PRE-OPENING ACTIVITY

York Adams Council

Question: What happens to kids when "there's nothing to do!"?

Answer: They usually find something to do.  And 9 times out of 10, it ain't what you want them to be doing!

Solution: Have something for them to do!  That's one of the purposes of the Pre-Opening Activity.  It gives the people something to do while you're still  running around getting things organized to actually run the meeting.  It also provides a mechanism to get the group focused as a group.

The Pre-Opening Activity should get people involved and interacting.  If they're doing a word search puzzle, for example, only have groups of 3 or 4 work on one and then, during the Pack Meeting, find out how well the groups did. Also focus on more than just the Cub Scouts. (Cub Scouting is a family activity!)  Use inventive ways to get the adults and siblings involved.  Maybe give a puzzle to each family and then find out how the families did.  Use your imagination to make sure you include everyone.  The Pre-Opening Activities that we present in each section need to be preplanned.  For example, if you are having the folks do a word search puzzle, you'll need to have the sheets copied beforehand and you'll need to provide pencils.

Idea: In our Pack, we have a coffee can of "golf pencils" for Pack Meeting use. You can get them at Staples and other office supply stores and they  come in boxes of 144. One box seems to last about a year in our Pack because people generally remember to return them to the coffee can at the end of each meeting.

If you are the Cubmaster or Committee Chair, don't do this all by yourself—assign a den each month to come up with and conduct the Pre-Opening Activity.  It means that the den members will have to arrive well before the start of the Pack Meeting so that they can greet everyone else, give out materials, and direct the activity as people arrive.

Idea: In our Pack, we have a Duty Roster that we publish at the beginning of each program year.  The Duty Roster assigns Dens to plan and conduct the different "activities" that make up the Pack Meetings.

Smelling Kim
York Adams Council

Equipment: A collection of dried foodstuffs which have a distinctive smell, e.g., coffee; tea; sage; rosemary; etc. and each in an identical container or in a small square of muslin tied with cotton; paper and pencil per Cub

Formation: Circle

The Pack sits in a circle with the containers in the center, the leader identifies the foodstuffs.  He then numbers each container and passes them around the circle.  The Cubs must identify the foodstuffs by their smell and write the correct names against the numbers on their sheet of paper.