Jery Stedinger Scoutmaster Troop 2 Ithaca, N.Y Web Site: http://www.troop2ithaca.org/ Scouting is a fun game with a purpose. What is the goal for exciting programs at troop meetings? For Scouts to have fun and be interested Encourages retention and participation Scouts learn new skills or master old skills Provide new experiences and perspectives Supports the activities program: teach skills needed for troop events Give scouts opportunity to teach and show leadership Opportunity to build patrols better spirit, leadership, teamwork Remember the purpose of the game. Resources Scout Handbook, Merit Badge pamphlets (http://www.meritbadge.com/) Fieldbook online: http://fieldbook.scouting.org/ Scoutmasters Handbook Guide to Safe Scouting (html and pdf) http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/healthandsafety/gss/toc.aspx Troop Program Resources http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33588.pdf Boy Scout Program Features Volumes 1 3: has suggested weekly programs See appendix of this handout for contents of the 3 volumes. http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33110.pdf <Here it is! http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33111.pdf http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33112.pdf Scouting Magazine (see monthly inserts from Program Features) http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/ Outdoor magazines, books, fieldguides, It s all on the web anyway: http://usscouts.org/ http://www.macscouter.com/ PLC and its members Other scoutmasters, troop adult leader & merit badge counselors Community organizations/business Eastern Mountain Sports and other sport businesses Fire and Police Departments, FBI, City/State Employees
Nature Centers Youth Recreation Centers and Park Employees Colleges (faculty and students, student organizations) Remember that you are not alone.
Program presentations at troop meetings Exciting Troop Programs Who should lead the presentation? Suggest that you mix it up use all of the following on a rotating basis: (1) younger scouts/patrol Leaders (3) troop adults (2) older scouts/senior Patrol Leader (4) outside speakers When scouts make the presentation, they are learning to teach and to lead, while other scouts are learning to be troop members. Have an adult or older scout work with younger scouts to develop an instruction plan. Remember to have a reflection with the scouts who made presentation afterwards reviewing how it went. (Experience is what you get when you wanted something else.) Use your EDGE: Guide to teaching within the troop (from TLT) i) Explain how to (what are we trying to do) ii) Demonstrate how to (how does one do it) iii) Guide the learner to (now its your turn) iv) Enable the learner to practice doing it themselves Remove obstacles to success. Provide encouragement. Questions for Troop Progress Discussion (a TLT Troop Leadership Training topic) START what should we start going STOP what should we stop doing CONTINUE what should we continue doing Watch for the teachable moment! Presentation Format Presentation can be to whole troop, or divide troop into patrols and have them rotate among different stations. Can be a lecture, or an activity/challenge, or both. Scouting works well when we get the scouts doing, rather than just listening. For young and new leaders, getting them working with small groups is better. Games (well, they may not be program, but they are FUN!) We play: variations of dodgeball, subs and destroyers, blob tag, prisoners base, Ultimate Frisbee, steal the bacon, capture the flag, crab soccer, soccer (rarely), American eagle (carefully) Good games build individual fitness and troop spirit. Some encourage teamwork. Everyone can play in good games. We do not play any more: Siberian Man hunt, British Bulldog Exciting Troop Activities Consider: hiking, camping, canoeing, rafting, rock climbing (indoor or outdoor), challenge
courses, laser tag, museums, Herkimer Diamond Mine, Albany State Capital, historic sites, Gettysburg, Niagara Falls, New York City, cooking contests, orienteering challenges, outdoor shelters, pioneering (tower, rope bridge, ), fire and police stations, service projects, district and council camporees, Philmont, or Seabase. Link outdoor activities to indoor troop meeting programs to built excitement & skills. Run outdoor programs at multiple levels, so they are exciting and challenging, but doable for young and old scouts (Bike 20 miles, 50 miles and all around Cayuga Lake (100 miles) meeting at Lansing park for Troop dinner; Backpack 2 miles with young scouts and 10 miles with older scouts to meet at same campsite for the night. Older scouts take all their equipment backpacking, younger scouts carry just day packs.) Troop meeting programs that have been successful What to take camping camping ideas Bring your pack and all the clothes you would