If you’re a new parent or leader in the Boy Scout program and want a thorough overview of Boy Scouts, this book has it all.

Obligatory disclaimer: author Jeremy Reed (who wrote Beginning Boy Scouts along with wife Heather Reed) sent me a copy of the book to review, however I’ve received no compensation and the following opinion is my own. (I don’t understand why no one includes chocolate when they send me books. It’s very strange.)

Anyway, Beginning Boy Scouts covers just about everything you’d want to know about the Boy Scout program, and is geared specifically for new parents and new leaders. If you find the program confusing at times, this book can help set you straight.

One of the best chapters (which makes the entire book a worthwhile investment for parents) is chapter 10, “Setting Goals and Keeping Track.” Reed and Reed give great advice for getting boys started in the program, motivating older boys who’ve lost interest, and keeping track of boys’ achievements. In a very America-Jane-like way, the authors have a handy list of requirements leading to Eagle which take awhile to complete (i.e. the 30-day fitness tests for the Tenderfoot rank, the 90-day log of chores done at home for the Family Life merit badge, and so on). It got my little list-making self a tingling.

Want more lists? The camping essentials checklists in chapter 11 ought to do you good.

For non-LDS parents (or LDS parents considering placing their son in a troop outside their ward), there’s a helpful checklist of things to look for in a successful troop. While there isn’t necessarily a lot of explanation about why these things are important, I’ll add my voice of experience to theirs and encourage novice parents to use the list to their advantage. I’ve always been of the mind that a program run well is an incredible asset for young men, while a poorly-run program is too often a waste of everyone’s time, if not downright detrimental.

For new scout leaders, there is a wealth of information in this book that will make your transition into the leadership role much more comfortable. For LDS leaders who may feel overwhelmed, un-informed, and under-supported in their new calling, this book is a quick, excellent overview of those things you need to know (which someone may or may not have thought to tell you). I especially appreciated the chapter about the Patrol Method, which is BSA-speak for “the youth are in charge.”

It wouldn’t hurt parents to read that chapter either. Scout troops function so much better when parents understand the program.

I don’t know if the authors are LDS, but there are several interjections about the distinctiveness of the LDS Scouting program which Mormon parents and leaders will find helpful. However, this book is by no means limited to an LDS audience, as the authors cover the full breadth of the program (including elements that don’t apply to LDS readers) and inclusively mention other organizations that sponsor high numbers of scout troops (the LDS Church, United Methodist Church, and Catholic Church are the top three supporters).

The last chapter walks parents and leaders through the steps to earn the rank of Eagle Scout. It’s a worthwhile read, just be aware that BSA recently modified some of the requirements for the Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project.

My only issue with this book is I think it would’ve benefited from professional editorial guidance. Even so, it’s a good resource for new parents or new leaders in the Boy Scout program.

In fact, it really seems a pity not to pass this book along to someone who could use it. Since no one in my immediate circle is an obvious recipient (whereas I eagerly shared We the People with my homeschooling friend) I decided this is the perfect opportunity for… (drum roll please)

… America Jane’s First Giveaway!

Ooooooh! Aaaaah!

Okay, now I’m just being silly. Stay tuned for more details. Meanwhile, if you can’t wait to get your hands on your own copy of Beginning Boy Scouts, you can order it online here.

UPDATE: See details about my first Giveaway HERE!

For all you homeschooling parents, or for parents wanting to enrich your child’s education, Homeschool Legacy offers once-a-week unit studies which (wouldn’t you know it?) knock off Boy Scout Merit Badge requirements along the way.

I’m all about efficiency, so I thought that was a great idea. Sharon Gibson of Homeschool Legacy very kindly sent me the unit of my choice to review (I choose “We the People: Getting to Know Your Constitution”). I’ve received no other compensation, coercive threats, bribes, or chocolate, and give you my honest opinion. Keep in mind, however, I am not a homeschooling parent.

I found the material well-organized and consistent. Each unit is divided by week. Each week has a list of library reading/video options which relate to that week’s subject matter along with an (often short) list of supplies needed for the week. The week’s study always includes “Daily Activities” (usually consisting of reading relevant material), and a weekly “Family Devotional” relating the week’s topic to Biblical themes.

These units were designed to be used just once a week, but sometimes the material/activities seemed an awful lot to cover in one day. That may just be my inexperience talking, though.

I liked the variety of the format from week to week. One week may have an art appreciation activity, another may have a drama activity, while another may have a “copy and cut” game like “Preamble Scramble.”

These units are designed to be user-friendly and prep free. A huge amount of planning and prep work has gone into these books. What you’ll find is a fully-designed series of lessons that even include instruction scripts and question prompts. Pretty cool.

