Some of us spend an inordinate amount of time worrying over the entertainment quality of troop meetings. Some of us are actually running the meetings – this is a big no no. A Troop meeting is not a television show hosted by the Scoutmaster. Here’s some thoughts from an old Scoutmaster’s Handbook on Inquiry.net As the […]
Program Methods
Ixodes Scapularis or Tick Season
The season of the tick has returned – time to review appropriate strategies to prevent Lyme disease and a host of other tick-borne agents. Most everyone in this part of the world knows someone who has had or is battling Lyme disease. Knowledge of how to properly identify, avoid, remove and treat the bites of […]
Scouts are not Uncool
Every so often Scouting gets an outside-in evaluation that reveals how we are regarded by those with little or know connection to the movement. I expect many commentaries as Scouting celebrates its 100th anniversary. Scouting began as, has been, and always will be a work in progress based on the simple goals of making the […]
Kohte – German Scout Tent
The tent you are looking at are standard German scout tents. Each scout carries a panel and when they reach the destination for camp they put the pieces together. These tents are called ‘khote’ and are based on the shape and function of the Saami tipi-like reindeer skin tent. The Saami (sometimes called Laplanders) are […]
Special Needs Scouting
Scoutbase UK (United Kingdom) has an extensive and growing library of fact sheets on Special Needs Scouting that may be downloaded in PDF format free of charge. From Managing Behaviour: What is the ‘praise’ or ‘blame’ culture of your Group like? You may want to look at whether the atmosphere is full of criticism or a constant reinforcing […]
Tin Can Barometer
Here’s a plan for a simple plan for a tin can Barometer made from a beer or soda can and a soup can. Looks like a fun way to demonstrate the principles of barometric pressure and its relationship to weather and altitude. See the full plan and instructions at Instructables
How a Lost Scout got lost.
From the CNN website: A 12-year-old Boy Scout missing for four days in North Carolina’s wilderness wandered away from his campsite because he was homesick and planned to hitchhike home, the boy’s father said Tuesday. Michael told his father he slept in tree branches during the night, drank river water and prayed he wouldn’t get sick. He said he […]
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
I may have earned the equivalent of a few college credits related to the study of developmental, or cognitive, differences during my tenure as a Scoutmaster. What are cognitive differences? Autism, attention deficit, hyperactivity, Downs syndrome and learning disabilities of all stripes. Disabilities are, by definition, a condition that makes it difficult for someone to […]
Astronomy Grade Laser Pointer
(picture from Cool Tools) Cool Tools featured green laser pointers a few months ago. Mine arrived a few weeks ago and it is, indeed, a cool tool. The clearly visible beam of an astronomy grade laser pointer at night is ideal for pointing out stars to a group of Scouts. During the day the green […]
Webelos Bridge Crossing Ceremony
A good discussion of most common questions about Webelos to Scouts transition at Ask Andy: The Webelos bridge crossing ceremony is to publicly show the transition, or crossing over, from a Cub Scout pack to a Boy Scout troop. At one side of the bridge is the pack he’s leaving. On the other side are […]
Award Ribbons
Custom award ribbons are an inexpensive way to recognize patrol or individual achievements; Troop Honor Patrol Camporees Attendance/Participation Nights camping Inter Patrol Scoutmaster’s Challenge I’ve used Dinn Brothers for years and have been very satisfied with their pricing and service. A 2″ x 8″ custom imprinted ribbon in quantities of 100 costs only .44 each. […]
1913 Scoutmaster’s Handbook
The 1913 proof edition of the Handbook for Scout Masters is available at Google Books. This draft was distributed for comment to perfect the final edition. Here’s a (rather large) PDF version of the 1913 Proof of Scoutmaster Handbook To be an effective Scouter we ought to continually assess our understanding of first principles, and there’s much food for thought in […]
Why Scouts Quit Scouting
From a letter by the 2005 National Chief of the Order of the Arrow; The Boy Scouts of America recently completed a survey of boys who had left the Scouting program. I would appreciate it if you read this letter and share the information with your unit leadership. The major conclusions from the survey are that young […]
Scout Vespers
Some years ago we started a tradition in our troop called Scout vespers every Saturday evening when the troop is camping. “Vesperas” is a Latin word that means “evening” and is a root of the English word “west” where the sun sets. Gathering for a moment of reflection or a religious service in the evening has a long […]
Tug-of-War
Whether an athletic competition, ritual practice, or casual the tug-of-war tradition is many centuries old. The United States Tug of War Association web page features an interesting history of the sport, an official event in early Olympic Games. We are fortunate to own a 30 foot length of nylon rope that was once used on […]
Inter-Patrol Games
Every so often we dedicate one Troop meeting to inter-patrol games; an evening of skill, spirit and leadership competition. These evenings are designed to be very loud, continuously active and, as a result, are tremendously popular with the Scouts. The Scoutmaster must maintain a brisk pace as the evening proceeds to keep up the excitement and […]
The Left Handshake
The Left Handshake is the story of how scouts in occupied countries during WWII aided resistance movements, maintained their troops and generally aided the public often at great personal risk.
Scouting Checkpoint
Let’s build a “membership standards” Scouting checkpoint at the gate of our scout camp. Adult leaders can gain entrance only after they pass inspection on their adherence to the scout oath and law to enter. This way we can be sure to exclude atheists, the divorced, smokers, drug users, alcoholics, tax cheats, people who are […]
Michael – One Special Scout
Michael turned out to be a special Scout in more ways than one. I would like to say that I had no reservations when I read an email from a family relocating to our town; their two boys were in Scouting and would be looking for a new troop; the older one had Downs Syndrome. […]