take Cold weather camping bring in and share equipment Good scout/bad scout skit Tent check night: set up and check all the tents Same with potset or other equipment Cooking and food Patrol menu planning Discussion of foods, nutrition, foil cooking, Cook something in a Dutch oven, foil, reflector oven Have patrols make menus and then critique them Before bike trip: bike safety, maintenance and repair Bike design; bike history Before rafting: water safety and rafting safety Klondike preparation: run skill challenges for patrols Lost in the woods what to take patrol challenge Alaskan snow-blind tent set up patrol challenge Kims game by patrol with. items to take on a campout. Fire starting competition by patrol COPE challenge night Scouting history (as a jeopardy game) Government: Constitution and Declaration knowledge challenge Town mayor discussed voting First aid topics CPR instruction First-aid carry races by patrol
Safety meeting Fire Dept. with engine, ladder truck, or medical vehicle Police, Swat, State trooper, Forest Ranger Cornell police, ROTC Fire safety. Map all the fire safety devices in the building Disaster night (injured people situated around building) Holiday first aid skits by patrol I love these. Geology presentation Rock identification challenge Tree identification challenge bring in specimens Environmental night Astronomy star simulator on PC project on ceiling Show pictures of stars and objects in space Plant science or mushrooms Bird meeting- Lab of Ornithology Outdoor code / environmental ethnics /leave no trace Patrols develop a field guide to distinguish among specified items Red Rover remote control vehicle (from high school robotics competition) Photography and Photographic equipment Movie making and computer graphics Salesmanship (when selling popcorn) Almost any merit badge as focus of a meeting Music merit badge My safari in South Africa (what I did on my vacation) Philmont was great let us tell you about it! Scavenger hunt around neighborhood (use a camera rather than taking items) Neckerchief slide night woggle, clip board, first aid kits, leather work, beaded, wire wrap, computer parts Paper airplane night competition for distance, design, Knots and lashing Knot race (individual and by patrol) Knot competition when blind-folded Lashed poles to act as long patrol fishing poles Water balloon catapults (warm weather activity) Lash sleds for patrol sled race Lashed swings (interpatrol competition) Orienteering: map and compass Plan a route for the campout or weekend hike
Map symbol flash cards patrol competition Find on the map. Patrol competition BSA Compass course (or make your own) Measuring heights and distances (including across a stream) Measure the building and the grounds Pick any chapter from the fieldbook Cornell outdoor education presentation: climbing Climbing at Cornell Cornell raptor club Material Science/Liquid nitrogen Nutrition Students from Cornell University Medical doctor on unusual illness or denistry What do architects (or engineers) do? Create a design to. a patrol competition What I do as a medic in the Marines How I won my a metal at regional or national competition Exciting troop programs: what could be easier? Troop Program Features has close to 400 pages of ideas. We do not lack sources of ideas. What we need is the energy & skill to deliver. The trick is to use the PLC to plan ahead, so you can get: programs scheduled, recruit instructors, organize needed materials for the program, and get other people to help out from planning to execution and clean up. We want the scouts to organize and deliver the program. And we need to see that the troop does it every week for Troop activities and every month for campouts and other events! So lets keep at it. >> Program ideas from Troop 80 available on UofS CD-2008. National and Council Level Activities Fall, Winter, Spring District/Council Camporees; they have different themes; serve as staff
District Events: Merit badge fair OkPik Winter Weekend Mall Show First-Aid Rally or CPR event Orienteering events Council Weekend High Adventure Events Youth Leader Training (Patrol Leader training, ILS-Troops, Powderhorn, Kodiak) Summer Camp High Adventure: Barton, Tuscarora, Out-of-Council Camps Plus -- Beaver Day at Barton, Gopher Day and Fishing Derby at Tuscarora Philmont Scout Ranch (www.philmontscoutranch.org/) -- Wilderness Backpacking, Cavalcade, and training BSA Florida Sea Base (www.bsaseabase.org/) Sailing, Scuba Northern Tier (http://www.ntier.org/) -- Wilderness Canoeing and Camping See http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/highadventure.aspx National Jamboree (more for individual scouts: send a group?) LIVING HISTORY & PRIMITIVE SKILLS WEEKEND (March 9-11, 2012 at Camp Tuscarora) LIVING HISTORY -- Come join us for a real 1835 Mountain man experience along with Civil War, French and