Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Learning about Japan! (4-26-08)


For this meeting, ADL M.F. helped our boys earn their Language & Culture Belt Loop by teaching us all about Japan!







It was a great lecture. We learned about the three Japanese writing systems, how to introduce ourselves and we even tried some wierd Japanese treats. (Dried fish yummies, anyone?)






After the lesson, we went into the gym to play some authentic Japanese games.

Our first game had the blindfolded "Oni" guessing who was behind him after we went around in a circle singing.




It was great fun. And you'd be surprised what cracker-jack guessers our guys are!







Our final game of the day was called "The Daruma Doll Fell Down."
It's kind of like a Japanese version of "Red Light, Green Light."







Needless to say, this too was a big hit. In fact, I think our guys learned a lot this time around.

If anything, some of our cubs got some mondo bragging-rights for eating the dried fish snacks!




Yum!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Next Den Meeting...


Konnichiwa!

Our next meeting will be this Saturday (4-26-08) at 10 am.
We will be meeting at the LDS Church building on Wasatch Drive and we will be working on our Language and Culture Belt Loop!

ADL M.F. is preparing a dynamite lesson on Japan for all our boys, so I hope to see all of them there.

See you there!

Friday, April 18, 2008

Pinewood Derby Madness...(4-18-08)

Pack 4684's Annual Pinewood Derby was an absolute success!

All the elements came together for a perfect event.

The leadership kept things running smoothly. (mostly)
The track crew kept racing operations at a quick and exciting pace.
The parents and families of our boys showed their support with plenty of cheering and applause.
And the boys? Well, the Cubs brought some beautiful car designs and plenty of enthusiasm to the races.
No doubt about it, this was one for the history books.

Take a look!

There was a ton of work that went into the PWD before race day.
My job was to rustle up the trophies.

Not too shabby, eh?





On race day, the independent race officials that the Cubmaster contracted set up this way-cool aluminum track that had a spring-loaded starting gate, a cushioned backstop and even an electronic finish line!
Oh yeah, high...tech.








And here was the ringmaster behind the whole circus. I never did catch his name, but he ran a really clean race and kept the crowd on the edge of their seats. Nicely done.









The most tedious part of the race was the weigh-in. This brought upon many last-minute adjustments, hot-gluing and hole-drilling. But in the end, everybody got to race.







Finally, it was time to race.
The boys would line up their cars at the gate...







...the audience would chant "3...2...1...GO!!!"











...and the cars would zip down the track to the cheers of the crowd.











Once at the finish line, the boys would pick up their cars and run them to the start for their next run.






I was particularly proud of my little guy. Moreso, I was very proud of the way the other Cubs cheered for him and gave their support.We were one big happy pack family.







One of my favorite parts of the night was watching the faces of the boys as their cars were blasting down the track...










Their looks of anticipation and concentration were priceless!










Finally, the races came to an end and four Cubs rose above the rest to claim the trophies...


4th Place went to M.S. of our very own East Village Den.








3rd Place went to C.L., another East Village Cub.








2nd Place went to M.G.P., yet another East Village Cub!








But a clean sweep wasn't in our Den's future, thanks to the efforts of K.H., who scooped up the 1st Place trophy along with the fastest time of the night. Very impressive!






Yeah, it was definitely a night to remember.
For me, the greatest pleasure I got out of the event was watching the boys not only talk about the values of sportsmanship, but live them as well. And while not everyone got a trophy, nobody went home disappointed either.
Doesn't matter. To me, they're all winners.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Pinewood Derby!!!




***ANNOUNCEMENT***


To all the Families and Friends of the East Village Den,
Tomorrow (Friday, April 18), our Pack will be holding its annual Pinewood Derby race!
It will be held at the LDS Church building on Wasatch Blvd.

Cars will be weighed in between 6:00 pm and 6:30.
Our first race starts at 6:30 pm sharp!

For those of you who have never attended a PWD before, it is a Cub Scouting tradition where the boys race gravity-powered cars they have carved themselves out of a block of wood.
It's always neat to see their creativity at work!
I hope to see you there.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

A Gathering of the Tribes....(4-12-08)

Our Den trip to Scout-O-Rama can be described in three words...TONS...OF...FUN.

There was so much to see and not enough time to see it.
That didn't stop us from trying though. ;-)





Not two steps from the main entrance and our guys earned the Map & Compass belt loop! (Special thanks to Pack 3803 for a great booth.)






They learned how to orient a map, how a compass works and even drew a map of their neighborhood.







Who wouldn't be up for a game after that?








After that, the Den broke up into three groups because there was no way we would ever get to do everything in such a big group!







That's how the Chief, V.Z., M.S. and I ended up exploring the expo.
We went to the Air Force display...








the model train table...








and the Lego spread (my personal favorite).







We also played some great games.
M.S. blasted his opponent on an obstacle course.







And the two of 'em went at it on a teeterboard joust.








What better way to cap off the expo than with lunch!
Dig in, chow-hounds!








Yep, Scout-O-Rama was a complete blast.
I can't wait till next year!!!

(I think we scared that poor kid in the background...whoops.)

Thursday, April 10, 2008

SCOUT-O-RAMA!!!

Hello Parents and Cubs!!!

This Saturday (4-12-08), our den will be participating in a field trip to the 2008 Scout-o-Rama Expo.

We will be meeting at the LDS church building on Wasatch Dr. at
9:00 am and convoying to the South Towne Expo Center in Sandy.
Once there, we'll use the morning to take in the exhibits and then promptly leave the center at high noon.
Two and a half hours should be enough, no? ;-)

As time is a factor for one of our transports, please show up on time for our departure.
Remember, we're meeting an hour earlier than usual.
This is sure to be a great experience.
I hope to see all our boys attend.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Feel the Burn!...(4-4-08)

Our first meeting of April, the den got together to exercise their bodies and learn all about what it means to be fit and develop healthy habits.






The ADL has us working pretty hard.
We started with a set of sit-ups...







...and then followed the circuit up with some jumping-jacks...








...push-ups...








...and finally wrapped up the circuit with a brisk run.

Once that was done, we did the whole thing all over again!






But it wasn't all work.
Once we were done exercising, we closed the meeting with a great game of Broomball!







All the kids participated.
We even had the chance to show our new scouts how the game was played.






I was proud of all my guys.
And while we put in a great workout that day, I hope that all our scouts will do their best and keep exercising every day.

Thanks go out to our ADL L.W. for setting up the training and putting the class together.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Working on Ranks...(3-29-08)


At our last meeting, the Den hunkered down and checked off some of their badge requirements.

The Bears worked on citizenship while the Wolves learned all about being safe at home.




Afterwards, the Den came together in the gym and started playing Crab Soccer...








But that was too hard. So we switched to regular soccer instead.









This went a lot better.
And our boys really gave it their all.










And as always, they had a great time.








Our next den meeting will be tomorrow (4-4-2008) at 6 pm.
We will be meeting at the LDS church building on Wasatch Drive.

We will be learning about physical fitness, exercising and wrap up the night with a little broomball!
So dress for physical activity and remember to bring a broom, OK?

See you then.