his or her life.
  - Commit. Discuss with an adult how having faith and hope will help you in your life, and also discuss some ways that you can strengthen your faith.
  - Practice. Practice your faith as you are taught in your home, church, synagogue, mosque, or religious fellowship.
2. Make a list of things you can do this week to practice your religion as you are taught in your home, church, synagogue, mosque, or other religious community. Check them off your list as you complete them.
EMBLEMS OF FAITH
Complete the requirement.
Earn the Religious Emblem of your faith.

Tiger Cub Scout Requirements

Discuss with your leader or parent/guardian the importance of the Leave No Trace frontcountry guidelines.
On three separate outings, practice the frontcountry guidelines of Leave No Trace.
Complete the activities for Achievement 5, Let's Go Outdoors.
Participate in a Leave No Trace-related service project.
Promise to practice the Leave No Trace frontcountry guidelines by signing the Cub Scout Leave No Trace Pledge.
Draw a poster to illustrate the Leave No Trace frontcountry guidelines and display it at a pack meeting.

Wolf Cub Scout Requirements

Discuss with your leader or parent/guardian the importance of the Leave No Trace frontcountry guidelines.
On three separate outings, practice the frontcountry guidelines of Leave No Trace.
Complete Achievement 7, "Your Living World."
Participate in a Leave No Trace - related service project.
Promise to practice Leave No Trace frontcountry guidelines by signing the Cub Scout Leave No Trace Pledge.
Draw a poster to illustrate the Leave No Trace frontcountry guidelines and display it at a pack meeting.

Bear Cub Scout Requirements

Discuss with your leader or parent/guardian the importance of the Leave No Trace frontcountry guidelines.
On three separate outings, practice the frontcountry guidelines of Leave No Trace.
Complete Achievement 12, "Family Outdoor Adventures."
Participate in a Leave No Trace - related service project.
Promise to practice Leave No Trace frontcountry guidelines by signing the Cub Scout Leave No Trace Pledge.
Draw a poster to illustrate the Leave No Trace frontcountry guidelines and display it at a pack meeting.

Webelos Scout Requirements

Discuss with your leader or parent/guardian the importance of the Leave No Trace frontcountry guidelines.
On three separate outings, practice the frontcountry guidelines of Leave No Trace.
Earn the Outdoorsman activity badge.
Participate in a Leave No Trace - related service project.
Promise to practice Leave No Trace frontcountry guidelines by signing the Cub Scout Leave No Trace Pledge.
Draw a poster to illustrate the Leave No Trace frontcountry guidelines and display it at a pack meeting.

Cub Scout Leader Requirements

Discuss with your den's Cub Scouts or your pack's leaders the importance of the Leave No Trace frontcountry guidelines.
On three separate outings demonstrate and practice the frontcountry guidelines of Leave No Trace.
Participate in presenting a den, pack, district, or council awareness session on Leave No Trace frontcountry guidelines.
Participate in a Leave No Trace-related service project.
Commit yourself to the Leave No Trace frontcountry guidelines by signing the Cub Scout Leave No Trace Pledge.
Assist at least three boys in earning Cub Scouting's Leave No Trace Awareness Award.

Bear Elective 25 - Lets Go Camping

Let's Go Camping (Page 276)

Learn about the ten essential items you need for a hike or campout. Assemble your own kit of essential items. Explain why each item is "essential."
Go on a short hike with your den, following the buddy system. Explain how the buddy system works and why it is important to you to follow it. Tell what to do if you are lost.
Participate with your den in front of the pack at a campfire.
Participate with your pack on an overnight campout. Help put up your tent and hlp set up the campsite.
Participate with your den in a religious service during an overnight campout or other Cub Scouting event.
Attend day camp in your area.
attend resident camp in your area.
Earn the Cub Scout Leave No Trace Award.

Bear Elective 24 - American Indian Life

AMERICAN INDIAN LIFE (Page 272)

American Indian people live in every part of what is now the continental United States. Find the name of the American Indian nation that lives or has lived where you live now. Learn about these people.
Learn, make equipment for, and play two American Indian or other native American games with members of your den. Be able to tell the rules, who won, and what the score was.
Learn what the American Indian people in your area (or another area) used for shelter before contact with the Europeans. Learn what American Indian people in that area used for shelter today. Make a model of one of these shelters, historic or modern. Compare the kind of shelter you made with the others made in your den.

