Jonathan Fillmore, of North Providence, and his son Jonathan Jr., who just signed up last week with the Scouts, take advantage of a special trail built by the Scouts and the Appalachian Mountain Club that is designed to be handicapped-accessible. Children are hard at work making bottle rockets at the Scout-O-Rama on Sunday. Getting his bottle rocket ready for launch is Matthew Previte, 10, of North Providence who is thinking of becoming a Boy Scout....
When’s the last time you went on a night hike? Nighttime is a great opportunity to learn about wildlife, to conquer fear of the dark, and to understand how our eyes work. Night hikes build important outdoor skills and hone your powers of observation. I have created an outline to use in preparing for a night hike, here’s an excerpt – Humans do not see colors well at night. The retina contains two types of photoreceptor (light sensitive) cells, rods and cones....
It’s catch-up time! In this week’s podcast I’ll catch up on email questions concerning approving requirements, relationships between Cub Packs and Troops, moving to a new Troop, unit policy manuals, how Scouts address Scouters, and determining what activities best achieve the aims of Scouting. Links in this podcastThe Big Three Resources every Scouter should read Music Chirstine Lavin – Camping Sponsored By ScoutmasterCG.com Backers Podcast: Play in new window | Download...
Do you know the campfire ballads about Sam and Dan? If you are fortunate you’ve sat in rapt attention around a campfire, chills running up your back, a smile on your face, listening to a skilled orator recite the campfire ballads of Sam McGee or Dan McGrew. Both of these venerable, spooky (yet humorous), campfire ballads were penned by “The Bard of the Yukon” author Robert William Service. Service reflected ; “Verse, not poetry, is what I was after … something the man in the street would take notice of and the sweet old lady would paste in her album; something the schoolboy would spout and the fellow in the pub would quote....
Mölkky (pronounced mulkey) is a Finnish game reminiscent of kyykkä, a centuries-old form of skittles. Mölkky is easy to learn, and can be played indoors or out. The pins and throwing stick for mölkky can be made from tree limbs or sticks approximately 2 1/2″ in diameter. Players throw a stick (also called “mölkky”) at pins marked with numbers from 1 to 12. The pins are placed in a tight 3–4 yards from the throwing line....
What are balanced Scouting activities? This time of year I get colorful brochures in my actual mailbox (if you look outside your house there’s probably a little tin container that people put paper documents called ‘mail’ in periodically, it’s a quaint custom) and my email inbox from amusement parks, sporting venues, whitewater rafting companies and all manner of similar entertainments. I get advertisements for merit badge fairs, specialty camps and other ‘canned’ activities too....
An early Father & Son weekend (early 1990’s?) 25 years ago our troop held our first annual father and son weekend. We started the weekend as a way to invite dads that were not otherwise involved to join us for a weekend and see what goes on in Scouts. It has evolved into a tradition that our Scouts and families look forward to every year. When and Where For the past eight or ten years we’ve held the weekend at a neighboring council’s camp (chiefly because they have enough lodging space and a winterized dining hall) every February....
Do your Scouts like Camporees? We attend a District or Council Camporee every three or four years because it takes that long for our Scouts to forget what the last Camporee was like. At every annual planning conference I suggest to my patrol leader’s council that we include whatever Camporee or district event is planned for the next few months: “What are we going to do at the Camporee?” they ask...
Scoutmaster Podcast 11 Listen in as my senior patrol leader and I discuss a Scout program idea we have used several times now – the “magical mystery tour”. In This Podcast Magical Mystery Tour [5:20] One Night at Camp [13:03] Avoiding Eagle Scout Drama 1 [19:53] Podcast Notes Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
I would guess that one Troop in twenty schedules actual, independent Patrol outings. More likely than not the Patrols all go camping at once – AKA a Troop outing (like my Troop). I haven’t pursued independent Patrol outings for a couple of reasons; Logistics – Planning, supplying and launching three or four separate outings is more difficult than planning one Troop outing. Leadership – Maintaining prescribed levels of adult leadership would be a problem....
Canned programs for Scouts are attractive because they are easy. They are also poor excuses for a Scout activity. Canned experiences require little preparation, skill development or leadership. In our part of the world there are whitewater rafting trips, ski weekends, museum lock-ins and similar activities that only require Scouts show up and be led by the hand through an activity or presentation. Scoutmasters should be adamant that activities are aimed at fulfilling the promises of Scouting and not simply entertainment....
Custom award ribbons are an inexpensive way to recognize patrol or individual achievements; Troop Honor Patrol Camporees Attendance/Participation Nights camping Inter Patrol Scoutmaster’s Challenge I’ve used Dinn Brothers for years and have been very satisfied with their pricing and service. A 2″ x 8″ custom imprinted ribbon in quantities of 100 costs only .44 each. It’s not difficult to put together an order of 100 with free imprinting and color changes....