Webelos

Family Member

Heart of America Council

People In A Family Should Do A Lot Together
Tune: Supercalifragiisticexpialidocious!

Chorus: People in a family should do a lot together,

In the house, or out of doors,

No matter what the weather,

Do not try to put it off

It’s either now or never,

People in a family should do a lot together!

Mom and Dad should take the time

You’ll be glad you did

To be a parent and a friend,

Do something with your kid.

One day they are tiny,

And the next day they are grown,

And before you know it,

You’ll be living all alone.

Chorus: Go to a museum, see a show, or ride a bike,

Try your hand at fishing,

Or at camping, or a hike.

Swimming in a swimming pool

Or skiing on the snow,

Lots of things that you can do

and places you can go!

Circle 10 Council

Families today encounter difficulties that test each family member, but there are many things everyone can do to make life better. Boys can personally contribute to make a smooth running home. Job charts make daily chores easier. Boys can be very creative in designing charts and selecting which tasks they can do. Help them find a time limit for when the job needs to be finished and reasonable consequences if the chore is not completed, and what rewards, if any, will be given.  Sometimes making a boy responsible for a non-bedroom area of the house changes the way a boy perceives his home. If a boy learns to sort garbage into recycle containers, he might feel he is contributing to the betterment of the community. When a boy learns to take care of house, clothing and possessions, he helps his parents, especially if both work and time is at a premium.

Money awareness and spending patterns built in childhood can stay with someone for a lifetime. Learning principles of saving without spending, investing and curbing impulse buying, as well as keeping track of money spent are revealing experiences. Boys can be cost conscious once they understand how money is used to sustain a family. They can plan fun things to do that are economical or save over a specific amount of time for an activity the entire family planned.

When a boy is involved in meal planning, shopping and preparing, the family can learn what he really likes to eat. Webelos are a good age for learning to prepare food more advanced than hot dogs. He can guide the family to something good, but simple, to eat.

Some families find it difficult to find time for a family meeting, but realize its value when everyone is together. Nothing makes a boy feel more special than knowing he is part of family decisions and that when he expresses something, everyone is willing to listen and care.  The Cub Scout Academic belt loop and pin have great ideas for family discussions.

A family is a group of people who care for each other and share with each other.  The family of many boys includes mother, father, and perhaps brothers and sisters.  Other boys live with just one parent or grandparent.  Still others live with guardians or in foster homes or boarding schools. Your family gives you food, shelter, clothing, and love.  It teaches you religious beliefs and helps you learn right from wrong.  In return, you should give the other members of your family your love.  And you should learn how to do your share of the work that must be done around your home. In earning the Family Member activity badge, you will discover how to show your love for your family.

Speakers: Social worker, family counselor, parent, human services agent, ombudsman, family education specialist,

community education director

Field Trips:

Tour a fast food restaurant or small restaurant.

Have someone from OSHA or plant safety committee give a talk after touring a manufacturing facility.

Tour an energy conservation home (underground or energy efficient).

Tour the local water company and ask for ways to conserve water.

Neckerchief Tie Slide Ideas

A mounted photo of the Scout with his family

A piece of sponge for cleaning

Model of food the Scout likes to eat

A photo or a miniature of a house

A photocopy/drawing of the Family Member activity badge laminated or mounted on poster board

Family Tree

Knowing the history of your family is very important. Research and make a journal of the history of your family. Keep this journal and as you learn more and more about your family, where they are from, who is who within your family, write it down. Study Genealogy and start making a family tree. Your parents and grandparents can help you with this.

There are also many web sites available and computer programs available to help you with this project.

Den Activities:

Make a list of fun activities of little cost and do them over several den meetings. Switch chores with another family member for a month.

Have the boys make their chart showing the jobs that they and other family members have in their homes. Have them bring the charts to the meeting and tell what jobs they are taking on for the next two months, and how they will do them.

Before the boys inspect the home and grounds to make a list of hazards or lack of security you might want to talk over some of the home hazards they may find.

Have a contest - take a small piece of cloth and a button, needle and thread. Have the boys sew a button on -- judge the button that is sewn on the best.

Make a contest out of making a list of things families spend money for.  See who can make the longest list.  Most boys will forget things like rent, utilities, car payments, stamps, insurance, etc.  You might think up a list of things that most boys will omit and award two points if they happen to list one.

Have a cooking contest.  Have each boy cook one dish and bring it to the meeting.  Be sure they can tell how they made the dish.  You might think about making a small recipe book for your den.  This could include breakfast dishes, lunch, and dinner dishes.  Also you might adopt some of these for your cookouts!

Tracing your family roots can become a lifetime hobby. There are many books and classes on how to find information. Ask if any den parents have organized charts or have studied their heritage.  Try to find out a family tree for both your mother and father's family.  Make a list of the members of your family.  What other relatives are living? (Grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins?)  Try to talk to them (or write) and ask them about their parents and grandparents.  Ask for birthdays and year of death.  Where they lived is also an important clue in your search.

Games

Shopping – This is a variation of Kim's game. Fill a grocery bag with items from your cabinet before the den meeting. Close to the activity time, add cold items from the refrigerator.  To play the game, put one item from the bag at a time, announce the name and lay it on the table.  When the bag is empty put everything back in quickly.  Give boys a paper and pencil and ask them to write down what items were on your shopping bag.

Who Are We? – Ask boys to bring baby pictures and family pictures to the next meeting.  Hold the pictures up one at a time and try to guess who it is.  Bring in family vacation pictures and try to guess where the family went.  (Disney World, the White House, etc.)  Think of other ideas of pictures the boys can bring to show off (first fish catch, riding a horse, talking to someone famous, etc.)  Take some den pictures and make up an album of your Webelos family or take slides and play music while you are watching them.

In earning the Family Member activity badge, the Webelos Scout will discover how to show love for his family and how important his family really is.  A family member may sign off this activity badge.

Special Family Holidays To Remember

Valentines Day - February 14th: Show your family that you love them.

Mother’s Day - second Sunday in May

Father’s Day - Second Sunday in June

Grandparent’s Day - Second Sunday in September

Here are some ways to be helpful to your family:

Take care of your clothes and shoes.

Save energy. Turn off lights when you leave our room. Keep refrigerator door closed.  Do not waste hot water

Recycle glass, aluminum, and paper.

Help clean the house.

Help plan family meals.

Help make your home safe by checking it for dangers.

Practice cleanliness and neatness.

Help take out the trash as needed.