March 1st Den Meeting at 5pm at Gilbert Fire Station!

Our next Den Meeting is TOMORROW, March 1st, from 5pm to 6pm at Gilbert Fire Station #1.

The station is located at 2730 E. Williams Field Road. A map of Gilbert's Fire Stations can be found here:

http://www.gilbertaz.gov/areamaps/firestations.cfm.

We will be joined by Tiger Den 13. I currently have the following Scouts who have RSVP'd:

Daniel and Benjamin

Tucker and Carson

Justin and Josh

Connor N. and Brayden N.

Tristan and Brayden A.

Matthew and Michael

Cayman and Caleb

Conner H.

Nathan

Trent

Please RSVP to tkeller@ij.org if you are not on this list and plan to make the tour.

The limit on the tour is 30 people. As it stands, we are under that maximum number, but it still would not hurt to carpool to limit the number of adults! I can take up to four additional Scouts in my minivan, so let me know if I can pick up your Scout!

Officially Bears!!

Good food, great friends, goofy boys, and generous parents made for a wonderful Blue and Gold celebration. Harlan and I are so proud of the Bears in Den 11 and in awe of the dedication of all the parents. The boys are now officially BEARS and ready to advance to Webelos. We've still got Den Meetings and Pack Meetings through the Spring and we intend to make them action packed, interesting, and educational. We love our Scouts!

No Den Meeting Tonight!

Our next Den Meeting will be on March 1 at Gilbert Fire Station #1, from 5pm to 6pm.

And don't forget the Blue and Gold ceremony this Saturday, Feb. 27 from 1pm to 4pm!

March 1st Den Meeting: 5pm-6pm at Gilbert Fire Station

Our next Den Meeting is on March 1st and it is going to be a bit earlier than usual and at a different location: 5pm to 6pm at Gilbert Fire Station #1. This is a beautiful fire station and the tour should be a lot of fun.

The station is located at 2730 E. Williams Field Road. A map of Gilbert's Fire Stations can be found here:

http://www.gilbertaz.gov/areamaps/firestations.cfm.

We will be joining Tiger Den 13, which means we may have as many as 24 Scouts. Please RSVP to tkeller@ij.org as soon as you know if you'll be able to make the tour.

The limit on the tour is 30 people. It would be very helpful if we could carpool to limit the number of adults! I can take up to four additional scouts in my minivan, so let me know if I can pick up your Scout!

No Den Meeting Tonight! (Feb. 15)!

Response Needed: Archery Belt Loop Anybody?

Any budding Robin Hoods out there? The Archery Belt Loop may only be earned at an official Boy Scout ranch. The Heard Scout Pueblo in Phoenix is just such a place. Would anybody be interested in setting up a morning session (9am to noon) on Saturday, March 27, 2010 to go to the ol' pueblo as a Den and earn our Archery Belt Loops? If you are interested, shoot me an e-mail (tkeller@ij.org). If there is a critical mass of interested Scouts, I'll call the Council and make a reservation.

What's On The Horizon?

Many of you have asked me: What do Scouts do after they earn their Bear Rank? Do we still have Den Meetings? To answer your first question: yes. That is me on Horizon (a local public affairs program on PBS, Channel 8). As for your other questions: We will have a ton of fun and continue to meet as Dens earning electives toward Arrow Points until summer arrives. Once summer arrives, we'll take a break from our Den Meetings, but get together at least once a month for fun activities. Last summer we played laser tag, went indoor rock climbing, and took cooking classes--who knows what fun things we'll find to do this summer?? But, as for our upcoming Den Meetings, here are some of the things Harlan and I hope to accomplish:

1. Earn Our Whittling Chip card. Don't know what a Whittling Chip card is? Check out Requirement 19d (p. 150 of the Bear Handbook).

2. Build a simple generator.

3. Take a field trip to an airport.

4. Take a field trip to a television station.

5. Take a field trip to a fire station.

6. Take a field trip to the military museum at Papago Park.

7. Earn a couple of belt loops.

We've also got some fun games and activities for the nights we're at the church. We'll do our best to offer carpool opportunities to the Field Trips. Once we've got dates confirmed we'll send them out. Also, it is possible one or more of these things may fall through the cracks or not come together. If that happens, Harlan and I will do our best to make sure we do them as Weblos Scouts. You are all planning to come back as Weblos, right?!

No Running In Church

Parents, we have been a little slack in enforcing the No Running in Church rule. Regrettably, one of our Tiger Scouts was knocked momentarily unconscious during a running incident this evening. Last we heard he was doing well, but please say a prayer for him (God knows his name, so the prayers are appreciated). Thanks in advance for helping us keep our Scouts safe.

An Explosive Night

The Scouts had a BLAST creating two different types of homemade volcanoes tonight. This fun activity actually completes Requirements 21(d) - build a model of a mountain. The boys also wrapped up their knot tying exercises tonight. If your Scout was present for both knot tying sessions, he has completed Requirement 22a and 22b (but they could all use some more practice with the knot tying skills). You might also consider looking for a knot tying card with more detailed "how to" instructions. These are available at sporting goods stores like Bass Pro and REI. We wrapped up our evening by playing charades (which completes Requirement 17b).

If your Scout has already earned his Bear Rank, these Requirements count toward Arrow Points (which may be sewn onto their uniforms). Every ten Requirements equals one Arrow Point. You may record these Requirements on page 290 (the very last page of the Bear Handbook).

When Is It Okay To Be A Show Off?

It was great to see the boys showing off their Pinewood Derby cars! As I looked over the various cars, I was again struck at how their designs reflected their individual personalities. I would love to post more pics from the evening, but my camera was broken so I'm relying on ya'll to send me more pictures! Thanks to Earle Glazier's 9-year-old daughter Cheyanne for these wonderful pictures.

Silent Auction Baskets!

Greetings Bear Families! Joanna Gohman (Micah's mom) was going to coordinate the Bear Den 11 Silent Auction Baskets. Sadly, her family has experienced a tragedy and they will be out of town for several weeks. So, I will be heading up this effort! Joanna was able to get me the money before leaving town--thank you all for your contributions!! I will be putting together two baskets for our den. The first will be an army/camo/GI Joe/military themed basket and the second will be a family fun/games basket. I will buy most of the items with the contribution money. However, if any of you have any items around the house that you would want to contribute, that would be great!! I'm NOT asking anyone to do any shopping or spend any money, but if you have a duplicate game in the closet a fun gift card you won't be using or any camo/army items (MREs would be awesome, anything authentically military, or a helmet to use as our basket). The categories are broad, so think of what you might be wanting to get rid of . . . If you have anything to contribute, please bring it to Tim at the next Den Meeting--Monday February 8 at 6:30pm. Thank you!!