Fire!
Or perhaps that ought to be titled "Fire Station!"
We did our obligatory visit to the local Fire Protection District for the Cub Scouts this week. David thought it was awfully interesting, although I think he was more excited to see the other kids than anything else.
At the conclusion of the meeting, and while the Den Leader is passing out beads, David comes to me and says, "When can we have a Den Meeting at OUR house?" This is a truly terrifying request, but I'm quite brave, and I say to him, "Why don't you ask Mr. Smith?" So he approaches the Den Leader and asks, and the response is nothing short of exuberant. "We've been LOOKING for a volunteer for the December meeting!" he says. "I think we could hold the very next Den Meeting at your place, if you think that's OK." Of course now it's David's turn to be exuberant.
Yeah, well...you see...the trick is that not only do you host 10 wild little boys, and provide snacks for them...but you also have to come up with one activity to do with them. There's a theme, which you may or may not choose to follow. They haven't let me know what this is, but according to the various websites, it'll probably be Celebrations Around the World, which gags me. It's a look at the various holidays and customs that go on in December around the world, which means that most of them will be hyped on Christmas, and if I'm quite lucky we can get labeled as the "token diversity family." There's one in every organization, the one who's Odd Man Out, the weird specimen held up for curious inspection and subject to morbid and intense questioning. This is not a road that I'm comfortable going down.
So I'm trying to think of something else. It'll be cold, and winter, but it won't have the decency to snow. So I thought perhaps we could make those little craft snowmen I have all the stuff for, you know, with the cute hats and--
...uh...
Oh, I'm an idiot.
This violates several basic Boy Rules. It's a craft, and it's cute. From a great website on Scouting:
OK, OK, scrap the snowmen idea. What else could we do? Something that GOES. That DOES.
Oh! I know! (**waves hand in the air wildly**) Build catapults to launch snowballs?
Does anyone have any idea how hard it is to find plans to do just that?
I mean...I can find plans on how to make tiny catapults (or trebuchets, if you'd rather use that term) out of clothespins. And I can find YouTube footage of bored Army artillery men using shoulder-fired bazookas and...gasoline? Propane?...to launch a snowball 500 feet at 140 mph. But that's a tad much for a bunch of Cub Scouts, don't you think? (blink, blink.)
So. I don't know what else to do. My other options revolve around rockets, and most specifically, Alka-Seltzer tablets and film canisters.
Sigh. I REALLY want to do snowball trebuchets.
We did our obligatory visit to the local Fire Protection District for the Cub Scouts this week. David thought it was awfully interesting, although I think he was more excited to see the other kids than anything else.
At the conclusion of the meeting, and while the Den Leader is passing out beads, David comes to me and says, "When can we have a Den Meeting at OUR house?" This is a truly terrifying request, but I'm quite brave, and I say to him, "Why don't you ask Mr. Smith?" So he approaches the Den Leader and asks, and the response is nothing short of exuberant. "We've been LOOKING for a volunteer for the December meeting!" he says. "I think we could hold the very next Den Meeting at your place, if you think that's OK." Of course now it's David's turn to be exuberant.
Yeah, well...you see...the trick is that not only do you host 10 wild little boys, and provide snacks for them...but you also have to come up with one activity to do with them. There's a theme, which you may or may not choose to follow. They haven't let me know what this is, but according to the various websites, it'll probably be Celebrations Around the World, which gags me. It's a look at the various holidays and customs that go on in December around the world, which means that most of them will be hyped on Christmas, and if I'm quite lucky we can get labeled as the "token diversity family." There's one in every organization, the one who's Odd Man Out, the weird specimen held up for curious inspection and subject to morbid and intense questioning. This is not a road that I'm comfortable going down.
So I'm trying to think of something else. It'll be cold, and winter, but it won't have the decency to snow. So I thought perhaps we could make those little craft snowmen I have all the stuff for, you know, with the cute hats and--
...uh...
Oh, I'm an idiot.
This violates several basic Boy Rules. It's a craft, and it's cute. From a great website on Scouting:
Generally speaking, boys like certain kinds of projects. Here are some basic rules to help you choose projects that will go over well and contribute to their growth:
What will it do? Boys like to make things that do something. Pinewood derby cars, boats, kites and catapults do things. They run, fly, throw things or explode. Girls, at this age, are already aware of form and beauty - boys usually don't care. Watch boys build things. They spend most of their time playing with a half finished model, visualizing what it will do. What it looks like is low priority.
What is it made of? Wood is good. Large is better. Collect large cartons, scrap wood and other similar stuff. He needs to learn to manipulate material. Start thinking of the help you will need to handle all this - let parents know you will need them.
What is the process? Using tools is usually popular. Do things that are as messy as you can stand. Big painting projects, papier mache and cooking all fit this category. Dainty and cute are not going to make it here.
At this age, building projects help a boy in several ways: it stimulates his imagination, it develops hand-eye coordination, it enhances his ability to go from a mind’s eye view to a physical creation. Use projects to build den game equipment, scenery and costumes for skits, camping gear and den snacks.
Projects are activities where Cub Scouts make things that are useful: that is, the things fly, make a lot of noise, explode or help the Cubs do other neat things.
Do not confuse Projects with craft: making things that are pretty or cute.
Cub Scouts are not into pretty or cute.
OK, OK, scrap the snowmen idea. What else could we do? Something that GOES. That DOES.
Oh! I know! (**waves hand in the air wildly**) Build catapults to launch snowballs?
Does anyone have any idea how hard it is to find plans to do just that?
I mean...I can find plans on how to make tiny catapults (or trebuchets, if you'd rather use that term) out of clothespins. And I can find YouTube footage of bored Army artillery men using shoulder-fired bazookas and...gasoline? Propane?...to launch a snowball 500 feet at 140 mph. But that's a tad much for a bunch of Cub Scouts, don't you think? (blink, blink.)
So. I don't know what else to do. My other options revolve around rockets, and most specifically, Alka-Seltzer tablets and film canisters.
Sigh. I REALLY want to do snowball trebuchets.
posted by Kelly at
10:30 PM
1 Comments:
Hmm... I don't have boys. What I do have is two little girls, one of which will gladly take any "cutie patootie little girl craft" and turn it into a rat, a fish, a fishing pole, or a gadget for Spiderman's arsenal of things to get Doc Oct with. She would be the one to make me find a way to create a snowball catapult. The small version in my mind is using a deep spoon, a empty spool of tread, some rubber bands and a box. Using a "see saw" lever technique they could put the snowball on one end and slam the other end down with their hand, sending the snowball... hmm... probably straight up in the air. Well, maybe it's a good thing I don't have boys. What about snow volcanoes? Volcanoes are always fun.
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