From The Valley Breeze, Providence, Rhode Island Eighty families and more than 300 visitors total turned out for the first Scout-O-Rama at Notte Park and Camp Meehan on Sunday. Scout leaders said 17 people signed up to be a Scout during the event, making this a “huge success” and their largest recruitment effort ever. Fifty-six […]
Outdoor Program Ideas
Night Hike
When’s the last time you went on a night hike? Nighttime is a great opportunity to learn about wildlife, to conquer fear of the dark, and to understand how our eyes work. Night hikes build important outdoor skills and hone your powers of observation. I have created an outline to use in preparing for a night hike, here’s an excerpt […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 267 – Email!
It’s catch-up time! In this week’s podcast I’ll catch up on email questions concerning approving requirements, relationships between Cub Packs and Troops, moving to a new Troop, unit policy manuals, how Scouts address Scouters, and determining what activities best achieve the aims of Scouting. Links in this podcast The Big Three Resources every Scouter should […]
Campfire Ballads
Do you know the campfire ballads about Sam and Dan? If you are fortunate you’ve sat in rapt attention around a campfire, chills running up your back, a smile on your face, listening to a skilled orator recite the campfire ballads of Sam McGee or Dan McGrew. Both of these venerable, spooky (yet humorous), campfire ballads were penned by “The Bard of the Yukon” […]
Mölkky Game
Mölkky (pronounced mulkey) is a Finnish game reminiscent of kyykkä, a centuries-old form of skittles. Mölkky is easy to learn, and can be played indoors or out. The pins and throwing stick for mölkky can be made from tree limbs or sticks approximately 2 1/2″ in diameter. Players throw a stick (also called “mölkky”) at pins marked with numbers from 1 […]
Balanced Scouting Activities
What are balanced Scouting activities? This time of year I get colorful brochures in my actual mailbox (if you look outside your house there’s probably a little tin container that people put paper documents called ‘mail’ in periodically, it’s a quaint custom) and my email inbox from amusement parks, sporting venues, whitewater rafting companies and all manner of similar […]
Father and Son Weekend
25 years ago our troop held our first annual father and son weekend. We started the weekend as a way to invite dads that were not otherwise involved to join us for a weekend and see what goes on in Scouts. It has evolved into a tradition that our Scouts and families look forward to every year. When and […]
Do your Scouts like Camporees?
Do your Scouts like Camporees? We attend a District or Council Camporee every three or four years because it takes that long for our Scouts to forget what the last Camporee was like. At every annual planning conference I suggest to my patrol leader’s council that we include whatever Camporee or district event is planned for the next few months: “What […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 11 – Scout Program Idea
Scoutmaster Podcast 11 Listen in as my senior patrol leader and I discuss a Scout program idea we have used several times now – the “magical mystery tour”. In This Podcast Magical Mystery Tour One Night at Camp Avoiding Eagle Scout Drama 1 Podcast Notes Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS […]
Patrol Outings
I would guess that one Troop in twenty schedules actual, independent Patrol outings. More likely than not the Patrols all go camping at once – AKA a Troop outing (like my Troop). I haven’t pursued independent Patrol outings for a couple of reasons; Logistics – Planning, supplying and launching three or four separate outings is […]
Scout Program – Canned or Fresh?
Canned programs for Scouts are attractive because they are easy. They are also poor excuses for a Scout activity. Canned experiences require little preparation, skill development or leadership. In our part of the world there are whitewater rafting trips, ski weekends, museum lock-ins and similar activities that only require Scouts show up and be led […]
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. […]
