Family Life Merit Badge Does Require Time with Your Family

This month our troop is working on the Family Life merit badge. One of the most difficult requirements for this merit badge is the tracking of chores. A scout must track his chore progress for a period of three months. A tracking sheet was provided at scouts last week but it is also available online at www.meritbadge.org.

Homework from week one:
1. Discuss with a parent or guardian why you are important to your family.
2. Plan a family project that benefits your family. Be able to discuss with your counselor how your family participated and the results of the project.
3. Begin tracking your chores for the 90 days required.

Computers Merit Badge

Computers Merit Badge was started this month. Thanks Dave Petersen for helping us out this month on this merit badge. The computer information was cool and the Afghanistan video was even cooler.

Homework for this merit badge will include:

1. Do THREE of the following:

   a. Using a spreadsheet program, develop a food budget for a patrol weekend campout.

   b. Using a word processor, write a letter to the parents of your troop's Scouts inviting them to a court of honor.

   c. Using a computer graphics program, design and draw a campsite plan for your troop.

   d. Using a computer graphics program, create a flier for an upcoming troop event, incorporating both text and some type of visual such as a photograph or illustration.

   e. Using an Internet search engine (with your parent's permission), find ideas about how to conduct a troop court of honor or campfire program. Print out a copy of the ideas from at least three different Web sites. Share what you found with your counselor, and explain how you used the search engine to find this information.

   f. Using a presentation software program of your choice, develop a report about a topic that has been approved by your counselor. For your presentation, create at least 10 slides.

   g. Using a digital camera, take a picture of a troop activity. Transfer the picture file to a computer and use photographic software to make it small enough to send easily as an e-mail attachment. Then, using a computer connected to the Internet (with your parent's permission), send an e-mail to someone you know. In your message, include the photograph as an attachment. Verify that the person received your e-mail and was able to view the attachment.

   h. Using a database manager, create a troop roster that includes the name, rank, patrol, and telephone number of each Scout. Show your counselor that you can sort the register by each of the following categories: rank, patrol, and alphabetically by name.