It's been a long time since I made time to update our blog. Hopefully, no one will mind if I work backward....or skip things! (What you don't know won't hurt you, right?)
Jourdan just got back from a week of Boy Scout Camp on the Oregon Coast at Camp Meriwether (as in Meriwether Lewis.....of Lewis and Clark fame....just in case you're not a "true Northwestern-er"). It was his first time being away from home (or a parent) for more than one night. It was hard for all of us, but he had a great time with his troop.
He had lofty goals for completing Merit Badges while he was at camp....we reminded him that, while we want him to work on things at camp, we also wanted him to have fun. He insisted that getting merit badges WAS fun (whatever!)....so off he went with his plans to try and earn a record breaking number of merit badges. I don't know what the norm is for other troops, but most kids I know earn a few badges at camp. One of my friend's son just came back from camp having earned 6 (with the help of his dad, who stayed the whole week to keep him focused)...STILL, that's amazing.
When we drove down to Tillamook, Oregon to pick him up on Saturday, I found his troop before I found him. I started talking with the boys about how the week went and asking which badges they had finished. Many had finished about 2 and partially completed another one or so. We had discussed with Jourdan that completing 4 would be reasonable to us (the parents who are paying for camp), so I hoped that he had at least done that many. When he finally appeared from the forest, we were able to talk with him. He had a sad look on his face (which we later found out was due to the loss of a few baskets he had made and personal items) which made me nervous that we were about to be disappointed that he did not enjoy camp. Anyway, we asked how his week had gone....and how many badges he had worked on. To my amazement, not only did he enjoy himself but he had completed EVERY badge he had set out to achieve....I will list them for you:
When we drove down to Tillamook, Oregon to pick him up on Saturday, I found his troop before I found him. I started talking with the boys about how the week went and asking which badges they had finished. Many had finished about 2 and partially completed another one or so. We had discussed with Jourdan that completing 4 would be reasonable to us (the parents who are paying for camp), so I hoped that he had at least done that many. When he finally appeared from the forest, we were able to talk with him. He had a sad look on his face (which we later found out was due to the loss of a few baskets he had made and personal items) which made me nervous that we were about to be disappointed that he did not enjoy camp. Anyway, we asked how his week had gone....and how many badges he had worked on. To my amazement, not only did he enjoy himself but he had completed EVERY badge he had set out to achieve....I will list them for you:
- Carpentry
- Tracking (formerly known as "Stalking"!)
- Oceanography
- Basketry
- Fish and Wildlife Management
- Pathfinding
- Mammal Study
- Environmental Science
Yes, you counted correctly (or if you didn't....look back...I numbered them for you!), he managed to finish 8 merit badges during a week of camp. The best part is....he did it all by himself, without anyone there (parent-wise) to motivate him and push him along. He really is a hard worker. By the way, he found his missing baskets and personal items....just in case you were as worried about that as Jourdan was.
For Tracking, he got to follow animals (sometimes PEOPLE) and observe their movements and take notes. Here is a photo he took of a mother deer and her fawn that he watched in the meadow.
He even managed to find time to help his troop improve camp by building a fence to keep people from walking through a septic overflow area....really...there was no fence here before...what's up with that?????
He also helped his troop to build a giant whale for the sand sculpture contest. I am waiting for copies of pictures from his scout leader because Jourdan didn't take too many pictures of himself....just small forest creatures. It's good to have him home.
1 comment:
Good for him!! Way to go, Jourdan!! I'm glad you got some pictures from camp, too. I'm glad he had fun and got so much accomplished. That's awesome.
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