Family Tree

This #MeritBadgeMonday we take a look at requirement #6 of the Genealogy Merit Badge.  I have heard on a few occasions that you do not know where your going unless you know where you have been. This is very true when it comes to genealogy.  You do not fully know who you are until you know who you came from.  For some it might be knowing why and how your family is really good at making raspberry jam. For me, it's understanding why there is a love of working with your hands and gardening.  Usually we tend to like and do the same things that our parents like and do... and where did they start?  Traditions in my mind define our families. In a good way our traditions separate us from others (how boring would it be if everyone was good at everything) and make us unique in this big melting pot of a world.

One why of showing your lineage is through a Family Tree or using a Fan Chart.  An excellent resource on creating these images is FamilySearch.com.  This website is owned and maintained by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Another great website is Ancestry.com

Family Tree

Family Fan Chart

Difference Between Frogs and Toads

#MeritBadgeMonday

REPTILE AND AMPHIBIAN STUDY 3c.

Imagine crossing a swampy area in your canoe and you hear the distance rib-it rib-its.  Do you know if it is a frog or a toad?... The hint is in the area where you hear the croaking. Since you are in a swampy area, the chances are extremely high that you just heard a frog.  Even though frogs and toads are of the same animal group they are very different animals.  Below are some ways to identify between a frog and a toad.

Frogs:

• Narrow Bodies
• Eyes are large, round, and high on the head
• Skin is smooth and moist
• Habitat is near water
• Longer hind legs
• Able to jump high and long distances
• Many predators

Toads:

• Do not require their home to be near water
• Wider / flatter bodies
• Hind legs are shorter and less powerful
• Will take small hops and sometimes will run rather than jump
• Skin is dry, bumpy, and rough
• Eyes are lower on the head and almost "football" shaped
• Not many predators. Their skin lets out a bitter taste and smell that burns the eyes and nostrils of its predators.

Awesome Critter Video posted on YouTube by NatureNorth of the 7 week hatching and growth cycle of a frog.

Diagrams of Sports Playing Areas

On this #MeritBadgeMonday we take a look at Req. 4c of the Sports Merit Badge

4c. Draw diagrams of the playing areas for your two sports.

With Super Bowl approching us this weekend, it only seemed fitting to have the diagram for Football be our first pick.  As you look through all the diagrams for each sport's playing field ask yourself the following:

What items are similar between each sport?
What makes each sport unique?
How many are played on grass?
How many positions are associated with each sport?
Are numbers always present with each sport?
Which sport are you running the most in?
and any other questions you can ask yourself...

Football

Baseball

Basketball

Bowling

Hockey

Swimming

Tennis

Track and Field

Soccer

Diseases and Immunization

Public Health Merit Badge: Requirement 2

With the recent outbreaks of Measles at Disneyland and this time of year being the busiest with cases of Influenza, we thought it would be a good time to cover a few things for the Public Health Merit Badge on this #MeritBadgeMonday.

Figure Eight Knot

The figure-eight knot is a type of knot. It is very important in both sailing and rock climbing as a method of stopping ropes from running out of retaining devices. Like the overhand knot, which will jam under strain, often requiring the rope to be cut, the figure of eight will also jam, but is usually more easily undone than the overhand knot.

Different Types of Baskets

2. Do the following:

1. Show your counselor that you are able to identify each of the following types of baskets: plaited, coiled, ribbed, and wicker.

Coiled Basket

Plaited Basket

Ribbed Basket

Wicker Basket

Primitive Fire Making

#ThrowbackThursday
1980 - Ninth Edition: Boy Scout Handbook
pg 114

Matches are OK for starting cooking fires. A campfire deserves better. Add to its romance by lighting it the way Indians and early settlers did it.

Fire By Friction. This was the Indian way of making fire. For this you need a fire-making set made up of spindle, fire-board, hand block, bow, and tinder.
To make fire by friction, put the tinder on the ground, Place the fireboard over the tinder. Kneel on one knee. Place the other foot on the fireboard. Twist bowstring once tightly around the spindle. Hold spindle upright with the hand block. Rest the hand holding the hand block against the knee.
Set the spindle spinning with long strokes of the bow. Increase the pressure. Keep going until heavy smoke rises. Knock the ember formed in the notch in the fireboard into the tinder. Blow it into flame with steady blows.
Fire has been made in 6.4 seconds. What's your aim?

Find Your Way

On this #ThrowbackThursday we turn the pages of the April 1949 second printing of the Handbook For Boys.

This is a compass course such as you might walk, for which you would take three compass readings and measure three distances with your step.
You would be shown the starting point. then you would be told to go 100 degrees for 165 feet, until you found a stake; then to go 195 degrees for 90 feet, to the second object; then to go 300 degrees for 160 feet, to the end of the course.
On each leg of the course, first set your compass, then find a landmark on the required compass degree reading. Then walk toward the landmark for the required number of steps.

The Heimlich Maneuver

The Heimlich maneuver is an emergency technique for preventing suffocation when a person's airway (windpipe) becomes blocked by a piece of food or other object. The Heimlich maneuver can be used safely on both adults and children, but most experts do not recommend it for infants less than 1 year old. You can also perform the maneuver on yourself.

Name Of Each Chess Piece

Names and Moves of Each Piece

Each player starts the game with the equal amount of pieces; 8 Pawns, 2 Knights, 2 Bishops, 2 Rooks, 1 Queen, and 1 King.

