Another First Class Boy Scout

In the end, it was all about the cooking.



Of all the tasks that needed to be accomplished to meet the First Class Scout requirements, the only one with a substantial commitment of time and effort was the Cooking requirement, because it had to be done in the course of a campout. Perhaps that is why it was nearly the last one to be completed.



James wasn't really eager to go on the campout - it's not one of his favorite activities - but he was eager to get it done and over with so he could get on with his life. And if the only thing standing between him and the First Class rank was this campout, he was going to do it.



I had thought that he only had to take care of one full day's meals to meet the requirement, but he decided to go full-bore and do all the meals. Prior to the campout, he and Cheryl came up with the menus and shopped for the food, then James practiced a few of the meals at home to make sure he had the meat/vegetable timing worked out.



At the campout, the Scoutmaster commented on the good food; he was very pleased with the fare. I'm not sure if it was the bacon and egg concoction we had Saturday morning, or the delicious steakburgers we had for lunch, or the spaghetti and meatballs (with garlic bread) we had for dinner, but it all turned out wonderfully (mostly that means it was on time and on temperature!). On Sunday, since he wasn't really required to cook anything, we had donuts and cereal for breakfast and ready-to-roll sandwiches for lunch (easy cleanup for people on the go).

We had a quorum of adults at the campout, so James was able to get his Scoutmaster conference and Board of Review done while we were there, and they approved his rank advancement.

So the very next Tuesday at our Court of Honor, James became an official First Class Boy Scout!



You can tell his parents are very proud of his achievement.



We aren't sure how much further he's going to take this, especially in light of all his other interests (art, music, etc.), but we are very proud of him for taking the initiative and doing what needed to be done!