Huge den, plenty of leaders and lots of parental support but still need ideas

[ScoutMomAng]

I am the WeBeLoS I and II leader again this year. My oldest son has moved onto boy scouts and my younger son is in Wolves. I stayed on with the Webelos because I enjoy this age group and their activity pins are fun to do!

 

So here is my problem. Originally I decided to keep both Webelos I and II as one den (the entire pack meets on the same night in the same place just different rooms anyway). Well, when I decided to do that, there were only 12 boys in both Webs I and Webs II. Only 4 boys were Webs II and of those 4, two have never done scouting before so it was no different than rolling them into the Webs I den at the same time anyway. Now, I'm up to 18 boys total! Still only 5 of them are Webs II but of the 5, three are new to scouting. So, here is what I'm thinking....

 

If I take all 18 boys and divide them up, randomly, and make them into 2 patrols with 9 in each patrol and let my assistant den leader take one patrol while I take the other patrol and we work on the same things at the same time,but working seperately, with a denner and assistant denner for each patrol , can this work?

 

We have plenty of parents that are willing to help us out when we need them but none of them, yet, are willing to commit to being another leader. We also have two other assistants that sit back and help out when its needed. They have other obligations within the pack also. Most parents stay for den meetings anyway. I'm not worried about the assistance from the adults, what I'm worried about is that one boy has already made a comment that, "if any more boys join this den then we will be as big as a pack". I'm afraid that if the boys continue to join this den, then some of the others are going to leave.

 

Altogether we have 3 trained adult leaders and one going to be trained, 18 boys, and lots of parents that help when help is needed. One of the parents is also the COR so he helps when he can but can not be a leader because of his other position.

[Cubmaster Jerry]

Ok, I get to be the first to ask. What are the two boys working on who are W2 and not new to scouting while the others are starting from Day 1? Certainly they have already done all that the other 16 boys are working on.

 

It seems as if you have already solved your problem, just in a round-about way. My suggestion would be to do exactly what you suggest - have your ADL essentially become a DL for the second Patrol.

 

Also, even though the new W2s are at the same starting point as the W1s, they can still earn their AOL in one year. They have to work harder but it can be done and many boys are energized by this challenge. The pace of the W1s is not set to do this. So if the new W2s are working with the W1s, they may not get the chance to earn the AOL.

 

It seems as if you have plenty of help to separate the boys into W1 and W2 groups. As I understand it, the W2 would have 5 boys and the W1 would then have 13. Quite large for a Den but hopefully most of your parental help is associated with the W1s.

 

And, you are misinformed. That parent who is the COR CAN be a registered DL. The COR is the only person that can also be registered as another leader.

[ScoutMomAng]

What are the two boys working on who are W2 and not new to scouting while the others are starting from Day 1?

 

Actually, the months of October and November are going to be repeat for the 2 webs II, but they are also assisting the other boys. August and September were things that neither of the Webs II had. All the boys were given a spreadsheet for the requirements of the Athlete Activity Pin to work on for the month of September, something neither of the Webs II have. The Readyman, since it is a definite must have for AOL will be worked on, on a Saturday morning for all 5th grade boys (5 of them). The other things they will get through December, January...by then the 2 boys that were Webs I last year will have had the opportunity to earn all 20 activity pins. Aquanaut will be worked on this Saturday. The Webs I's should be able to get all 20 activity pins if they participate in all den meetings, and do any homework they are given.

 

My whole year is planned out on the calendar and as long as nothing interferes with my schedule I should be good to go and all Webs II will have earned their Webelos Badge, and their AOL. Not all Webs II will have had the opportunity to earn all 20 activity pins since they were not around to participate in activity pins last year.

 

The other kicker is that I will be leaving in January, for good. The ADL is the father of a Webs II and not sure if he plans on hanging around after his son crosses over. There is one more ADL but he is the father of a Webs I and the cub master so he's not around as much as he wants to be, because he right now is also running the Tiger den until the leader their can get trained.

We have one more guy that I was told would be ADL but he told me he wasn't ready for that.

 

Also, some of the Webs I and returning Webs II went to day camp and Resident Camp and earned MANY activity pins.

 

 

Does all that make sense??