Cyber Chip

This year, the BSA is requiring all scouts earn the Cyber Chip.  This is to encourage internet safety. As fourth graders, I am sure you are all using computers more than ever and the BSA has established the Cyber Chip to help you stay safe while online.  Here are all the resources you need to complete the Cyber Chip:

The Cyber Chip Worksheet

The Scout Law and Online Safety

The Netsmartz Website

The whole process takes about an hour.

Try to get the Cyber Chip information covered over Christmas break. If you complete the Cyber Chip, just let me know so you can get credit for it.

Duty to God

A Scout is Reverent.  

This is one of the 12 points of the Scout Law. Being reverent to God is part of our Duty to God. Reverence is when we go to worship and when we pray before meals. 

As scouts we promise to "Do our Duty to God and our Country". What is our Duty to God. There is not exactly one answer. It is telling someone about God. It is also living in a way that honors God. We can honor God by helping at our place of worship.  We can honor God by helping other people.  We can also honor God by thanking Him for everything he has given us. We should also remember that people of different faiths worship and honor God in different ways. We also honor God by respecting each other in the way that we worship. One other point of the Scout Law is "a Scout is Clean".  This means more than washing your hands and keeping your body clean on the outside. Your Duty to God is to keep your self clean on the inside. Keeping your mind and spirit clean honors God.

Pastor Jude from Windover Hills will be guiding us in out Duty to God this year at our December 9th meeting. This is a Class A event

Into the Woods

In this adventure we discussed different tree types and they ways that we use wood. A guide to Pennsylvania's Trees can be downloaded here - Pennsylvania's Trees

As a Boy Scout you can earn the Forestry Merit Badge. You can see the Forestry Merit Badge Pamphlet by clicking in the merit badge. Earning the Into the Woods Adventure Pin prepares you for this merit badge when you are a Boy Scout. 

We can protect our forests by practicing Leave No Trace and by following the Outdoor Code.

Our forests are sometimes damaged by wildfires and disease.

In the past, American Chestnut trees almost completely disappeared due to disease.

Dutch Elm Disease killed almost all the elm trees that once shaded our neighborhoods,

Recently and visible in our park is the damage inflicted by the Emerald Ash Borer. This is a beetle that eats its way under the bark of ash trees and very effectively kills them. Most of the ash trees in our area have succumb to the Emerald Ash Borer. 

Here is a copy of the Into the Woods Adventure Worksheet

Webelos Camping Adventure

This year, one of the Arrow of Light requirements is the Camper Adventure. To earn this pin the scout must accomplish many things and it ties together skills and knowledge from previous experiences. As scouts we have the opportunity each summer to go to Heritage Reservation for overnight camp. As Webelos we are able to camp as a patrol. It is important to know how to plan for a camp out. 

Planning for a camp out includes: meals, activities and what to do in an emergency. 

Severe weather is something you need to be prepared for.

This is the cover of the Boy Scout Camping Merit Badge Pamphlet. This is the guidebook for Boy Scouts to use to earn their Camping Merit Badge. 

The Camping Adventure Pin starts to prepare the Webelos for the more rigorous Boy Scout camping.

An important skill for the Camper Pin is the Bowline Knot. Here is an illustration on how to tie the Bowline. This is a knot that every scout needs to know.

Map and Compass

The compass has long been a tool used by Boy Scouts. Compasses lead the explorers to the new world and across our country.

We have been talking about compasses every year since Tigers. There have been opportunities at different camps to use different compasses and to earn the old "Map and Compass" belt loop.

If you only have a compass, you can make a map of the area you are exploring. If you have a map and compass, you can navigate.

Different compasses have different characteristics.

This is probably the kind of compass we have all seen. It is made from clear plastic so it can be laid on a map. There is a small ruler and protractor on the base, so you can measure distances and angles. This type of compass is usually reliable and reasonably priced.

This is called a Lensatic Compass.  There is a lens you can look through and a sight.  This type compass is made from rugged aluminum.  This compass has the unique feature of a "glow in the dark" dial. You would be able to orient yourself at night using this type of compass.

This is a liquid filled compass.  This type of compass uses liquid to control the spin of the dial.  There is a sight on this type of compass that you would look through and read your bearing.

This type compass is actually more properly called a Hand Transit. It is really a scientific instrument that has a compass inside of it. You can use this device to determine the height of a hill, the slope of a valley and you can layout a map. The mirror can be used to signal for help too.

