This is a compensated post from the Boy Scouts of America, in exchange for my HONEST thoughts and feelings on Scouting and what it means to my family.
Boy Scouts of America was a huge part of my husband’s childhood, so when we first met he expressed a strong desire to have at least one son that he could pass the experience on to. I was never involved in anything like this growing up so I didn’t quite get the hype. Little did we know we would be able to share the experience with not one but three boys.
My husband’s one regret was that he was “almost” an Eagle. Now every REAL Eagle will tell you that “almost” an Eagle is NOT an Eagle. My husband’s best friend is actually an Eagle and yes they met through scouting. They work together, so they get to see each other every day. Not many of us can say we are that close to a childhood friend.
We hope all of our boys stay committed and crossover from Cub Scouts into Boys Scouts. We hope they remain involved long enough to find that same type of friendship my husband has with this best friend. We also REALLY hope they earn that coveted Eagle.
I occasionally post about Scouts but due to so many kids in our Pack, it makes it difficult to share just how much fun we have while respecting everyone’s privacy. I reached out to a few of the families in my den (Yes, I co-lead a group of these amazing boys!) and was given permission to share their adorable faces with you today. These boys will (hopefully) be lifelong friends. They will grow together, learn together, and change into young men together. Maybe they will even work together as adults.
If you are new to Scouts you may not know exactly what we do and why my boys love it so much. The answer to why they love it is immediately obvious. They love the camping and they love the competitions.
The Cub Scout motto is to “Do your Best”, so while there are several competitions throughout the year, the boys are taught to have fun with the process and not to get wrapped up in winning. We have fun building the fastest car possible for pinewood derby, seeing how much air we have in our lungs for the rainwater regatta and hope the winds don’t carry away our rockets! I think they love all 3 competitions equally.
Now let’s talk a little about camping. This is by far my boys favorite part of scouts. Sure, we could camp without the BSA but all the great skills the Den leaders teach and the fabulous hands on experiences just can not be matched. My husband could, but just how many parents can teach their kids how to put up a tent independently, tie a multitude of knots and start a camp fire?
The special camps/sleepovers are just the icing on the cake! You can not camp on the USS Lexington on your own. You must be in a group. You can not camp at NASA without a group. These weekends will forever be a part of my boys’ childhood. They will tell their wives about them and wait for the day they get to do it all over again with their sons.
Now tell me, were YOU in Scouts?? Are your kids?
The boy scouts are such a wonderful organization. My oldest son has been a scout for 4 years.
The boy scouts are such a wonderful organization. My son was never really interested but I know many young boys are.
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Boy’s scouts is great for boys. I would love my sons to be part of boy’s scout.
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I am a Girl Scout (I have my Gold Award) and my husband is an Eagle Scout.
Scouting was such a huge part of our lives. Currently I volunteer with the Girl Scouts, but sadly, right now we cannot support the BSA. It looks like that may be changing very soon, which will be fabulous- because it is an organization my husband would very much like to support.
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I think the boy scouts are a great organization. I wish girl scouts was less about selling cookies.
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What a great organization! I was in a version for girls when I was a kid and I really enjoyed it.
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Aww such a sweet picture of your husband. Love old photos! The Boy Scouts are a fabulous organization that teaches many life skills that are so important!
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When I was younger my dads girlfriend’s son loved the boy scouts. I was going to put my oldest in but he had zero interest in it, which was super sad.
What a great thing for you to do! It sounds like your sons have a fun time!
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scouts is a life changing thing I can remember being in girl scouts my grands will be in scouts this year as well
My brothers were scouts and my parents were both scout leaders together since my Dad worked long hours in the farming months. So many fun and wonderful memories even for me just observing the different things that they did. Sounds like your sons are loving it.
Looks like they do all sorts of fun and educational things! My boys would enjoy this!
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My son was in the cub scouts when he was little but he never became a Boy Scout. The outdoor activities were always his favorite.
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I really want to put my son in Boy Scouts. We dont have a local chapter out in the boonies though.
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There is such a thing as a “Lone Scout” for just that reason. We have a Troop so I don’t know much about it, but he could check into it.
Ha, the cute scouts! We have a cub scout in the house too. He loves to go!
A great organization. They learn so many skills.
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Thank you for this post. I’ve been thinking about this for my son and now seem convinced it would really help him out on so many levels!
Boy Scouts is great for Boys growing up. It teaches so many skills needed for life and also helps to form lifelong bonds
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I love that your boys do scouts – I was in the girl scouts when I was younger and had the best time!
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I was a brownie once and one of the best trips I went on as a child was camping with my troop. It was also on that trip that I fell and got a black eye, but a great trip nonetheless;)
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