Bear Elective 23 - Maps

MAPS (Page 270)

Look up your state on a U.S. map. What other states touch its borders?
Find your city or town on a map of your state. How far do you live from the state capital?
In which time zone do you live? How many time zones are there in the U.S.?
Make a map showing the route from your home to your school or den meeting place.
Mark a map showing the way to a place you would like to visit that is at least 50 miles from your home.

Bear Elective 22 - Collecting Things

COLLECTING THINGS (Page 268)

Start a stamp collection. You can get information about stamp collecting at any U.S. post office.
Mount and display a collection of emblems, coins, or other items to show at a pack meeting. This can be any kind of collection. Every time you show a different kind of collection, it counts as one requirement.
Start your own library. Keep your own books and pamphlets in order by subject. List the title, author, and subject of each on an index card and keep the cards in a file box, or use a computer program to store the information.

Bear Elective 21 - Sales

SALES (Page 266)

Take part in a council- or pack-sponsored, money-earning sales program. Keep track of the sales you make yourself. When the program is over, add up the sales you have made.
Help with a garage sale or rummage sale. This can be with your family or a neighbor, or it can be a church, school, or pack event.

Bear Elective 20 - Sports

SPORTS (Page 260)

In archery, know the safety rules and how to shoot correctly. Put six arrows into a 4-foot target at a distance of 15 feet. Make an arrow holder. (This can be done only at a district/council day or resident or family camp.)
In skiing, know the Skier's Safety and Courtesy Code. Demonstrate walking and kick turn, climbing with a side step or herringbone, a snowplow stop, a stem turn, four linked snowplow or stem turns, straight running in a downhill position or cross-country position, and how to recover from a fall.
In ice skating, know the safety rules. From a standing start, skate forward 150 feet; and come to a complete stop within 20 feet. Skate around a corner clockwise and counterclockwise without coasting. Show a turn from forward to backward. Skate backward 50 feet.
In track, show how to make a sprint start. Run the 50-yard dash in 10 seconds or less. Show how to do the standing long jump, the running long jump, or high jump. (Be sure to have a soft landing area.)
In roller skating (with conventional or in-line skates), know the safety rules. From a standing start, skate forward 150 feet; and come to a complete stop within 20 feet. Skate around a corner clockwise and counterclockwise without coasting and show a turn from forward to backward. Skate backward 50 feet. Wear the proper protective clothing.
Earn a new Cub Scout Sports pin. (Repeat three times with different sports to earn up to three Arrow Points.)

SWIMMING (Page 254)
There is something about this elective that is different from any other. That is this rule: whenever you are working on the Swimming elective, you must have an adult with you who can swim.

Jump feetfirst into water over your head, swim 25 feet on the surface, stop, turn sharply, and swim back.
Swim on your back, the elementary backstroke, for 30 feet.
Rest by floating on your back, using as little motion as possible for at least one minute.
Tell what is meant by the buddy system. Know the basic rules of safe swimming
Do a racing dive from edge of pool and swim 60 feet, using a racing stroke. (You might need to make a turn.)

Bear Elective 18 - Backyard Gym

BACKYARD GYM (Page 250)

Build and use an outdoor gym with at least three items from this list.
1. Balance board
2. Trapeze
3. Tire walk
4. Tire swing
5. Tetherball
6. Climbing rope
7. Running long jump area.
Build three outdoor toss games.
Plan an outdoor game or gym day with your den. (This can be part of a pack activity). Put your plans on paper.
Hold an open house for your backyard gym.

Bear Elective 17 - Repairs

REPAIRS (Page 246)

With the help of an adult, fix an electric plug or appliance.
Use glue or epoxy to repair something.
Remove and clean a drain trap.
Refinish or repaint something.
Agree with an adult in your family on some repair job to be done and do it. (Each time you do this differently, it counts as a completed project.)

Bear Elective 16 - Farm Animals

FARM ANIMALS (Page 244)

Take care of a farm animal. Decide with your parent the things you will do and how long you will do them.
Name and describe six kinds of farm animals and tell their common uses.
Read a book about farm animals and tell your den about it.
With your family or den, visit a livestock exhibit at a county or state fair.

