HI my name is Kaleb Strong and I am 9 years old and I am in the 14th Ayrshire Cub Scout group in Prestwick. In Lockdown I have been working towards my Chief Scout Silver Awardas I wanted to give myself a challenge. To get the badge I had to complete 7 challenge badges. For each of the challenge badges I had to do lots of different requirements some took longer than others and I just did a bit every day after home schooling. The tasks were challenging but at the same time they were lots of fun and gave me a break from boring school work!
My most challenging challenge award of them all was most definitely the Team Leadership badge. The part of the badge I was most nervous about was hosting the Cub meeting last Friday. It took me three days to get all the games ready but I really wanted to do it as I knew this was my last challenge badge. I emailed Fiona (the Beavers leader) a couple of times to check it sounded good which it did so that helped lots. I was really really nervous but I managed to do it and it looked like everyone had lots of funplaying all my games and all my friends listened really well which stopped me being so nervous. My Cub leaders Craig and Pete told me at the end I did really well so that made me feel really happy.
The best part about doing the badges in Lockdown is once you complete a badge you get a surprise letter through your door addressed to you. In the letter there is the badge that you earned and a certificate with a message on the back signed by Fiona which is really nice and she always tells you how proud she is of you which makes you want to keep going for it.
I am so excited to have got my Chief Scout Silver Award which is the highest award that you can get in Cubs. Fiona and Craig came round to my front door on Saturday to present it to me, I could hardly wait. My Mum, Dad and little brothers Izaak and Jarod are so proud of me and said we are going to have a treat dinner on to celebrate my achievement.
Over recent weeks and months, Kaleb has done tremendously well working on his badges during a difficult time for all. From earning his Stage 1 Musician badge through to his Artistic Activity badge and his Thistle badge, he has always shown great determination. He is one of very few in the Scouting movement to earn all three stages of the Great Indoors Badge and he has already made great headway with his Hikes Away badges, getting to Stage 5 in a short time. Perhaps most awe-inspiring is his effort to gain his Challenge Awards, with many of the Skills, My World and My Personal Challenge badges earned since the New Year, alongside his Outdoor and Adventure Challenge badges. Completing his Leadership Challenge badge through leading the Cubs’ Zoom session recently was most pleasing to see, and in gaining his Chief Scout’s Silver Award Kaleb and his family can be rightly proud of all he has achieved…the 14th Ayrshire Leaders certainly are! 🌟 Cub leaders Craig, Pete and Daniela said.
Kyle & Carrick District Scouts 