You can view and print the handout (in PDF form), from here. Plus, I will summarize it, below. Then I also have all the links we discussed, so that you can just click on them instead of having to type in all those addresses.
Enjoy!
“The Creative Web”
Do you need something different and can’t get ideas to flow? This is the place for you. Here you’ll learn how to get some of those great ideas you’re always hearing about with just a click of your mouse.
Great Resources
Let’s dive right into some great resources. These are the places where you will find a lot of Cub Scout-oriented material quickly and easily.
http://www.scouting.org - BSA National Site
http://www.usscouts.org – Large collection of Scouting resource materials
http://www.usscouts.org/usscouts/bbugle.asp - Baloo’s Bugle Monthly Theme Newsletter
http://www.utahscouts.org – Utah National Parks Council Scouting Information
http://www.scouter.com - Your Guide to Scout Out the Net
http://www.scoutxing.com - MEGA-Resources For Scout Leaders
http://www.boyscouttrail.com/cub-scouts - Cub Resources
http://www.geocities.com/~pack215/home.html - Virtual Cub Leaders Handbook
http://www.geocities.com/~pack215/aol-cere.html - Arrow of Light information
http://www.napwb.com - National Archive of PowWow Books
http://www.cubmaster.org - Resources for Cubmasters and other Cub Leaders
http://www.wtsmith.com/rt.html - Bill Smith's Unofficial Cub Scout Roundtable
http://cubmasterchris.com - Cubmaster Podcasts and Tips
http://www.madsenco.com/scouting.shtml - Rank Trackers
http://trax.boy-scouts.net - More Rank Trackers
http://www.scouting.org/cubscouts/resources/34304/index.jsp – ‘Hidden’ Program Helps pages
Online Advancement
Did you know that you can save time at the Scout Shop by preparing your Cub Scout advancements online? It’s true. Once you complete the form online, just print it out and take it with you. Then, you do not have to wait to verify the boys in your Pack at the desk; you just turn in the Advancement Report you had printed, then go shopping!
Find out about it at http://utahscouts.org/ssi/story.php?file=/advancement/internetadv/intadv.txt
Then to access it, go to https://scoutnet.scouting.org/iadv/UI/home/default.aspx
Other Creative Resources
There are lots of other websites where you can get some creative help. Here are just a few suggestions…
http://www.scoutingresources.org.uk/stunts_powwow.html - UK Scouting Source Cub Scout Skits
http://www.macscouter.com/Skits - MacScouter Big Book of Skits
http://www.e-scoutcraft.com/ - Exciting Scout Craft
http://www.scoutingweb.com/scoutingweb/Program/CraftsGeneral1.htm – Scouting Web Crafts
http://www.familyfun.com – Family Fun magazine (lots of crafts and recipes)
http://www.kaboose.com – more great craft and treat ideas (formerly kidsdomain.com)
http://www.funandgames.org - featuring fun and, um, games for children and youth
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/icebreak.html - Icebreakers and Warmup Games
http://insanescouter.com/t276/files/preopening/ - Preopening Activities (Insane Scouter)
http://www.theteachersguide.com/Recyclinglessonplans.htm – The Teacher’s Guide: Recycling lessons and activities
http://www.hightechscience.org/activities.htm – Fun Science activities and links
Using Search Engines
Most of us have used them before, but many of us do not quite know how to best use search engines. Ideally, you want to come up with a minimum of three key words. Why three? Because it helps you to refine what you are looking for and eliminate what you don’t want to find.
As an example, let’s say you were looking for information about butterflies. If you were to search on one key word of “butterfly,” you would not only find web pages with information about those colorful flying insects… but you could also possibly get pages with information about butterfly bandages, butterfly-print handbags, and the butterfly stroke for swimming.
Now, if we add another key word... let’s say we are interested in the Monarch butterfly, specifically. Then, when we search on the key words: “Monarch butterfly,” we eliminate the websites selling butterfly bandages and web pages about the butterfly stroke for swimmers. But we still may come across pages selling Monarch butterfly printed handbags or artwork.
So let’s add one more key word. Now what we are really interested in is the habitat of the Monarch butterfly – where can they be found? SO we search on our three key words: “Monarch butterfly habitat.” We have eliminated what we don’t want, and zero in on what we really do want. The resulting pages should all deal with the habitat of the Monarch butterfly. Of course there will be some results that are just news stories about a Monarch butterfly habitat, or sites that ask for help to protect a Monarch butterfly habitat; but you should also find information about the habitat, itself.
Now, if I was looking for websites where I could purchase some butterfly bandages, I might use the keywords, “purchase butterfly bandage.” …Or if I wanted to find out how to do the butterfly swimming stroke, I might search using the keywords, “butterfly stroke swimming.”
What keywords can you come up with? Give it a try!
Popular Sites for Searching
There are several Search Engines and Directories out there. Here is a list of some of the most popular ones.
Alta Vista www.altavista.com
Ask www.ask.com
Ask for Kids www.askforkids.com
Dogpile www.dogpile.com
Excite www.excite.com
Google www.google.com
Hot Bot www.hotbot.com
Lycos www.lycos.com
WebCrawler www.webcrawler.com
Yahoo! www.yahoo.com
Yahoo! Kids kids.yahoo.com
More to Come...
I have more links to post here.. so come back later. Also, I encourage you to add a comment with any links that you find to be helpful. Thanks!
