Woodcarving

        

 Hi this is Marcus, and I earned the woodcarving merit badge, I earned my tot'n chip which gives you permission as a scout to use knives, hatchets, axes, etc. I carved a Star Trek symbol. I liked the merit badge, I did it at camp and I think that this merit badge was easy the time it took was fun.

Notes from the mom:
Any merit badge earned at camp has two thumbs up in my book!

Genealogy Merit Badge

Hi from Marcus!  I signed up to do this merit badge as a class at a local genealogy library.  There were a bunch of pre-requisites and then the rest we did in class.
I learned about some of my ancestors.  I interviewed my Grandmother.  I learned that she got hit by a car when she was a kid and had her front teeth knocked out.  I also wrote an autobiography about myself.
What  I liked best about this merit badge was being able to learn about my ancestors.  This merit badge took several hours at home for doing my autobiography, the pedigree charts and the interview.  The class was a lot of fun and I brought two friends with me who also earned the merit badge that day!

Notes from the mom:
This merit badge was a lot of book work and writing.  It was time consuming to write everything out by hand, but the great thing is Marcus will always have this information and it's in his own handwriting.  He worked on it with two friends, and on the day of the class they all went and earned this merit badge.  It was an excellent experience.  Cost: time.

Collections Merit Badge

            Hi this is Marcus and I earned the collections merit badge. I  have a billion Lego bricks so I used my Lego collection for the badge. I had to do a lot of paper work explaining the growth, development and care of the collection.
I started collecting Lego's when I was two, my older brother Neil got a few sets and I liked playing with them. I liked this merit badge, it was easy, fun to let someone learn about your collection.
On a scale from one to ten, this badge gets an eight.







Notes from the mom:
This is a great merit badge.  Most boys collect something that can be used for this badge.  I signed up to be a counselor for merit badge for the boys in our troop.  I've seen some amazing collections such as: model airplanes, cars, PEZ, books, and even candy wrappers from around the world.  Each collection is as unique as the boy who collects it.  The great thing is that it gives them an opportunity to evaluate their collection as a collection.  Cost: nothing, since it's a collection they already have.

Music Merit Badge

              Hi this is Marcus, I have earned the Music Merit Badge, for this merit badge I learned to play the cello and learned how to use the instrument at school for 6 months. I love to play the cello, for the badge I sang the first verse of a song given to me by my counselor and I taught my family three scout songs: Bazooka bubblegum, The shark song, and Alfie the family pet.  These are three songs I learned at Scout camp.

Notes from the mom:
Both boys have finished this merit badge.  Because they were already taking music lessons this merit badge was a no-brainer.  When earning merit badges you can definitely play to the boys' strengths.  Because we already had instruments and classes at school this one was low cost, but did take 6 months to complete.

Pets Merit Badge

Hi!  Marcus here!  For the Pets merit badge you have to care for a pet for four months.  In March I brought home three chicks.  A gold laced cochin, a white frizzle and a buff silky.  My mom helped me set up a brooder in the garage with bedding, heat, food and water.  I named them Squirmy, Purple and Fuzzy.  I chose chickens as pets because I have a friend who is raising chickens.  I thought it looked like fun so we got chickens!
When they were chicks, they lived in a box with all their supplies so they could have what they needed.  They lived in the garage and we took them out in the yard when it was warm during the day.  They can't live outside until they have feathers.  When it was warmer and the chicks were older we built a coop outside.  My parents helped me build it.
While I ride my bike, I have trained the chickens to sit on the handlebars.  They were all supposed to be hens, but two are roosters.

This is a fun merit badge to earn.  I recommend you get a new pet instead of caring for one you already have.  This adds to the fun of doing the merit badge.

Notes from the mom:
Marcus wanted chickens and I really wasn't sure about it, but he had his counselor's approval and so off to the IFA we went.  We got a brooder and three chicks and Marcus tended them several times a day.  He was extremely responsible about them and worked hard to train this chickens to perch on his bike as he rides.  What a great opportunity this merit badge was to try something new, and learn more about chickens.  As with any pet there are costs.  Because this was a new pet to us there were costs for the brooder and coop, so this was an expensive merit badge but well worth it.

Cycling Merit Badge

              

I started the Cycling merit badge in April of 2013.  The idea was to get the training rides in before it was too hot to ride the 50 miler.  By June 15th I was ready for 50 miles but by that time the daytime highs were up above 100 degrees.  We left early in the morning but it was still over 100 before we were done.
This merit badge can be earned as one of the Eagle required, or you can substitute swimming or hiking.  My dad is a cyclist so he was really excited to do this merit badge with me.  I had already earned swimming.  Let me say that the requirements for cycling and swimming are in no way equal.  You can earn swimming in a day but this one is quite a bit more challenging to earn.  I'm glad I did it, I think it was a great merit badge and so much fun.

