Day Camp

[Sephrina]

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with a boy attending day camp with a unit in another council. So far, my son has wanted to do almost everything he can with cub scouts. Chances are he will be with his dad during day camp. I would like him to get involved there if possible, but I want it to be a positive experience. Has anyone else done this? And if so, was it a good experience? He will be a wolf at the time, he is currently a tiger (that has been waiting forever for cub scouts)

Thanks,

[Nuts4Scouts]

There should not be a problem. He will have to sign up thru the other council. They might request that he provide a copy of his registration card along with his medical form.

Since he is not attending with a unit, they might allow him to attend on his own if there will be enough adults attending. However, since he will not know anyone, and it really is unfair to simply drop him on folks who don't know him at all, it would be better all around if his dad signed up and went with him.

Your son would have someone he knows, the Day Camp would have another adult. Sounds like a win-win to me!

Do you know what their theme will be for the Day Camp? I know your son will have a BLAST!

[Sephrina]

I don't know what the theme would be, but I'm sure he would love it. (He loves anything scouts.) I still have to talk to dad on the subject, but I'm hopeful. Ultimately, it will be his decision and I never know what his reaction will be. He does seem open to the idea of scouts which is encouraging.

Any thoughts on trying to connect him with a pack near his dad's?

[Nuts4Scouts]

I guess it depends on how often he is there. If the majority of his time is spent with you, and it is mostly summers with dad, then I would not find a Pack for him by dad's. The logistics of which Pack would award what might get rather confusing too. All in all, I think in might be bettter to stick with one Pack.

However, there is nothing stopping him from taking his Handbook with him and working on stuff with his dad. They can also look into other council activities they might like to do. Many councils have Cub Overnighters during the year. They might also have Cub Fun days, or Council sponsored days at various places (ballpark, museum, etc) that dad and son can attend together.

Check out the council's calendar on their website to get an idea of what they do.

[Apache Bob]

Several years back I had two of my grandsons moving back to where I lived and they were going to miss their day camp. We moved them into a Pack here and used my address. They attended day camp and both had a ball. They finished the move later that summer.
I try to always think of the boys first and what is good for them

[Sephrina]

I was thinking connecting him with a pack might be a good way for him to make some friends in his dad's area. He's the only boy and much younger than the rest of the kids in the family. Having a few friends might make him more excited to go. I would definately work out the logistics of any awards prior to him starting and would expect to pay for any costs with him being associated with the pack.

[Nuts4Scouts]

If he is at his dad's a couple of times a month, or even every other month, signing him up with a Pack in the area is a good idea.

However, if he is there mainly during the summer, then that is another story. Most Cub Scout Packs do not hold weekly den meetings or monthly Pack meetings during the summer months. They do 1 or 2 Pack events (fishing derby, family camp, picnic, baseball game, swimming, etc) each month. Your son will basically be there only for the fun events and not the regular meetings. He will not really get to know any of the boys that well.

What might work better in that scenario, is if his DAD registers in a local Pack along with his son and volunteers with the Pack during the year. Then when he occasionally brings his son to Pack events during the summer they will not feel like outsiders.

Of course it comes down to what works best for your family.

[Westergaard]

I have seen other units attend other day camp offered by other Councils and some camps are set up with provisional units to group those individual scouts attending with their parents. They do this for scheduling events for groups rather than for each individual scout.
There isn't a camp event out there where you cannot attend another Council's event as long as you follow the registration proceedures and deadlines to register.
The key thing to remember is that once you register; you are agreeing to obey their rules and ways of doing things so don't think that all camps are the same and are run like the camps you have experienced on your home turf .
It is much easier to attend these camps as a unit as the boys will have several familiar faces but they still will have the opportunity to meet new friends at all scout events.

[Den5Pack457]

Wow, thanks to Karen (Sephrina) for asking this question. I've been contemplating the same thing when my Son goes back to Grandma's over the summer.

I sent him last summer, and they were able to complete a few Tiger Electives as well as a couple of Academic and Sports Belt Loops. They also visited a few historic sites and landmarks (St Louis area); but didn't persue camps.

Thanks for all of the great info!

One thing I had already considered... if he does go to a camp back home, an adult family member will accompany him. He'll already be over stimulated, so no sense in setting him loose on unsuspecting camp leaders. :)

[Westergaard]

I think that the bottom line is if a scout wishes to go to camp and there are no conflicts with dates and fees; then take the time to get the scout to camp where ever it may be as he will definately benefit from the experience and the chance of him making new friends is well worth the effort of getting him to camp.

[Den5Pack457]

A little follow-up on this topic. We've been back home (From Nebraska to Metro-East St Louis (IL); and have done a few things to keep our Tiger busy. And we're looking forward to his visit here in the summer. Hopefully, he can attend a camp here. :)

[Dan Pickett]

Welcome to the area. You can check with our local council and see when day camps are. The council for East St. Louis is www.okawvalley.com they offer severalday camps.

[Den5Pack457]

Thanks for the info. Luckily, my In-laws new house is just three miles from A & R Paints & Crafts in Troy. He was very helpful and actually conducts merit badge and activity classes at his store. So, we can't wait until the summer! :)