Scouting staffroom type thread on Mumsnet?

[PerplexedOnceMore]

I've seen one for Guides on Mumsnet and was wondering if there was anything similar for the Scouting Movement?
I'm fairly new in post and would appreciate a place to go for advice, share some hints and tips etc.

I'm in! Currently a Beavers lead volunteer and Group trustee (7 years and counting), was ADC for a few years too. Will catch up properly on the thread later.

It's coming up to Xmas (obviously) and we usually have a decorated tree at our local church's Christmas Tree festival. Problem is, this year I'm out of ideas for something the kids can make easily, that won't look crap. In the past we've done decorative knots, pompom gnome heads (with cut-up old socks for hats), coloured wool wrapped around cardboard stars. I avoid anything that involves glue or paint, as we have limited cleanup time due to Cubs coming in straight after.

I had wondered about Scandi-type heart decorations (like these https://www.redtedart.com/diy-woven-heart-scandinavian/) but having tried it myself, I worry they'll be too fiddly for 6-8 year olds. Their fine motor skills really aren't great!

Ideas gratefully received.

Thanks for the suggestion @TickingAlongNicely I will check them out.

@moggerhanger would something like this work?
https://www.gwensart.co.uk/repurposed-christmas-card-baubles/

I definitely recommend setting up squirrels.

We were in the very first cohort to start and are reaping the benefits of new volunteers.

We find many squirrels parents are happy to sign up and then move onthrough to other sections.

We've doubled our leader numbers in last 3 years and have opened second sections in cubs and scouts.

We've also germ able to open an active support unit with parents willing to put up tents and cook on camp and drive the minibus.

Those look intriguing! Thanks!

I was a Cub leader for 5 years.
I left for 18 months, the helped to start an Explorer Unit. DS(16) is an Explorer and a Young Leader, dd is a scout.

I'd like a " Scout Hut" topic.

@IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads running a Scout Hut, or building one? Our Group is in the process of fundraising and planning for the latter.

Hello everyone. I’m an assistant leader (or whatever the terminology is!) for Squirrels. One of my DC is in Cubs so I’m going on my first Cubs sleepover in a few days. When I signed up to volunteer I said I wouldn’t do sleepovers or day trips, but we did a great day trip over the summer, and now I’m actually looking forward to the sleepover.

Last year we made salt dough ginger bread men, which worked well. They had cinnamon and ginger in the dough mix, so smelled lovely as well. The cubs made them one week, took them home to dry , and brought them back the next week to decorate. They decorated them to look like themselves in cub uniform, and did use some paint, but they would have worked well with felt tips / sharpies instead.

Just remember the "sleep" bit is a rarity!
My record is when we finally got the Scouts to sleep at 2am for the Cubs to wake at 4.30...

I'm an ex cub leader and now an infrequent helper with Beavers. I love the events more than the meetings so am off on sleepover again next weekend and looking forward to it. The Beaver leader laughed at me last time when I booked the Monday off work afterwards but this isn't my first rodeo! I'm looking forward to the warmth a museum this time rather than the cold floor of the scout hut.

We're desperately short of leaders for Beavers so I may get roped in after Christmas it I'm trying to avoid it as DS really needs the independence from us. It's a struggle to get him through the door some weeks and I think he'll be too clingy if I'm there on a regular basis.

Our group celebrated 100 years of continuous Scouting this weekend. It took so much work but we had a wonderful day in the end.

Thats lovely you have records to know your history. We have leaders whove been involved for at least 30 years (our Cub leader won't say how long exactly but she's in her 70s!)

Thanks @TickingAlongNicely we're lucky that the people who've gone before have kept a really good archive of information. It is great to look back on.

I've learnt my lesson from last year and today bought a thermal vest to get through the parade on Sunday

Merino wool base layer for me! Goddess how I hate those cardboardy shirts though.

If one of your leaders was absent for a few weeks, without prior warning... would you expect the children or parents to mention it?

I'm a team leader in Squirrels and Beavers, I'm also in the county active support unit, a trustee of our group and am currently with another leader leading the group. Our GSL retired in the summer.
I help in other sections as I have a nights away permit along with an archery and air rifle permit and a tomahawk activity leader.
I've been involved since 2014. I joined my current group after Covid when my eldest joined Beavers.

I think it would depend on the structure of the group. If they were normally there every week for years without fail, then possibly yes. But by asking it could just be a casual thing in passing to someone involved in the group, rather than a big announcement.
This sounds awful, but I think people can be quite disengaged. As long as the group is still running pretty much the same as before, they may have noticed but not really fussed by it.

@PerplexedOnceMore I think that's it. Prior to this, the leader hadn't been known to miss a meeting in 15 years (except when the group was closed for Covid, and only the past 15 years is known). The kids asked the first couple of weeks but no other notice. The other leaders know the reasons obviously

I feel a bit for her really, she has been running this group for at least 30 years. But then the current kids don't know that. A few of the parents do as she was their Cub leader.

@TickingAlongNicely that's such a shame. I'd like to think it's because they don't want to pry, but who knows.

Hi, I’m looking for ideas for running a fun evening for my cubs for the last meeting of this term. They’ll have already had a games evening and a Christmas craft evening, so I’m looking for something a bit different to these.

I was thinking of doing an escape room type of evening - perhaps a few problems/activities to solve leading to clues to unlock a padlocked box of treasure. Has anyone ever done something similar?

The cubs who live in my house would love a taskmaster evening - build a snowman from marshmallows, decorate a young leader to be a tree type of thing.

Had an interesting evening... we are having to track down some information for a legal issue with our land, so we had to go through all the Committee meeting minutes from 1990 onwards. It was interesting seeing what had changed (a big discussion point was preparing for Girls joining the group!) And what hasn't... like inappropriate clothing (only it was shell suits and worries about flammability rather than a recent issue with girls wearing shorts shorter than scout shirts)

How many meetings do you get invited to/attend? e.g. planning, District, Trustee etc.
There are a lot more than I was expecting when I agreed to take on the role.