Bear Elective 15 - Water and Soil Conservation

WATER AND SOIL CONSERVATION (Page 240)
This elective is also part of the Cub Scout World Conservation Award.

Dig a hole or find an excavation project and describe the different layers of soil you see and feel. (Do not enter an excavation area alone or without permission.)
Explore three kinds of earth by conducting a soil experiment.
Visit a burned-out forest or prairie area, or a slide area, with your den or your family. Talk to a soil and water conservation officer or forest ranger about how the area will be planted and cared for so that it will grow to be the way it was before the fire or slide
What is erosion? Find out the kinds of grasses, trees, or ground cover you should plant in your area to help limit erosion.
As a den, visit a lake, stream, river, or ocean (whichever is nearest where you live). Plan and do a den project to help clean up this important source of water. Name four kinds of water pollution.

Bear Elective 14 - Landscaping

LANDSCAPING (Page 236)

With an adult, help take care of your lawn or flower beds or help take care of the lawn or flower beds of a public building, school, or church. Seed bare spots. Get rid of weeds. Pick up litter. Agree ahead of time on what you will do.
Make a sketch of a landscape plan for the area right around your home. Talk it over with a parent or den leader. Show which trees, shrubs and flowers you could plant to make the area look better.
Take part in a project with your family, den, or pack to make your neighborhood or community more beautiful. These might be having a cleanup party, painting, cleaning and painting trash barrels, and removing weeds. (Each time you do this differently, it counts as a completed project.)
Build a greenhouse and grow twenty plants from seed. You can use a package of garden seeds, or use beans, pumpkin seeds, or watermelon seeds.

Bear Elective 13 - Magic

MAGIC (Page 230)

Learn and show three magic tricks.
With your den, put on a magic show for someone else.
Learn and show four puzzles.
Learn and show three rope tricks.

Bear Elective 12 - Nature Crafts

NATURE CRAFTS (Page 226)
This elective is also part of the Cub Scout World Conservation Award.

Make solar prints of three kinds of leaves.
Make a display of eight different animal tracks with an eraser print.
Collect, press, and label ten kinds of leaves.
Build a waterscope and identify five types of water life.
Collect eight kinds of plant seeds and label them.
Collect, mount, and label ten kinds of rocks or minerals.
Collect, mount, and label five kinds of shells.
Build and use a bird caller

Bear Elective 11 - Photography

PHOTOGRAPHY (Page 222)

Practice holding a camera still in one position. Learn to push the shutter button without moving the camera. Do this without film in the camera until you have learned how. Look through the viewfinder and see what your picture will look like. Make sure that everything you want in your picture is in the frame of your viewfinder.
Take five pictures of the same subject in different kinds of light.
1. Subject in direct sun with direct light.
2. Subject in direct sun with side light.
3. Subject in direct sun with back light.
4. Subject in shade on a sunny day.
5. Subject on a cloudy day.
Put your pictures to use.
1. Mount a picture on cardboard for display.
2. Mount on cardboard and give it to a friend.
3. Make three pictures that show how something happened (tell a story) and write a one sentence explanation for each.
Take a picture in your house.

With available light.
Using a flash attachment or photoflood (bright light).

Bear Elective 10 - Masks

MASKS (Page 218)

Make a simple papier-mâché mask.
Make an animal mask.
Make a clown mask.

Bear Elective 9 - Art

ART (Page 214)

Do an original art project and show it at a pack meeting. Every project you do counts as one requirement
Here are some ideas for art projects:
Mobile or wire sculpture, Silhouette, Acrylic painting, Watercolor painting, Collage, Mosaic, Clay sculpture, Silk screen picture.
Visit an art museum or picture gallery with your den or family.
Find a favorite outdoor location and draw or paint it.

Bear Elective 8 - Cub Scout Band

CUB SCOUT BAND (Page 210)

Make and play a homemade musical instrument - cigar-box banjo, washtub bull fiddle, a drum or rhythm set, tambourine. etc.
Learn to play two familiar tunes on any musical instrument.
Play in a den band using homemade or regular musical instruments. Play at a pack meeting.
Play two tunes on any recognized band or orchestra instrument.