The GPS Unit has not yet replaced the compass.  This little gadget will take you from point A to point B very easily, provided you have batteries and satellite reception. A GPS unit triangulates your location by bouncing your point off of orbiting satellites. It takes three satellites to be able to triangulate your position.

 

The old compass may eventually be replaced with the compass app. With a smart phone or an iPod you can have at your fingertips a compass and a GPS unit.

Bobcat Merit Badges

When you join Cub Scouts the first merit badge you earn is the Bobcat Badge. This is earned without regard to your grade level or age. The bobcat journey is the introduction to scouting. It starts the scout along the path by teaching the most fundamental elements of boy scouts. These elements are the Cub Scout Motto, the Cub Scout Sign, the Cub Scout Salute, the Cub Scout Handshake, the Scout Law and the Scout Oath.

Cub Scout motto
Do Your Best

Cub Scout sign

Two separated fingers held up high (like a peace sign)

Cub Scout salute
Two fingers together held above the brow

Cub Scout handshake
Handshake with two fingers extended

In years past, we have learned the Cub Scout Oath and Law. This year we will be learning the Boy Scout Oath and Law.

Scout Oath

On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight.


Scout Law

A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly,
courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty,
brave, clean, and reverent.

The final step of the Journey to Bobcat is the review of the Parents Guide to Protecting Your Child From Abuse. 

Camp Cooking

You can make camp cooking very simple or very complicated.

If you are on a day hike, you might just bring some trail mix and beef jerky to keep you from getting too hungry, but if you are on a multi-day camp out you will want to have hot food. Your cooking options are only limited to how much you want to carry.

Open flame cooking can be as simple as a hot dog on a stick or it can be a complete meal cooked inside a dutch oven.                   

A two burner camp stove can make cooking as easy as it is at home. This type of stove is about the size of a briefcase. It is not very light but with two burners, you can cook more food, faster.

A one burner stove like this one weighs just a few ounces. It has only one burner and a small fuel tank. This is a great little stove, but would only meet the needs of one or two people. The gas canisters for this type of stove can be hard to find outside of specialty stores.

These two stoves are very small, the little brass stove on the left burns rubbing alcohol. The steel one on the right burns fuel pellets. These two stoves can be brought on airplanes because of the types of fuels they use.

Tinder and Kindling

Tinder and Kindling are the things you use to start a fire. Tinder would be something you brought with you or small twigs the size of pencil led.  Kindling would be something like dry stick the thickness of your thumb.  The logs would be no bigger than your wrist or would be the size you can break with your hands.

Somethings that you might bring with you might be fatwood, cotton balls or wetfire.  Fatwood comes from pine stumps and contains a lot of resin. Wetfire is a small block of chemical tinder that will burn even if it is floating in water.

This is char cloth.  We mentioned it when we talked about Fire Pistons. It is a very old tinder material. It is made by baking cotton cloth in a way that air cannot get to it. What is left behind is mostly carbon and will work as tinder. Native Americans made char cloth using oyster shells to bake it in. Char cloth works great, but its tricky to make and it must be kept dry.

 This is a magnesium block.  Magnesium is a soft metal that you can shave with a knife. The shavings burn very hot and can be lit with a spark.  This one has a fire steel right on the side.  No matter how wet this gets, it will still work.

There are dozens of store bought or homemade kinds of tinder that you can use. Waxed cotton, frayed twine, dryer lint, birthday candles, and chapstick are examples of things you can bring.

If you are for some reason you are Not Prepared, you can make a feather stick.  This is an effective tinder material

If you are lucky, you might find on old birds nest.  These are great tinder. Birch bark is also great tinder, but you should only use birch bark in an emergency because it is not good for the tree

 

Here is a handout all about how to build a campfire

Fire Craft

There are a lot of reasons you may want or need to build a camp fire. The most obvious is warmth. A campfire will keep you warm through a chilly night. Another reason is to purify water.  The most reliable way to make questionable water safe to drink is by boiling. After clean water, hot food is also often better than cold food. Camp fires are a place where scouts can relax after a day camping or hiking.  

There are a lot of ways to start a camp fire. The oldest way to create a spark is with a flint and steel.  This was basically an actual piece of flint and an iron striker. This was how Native Americans built fires.

The flint and steel was improved upon by creating rods of a special mixture of metals that would easily spark when scraped. This is the kind of fire steel that we use.  They can be in the form of a simple rod and striker or they can be a little more complicated like a blast match or a sparky. No matter what kind of fire steel you have, this is the most reliable way to build a fire.

