Thursday, July 21, 2016

Week 6: Wolf Counsil Fire Adventure

I'm Cubmaster/den leader for a combined den of Wolf, Bear and Webelos.  This month I only have one lone wolf so this activity meets the requirements for Wolf: Council Fire #3a, 3b, and 4a.  Luckily #1 and 5 were completed at summer day camp.


Gathering Activity: We filled a disposable dish with rice and gave the boys 5 marbles each (Note to self.. Get new rice without sand mixed in it!)  Have the boys stand in a line about 5 feet away and take turns trying to throw a marble into the dish.  (I used rice to pad the landing and indoor carpet was helpful too) After all were done throwing, we collected the marbles and then each boy took a step back and we did it again!!! Simple!  Stop after 15 mins.  (This activity was adapted from a washer game in the Wolf Den Leader guide which I highly recommend you own if you are a den leader!  It was a hit!)

Opening: Use den duty chart for: attendance, prayer, pledge of allegiance, Scout oath and law

Talk time:  I had pictures spread on a table of buildings and locations in our town that I was able to find and print off Google images.  The boys were directed to go take a look.  I kept quiet and told them to just take a look.  It didn't take too long before they started recognizing local places.  I was able to show them pictures of the original hospital, theater and school in our town followed by the current ones.  This led to a discussion how communities change.  Lead the conversation into how changes affect the area:  Examples:  Lots of building affects plant and animal life, water sources have to be developed, pasture land disappears, Larger population can lead to more crime, litter,  hunger or homelessness and as cub scouts we want to grown up to be leaders and help solve these problems.

Lead the conversation into ways that the cub scouts could help solve these problems.  I told them we are going to do a community service project but they need to vote on one and we are going to present it to our pack committee leaders at the end of our meeting for approval.   I printed more pictures of ideas they could choose from if they couldn't think of any ideas themselves (ex: scouts cleaning, local food pantry...)
Here is a possible list (see also Wolf Handbook)
1. make gift baskets for elderly people with no families
2. Clean or beautify a cemetery, community center, campground, park, river, school, parking lot...
3. Stock food at a local food pantry (call your local pantry first to find out if its an option)
4. plant a tree  native to your area
5. plant flowers native to your area in a public place
6.  visit a senior center
7.  perform yard work for an elderly person
Discuss how and who will present service project idea to committee.



Activity 1: time changes collage.  Give scout paper or poster board and glue.  Let him pick community pictures from Activity 1 to make a collage.
(Council Fire #3a, 3b)

Activity 2: I arranged ahead of time so we could present our idea to the committee during our meeting. (Council Fire #4a)

Activity 3: Balloon Hot Potato - We used the game from this link. I put question or tasks in each balloon based on our previous meeting.  (like: who won the obstacle course, say the scout oath...) The scouts had a hard time popping the balloons, so my husband used a tack and popped them while they were trying to sit on them.  This game was a huge hit!

Record completion of requirements for Wolf: Council Fire #3a, 3b, and 4a.


Sunday, July 10, 2016

Week 5: Cub Scout Obstacle Course

We have a small combined wolf, bear and webelos den, but due to boys moving away and summer vacations we only have 1 wolf this month and he has a lot to finish by his birthday.  I combed thru the requirements to make sure we hit as many as possible in this obstacle course as well as adding some obstacles just for fun. (Those not included, were done at cub scout day camp) It was awesome!. After going thru the course (about 2 1/2 mins long) the boys were breathing hard and wanting to rest!

You may wonder how I can pull this off with just one lone wolf.   Easy...we have two 11 year old scouts that regularly come and we, the leaders, have other children.   It can be very helpful to have our numbers padded for certain activities.

Here are the Wolf requirements this activity will meet:  Counsil Fire #2 & 6b, Paws on the Path #8, Running with the Pack #1, 2, 3 & 4

First,  I mapped it out on paper. (Sorry about the poor lighting in this picture... best I could do with a baby sleeping on my lap!)  This map came in handy as I guided the boys thru the course!


Gathering Activity: Play catch with a partner 10 feet apart.  Give instruction as outlined in the Wolf Handbook.  Once they are proficient have everyone move back a step. (Running with the Pack #1)
Next we made a  Den Duty Chart by letting the boys choose the duty they wanted to perform each week. I prepped ahead of time by printing out the duties on a chart and laminating it. As the boys chose a duty,  I wrote their name on the chart with a white board marker.  My chart included: Take Attendance, Prayer, Pledge of Allegiance, Scout Oath and Law and Meeting Helper (Council Fire #1 Mark complete after 1 month)

Opening: Prayer, Pledge of Allegiance, Scout Oath and Scout Law

Obstacle Course:  We discussed good sportsmanship before starting our game as outlined in the Wolf Handbook ( Running with the Pack #4) I actually had to take some more pictures the next day to show you each station.  It was too fast paced at our activity to get all the pictures I wanted.

Here goes...

1. Monster Stomp - Stomp on one soda can and add to a recycle pile.
Note: be sure to transport smashed cans to a recycling bin. (Council Fire 6b). 

2. Front Roll - (Running with the Pack #3)

3. Walk 5 steps backwards (Running with the Pack #2)

4. Frog Stand (Running with the Pack #3)

5. Back Roll (Running with the Pack #3)

6. Running thru the ropes (for sideways balance Running with the Pack #2) - made out of PVC stakes and parachute cord.




7. Hurdles - make with swim noodles and
ground stakes ( we made PVC stakes but wooden dowel rods work too). We had 4 hurdles spaced about 15 feet apart.  Another option is alternate going over one, then under the next...

8.  Mini Trampoline - 10 jumps

9. Balance Beam (Running with the Pack #2)

9. Ring Toss and Drive the Green Machine around the cones - Make rings by taping the ends of a pool noodle closed with packing tape.  Line 4 cones in a line about 15 feet apart and place rings a few feet from the cones.  Boy runs down the line throwing loop over cones.  At the last cone, he hops on the green machine and drives around each cone in an alternating manner (figure 8 style)  to the finish line.

 We had a drink station set up to refresh them after the course. This is how my husband cut the PVC pipe to make stakes.

Map activity - When the boys finished the course we moved to a table set up with map making supplies.  The boys drew a map of the obstacle course and we used a compass app to label North on the map (Paws on the Path #8)

At the end we served light refreshments. Everyone really enjoyed this activity!  Cub Scouts is fun!