One of the first things I worked on as a new den leader was my uniform.
I made the pattern from Caitlin's vintage Den Mother Dress. It took a few months and finally I had the push to get it finished in time for "A Century of Honor" the broadcast celebrating 100 Years of Scouting in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our stake watched the broadcast together on November 6, 2013. So my uniform is home made, but I feel justified in that because the one I copied is also home made. It makes sense because in the 1950s off the rack dresses were out of the budget of many. I found the vintage hat and 'den mother' badge on ebay. I do also have a yellow uniform shirt that I wear with pants when we're doing an activity that isn't comfortable in a dress, like picking up litter in the neighborhood.
In January, I got really excited to build a pinewood derby car to race against my 7 wolves. Ryan worked hard with Roderic to design and build his car. Ryan also worked with Hyrum, who was able to be in the "Open Class" of racers. My car lost every race against the wolves, however it did finish the race ahead of CubMaster Midgley's Model T.
Soon after the Pinewood Derby, I was asked to serve as the Pack Committee Chair while still being a den leader. That added a new layer of scouting for me and requires some leadership and communication skills that I'm still working on acquiring. The thing that has tried my patience the most though was when my assistant den leader was released and it took a couple of months for a new one to be called. The moms of the wolf scouts did a great job of coming and assisting each week, but it was quite stressful to have to come up with ideas, plan and execute a den meeting each week.
On occasion I have brought the 3 younger kids with me to scouts, but usually Sabrina is able to stay home with Hyrum, Leo and Beatrix for the 90 minutes on Thursday afternoons.
Now we're gearing up towards Day Camp and then a summer full of Cub Scout Adventures!
