WEBELOS

I received an interesting letter from John, a Webelos Leader, about the recommended order of Activity Badges for next year with the changes to the advancement program.  I just got my 2004-2005 CS Program helps and reviewed the recommended Webelos Activity Badges for each month and found the list unchanged.  This is interesting because Citizen is now a First Year badge but on the Pack Program Planning Chart it is still shown as the badge for the Second year Scouts for September and October.  Now, this is a transitional year with some dens on the new program and some Second Year Webelos finishing up on the old program.  My guess is next year they will just reverse the September and October badges – list Citizen for First Year Webelos and Communicator & Showman for Second Year.  If I were a Webelos Leader again, I would hesitate to start my brand new Webelos with Citizen in September.  My Cubs wanted something active to do in the Fall.  The other big change – requiring Outdoorsman works with the current schedule as it’s listed as a First Year badge for May.  After the First year Webelos would have completed their Webelos badge and started up the final steps to the Arrow of Light.  We always did Outdoorsman in October because that is when our District Webelos Overnighter is held.  Maybe they will swap Showman and Outdoorsman.  We’ll know next year when the 2005-2006 books come out or sooner via letter or a revised Webelos Leaders’ Guide.  Baloo will continue to follow whatever schedule National recommends.

Ideas for Webelos Activity Badges

Lisa, a 5 year veteran Den Leader

Check out all the Pow Wow books for ideas. You can buy Pow Wow CDs from councils. You can also get access to 10 years of Pow Wow books on www.macscouter.com.

Make it fun.

Make sure there is a fun element to every outing. For example after the boys have worked on Aquanaut have free swim time. If you do a service project make sure you play a game afterwards.

Make up games for dry topics.

Use outside community resources and your parents rather than you leading all the meetings.

Make sure the boys are doing rather than listening.

Many of the Activity Badges will take 2 or more meetings to complete. They are intended to be done one a month. The boys can earn a special “Twentier” patch if they do all 20 activity badges.

Get the boys involved in deciding which items they want to do for the Activity Badge.

Have the boys plan and present to the den some of the items from the Activity Badges.

The boys should read the complete text in their Webelos books for each Activity Badge they earn. There is a lot of good information in the book.

Fitness and Citizen are required for the Webelos Badge. Readyman and Outdoorsman are required for the Arrow of Light.

Webelos is an OUTDOOR PROGRAM!!

Take Outdoor Webelos Leader (OWL) Training to learn how to put the outdoor in your program. It will give you lots of great ideas!!!!

Take your den to Webelos Resident Camp in the summer. They can attend the summer after they get their Bear rank. It is usually held in August. Check the Santa Clara County Council calendar.

Most of the Leave No Trace Awareness Award can be earned while out and about doing the other activity badges.

TRAVELER

Sam Houston Area Council

This activity badge is to introduce Webelos to the excitement of traveling to see new places and meet new people. To show the Scouts some of the practical skills that are needed to get "there" successfully and efficiently so that when "there'', they can have a rewarding experience. To have the Scouts practice planning in a fun way.

SUGGESTED DEN ACTIVITIES

•  Invite a travel agent to explain to your den about planning for a trip and the use of computers in making reservations.

•  Hang travel posters around the den meeting place and discuss ways to travel to these places.

•  As a den visit the control tower of an airport.

•  Invite a parent or other resource person to tell of an unusual vacation he/she has taken.

•  Take a den trip to a travel agency.

•  Take a short trip on public transportation, perhaps a bus or train. Plan an itinerary.

•  Ask the boys to bring in some vacation pictures for everyone to look at. Ask them to point out on the map where they went, tell how they traveled, and where they stayed.

•  Make games to take in the car for long trips. Make a first aid kit for the car.

•  Learn how to pack a suitcase and practice at the den meeting.

•  Learn the shapes and meaning of road signs. Learn how to read a road map.

MAP STUDY

Each boy is given the same state or regional map. They are then given the names of two cities which are located fairly far apart on the map. Using a highlighter, the boys try to trace as many different routes as possible that connect the two cities without duplicating a road in any of the routes. Teams could play this. You can use the same map to teach the boys map symbols, how to calculate mileage and other map skills.

Another version is the divide the den into small groups. Give each group a different state map. Ask them to find: state capital, a state park, two county seats, an airport, three state highways, three towns beginning with H, name of a town, park or site of interest in a certain area, the mileage scale used on their map. Make up your own questions to ask the boys.

Games

Circle Ten Council

GEOGRAPHY

Players are seated in a circle. First player names a geographical term- city, river, country, mountain, etc. Second person must give a place: River-Mississippi, Mountain-Everest, etc. Continue around the circle. The same word is not to be given twice. This could also be made into a relay race.

We used to play this by having the next person name something that started with the last letter of the place named by the person ahead of him.  (e.g. Alabama, Alaska, Albuquerque, Ecuador, Rhode Island, Denver, Rocky Mountains, …) CD

PLOTTING YOUR ROUTE

Give each boy a state map. Tell them you are leaving this city and going to_________(another city in the state), and have each boy plot the route. The object is to be the first to plot the most direct route to that point. After several attempts, have them plot an entire trip, with several designated stopovers.

I PACK MY SUITCASE

One boy starts the game by saying, “I’m going on a trip. I packed my suitcase, and I put in a ______.”The next player says the same thing but first must repeat what the first boy said and then add his item. Each boy in turn repeats the entire thing and adds an item. If a boy is not able to repeat all previous items correctly he is out of the game. The game ends when only one boy is left.

ALPHABET EYE-SPY

This is another touring game. When you reach the town or city limits start looking for objects. Start with the letters of the town name. Boys call them out. If the town is Lincoln, a boy might say, “Eye-spy a library for the first letter or a Ice rink for the second letter and so on. This can be played at a den meeting with objects that can be seen in the room.