Outing planning

[BobW0]

I've been serving as scoutmaster for the past 9 months after having been assistant for a few years. I spent a lot of time planning all of the campouts (once per month) for this past term and would like to have others do this. I solicited ideas from the scouts, ranked them according to interest, then set dates and planned them. I would welcome everyone's feedback as to how you plan your outings. Does your committee do it all, do your scouts do it all? What works for you?

[Eagle69]

I've been at it for 25 years. The dates have always been set by the adults because we are the ones that have to juggle work and other schedules in order to do these outings. The "Where" part I have done both ways. I have let the boys plan it and the adults have planned it. The adults are familar with the various places to camp and if we don't have a compelling reason to choose a particular one we will offer them choices from our list and let them choose.

[eisely]

The reality is that in most units calendar planning is more of an adult exercise than it ought to be. In our troop we are trying to directly involve the boys more. The point about adults having to juggle calendars is well taken. The calendar is also governed by other calendars such as school, religious holidays, and other observances. Also the seasonality of different types of activities has an obvious impact. Often the boys don't think about these things too well and need guidance. The boys also simply don't have as much direct experience of different types of activities and locations to provide a lot of creative input. The approach to make suggestions and provide options works well.

[jmcquillan]

Our PLC always planned, and still plans, the trips. I should note here that the PLC is always attended by the SM, and the SPL works with him to make sure that the plans being proposed are plans that the SM feels the Troop Committee will support. The SM will give the SPL advice and counsel on dates and acceptability of the boys plans, and once a proposed calendar is set, the SM and SPL present it to the full Committee for consideration, which in our troop takes about an hour or so, just to be sure the dates can be accomodated, and/or changes can be given back to the SM and SPL, ASAP, for PLC consideration. Sounds kind like the book says it should run, huh? Well, it works...not like clockwork all the time. There are bumps in the road, but on the whole, the boys end up feeling a lot of "ownership" of the plans, and therefore they work a little harder to keep their end of the bargain. And that's what it really is...it's a bargain with the SM and the Committee...

 

"We (the Scouts) want to do "X". If you (the Committee) will help us with "Y", then we will do all of "Z" to do our part."

 

Otherwise, and the Scouts understand this, nothing they want to see will happen. It's a learning experience.

[k9gold-scout]

Our troop starts planning for the next year after summer camp. We take the ideas from the PLC and find adults who are willing to sponsor each activity. We have a hikemaster who runs the backpacking program, he has first shot at the troop calander. We have learned to book next year's summer camp and long term hike early so we are not shut out of our desired dates. Now an adult is responsible for each outing in our program. Last year our troop reg. 67 scouts and 73 adults. Yes you do need the adults to make the program happen.

 

We have a venturing crew with 23 scouts and 5 adults. They do everything, but they only plan 3-4 months in advance and many outings are changed because one of the scouts did not follow up on his job. They take pride when they hare a good outing bacause they did it all themselves.

[Bob White]

We follow a process almost identical to the one described by jmcquillan.

 

Bob White

 

[sst3rd]

Our Troop uses an erasable calendar (we also start after summer camp, usually in August). By the time I put up school, church, District, Council, National, OA, and holiday dates, there's really very few to choose from. As the SM, I do set up this calendar. It gets the process started, and the PLC comes up with locations and associated themes for the camp outs. The PLC runs them past the Committee who will usually support the PLC's plan, but may offer input based on something we may all have forgotten. It's a team effort, and I try to keep it as simple as possible. This works for us.

[scouter]

My troop holds what we call a "Planning Conference" every year, similar to what you are doing now. We have the SPL collect ideas from the scouts, rate them by order of relevance, cost, etc. and then the scoutmasters help set certain ideas to dates. We often times turn this whole thing into a campout. How do we get everyone to show up? We make it an "Electronic Campout" where the kids are allowed to bring Gameboys, TVs, and CD players (which otherwise would not be allowed at a campout). We hold the conference all day Saturday and invite the parents and families down for a potluck lunch on Sunday.(This message has been edited by scouter)

[eagle90]

Our PLC meets the third week in August along with the SM and ASMs and has abrainstorming session about what they want to do during the year - where to camp, what other activities (skating, auto show, climbing wall, skiing, etc.)

do they want to do.

 

The Troop Committee meets the following week and set the dates for these events after evaluating them for cost, travel feasibility, safety,etc., and coordinates them with school and personal calendars.

 

we plan the calendar for the entire year, and usually do not have to make too many major adjustments.