That's right, folks, I am now helping with Cub Scouts. I have been put in as the Cub Master, which is part of the reason why the blog posts are few and far between these days. Not only are we trying to sell our house, but the past couple of weeks have been planning Blue & Gold Banquets and organizing an annual pack plan.
Luckily for me, Cub Scouts does involve some fun stuff, even for leaders. Our pack has been struggling lately with attendance, earning awards, and being organized, so I promised to whip them into shape. The first thing I am doing to help encourage the boys is to make a "Cubby" award. If you're not familiar with Cub Scouts, a "Cubby" is an award that is given to one den each month for various accomplishments (attendance, achievements passed off, etc). I have seen some cute ones made using tin cans or old bowling pins. I thought cans sounded too noisy and sharp-edged and I couldn't find anything remotely like a bowling pin to use, so I came up with my own "Cubby."
Here he is:
I found this blue Build-A-Bear at my local Savers. Since he was in great shape and didn't smell weird, I splurged on him ($7). He was dressed in a Star Wars outfit (hence the "Star Wars" image on his foot), but I stripped that off and made him his own scout shirt instead!
To make the shirt, I used a pattern and tutorial from
Things of Cloth. I measured my bear's torso, neck, and arms, and modified the pattern so the shirt would fit. It was surprisingly simple to do.
For the patches on the shirt, I used felt. I did some simple stitching so that they looked more like the patches the boys wear on their shirts, and even included our pack number on the left sleeve.
So, each month at pack meeting, this guy (along with a sugary treat) will be awarded to one of our dens. Cubby gets to hang out with that den throughout the month, then he is passed on to the next month's winners.
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