Getting Up in the Morning

[LauraT7]

I'm a night owl in a troop full of early birds. Midnight is my absolute limit though - unless we're all staying up for a meteor shower or something - I know the boys will be up, and cooking - around 6 - at least by 7! I don't even get up for WORK that early!

 

we have one boy who likes to stay up all night and can sleep until noon - if the other boys let him! - if he stays in bed too long, they will go drag him out of the tent in his sleeping bag - which usually does the trick! he often ends up doing the dishes and packing up, because others have already done the cooking, and he gets the leftovers - he doesn't seem to mind this price for his late nights.

 

I think a contributing factor is our policy of keeping the boys so busy they have no time for homesickness, and they're too tired to NOT sleep! Plus we have small 2-man tents - less buddies to talk to!

 

We did have a problem this summer at camp, though - the very first night, my watch (and it's alarm) died. we had a small group -5 boys & 2 adults, and the only other person with a watch with an alarm, was one of the boys. he took it upon himself to get up the appointed "hopper" each morning and get them off to the mess hall. Most of the time, since he was up anyway - he went along and helped. I was so proud of him!

 

But on every campout since then, I make sure I have my watch, my son has his watch, and i have a small alarm clock tucked away, "just in case"

[evmori]

We usually shoot for lights out at 11 PM. If the Scouts are in their tents & talking that's OK. They understand that they are expected to get up at the same time as te rest of the Troop the next morning.

 

Ed Mori

Scoutmaster

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[red feather]

Just a thought, had an overnight that tents and gear took forever (it seemed) to get packed. How about no breakfast until gear is in packline and tents are rolled and stowed? Execptions would be the cooks of course and the last ones up in the patrol would pack the cooks tent.

 

YIS

[k9gold-scout]

I like eisely's idea. Burn up their energy, either hike longer of play games. When camping and not backpacking our troop likes to play capture the flag at night.

[k9gold-scout]

I like eisely's idea. Burn up their energy, either hike longer of play games. When camping and not backpacking our troop likes to play capture the flag at night.

[scomman]

One of the things we do in our troop is to cut down on sugar intake after dinner. This is easy by not alowing any snacks except for what is planned and sugar free cocoa. The Boys went camping in SOuth Dakota during the summer and one of their tents wasn't zipped up during the night and raccoons got in during the night while they were on a night hike and spread the Boy's pack all over to get to the candy he had in his tent and took it so they are pretty good about not keeping candy or snacks in their tents.

 

Wake up is handled by the fact that the leaders get up and are having coffee and the SPL has a alarm clock.

[Twocubdad]

I've always noticed that on a weekender, that on the first night, the boys are too excited to sleep. On the second, they're too tired not to.

 

How about this -- suggest to the SPL and PLs that they assign breakfast fire and cooking duty to the late risers. Insist that those boys do the work themselves. Having six of their cold, hungry buddies outside their tent should encourage them to get up.

 

Peer pressure can be a good thing.

[Eamonn]

The answer to this must be that BEFORE, the camp the PlC, who are planning the program ???Have a time for Lights Out, and a time that the cooks will rise.

 

[eagle90]

I agree with Twocubdad. the first night is always a late one, with the kids being all excited and talkative. We always kid that the whole purpose of the Saturday events is to tire the scouts out enough so they are in bed by 9:00! A lot of the times it works!

[hops_scout]

We just dont seem to have these problems. I, surprisingly, sleep better on a campout than I do in my bed. Therefore I wake up refreshed and ready to go. It seems like our troop just seems to wake up. I guess it is routine due to school.

[Bob White]

Make sure the scouts understand that to be "physically strong" and Mentally Awake" requires healthy habits, like proper amounts of rest. Set a reasonable lights out that gives the scouts (and the leaders) at least 8 hrs of sleep.

 

Playing reville is fine if you are the only campers around for quite a distance. It is not good etiquette to wake others outside your group just because it is time for you to get up.

 

My other complaint about reville is that I go outdoors to enjoy the sites and sounds of nature. Once the horns start playing and pots and pans start ringing then the wildlife disappear.

 

I find the best method is to have an agenda and stick to. If the scouts get behind, then they miss that portion of the activities.

 

We have the SM quietly wake the SPL, the SPL wakes the PLs and the PLs wake their own patrol members.

 

Bob

 

 

 

 

[OldGreyEagle]

Welcome Back Bob

 

"I find the best method is to have an agenda and stick to it"

 

If I know nothing else, this group sticks to their agenda...

[acco40]

Who sets the "proper" time to get up or go to sleep/lights out? It should not be the adults (for a Troop).

 

I took my Webelos Cub Scouts to summer camp along with my two den chiefs in August. Same place, same breakfast time (mess hall, no cooks required but we did have a set time to eat) that the Troop of the den chiefs had summer camp in June. At summer camp, the SM made a big deal of getting everyone up (i.e. no personal responsibility). At Webelos camp, I let the den chiefs sleep as long as they wanted to. One morning, I told them that we (three adult leaders, four Webelos Scouts) were leaving for breakfast in five minutes. They slept. We returned after eating and cleaning up about an hour and a half later. They were still asleep. I then told my Webelos Scouts (who adore playing tricks on the den chiefs) to tell them to "hurry up so they would not miss breakfast." They stumbled out of their tent at 9:30 AM and missed breakfast. Growing boys need sleep. My view, no harm, no foul. Sometimes I prefer sleep to breakfast.(This message has been edited by acco40)

[Bob White]

I would certainly try to counsel the SPL or PLC to make the right decision on when the "proper" time is for lights out, by taking into consideration the camp ground rules, type of activity, needs and charracteristics of the boys, etc.

 

However, the health and safety of the group is the responsibility of the adult leaders. This is an area where if the scouts do not make the correct decision the adult leader must step in and see that the job gets done.

 

BW