Pawn	Knight	Bishop	Rook	Queen	King
8	2	2	2	1	1

Actions Of One Individual

Citizenship in the Community
5. With the approval of your counselor and a parent, watch a movie that shows how the actions of one individual or group of individuals can have a positive effect on a community. Discuss with your counselor what you learned from the movie about what it means to be a valuable and concerned member of the community.


No Cussing Club



One boy’s crusade to encourage clean language has far-reaching effects.
Read the article here

Parts Of A Canoe

#MeritBadgeMonday

Canoeing Merit Badge

Requirement 5

1. Name and point out the major parts of a canoe.

The Scout Staff and It's Uses

#ThrowbackThursday from the 1911 Boy Scout Handbook

Many boys, upon taking up the Scout Movement, are dubious about the value of the scout staff and many friends of the movement ask "Why does a boy scout carry a staff?"
Experience has proven it to be one of the most helpful articles of equipment. In order to show this we are reproducing, through the courtesy of Lieut-Gen. Sir Robert S. S. {366} Baden-Powell, illustrations from printed matter used by the English boy scouts. These illustrations show a number of different ways in which the staff will prove a handy and valuable article; in fact, essential to the Scout outfit.

How To Predict The Weather

#HowToTuesday

People have been watching the skies for millennia to help them predict the weather. Check the following folklore predictions with your own observations to see how many might be true. 

• Red sky at sunset is a sign of a fair tomorrow. (The sky you see at sunset is air that will reach you tomorrow. Dry air produces a red glow, whereas wet air produces a yellow-gray sky color.)
• Dull moon and stars foretell a rainy tomorrow.
• Lightning from the westerly sky is from a storm that is on its way toward you. 
• Towering, ragged clouds predict a rain squall and wind. 
• A sky full of webby cirrus clouds foretells a rainy spell on its way.
• A halo around the sun or moon means a warm front is on its way, with rain. 
• Dark clouds against a lighter ceiling foretell a windy rainstorm.
• The higher the clouds, the finer the weather. Lowering clouds foretell rain. 
• When swallows fly high, it will be dry.
• If the cows are lying down, it will rain.
• A good fall for fruit means a hard winter to come. Wind direction also helps forecast the weather:
• The west wind generally brings clear weather, except when it blows off the ocean.
• The north wind brings clear, cold weather.
• The south wind brings heat and sometimes showers.
• The east wind brings rain east of the Rockies. When rain is near, nature gets excited. Look for these signals:
• Tree frogs cry.
• Fish swim near the surface.
• Flies sting.
• Low clouds move swiftly.
• Gone-to-seed dandelions close up like an umbrella.
• Cloverleaves fold together.

Bird Watching Merit Badge Requirement 8a.

#MeritBadgeMonday
8. Do ONE of the following. For the option you choose, describe what birds you hope to attract, and why.

1. Build a bird feeder and put it in an appropriate place in your yard or another location.
2. Build a birdbath and put it in an appropriate place.
3. Build a backyard sanctuary for birds by planting trees and shrubs for food and cover.

Indian Lore Games

3a. Learn three games played by a group or tribe. Teach and lead one game with a Scout group.

State Flowers

Things have changed just a little since this 1939 printing of the Boy Scout Handbook.  What is your State's Flower?  Comment below.

Tenderfoot Award Ceremony

Leader: I now call ________ and his parents to come forward. (Repeat for each tenderfoot scout)

Leader: These scouts have completed the requirements for the rank of Tenderfoot.

Leader: Since you first joined this Troop, you have said the words of the Scout Oath many times. You have learned many skills which will serve you well as you travel on your boy scout trail to become an Eagle Scout. You have learned some basic first aid skills and to tie knots and you have improved your physical fitness. But these skills are only the beginning. As you advance into other ranks, you will learn more knots, more first aid skills, how to use a compass, how to cook, and most importantly how to lead others. The activities you participate in will become more challenging and more rewarding.

When you passed your Board of Review, you became a Tenderfoot scout. I now present to you your rank advancement card which documents this achievement. Keep this cards, and all other cards you receive in Scouting, in a safe place. As you advance in Scouting, these are very important in documenting your achievements. When you submit your Eagle application or if you move to a new location, you will need these cards.

I am also presenting you with your Tenderfoot badge. This announces to the world that you have reached the first advancement level in Boy Scouts and you are on your way along the path of scouting.

Finally, you are given a small pin to pass on to your parent as a keepsake of this step you've taken towards becoming an independent young man, able to take care of himself and help others.

(Pass out badges, pins, and cards. Give scout handsake to each scout.)

Leader: Troop ____, please stand.

Leader: Troop, join me in congratulating these fine scouts on their advancement to Tenderfoot rank! (lead applause)

Teen Safe Driving Websites

Traffic Safety Merit Badge
Req: 5b Using the Internet (with your parent’s permission), visit five Web sites that cover safe driving for teenagers. As a group, discuss what you learn with your counselor and at least three other teenagers.

• National Safety Council
• Partners For Safe Teen Driving
• Teen Safe Driving
• DMV
• Allstate Foundation
• MedlinePlus
• Teen Driver Source
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Post-It Note Pinwheel

#HowToTuesday

Fun project to do with your scouts for a gathering activity.  There are a few sharp tools used with this project so please be sure to have Akela do most of the cutting.
Items Needed:

• Post-It
• Scissors
• Pin
• Pencil
• Pony Bead
• Ruler