Notes from the mom:
Okay, I'll be honest, I worried.  I send my son out onto the roads and hope for the best!  He had an excellent counselor and he had an excellent time.  I thought the merit badge would be done for little more than the cost of snacks and drinks (and you can definitely do it that way) but this one cost us a new bike, helmet, gear, etc.  But if you can see the picture above of my son and his dad cycling away for the 50 miler, their happiness and together time was worth it.  My son discovered he loves riding and I really believe one of the purposes of merit badges is to find things you love and develop those loves and find things you hate too.

Programming Merit Badge

This was a new Merit Badge in 2013.  I started earning it last fall and finished in July 2014.
Finding a counselor can be tricky if you don't know someone who is knowledgeable about computers and who has signed up to be a counselor.

The first requirement says to earn the cyber chip.  It's definitely easier to do this one before the 9th grade.  Here is the link to get you started:

http://www.scouting.org/cyberchip.aspx

My counselor had me doing a bunch of programming requirements.  I did Arduino, that was the first language I used.  I also went to a website called code.learn.org and worked one some programming requirements there.  When you finish the program on that website that fulfills the requirements for another programming language.  The third one I did was using Lego robots.

The merit badge itself is cool because it says something in binary.  Look it up!  And then make sure to sew it onto your sash the right way up.

Notes from the mom:
This was a great merit badge.  My son really got into the programming requirements and had a lot of fun doing it.  Free!  Wahoo!

Small Boat Sailing Merit Badge

This merit badge is definitely a fun badge.  I did this at Camp Fiesta Island in San Diego.  I recommend that this one be done at camp.  It is a lot easier to get a counselor and find the boat.
The discussion requirements aren't very hard.  It's mostly reciting rules, and defining sailing terms.  If it's really windy it can be difficult the first time you get on the water.  I almost tipped over a few times.  Watch out for the boom!  Getting hit with that really hurts.

Notes from the mom:
This merit badge was done at camp which means my contribution was making sure Neil had the right gear and paying the fee for camp.  

Plumbing Merit Badge

I did this merit badge at a Scouting Expo in Las Vegas. The only prerequisites I had to do were number 6(cut thread, and connect two pieces of steel pipe) and number 7(solder three copper tube connections using a gas torch). I found a plumber that was willing to help me and he taught me how to solder and prepare a piece for soldering. For requirement six, I went to a hardware store to cut my steel pipe, I had already threaded and connected them. I went to Lowe's and the employee that helped me was a man that was a chaperone on a school trip I went on to Washington D.C. I was one of very few kids who got the merit badge signed off at the Expo. Most had not done the prerequisites.

Notes from the mom:
This merit badge was a lot of work. I had a friend who's brother was a plumber and I was so glad he was willing to work with Neil.  He patiently taught Neil all the skills he needed to work with the copper pipes and then let Neil try out his new skills.  If you don't know a plumber, as we didn't, it did require more legwork than other merit badges, but it was worth it!  Neil learned valuable skills in soldering, and changing out leaky faucets.  Awesome, USEFUL merit badge.  Cost for us: about $20 in supplies.

American Labor Merit Badge

In this merit badge you learn about labor unions and how they work.  One of the requirements is to contact a labor union and find out what they do.  I had some difficulty with this. I contacted five labor unions in the Las Vegas area and the only one that responded was the Las Vegas Culinary Union.  This merit badge took about three weeks because of how long it took to get a hold of a labor union.  I didn't enjoy earning this merit badge.

Notes from the mom:
This merit badge is mostly book work. Neil signed up to take this class at a Scout Expo but the requirement about contacting a labor union frustrated him.  He expected them to get back to him right away and instead waited weeks without hearing anything.  After contacting the first union and waiting two weeks, he then contacted three or four more all in one week hoping to hear something back.  He was delighted that the Culinary Union got back to him and worked with him to complete his requirement.  Two thumbs up to them!  We never heard back from anyone else.  This was a frustrating merit badge for me because despite a his best efforts, he is dependent on finding a union that will work with him.  At least this merit badge cost nothing.

Veterinary Medicine Merit Badge

I found a counselor for this merit badge and we met at his home and we discussed all the requirements for the merit badge.
A week later we went to a clinic where he was volunteering and watched feral cats be spayed and neutered.  They clipped the ears on all the cats so that if they were caught again later it would be obvious that they had already been spayed/neutered.  I thought it smelled pretty bad, but they had good food. 

Notes from the mom:
I thought this was a great merit badge!  My son is really allergic to cats so we had to make sure he had plenty of anti-histamine plus his inhaler before he went to the clinic.  He learned a lot from this merit badge about animals and their care.  The opportunity to go to the clinic and spend the day observing these procedures was an eye opener for him and a wonderful learning experience.  He also gets great delight from telling about the experiences of this day.
This merit badge took some book work, time with the counselor and time at the clinic, but didn't cost a dime!