These things are called Fire Pistons, they start a small ember using compression.  They do work, but you have to use char cloth to start the ember and they are tricky. Fire Pistons are also expensive. Unlike a fire steel, these won't work if they got wet.

Other less reliable ways to start your fire would be a magnifying glass. You can only concentrate sunlight if its sunny out.

Matches and lighters are great fire starters too, provided you can keep them dry.  You can start a fire by "rubbing sticks together", heat is created by friction.  Native Americans used a bow drill to generate the heat to make a fire, other native peoples used friction troughs.

Here is a link to the top 10 fire starter handout from out meeting 

Patrol Schedule

Starting this fall our meetings will be held at the Boy Scout Cabin from about 7:00 until about 8:15. I will be there at 6:45 to open the door.

All Meetings will be in Class B with just a couple noted exceptions

The Webelos II Patrol is hosting a Webelos Campout at the Scout Cabin Nov. 6-8.  This event will cover the Camper Pin, the Webelos Walkabout Pin and the First Responder Pin.

We will be hosting the Pinewood Derby Cut Out Night on December 2.  

Pastor Jude will guide us through the Duty to God pin on Dec. 9.  This is a Class A event. 

We will have earned our Webelos Badge on January 6th. 

We are going to earn at least one STEM Award after that.

Everything that follow the February 3rd meeting will work toward the Arrow of Light.

During one of our meetings we will be hosting a flag retirement.  This will also be a Class A event as will be Building a Better World and Looking Back, Looking Forward.

This is our agenda for the rest of the scouting year.  There may be changes along the way, but this will keep us on track.

The Meaning of the Scout Law

The Boy Scout Law has 12 points

Excerpted from page 47-54, Boy Scout Handbook, 11th Edition

A Scout is Trustworthy - A Scout tells the truth. He is honest, and he keeps his promises. People can depend on him.

A Scout is Loyal - A Scout is true to his family, friends, Scout leaders, school, and nation.

A Scout is Helpful - A Scout cares about other people. He willingly volunteers to help others without expecting payment or reward.

A Scout is Friendly - A Scout is a friend to all. He is a brother to other Scouts. He offers his friendship to people of all races and nations, and respects them even if their beliefs and customs are different from his own.

A Scout is Courteous - A Scout is polite to everyone regardless of age or position. He knows that using good manners makes it easier for people to get along.

A Scout is Kind - A Scout knows there is strength in being gentle. He treats others as he wants to be treated. Without good reason, he does not harm or kill any living thing.

A Scout is Obedient - A Scout follows the rules of his family, school, and troop. He obeys the laws of his community and country. If he thinks these rules and laws are unfair, he tries to have them changed in an orderly manner rather than disobeying them.

A Scout is Cheerful - A Scout looks for the bright side of life. He cheerfully does tasks that come his way. He tries to make others happy.

A Scout is Thrifty - A Scout works to pay his own way and to help others. He saves for the future. He protects and conserves natural resources. He carefully uses time and property.

A Scout is Brave - A Scout can face danger although he is afraid. He has the courage to stand for what he thinks is right even if others laugh at him or threaten him.

A Scout is Clean - A Scout keeps his body and mind fit and clean. He chooses the company of those who live by high standards. He helps keep his home and community clean.

A Scout is Reverent - A Scout is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties. He respects the beliefs of others.

Extreme Weather

Some of us have earned the weather belt loop.  This year we are going to be talking about severe weather and what to do in a weather emergency.  There are many different kinds of extreme weather conditions.  Some can happen in our area and some are unlikely to happen in our area.  

The Boy Scout Motto is "Be Prepared".  Lord Baden-Powell was once asked, "what should scouts be prepared for.  He replied, "oh, any old thing". Today, scouts want to be prepared for just that, anything.  One such thing is extreme weather.  In our area that is most commonly thunderstorms and snowstorms.  It is important to be ready for the uncommon weather too, such as tornadoes. We should also be ready for the things that accompany extreme weather like power outages and water shortages.

Our government has a website to help you prep for weather related emergencies.

In some parts of our country extreme weather can result in evacuation.  In our area we may be stuck inside for a few days after an unusual snowfall or be without electricity for a while.  In these situations its important to be prepared.

Pocket Knife Safety

Having your Whittling Chip is an earned privilege from the pack and having a pocket knife is an earned privilege from your parents. There are a few places (like a scout event) that its OK to have a pocketknife. There are lots of places that its never OK to have a pocketknife with you. If you want to have a pocketknife with you, always ask if its OK. 

DO: 

Keep the blades closed except when you are using them
Cut away from yourself. 