I don’t think “no prep” means “go into it blind,” however. I would advise parents wanting to use these books to go over the instruction scripts ahead of time, before starting the unit. I would either delete or be prepared to explain items mentioned in the instruction (for example, there is passing mention made of things such as Cicero’s Principles of the Natural Law, and the Iroquois Confederacy). There may be certain things you want to cover in more depth, possibly before starting the unit.

You definitely want to pay attention to the “timeline” activities, as dates for events and/or people are not always provided. (This was the one oversight I saw, in terms of prep work being done for you.)

There are lots of cool extras sprinkled throughout the lessons, including “Stump Your Dad Trivia” and a link to see Howard Chandler Christy’s acclaimed painting, Signing of the Constitution. (Said link also provides a neat “scroll over” feature which names the signers shown in the painting, and gives more information about the signer if you click on his name.)

Being the art lover I am, I would flesh out her art appreciation activities a bit more, but I think her suggestions make for a great starting point. Flexibility in your own curriculum is one of the beauties of homeschooling. Given that, I think her units can be used however parents please, either as a framework for customizing their instruction, or as a “ready to go” unit parents can follow page by page and week by week.

I chose this particular unit to review because I wanted to see how she incorporated the requirements for the Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge, one which I’ve seen “milled out” in a rather disappointing way. This is an Eagle-required badge for a reason. When properly done, I think young men earning this badge gain a deeper respect for their country and feel an increased measure of responsibility toward their own country. When improperly done, it is a mind-numbing experience beginning with mindlessly filling out a workbook and ending with receiving a merit badge that means nothing to the recipient.

If you want your young man to experience the former, the We the People unit study is not a bad way to go.

Here are the merit badges you can earn via her unit studies, as of this writing:

Birds of a Feather unit fulfills requirements for the Bird Study merit badge.

Forest for the Trees unit fulfills requirements for the Forestry merit badge.

Horsing Around unit fulfills requirements for the Horsemanship merit badge.

Weather on the Move unit fulfills most of the requirements for the Weather merit badge.

Knights and Nobles unit fulfills requirements for the Art merit badge. (Interesting! Makes me wish I’d checked it out!)

Native America unit fulfills requirements for the Indian Lore merit badge.

Early Settlers unit fulfills requirements for the Reading merit badge.

Revolutionary Ideas: the Story of the American Revolution unit fulfills most of the requirements for the American Heritage merit badge.

We the People: Getting to Know Your Constitution unit fulfills requirements for the Citizenship in the Nation merit badge.

Christmas Comes to America unit fulfills requirements for the Music merit badge.

After my children’s father passed away a few months ago, a friend (who had lost her baby just weeks before) gave us this book. What a blessing it’s turned out to be, as this book has become part of the routine of my children’s grieving and healing.

In order not to compete with content for which I’ve been paid to write, you can read my full review of this book on the wonderful website Summit Series for Families.

I will share one thing I did not include in my other review. When I first introduced this book to my children it was individually, one-on-one, so they were able to read and discuss the book privately with me. I didn’t plan it this way, but this is what happened. I found it interesting that when I was done reading to each of my children for the first time, they each went back to look at the same page: the pots page.

It’s a very simple illustration at first glance. A line of pots, ranging in size order from tiny to huge, each marked with labels identifying different levels of grief. The smallest pot says “Not Fair.” Middle pots say “Big Disappointment” and “Profound Loss”, among other things. The largest declares, “More Than I Can Bear.”

My children like to point out which pot they needed that day. Too often they pick the largest, although the last week or two they point to middle-sized pots. But this ritual of picking the pot seems to help them.

Above the pots is a shelf with several books, each with a different word on the spine representing the different kinds of loss a person may be grieving: “Child Died,” “Suicide,” “Divorce,” “House Fire,” and “Flunked Geometry” are among the many options. My children like to point to the books which apply to them.

It’s a book which is helpful, comforting, and, in many ways, lovely. I encourage you to read more about it if you or someone you know is going through a loss.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank those who have been patient and supportive as our family has gone through this difficult time, including those who only know me via this blog. Your long awaited reviews and updates are forthcoming. Thank you for your understanding.

My heart has a special place for Greg Mortenson and his work in Afghanistan and Pakistan. His amazing journey from mountaineer to international philanthropist is outlined in the famous, inspiring book Three Cups of Tea.

From the website:

In 1993 Mortenson was descending from his failed attempt to reach the peak of K2. Exhausted and disoriented, he wandered away from his group into the most desolate reaches of northern Pakistan. Alone, without food, water, or shelter he stumbled into an impoverished Pakistani village where he was nursed back to health.