Indian, Native American re-enactors, and more. Experience the skills of our ancestors; axe and knife throwing, black powder rifle, and Dutch oven cooking as it was back in the day. Sessions will be offered in flint & steel, brain tanning deer skins, bow & arrow, leather work, erecting a 16 foot diameter teepee and other Native American crafts. All materials and equipment will be supplied. Guest appearance of Native American re-enactors to offer workshops during the day and highlight our Saturday night campfire with Iroquois culture and stories, and our Mountain Men entertaining us with life in the 1800 s. Course Director: Tim Woods- wwwoodsw@earthlink.net. PRIMITIVE SKILLS -- Join us for primitive survival techniques and check off some merit badge requirements too! Local skills enthusiasts will be sharing their knowledge of shelters, water collection and purification, fire building, fire-by-friction methods, arrow building, flint knapping, bow & drill, basketry, natural cordage, and more. Course director is Joe Zapach, Wilderness Skills Director at Camp Tuscarora. Stay in Lean-to s or bring your own tents. Contact Joe at clydester2@aol.com. OKPIK WINTER CAMPING TRAINING (Baden-Powell Council, The Voice, Winter 2012) Okpik is the Inuit word for the Snowy Owl. Okpik is also the name of the BSA training course that will give you the confidence to go camping in cold weather. The Baden-Powell course consists of instruction and demonstration on a fun-filled outdoor adventure weekend. All leaders and older scouts are encouraged to take advanced material for high adventure backcountry trips. Okpik 2012 will be on one weekend with instruction, demonstrations and practical applications, to include constructing snow shelters & a snow kitchen and taking a hike on snowshoes or cross- country skis (rentals for both are available). Upon completion of the course you will receive a patch and book. Okpik 2012 will be Friday evening February 10, 2012 through Sunday, February 12, 2012 at Valley Camp Syracuse. Baden-Powell Council will be offering Okpik every other year: the next class after 2012 will be in 2014.
POWERHORN: High Adventure Skills Resource Course http://www.powderhorn-bsa.org/ The Powder Horn course is designed to help the troop, team, or crew by exposing older Scouts, Venturers, and adult leaders to safely conducted outdoor/high-adventure activities of a fun and challenging nature. The course provides an introduction to the resources needed to successfully lead youth through a program of outdoor adventure and is based upon giving participants an exposure to some outdoor/high-adventure activities. The course presenters are expert consultants, from inside and outside of Scouting, in each outdoor high adventure activity. It is not a certification event. It is for any youth or adult interested in experiencing a unit-level, high-adventure program. At least three full days are required for the course, with the maximum length no more than six days. A five- to six-day course may run over two weekends, but no more than two weeks should pass between sessions. The purpose of a Powder Horn course includes:: Safe participation in fun and challenging outdoor activities. An introduction to resources, including expert local consultants, that can improve a unit's program. Exposure to new and exciting high-adventure activities Award. Help in delivering the promise at the unit level. Promoting youths' and adults' creativity when delivering high-adventure programs. KODIAK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kodiak_(boy_scouts_of_america) Kodiak is the second level leadership development courses for Venturers. As with Venturing Leadership Skills Course (VLSC), all Venturers in a crew are encouraged to participate in this courses. VLSC, while recommended, is not a requirement. Kodiak is presented in a six-day (or 2 weekend) high adventure trek-oriented course. It may be conducted by a crew or by a local council. Because it is offered in a trek-format, Kodiak can be incorporated into a long-term high adventure trip by a crew. It is not intended to be offered as a camp-based retreat format.
Table of Contents for Volumes 1-2-3 of BSA Troop Program Features Volume I Aquatics... 15 Athletics... 25 Backpacking... 35 Boating/Canoeing...45 Business... 55 Camping... 65 Citizenship... 75 Communications...85 Cooking... 95 Cultural Awareness...105 Emergency Preparedness...113 Engineering... 123 Volume II Environment... 15 First Aid... 25 Fishing... 35 Forestry... 45 Health Care... 55 High Adventure... 65 Hiking... 75 Hobbies... 85 Leadership... 95 Mechanics...105 Nature... 117 Orienteering... 127 Volume III Physical Fitness... 15 Pioneering... 25 Public Service... 35 Safety... 45 Science... 55 Shooting... 65 Special Cooking... 75 Sports... 85 Tracking... 95 Wilderness Survival...105
Wildlife Management... 115 Winter Camping... 125