A Note From the Founder – The Unimportance of Badges
Kerry Cordy – Founder
Considering my entire program is based on earning badges, this title might seem strange, and yet it is true. This is the time of year I encourage all troop and club leaders to have a conversation with both kids and parents about what badges really mean.
In today’s world where everyone gets a trophy just for showing up, I absolutely hate it when parents or leaders allow a kid to “earn” a badge without actually doing all the work required. The excuse is always that they don’t want the child to “feel bad” that the other kids have more badges than they do. This is a terrible life lesson to teach your kids. How many badges you have on your uniform is unimportant. What is important is what you learned to get the badges you do have and whether or not you had fun and built memories in the process.
Every family is different and every kid is different. They have different schedules, different interests, and different abilities. Some kids LOVE earning badges and turn everything they do into meeting requirements to add more badges to their uniform. Others could care less about badges and just want to attend meetings to have fun with their friends. Some kids can make it to every meeting and every event, while others may be hit or miss due to other obligations or family schedules.
The number of badges a child has on their vest only shows their passion for earning badges. It does not show their passion for softball, or drama, or music, or their robotics club. It is important to explain to kids that the badges on their vest do not have to match everyone else. Some kids may have a lot while others may just have two or three. Remind them to think about all the things they love to do that do not involve badges. If they love playing softball, wouldn’t they want their friends to cheer for them even if they don’t play themselves? If they love being in a play and acting, wouldn’t they want their friends to tell them to break a leg and clap after their performance even if those friends don’t act in plays themselves? So why is earning badges any different? Even if you don’t earn a lot of badges yourself, you can still congratulate your friends on the badges they earn. And if you have kids in your troop that don’t have many badges, remember that they have lives outside the troop and that earning badges may simply not be their highest priority.
So take the time to remind both the kids and the parents that how many badges they have on their vest is unimportant. If they miss meetings and choose not to make up missed requirements, that is fine, but they won’t receive the badge just because the rest of the troop gets one. And that is OK. Everyone is different and their vests should reflect that.
New Badges Added
Mythology Specific, Battle Strategy, Neuroscience
New! Gift and Apparel Items!
It has been a long time coming, but I finally found a print on demand company with good quality products that can integrate into our store. Printful is a company my daughter has been working with for nearly two years with her own store and I have been impressed with the quality of the products and service of the company so I finally figured out how to link my store to products they can make for us.
Print on Demand allows me to offer a wide variety of gifts and apparel predesigned and ready to order without having to keep a giant warehouse full of inventory. This not only keeps the costs down for everyone involved, but avoids waste. Branded items are available with the Frontier Girls, Quest Clubs, or Curiosity Untamed logos and I will also be adding a variety of fun homeschool oriented shirts and items in the future.
Just as our badges are made on demand and are non-refundable, the print on demand apparel and gifts will also be non-exchangeable and non-refundable, so order carefully. If you get a defective product for any reason though, just reach out and I will make it right. You can also post items for sale in either of our Facebook forums if you order a wrong size and wish to resell the item to another member. Used items in good condition may also be sold as your kid outgrows apparel.
Since the print on demand items will be shipping from Printful warehouses and not our own, there is also an additional shipping cost for these items, so expect to see two separate shipping charges when you place your order if you are also ordering badges and uniforms at the same time.
I am still adding items to the store so if there is something in particular you are looking for such as a backpack, jacket, towel, etc. just shoot me an email at kerry@curiosityuntamed.com and I will add it if possible.
Fall Badge Ideas
As the leaves change and the air cools, fall is the perfect time to dive into seasonal learning with your kids! From exploring corn mazes to crafting with autumn leaves, earning fall-themed badges adds excitement to your educational adventure.
- Season (Specific) Fall Badge – Every season brings changes to the weather, to animal behavior, to how we dress and more. Combine the Season Specific badge for Fall with badges like Weather, Trees, or the Animal Migration badge to see how the season effects the things around you.
- Pumpkin Patch Badge – Go visit a pumpkin patch and earn your Pumpkin Patch badge. Combine it with badges like the Pumpkin Badge, Pumpkin Spice Badge or the Teal Pumpkin badge.
- Corn Maze Badge – Who doesn’t love getting lost in a corn maze? Earn your Corn Maze badge and combine it with the Popcorn Badge, Map Reading badge , the Vegetable (Specific) Corn badge, or the Mind Puzzles badge.
- Character Badges – the upcoming holiday season is a great time to work on character badges to help teach your kids to be kind and thoughtful. Badges like Kindness, Generosity, Charity and Thankfulness are especially appropriate this time of year.
Leaf Chromatography Experiment
Objective: Explore the hidden colors in fall leaves by separating their pigments using a simple chromatography experiment.
Materials:
- Fresh fall leaves (variety of colors)
- Coffee filters or paper towels
- Rubbing alcohol
- Small jars or cups
- Scissors
- Pencils
- Spoon or stick for crushing
- Tape
- Plastic wrap
Instructions:
- Collect Leaves: Gather a variety of fresh leaves from different trees, choosing leaves of various colors (green, yellow, red, orange).
- Prepare the Leaf Samples: Tear the leaves into small pieces and place each color in a separate jar or cup. Crush the leaves with a spoon to release their pigments.
- Extract the Pigment: Pour a small amount of rubbing alcohol over the crushed leaves in each jar, just enough to cover the leaf pieces. Cover the jars with plastic wrap and let them sit overnight.
- Prepare the Filter Strips: While waiting, cut strips of coffee filters or paper towels long enough to hang into the jars. Tape one end of each strip to a pencil so it can hang over the top of the jar.
- Start the Chromatography: Place the end of each strip into the jars, making sure it touches the alcohol-leaf mixture. The liquid will begin to travel up the paper, carrying the pigments with it.
- Observe the Results: After about 60 minutes, you’ll see the different pigments separate on the paper, showing various colors like green (chlorophyll), yellow (xanthophyll), and red (anthocyanin).
Explain that the leaf pigments separate according to their size along the paper. Small molecules will travel farther than the large ones. The main pigment molecule in green leaves is chlorophyll, which performs photosynthesis in the plant. Other pigments also occur, such as carotenoids and anthocyanins. When leaves change colors in the fall, the amount and type of pigment molecules changes which can be seen if you conduct this experiment on two leaves from the same tree, one that is still green and one that has changed color to yellow or red.