While recovering he observed the village’s 84 children sitting outdoors, scratching their lessons in the dirt with sticks. The village was so poor that it could not afford the $1-a-day salary to hire a teacher. When he left the village, he promised that he would return to build them a school. From that rash, heartfelt promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time.

If you haven’t read it, you must. It’ll make you want to do something to help.

If your kids haven’t read one of the youth editions, encourage them or make it a family event and read it to them yourself. It’ll make them want to do something to help.

Too often we read about something like this, wish we could help, and then do nothing because we don’t know what to do.

As you may have guessed, I have a suggestion.

The Pennies for Peace campaign is an excellent way for our youth to truly help some of God’s neediest children. It’s a way to raise awareness of the needs of others and encourage gratitude for the blessings we have here. It’s a way to empower kids to understand that they can make a difference in the lives of others. It’s something everyone can get in on, even those who only have pennies to give.

This idea is flexible and can be made to fit the kind of service project you’re looking for. Primary kids working on their Faith in God can run a small and simple campaign. Youth working on Personal Progress, Duty to God or Scouting awards can coordinate a campaign on a much larger scale.

The Pennies to Peace website has tips and everything you need to get started, from printable stickers to decorate your donation jars to letter templates for parents and Girls Education Fact Sheets. And it’s all free.

If your son or daughter decides to do this, please drop me a line and let me know how it went.

LDS and Scouting Service Project Requirements:

PLEASE NOTE: The Pennies for Peace program may NOT be used for the Eagle Scout award because fund-raising projects are not permitted for that award.

Faith in God – Serving Others requirement #7: “Plan and hold a parent-child activity, such as a dinner, picnic, hike, day trip, or service project.”  This idea may also be used for requirement #10: “Children may also plan and complete their own activity to serve others. ”

Personal Progress – Good Works Value requirement #7, which involves giving three hours of service outside your home. Also, this could be used for the Good Works Value Project which requires at least 10 hours of service and can additionally include involving other young women.

All three levels of the new Duty to God program (Deacon, Teacher, Priest) include requirements to plan and carry out service, both individually and with the quorum.

The Star and Life ranks of the Boy Scout program each require service projects totaling at least six hours of work. Again, please note you may NOT use fund-raising service projects for the Eagle Scout Award.

Venturing – Religious Life Bronze Award requirement #3: “Plan and lead a service project such as helping to build a Habitat for Humanity house, participating in a community cleanup project, or taking on a fix-up project for a nursing home or nursery.”

A Pennies for Peace campaign could be used to fulfill the service to others requirement for the Venturing Gold Award.

Heroes of the Environment: True Stories of People Who are Helping to Protect the Planet, by Harriet Rohmer

My Wolf scout and I sat down together to read stories from this book, in order to fulfill the last requirement he needed to earn his Wolf badge. (Wolf scout requirement 7e: “With an adult, find three stories that tell how people are protecting our world. Read and discuss them together.”)

If you’re looking for one-stop shopping to fulfill this requirement, this is the book for you. Twelve stories aimed at young readers bring to life a variety of issues facing human beings on this planet, and Earth-friendly ways to remedy those issues.

We read about a woman who brought solar power to remote areas of the Hopi Indian Reservation in Arizona. She had been raised on the reservation herself and lived without electricity until she was in the fourth grade.

We read about a Champion Masked Wrestler from Mexico who used his fame for selfless purposes. He helped with a campaign to clean up the Tijuana River – badly polluted with sewage, pollution from factories, and garbage from local residents – which runs right through town. He got the children involved, encouraging them to spread the word to their parents and other adults to keep the river clean.

We learned about an ingenious method of purifying sewer water using nothing but plants and natural bacteria. (My son was very impressed by this!) Without using chemicals or tons of electricity, sewer water becomes clean enough to drink. (Though few people would want to. Ick.) The inventor built his “eco-machine” in the form of a water sculpture, installed at a school in Canada, so students could watch as their own water got recycled. What he did for a village in China was pretty amazing too.

What I liked about this book (aside from the age-appropriate reading level) was how each story somehow involved children. The stories were accessible to my child and interesting to both of us.

As you probably know, encouraging responsible stewardship of the environment has long been a trademark of the BSA. While environmentalism has become a political hot topic in recent decades, it doesn’t have to be about politics for our boys. Whether you’re an avid environmentalist or believe global warming is a sham, there’s value in these kind of requirements in the cub and boy scout programs. We teach our children to take good care of the planet for the same reason we teach them not to litter. It’s just the right thing to do.

P.S.

Do you have teenagers interested in this theme? For current stories of individuals impacting our world (at a much higher reading level), check out TIME magazine’s special issue “Heroes of the Environment” which comes out every Fall. Find current and past issues at your local library, or check out the TIME Magazine 2009 Heroes of the Environment online.