Penny Collection

Penny Collection

I have a difficult time planning activities some times. Out of my four boys, three of them have already earned their Wolf rank. Each den meeting I try to work on achievements for the one boy and electives so the three can at least keep getting recognition.

Today we had a highly successful activity. Since the three boys had already done a rock collection, I didn't want to do that. I received an idea from round table about a penny collection.

I created a table, six by six and made "My Penny Collection." I started in the upper left corner and wrote the years in each square. I started with the year 1980 and went through 2010. There were a few blank squares left, so I typed 19___ and let them put pennies they found from earlier years. 

At den meeting each boy received a roll of coins to sort through and glue on the appropriate square. They loved it! When my son got home he had to finish searching through our pennies to find the few squares that were left blank after den meeting. Because the pennies kept popping off, I stretched packing tape over them and then put the collection in a sheet protector.

Using a Secret Code

Secret Codes....Oooooh!

There is something magical about trying to decipher an unknown code.  Today I created a secret code by using the WingDings font.  Their fun and easy.

1.  Type the alphabet twice, one on top of the other.
2.  Change the  top line  WingDings font and leave and the bottom line the regular font.
3.  Type a message that you want to be decoded and change it to WingDings.
4.   Underneath each letter of the message, type a few connected underscore marks for the boys to write the letter when they discover it.

The fun thing was that I could choose any message I wanted.  I purposefully kept the messages simple, but I also wanted to reinforce messages of my choice.  If you want to look at my codes or print them out, click here.  My messages were:

• I love Jesus
• Do your best
• I can pray
• God loves me

The Wolf book gives some great ideas for using a secret code.  The nice thing about their suggestions is that is can easily be replicated by the boys.  That was the main fault of the code I used.

Learn about Your State and State Flag

Boring...Boring...Boring...

That's what they think about when you ask questions like "What does this mean on the flag?"  "What about this?"  Talk about a recipe for distraction, goofing off, and frustration on the part of the den leader.

Instead, we created a state flag.  Our state is Utah.  I got some blue construction paper for the background.  I trimmed gold strips for the three edges.  Then I copied a coloring book page of our state seal for each boy.  While we talked about the meaning of the flag, they cut, glued, and colored their own flag to take home.

You can get coloring book pages and other state information at Kid Zone.   If you want, you can make your whole flag cut and paste.  That was too complex and time consuming for my state.  Coloring the details worked just fine.