Last night, the boys had their Bobcat Ceremony for Cub Scouts.  This is the first time they earn badges as a scout.  To earn the badge they had to do some basics of scouting, such as reciting the Scout Oath and learning the Scout Law.

During the ceremony, I painted their face with different colors.

Blue is from the sky.  The blue paw print of the Bobcat on their forehead is the spirit of the bobcat, and to remind the scout to do their best on the Cub Scout Trail.

Yellow is from the sun. The yellow marks under their eyes help the scout see the light of the Cub Scout Train, and symbolize the bright spirit of Cub Scouting.

White. The white on the scout’s nose is for purity and to help the scout know right from wrong as they go along the Cub Scout Trail.

Red. The red mark on the scout’s chin is for courage to always speak the truth.

Green. The green mark symbolizes the spirit of nature to guide the Cub Scout in living with harmony with the great outdoors.

The boys also painted a white stripe on my nose so that I can guide them.

I really enjoyed the initiation ceremony. And beyond initiation, the boys had already earned some badges as well.

I am enjoying the process. Kids earn badges or belt clips according to their individual accomplishments. They are encouraged to succeed by those around them. There is not internal negative competition brought on by the parents. There is just a supportive environment of people, somewhat like-minded, wanting to raise their kids right, and be part of a community of people putting effort into raising their kids right.

This is so different from the youth sports culture that my other kids have been immersed in. It is refreshing, and I am grateful for the leaders of the pack. These are good guys.