Keep your knife sharp and clean. A sharp blade is easier to control than a dull one; a clean blade will last longer. 

Close the blades before you pass a knife to someone else. 

DON'T 

Carry a knife with the blade open. 

Cut toward yourself. If the blade slips, you may be injured. 

Pound on a knife handle or blade with another tool. The knife may break.
Throw a knife. 

Pry with the point of a cutting blade. It can snap off. 

Put a knife in a fire. New knife blades are hardened, or tempered, with just the right amount of heat. Reheating them may ruin the temper and weaken the knife. 

Caring for your pocketknife

Most pocketknives are made of a strong steel alloy that won’t rust. However, dirt and lint can collect inside, and ordinary use will dull the blades.

Sharpening

Sharpen your knife with a whetstone or a knife sharpener. Whetstones require a certain amount of skill to get your knife sharp. A knife sharpener can quickly and properly sharpen your blade. The best knife sharpener is always the one that works best for you.

Remember the Pocket Knife Pledge

I will treat my pocketknife with the respect due a useful tool.
I will always close my pocketknife and put it away when not in use.
I will not use my pocketknife when it might injure someone near me.
I promise never to throw my pocketknife for any reason.
I will use my pocketknife in a safe manner at all times.

Camp Fires

The ability to build a fire is an important skill.  With a camp fire you can cook food, purify water, keep warm and keep critters out of your camp. Most often, a camp fire a place where we can gather in the evenings to roast marshmallows.  

As a Boy Scout you will earn your Firem'n Chit. This shows that you have demonstrated the ability to start a campfire and that you have learned about fire sarefty.  As Webelos, we are going to start to introduce fire craft.  There are a few things to remember that will make your camp fire a success.

As Wolves and Bears we learned that fire needs 3 things.  Fuel, Air and Heat. The fuel we use is typically firewood.  The air is all around us.  The heat we will provide by using a fire starter.  This could be a match, a fire steel or friction. You can see a list of good fire starters here.

You also need some small material to get started.  Tinder and kindling are essential to starting your campfire. Here are some tips for building campfires.

When building a fire, you must keep safety your first priority.  The fire must be completely out before leaving a fire.

If you are going to have a campfire:

• Use an existing fire ring, don't create a new one. When not in a designated campground, build your fire within a ring of rocks.
• Clear all vegetation away from the fire ring (remove all flammable materials such as needles, leaves, sticks, etc.)
• Select an open level spot away from trees, logs, stumps, overhanging branches, dense dry grass, and forest litter.
• Keep your campfire small.
• Keep plenty of water and a shovel nearby for throwing dirt on the fire if it gets out of control.
• Never leave a campfire unattended! Even a small breeze could quickly cause the fire to spread. Make sure a responsible adult is always in attendance.

When putting out your campfire:

• First, drown the campfire with water!
• Next, mix the ashes and embers with soil. Scrape all partially-burned sticks and logs to make sure all the hot embers are off them.
• Stir the embers after they are covered with water and make sure that everything is wet.
• Feel the coals, embers, and any partially-burned wood with your hands. Everything (including the rock fire ring) should be cool to the touch. Feel under the rocks to make sure no embers underneath.
• When you think you are done, take an extra minute and add more water.
• Finally, check the entire campsite for possible sparks or embers, because it only takes one to start a forest fire.
• Remember…if it is too hot to touch, it is too hot to leave. 

Please take the time to completely put out your campfire, it could prevent a wildfire.

Smokey the Bear has a great website with more information on wildfire prevention

Water

The ability to stay hydrated is essential for survival. You need to drink water throughout the day to keep your self from dehydrating. It is always a good idea to bring a bottle of water with you in the woods.  At pack and counsel events there is always plenty of clean water around, but what about water that we see out in the wild.

Water from creeks, ponds, streams, or any unknown source is always assumed to be unclean.  If you must resort to drinking stream water, it must be made safe somehow.  The most reliable method to make water safe to drink is by boiling it.  Any bacteria or parasites  will be rendered harmless by boiling.  

There are other methods to make water safe to drink.

Filtering - A water filter like a "life straw" will filter out almost everything harmful

UV Light - This kind of light will kill microorganisms. This treatment requires clear water to be effective.

Iodine Tablets - These are tablets of a chemical that will make water safe to drink. They require time to work completely and may make water taste funny.

CDC's Drinking Water Fact Sheet

Internet Safety

A new requirement for Webelos this year is the Cyber Chip. With our youth spending so much time using computers and tablets, the BSA has adapted to modern times.  Just like how we learned about knife safety when we earned the Whittling Chip, we will learn about internet safety by earning the Cyber Chip.

