BSA Troop 196, Milford, CT

At a circus, as a boy, I saw that a baby elephant was chained close to its mother with a metal ring around its ankle and a very heavy chain to a pole. The mother, though, had only a rope from her ankle to a pole. I wondered why they were tied up so differently.

I was told that the older elephants learned long ago as babies that they can not break free so they no longer try, even though the flimsy rope would be simple to break now. The baby doesn’t know that yet so it needs to be chained securely. Over time, the baby will give up and stop trying.

If you find that you fail to do something, don’t assume you’ll never be able to do it. Try it again tomorrow or next week. Don’t be held back any imaginary chains that stopped you when you were little, but you can now easily break.

Credit: https://boyscouttrail.com/content/minute/elephant_chains-1765.asp

I found this online and thought I would share it:

110 Scout activities for individuals and zoom distanced groups to present to your PLC or to use in patrol meetings. Now go get your hands dirty so you can wash them again. 

Practice your knots – maybe start a ‘Knot of the Month’
Practice your lashings
Invent and build a new camp gadget out of natural materials
Have a Yo-Yo trick night
Help someone with a difficult rank requirement
Check out a piece of patrol cast iron, clean it, lightly season it and return it
Review Outdoor Cookbooks – look for something new to eat or a new way to cook on camping trips
Make a 5-minute outdoor meal and eat it
Build a no-match fire
Practice your compass and map reading skills
Exercise – have a push-up and sit-up contest
Work on a Patrol Cheer
Go on a Find-It Hike in the woods – see who can find the ugliest stick, the roundest rock, the biggest leaf, etc
Perform a ‘quickie’ service project for your CO – rake leaves, pickup trash, etc
Come up with a list of a dozen trip ideas for the Troop to consider in the future
With a fieldguide in hand, go on a hike and identify 10 plants and 10 traces of animals
Learn a new scout song to sing for the Troop
Work on a merit badge together
Learn how to juggle
Build a shelter out of natural materials
Make a first aid kit
Make a survival kit
Read Boys Life magazine
Work on first aid wrappings and carries
Make your own rope
Build and fly kites
Go on a stargaze – identify constellations
Make a horror film – show it at a Troop meeting
Make a fingerprint card – try to lift fingerprints from a glass
Make sculptures with modeling clay
Do soap carvings
Learn to sew patches on your uniform
Build birdhouses and hang them in the woods
Do a pressed leaf collection
Put together a puppet show for the Troop
Leather stamp a belt or keychain
Write letters to military stationed overseas
Learn how to change a tire on a car
Learn to sharpen an ax and/or knife
Come up with a secret Patrol code and use it for messages
Make a Turk’s Head neckerchief slide
Tie a Monkey’s Fist knot
Whittle
Put together shoebox care packages for a local charity
Make a scout recruiting poster
Practice magic tricks – give a magic show for the Troop
Weave a basket
Learn the Scout Law in sign language
Make a nice walking stick – debark, sand, carve, stain, polyurethane
Learn Morse code – practice it using flashlights
Learn how to say ‘hello’ in 12 languages
Learn and practice semaphore
Make candles
Learn to build a rescue signal on the ground to be spotted from an airplane
Make a fuzz-stick – use it to start a fire
Go on a mini safari – rope off an area 3’x 3’ and identify as many living organisms as you can
Build a friction lock bridge 
Play a round of Frisbee golf
Grow a plant from seeds – take a picture of it each week over a year
Make a fishing rod out of natural materials – use it on the next trip
Make a slingshot
Vacuum the Scoutmaster’s car…jk glad you’re still reading
Create or add to a Patrol Scrapbook to be passed on to future generations
Pack the perfect pack for a backpacking trip
Learn how to check tire pressure, oil, transmission fluid, washer fluid, and air filter on a car
Improve local trails and bike paths
Make and practice hanging a bear bag
Lash together a ladder
Design an orienteering course at the local park for the Troop to use
Learn how to dance the ‘Electric Slide’
Go sledding (with or without snow)
Learn and play a new card game
Design and build a ceremony prop for the Troop
Invite a scout from another country to join your virtual meeting. 
Write an article for the newsletter or boy’s life
Do some tin punch art
Make a new patrol chuckbox – paint your existing chuckboxes
Do some fast and easy (and nonexplosive) science experiments
Create an obstacle course for the Troop to try
Make up a brand new original game for the whole Troop to play
Carve and paint a Patrol totem pole from a log
Build a model
Celebrate a patrol members birthday
Seam seal patrol tents
Scrub the Patrol cookware – again and again, and again
Design a patrol flag
Make a sit & reach box for a Personal Fitness merit badge counselor
Create string artwork
Study the Leave No Trace principles
Burn the Scout Promise into wood
Carve and decorate Patrol neckerchief slides
Carve and paint a wood decoy
Practice building different fire lays – chimney, teepee, a-frame, friendship
Have a guest speaker on some topic of interest or invite a community member to your virtual meeting
Make archery stands out of PVC pipe
Learn how to play a tune on a harmonica
Perform a safety inspection of your home
Make hot air balloons out of trash bags, string and candles
Plant a tree to honor someone special
Make and bury a time capsule
Find some poison ivy, sumac and oak
Refresh your CPR skills
Read and discuss the meaning of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution
Have a show & tell of a collection you have made
Brew your own root beer
Learn to change oil and sparkplugs of your lawnmower
Study and take the written driver’s test for your state
Plan a 10-mile hike and do it
Work with an Eagle Scout candidate on his/her project
Keep calm and scout on!

Cooking

PDF of the workbook we’ve been using as a reference.
BSA requirements page for Cooking

Parts covered already:
#1 – completed (4/1 #1E, 4/22 #1A-D)
#2 B, E – completed (4/1)
#3 A-C (homework from 4/8/2020)
#5 A (homework assigned 4/15/2020)
#7 – completed (5/6)
#4A and 6 A – (homework assigned 5/6)
#4, 5 and 6 are all meal planning, prep, cooking and review – at home, at camp (or at home during the “stay at home”) and on the trail. Aspects of these can all be done at home.

I was told that some of the calorie info on the MyPlate.gov site isn’t easy to find, so I found this other resource: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov (for example, chicken information)

CyberChip

Grades 6-8 requirements
Grades 9-12 requirements

Videos:
Friend or Fake
Post to be private
Split Decisions
Two Kinds of Stupid

While we are unable to meet in person, we are able to meet online and help each other with Merit Badges and advancements.

To “open” a blue card, contact Mr. Gerstein and we will have a quick chat and then I’ll create a card for you. Track progress at home with your family and notify me when you complete specific items – I may ask questions or ask for specific details, just like any MB Counselor.

During this time, we suggest working on:
Cooking BSA Req. MB
Personal Fitness BSA Req. MB

Other topical MB’s:
Citizenship in the World BSA Req. MB
Public Health BSA Req. MB

Right now, we have counselors for the following MB:

American Business, Athletics, Camping, Chemistry, Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation, Citizenship in the World, Coin Collecting, Collections, Communications, Cooking, Digital Technology, Disabilities Awareness, Emergency Preparedness, Family Life, Hiking, Journalism, Moviemaking, Personal Fitness, Personal Management, Pets, Pioneering, Plumbing, Safety, “Signs, Signals, and Codes”, Sports, Wilderness Survival