Sticks and Stones to earn Awards Remember what little boys are made of? Now Sticks and Stones can earn little boys academic recognition and awards if they are a member of an International brotherhood of boys ages 7 to 10 years old who meet regularly for fun activities and games. Can you guess the name of the organization and how sticks and stones are involved? In a prior article entitled "What's more important in a family? Kid's or Finances?" there was a reference to "a fantastic new resource for little boys around the world" that was "An interesting fun and educational resource for little boys." Well here's the information ... First let's be clear. In my opinion, there really aren't a lot of organizations that kids, and particularly little boys can belong to that are not only fun but also try to introduce the value of good citizenship, character development, and personal fitness. Of course, if you haven't guessed already, the organization I'm referring to here is Cub Scouting. You may be asking yourself, what does this have to do with Kid's Parties? If you are asking this, then my guess is you have never been involved with cub scouting! As a volunteer Den Leader and father of two boys who were Cub Scouts two decades ago, I can recall vividly what our weekly meetings were like. And, believe me, with the possible exception of Dinosaurs Rock Birthday Party Events, few other organized kids parties can stand up to the fun and challenge of a Cub Scout Den or Pack meeting. Since its origin, the Scouting program has been an educational experience concerned with values. In 1910, the first activities for Scouts were designed to build character, physical fitness, practical skills, and service. These elements were part of the original Cub Scout program and continue to be part of Cub Scouting today. For a quick summary of Cub Scouting take a look at http://www.scouting.org/factsheets/02-502.html. Now that you know the organization, let's move on to how sticks and stones can lead to academic recognition and awards for little boys. As part of the scouting experience, there are numerous awards that can be "earned" when a scout successfully fulfills the practical and academic requirements in various areas of interest. One of the topic areas for which a Cub Scout award is available is geology. The Cub Scout Academics Geology Belt Loop leading to the Cub Scout Academics Geology Pin are the sticks (when petrified) and stones awards. Come on ... you say, what's the deal here? What's all this about sticks and stones? So, let me ask you a question, tell me about: · Sedimentary Rock, · Igneous Rock and · Metamorphic Rock. · Are you stumped? Ask a 7 or 8 year old Cub Scout that has earned his "Geology Belt Loop" and I'm sure he can help you out. Do you realize that a 9 or 10 year old Cub Scout, that has earned his Cub Scout Academics Geology Pin, can show and tell you about 9 different rocks and minerals that illustrates the Moh's Hardness Scale for numbers 1 to 9? Would you be surprised to know that this Cub Scout can group rocks and minerals according to their physical properties with explanations of what each property means in terms of color, texture, luster, hardness, or crystal? Are you beginning to get the picture here? Cub Scouting is all about kids having fun while at the same time being challenged to set and achieve personal goals. The Geology Belt Loop and Pin awards are symbols of achievement in recognition of the effort needed to successfully accomplish a clearly defined goal. It's not the actual belt loop or pin award that is important. It's the feeling of accomplishment by the scout and the pride a parent feels watching the Cub Scout Awards Ceremony than is the real prize. We all know that sometimes getting to the prize can be very difficult and even frustrating. Remember, we're talking about 7 to 10 year olds here and the last thing we want to do is to ask them to succeed without the tools or resources needed to accomplish a task. This leads me to that fantastic new resource available for kids around the world interested in geology or dinosaur fossils, even if they are not Cub Scouts. It's a new online resource specifically designed to help meet all the requirements for the Cub Scout Academics Geology Belt Loop and Geology Pin at http://www.cubscoutgeology.com and the "Dinosaurs Rock Superstore". By the way, DinosaursRock(r) is also a great resource for teachers involved in earth science studies, after school programs and school assembly shows. Now that you know how "Sticks and Stones" can lead to earning an academic award in geology and where to find the resources to make the award possible, what are you going to do with this information? If you're a teacher or involved in scouting I think I know what your about to do. And, good for you! But I'm also certain there are plenty of parents, teachers and Cub Scout leaders who will never know about this unless you tell them. So here's my call to action! Print this, post it link to it. Give it the most distribution and visibility that you can because it's not the Sticks-N-Stones award for boys that can make a difference in a child's life. We know it's the exposure and effort to understand new things that is the real reward. Go ahead, you have permission, do what you can. Give an opportunity! It can't help but make you feel good too.