All infomation required for the Cyber Chip can be found at Netsmartz.org

Grades 4-5 (Webelos Requirements) 

Read, commit to, and sign the Level 1 Safety Pledge. (BSA Cyber Chip blue card). 

Watch the video “The Password Rap” and another video of your choosing. 

As an individual or with your den, use the Teachable Recipes to demonstrate Internet safety rules to your den leader, den, or pack. 

Discuss with your unit leader the acceptable standards and practices for using allowed electronic devices, such as phones and games, at your meetings and other Scouting events.

This achievement must be "recharged" every year

Think of the Cyber Chip as a summertime assignment.  This is something easy that we can do independently with our parents and have completed for the first Pack Meeting in the fall.

Scout Oath and Scout Law

On my honor
I will do my best
To do my duty to God
and my country and to 
Obey the Scout Law
To help other people, 
To keep myself physically 
Strong, mentally awake and 
Morally straight.

A Scout is:

Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful
Friendly, Courteous, Kind
Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty
Brave, Clean, and Reverent

Here is a Printable copy of our Law and Oath

Outdoor Code and Leave No Trace

The Outdoor Code seems like a new addition to scouting, but here is a page from the March 1954 Boys Life magazine detailing the Outdoor Code.  

Scouts have been "Conservation Minded" for quite a long time.

Practicing "Leave No Trace" means to take nothing except pictures and to leave nothing except footprints.  

Ticks

Ticks are parasitic arachnids that feed on their host animals by burying their head under the host skin feeding on the host's blood.  Some ticks can cause disease, some do not. Any tick bite requires some level of medical attention. The best method of dealing with ticks keep them off of you altogether. 

Here is a deer tick.  It is shown on a man's fingernail for scale. They are about the size of a head of a pin or maybe 1-2 mm.  This is the tick that causes Lyme's Disease.  The Deer Ticks body is black.  It is sometimes found because it looks like a moving freckle.

This is a Wood Tick.  They are considerably larger than the Deer Tick and are reddish brown in color. Even though these ticks do not cause illness, the area of the bite may become infected, especially if the entire tick is not removed.

This is an engorged deer tick.  You can just see the black head and legs.  The entire abdomen is engorged with blood from its host.  When engorged the tick is many times larger than its original size.

The Mayo Clinic has the following advice for taking care of a tick bite:

• Remove the tick promptly and carefully. Use tweezers to grasp the tick near its head or mouth and pull gently to remove the whole tick without crushing it. Other methods — such as applying petroleum jelly, fingernail polish, rubbing alcohol or a hot match — aren't recommended.
• If possible, seal the tick in a container. Put the container in a freezer. Your doctor may want to see the tick if you develop signs or symptoms of illness after a tick bite.
• Wash your hands with soap and water. Also wash the area around the tick bite.

When to seek emergency care

Call 911 or your local emergency number if you develop:

• A severe headache
• Difficulty breathing
• Paralysis
• Heart palpitations

When to contact your doctor

• You aren't able to completely remove the tick. The longer the tick remains attached to your skin, the greater your risk of getting a disease from it.
• The rash gets bigger. A small red bump may appear at the site of the tick bite. This is normal. But if it develops into a larger rash, perhaps with a bull's-eye pattern, it may indicate Lyme disease. Also consult your doctor if signs and symptoms disappear because you may still be at risk of the disease. Your risk of contracting a disease from a tick bite depends on where you live or travel to, how much time you spend outside in woody and grassy areas, and how well you protect yourself.
• You develop flu-like signs and symptoms. Fever, chills, fatigue, body aches and a headache may accompany the rash.
• You think the bite site is infected. Signs and symptoms include redness or oozing.

Patrol Name and Uniforms

With the transition to Webelos just ahead of us, we need to decide on a patrol patch and name.  We will also be deciding (individually) if we want to wear the blue uniform or if we want to switch to the tan shirt.  If your blue shirt still fits and is in good condition use that one. If you think you need a new shirt because you grew, you might consider the tan one. If you get a tan one now you can wear it right into the Boy Scouts.

As Webelos we will also be starting to learn the "Patrol Method" that is used in Boy Scouts.  While as Bears we belonged to a den, as Webelos we will be part of a Patrol.  Each Patrol chooses their individual patch and name.  

Here is a catalog of hundreds of patrol patches that we can choose from.  Try to pick a few and we will all vote on which one we will wear on our uniforms.

Patrol Patches