Being Good Citizens

We are down a boy with Jacob moving on to Webelos...but we are still rocking through our achievements!

We had a busy night with these Bears. With the 4th of July just around the corner, we focused on Achievement 3: What Makes America Special.

We started out by assembling and gluing assignments into the journal books we made last week. One of the things we did while the boys were painting their patriotic picture frames (elective 9a), was to discuss some famous Americans and some of the things that they did to improve our lives (Achievement 3b). We talked about Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ford, Martin Luther King, Jr, and Laura Ingalls Wilder. Casper reminded us that Harriet Tubman was also a great American!

America would have been a very different place if President Lincoln hadn't been assassinated in 1865. It took another 100 years for all people to have the same rights and privileges of citizenship that Lincoln aspired and was working towards.

Today we remember that great event due to great people, like Martin Luther King, Jr, who used nonviolent means to promote respect and fairness for all. America is FULL of great examples, both past and present. The story of greatness is still being written, because great people inspire us every day. America's greatest resource is her people and principles!

We talked about one of the reasons that we JOURNAL is to record history as it happens. In the case of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the famous books that she wrote were memoirs and made from a collection of stories of her childhood on the frontiers of North Dakota and Minnesota. If she hadn't wanted to write those things down, they would forever be lost. And that would be very sad because look at the millions of people who have loved reading the Little House on the Prairie books over the last 50-60 years! The TV series in the 70's brought Laura Ingalls more fame than she could have ever imagined! Each of the boys has an assignment to keep a journal for 2 weeks. They glued reminders and prompts into their books to help this get completed (Achievement 8f).

Another great American that we learned about was Henry Ford. He persevered and kept improving his Model cars, until he was able to make one so efficiently as to make it affordable enough that they soon covered the whole nation and the horse and buggy soon became a memory (Achievement 3b).

We also had a great discussion on what it means to be a Good Citizen. Citizenship is earned through birth, but we choose what kind of individual and citizen we want to be. We talked about men and women who serve their country in the armed forces. And we also talked about the "ordinary people" who serve our country. Police officers, fire fighters, doctors, teachers, and watchful friends and neighbors. Being a responsible citizen is a privilege we all share. Being mindful of our citizenship helps us to make better choices day to day (Achievement 3j).

The boys filled in the information about their home state on one of the pages in their journal. That completed Achievement 3e. They also wrote a Thank You card to Brother Rob Wright for coming and sharing his experiences as a cub scout (Achievement 18e).

After our crafty frames (we used a paintbrush [a tool] to finish Achievement 20c), the boys assembled their own red, white, and blue treats (Achievement 9b) by layering strawberries, cool whip, and blueberries. All in all--a highly productive night!!

Remember--next week is PACK MEETING. It starts at 6:30pm on Tuesday, June 26th. We are having a BICYCLE RODEO. Please bring bikes and helmets for the safety class and obstacle course! If you are in need of a helmet--the boys can be fitted and given a safety helmet at the SCOPE office on the corner of Wellesley and Harvard on Friday mornings--free of charge.

Homework: Answer the questions in the journals and sign them off in the Bear book. Make sure the boys keep their journal for 2 weeks and we'll be able to sign off Achievement 8f.