Rex earned his Wolf rank. By which I mean, I, I earned his Wolf rank. I'm pretty proud of myself. Rex *I* finished the second week of June, two and a half months after Rex started Scouting. Due to some confusion with the computer system, his leader didn't give him his badge at the last pack meeting but she was kind enough to make an extra trip to the Scout office and then drive all the way out to our house to hand deliver it. She is a pretty awesome lady.
To sum it up: I really like Scouting. Several of my friends are somewhat anti-Church supported Scouting because there isn't an equivalent for the girls. I get it. The Scouting program is a more complete program than the Achievement Days for the girls. And the boys get a week long Scout camp. The Achievement Days girls get...nothing. At least in our Stake. It is unfair to say the least.
But I don't think boys should lose scouting. I think girls should gain scouting, which is basically what we've done in our family. Grant it, Rex is the only one who gets the belt loops and patches, but we all do all the activities and get to have the fun, which is why I like Scouting.
When Rex first join Cub Scouts in March, I went through his book on and the online requirements and realized, 1. this is really easy, and 2. this is stuff we should be doing anyway. So Scouting has made me a better parent. For example, one of Rex's belt loops required that he practice walking forward and backward on a balance beam. One day we were at the park and I noticed a balance beam. Instead of doing my regular sit on the bench and look at the sky, I played with Rex. We played a game of HORSE on the balance beam. It was fun. He also had to play catch, so we played catch later that day. He had to go on a camping trip, so Greg took the boys camping and Alice and I went on a date. Zora got left with a sitter, so I guess she did get left out of that Scouting adventure.
Another belt loop is called Germs Alive! (The exclamation point came from the Scout book not me; I'm anti-exclamation point.) We did the entire thing for family night in one night. We learned all about germs. We played with glittery slim to show what boogers do. We shook hands with chocolate syrup on them. We practiced washing our hands. My middle two especially needed this lesson. They still need it really. Now it's a good reference when my children are being disgusting and it offered a fun away to teach about germs. Thanks Cub Scouts.
Now Rex is working on some additional awards. By which I mean, I am working on some additional awards. I am the one going through all the requirements and having the kids do them with me without telling them what we're doing. Now we're working on the NOVA science award. We have to go to a place where science is explained or used so we're going to the Carolina Raptor Center and the BYU Planetarium. Then we have to talk about it and do a science experiment. Stuff I should be doing with my kids anyway.
So yes, I like Scouting, mostly because it reminds me to do stuff with my kids and gives me ideas of what to do with them. I've never been very good at just playing, but that's a whole other post.
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