WEBELOS

FAMILY MEMBER

Circle Ten Council

A definition of a family is “all the people living in the same house.” Families have many and varied faces. Some families are the traditional mother, father, and children, while others are one-parent families. Still other families consist of grandparents raising grandchildren. Even if a guardian is in charge of rearing a child, we hope that love and understanding is part of every family structure.

The family member activity badge helps each boy understand his family and his part in that family. This badge is geared to open each boy’s awareness of how the family works and what makes the family work well. Chores, laundry, grocery shopping, and house cleaning are all elements included in the family unit. Remember to stress that each boy is important to his own family and that his family is important to him.

PURPOSE

Circle Ten Council

Because of the importance of the family involvement in this activity badge. It’s a good idea to hold a parent’s meeting to explain the requirements and give some suggestion on how they can work with their son on this badge.

Remember that the parent should initial the completed requirements, but a review of the activities with the individual boys at a later meeting by the Webelos leader will ensure that all the activities were properly completed.

Another good approach is to let the boy’s plan a “Family Day: for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon of fun for their parents and siblings. The boy’s creativity and resourcefulness will amaze you and entertain everyone who attends.

Make sure the presentation of this badge at a pack meeting includes the family.

SUGGESTED DEN ACTIVITIES

Circle Ten Council

ü       Invite a fireman, policeman or security guard to a den meeting to talk about home safety. Perhaps he can also provide you with a home inspection sheet. 

ü       Invite a home economics teacher or dietician to talk to your den. Perhaps your den could also plan a weeks worth of meals for a family and visit a retail food establishment and price the food required to sustain this family and see how it relates to the budget of a family budget.

ü       Tour a waste disposal facility; have an employee give a talk.

ü       Invite an energy conservation engineer to give a talk on energy.

ü       Make a list of fun activities that involve little cost; do them over several meetings.

ü       Invite someone from a professional home cleaning service to give a talk on how to properly clean things.

ü       Tour a fast food restaurant or small café.

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

ü       Have a family relation’s teacher visit and talk.

ü       Switch chores with another family member for a month.

ü       Keep a personal budget for a month.

ü       Tour an energy conserving home that is built in the area.

ü       Visit with a local financial institution to find out how the monetary system works and how saving money as a family unit can be beneficial in the long run.

ü       Contact local public utility companies, or the environmental control agency to find out how our natural resources can be saved and what we as individuals within the family unit can do to conserve energy.

WATER YOU USE YOURSELF

Circle Ten Council

There is little danger of North America running out of water. But there is a danger that we will run short of pure water. You can help prevent this by using only as much water as you need. If you study how you use water now, you will be able to find ways to use less. Study the two charts below. Then keep this sheet with you for a DAY. Mark it each time you use water. You can use the back of this paper to do your figuring.

Remember that this is an estimate, not an exact measure of how much water you use. Therefore, you can use the average amount given in the second column when you do your figuring. For example, if you get six drinks of water a day, you would estimate 6 x ¼ - 1 ½ gallons. (Note: The averages assume you let the water run to get hot or cold. You wouldn’t for example, drink ¼ gallon of water each time you get a drink, but that much would run from the faucet if you let it run to get cold). Enlarge chart to desired size.

YOUR SHARE OF THE FAMILY’S WATER

Some water is used for the good of everyone in your family, such as water for cooking and cleaning. This chart can help you estimate your share of that water. Suppose, for example, that there are five people in your family. If you estimate that water for meals, cleaning and other family uses equals 100 gallons, your share is 100 divided by 5, or equals 20 gallons. Enlarge chart to desired size.

Energy House

Circle Ten Council

This is one picture you will definitely want to cut and paste, them restore to fill a full sheet of paper before using.  CD