InsaneScouter - Newsletter - 2002 - October

Historic: We consider this item to be historic and as such it may no longer be appropriate for todays Scouts. Please refer to your local scouting policies and use your best judgment.

InsaneScouter News

Volume: 2

Issue: 10

October 2002

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What's New at http://insanescouter.com

I am proud to announce many of the new features and content now available at InsaneScouter. Below you will find a list of what these updates are and where to find them.

Various pages throughout the site have been cleaned-up
Leaders Fundamentals
Leader Tips

Theme - Cub Scout Safari

Your Cub Scouts aren't likely to trek in East Africa anytime soon to hunt for lions, leopards, and elephants. But they can go on safari in their imaginations.

They can also go on safari to look for wildlife in their own neighborhoods. Dens will do that this month. They will also do some nature projects or prepare a skit based on Akela, Mowgli, Baloo, and the other characters in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. The pack meeting could be held outdoors and feature an inter-den test of nature knowledge, or it could be an indoor event with skits and other fun activities based on Akela and his friends.

Help boys discover fun and adventure in the wilds of Scouting. Take them on a month-long safari, being sure all the boys remember the Cub Scout Promise, Law, and Motto. Use stories of Akela, Baloo, Bagheera, and Kaa to highlight den meeting games, crafts, and making costumes for the pack meeting. Take a den trip to a local zoo, animal rescue facility, or wildlife refuge. Encourage every boy to receive an achievement or elective award at the pack meeting. Finding shelter, food, and co-existing in the jungle with wild beasts could all be incorporated into ceremonies.

This theme is designed to achieve Cub Scoutings purposes of:

Developing habits and attitudes of good citizenship
Fostering a sense of personal achievement by developing new interests and skills
Providing fun and exciting new things to do
Preparing boys to become Boy Scouts

Fun Activities

The Grand Howl

The Grand Howl is a special way of saying hello to Akela and a way of reminding you about your Cub Scout Promise. Only Cubs that have been invested as a Cub Scout are able to join in the Grand Howl.

Each group does their Grand Howl in a slightly different way but in most cases, the Cub Scouts start by forming a circle with Akela standing in the middle.

The Grand Howl starts when Akela's arms are raised outwards and then lowered to Akela's side. At that point, the whole Pack squats down (not sitting) as a wolf would with their paws in between their legs.

The whole Pack then calls out (very loudly!):

"Akela...well do our best!"

The Cubs then stand up smartly at alert...the Duty Sixer (or whoever is chosen to do the Grand Howl) then salutes Akela and calls out:

"Cubs! Do your best!"

The rest of the Cubs then salute and call back:

"We WILL do our best!"

This is the Grand Howl. It is performed as an opening and closing ceremony to the Pack night, usually in conjunction with a Flag ceremony.

Jungle Related Ceremonies

All our ceremonies are available by clicking here

InsaneScouter Monthly Tip

"Jungle Law" - Kill only to eat, or to stop your self from being eaten.

InsaneScouter Moment - Your Wild Animal

Your Wild Animal
Scouts, did you know that everybody, including you, has a wild animal behind bars? The wild animal is your tongue, and the bars are your teeth.

If your tongue is not trained it can cause a lot of trouble, not only for yourself but for those around you. Keep those bars of teeth closed until your tongue is so well trained that you know it, won't harm anybody.

Your wild animal can make trouble by bad-mouthing other people, by gossip and slander, and by wisecracks at the wrong time. Train your tongue so that it knows the right time to speak and the time to be quiet. Until you have it fully trained, keep that wild animal behind bars.

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