Just got back from District Cub Camp

[WVCubDad]

Our District twilight camp was cancelled (a lot of competing schedules over a 4 day period), so instead we did a single afternoon/evening Cub Camp that was a heckuva lot of fun. It was my first District sponsored event and from my perspective we seem to have a pretty good group of Scouters.

 

We had about 35 Cubs from 6 different Packs that I could spot, there may have been more (thank goodness for Pack T-shirts). We were able to break up into 5 dens of 8 with the addition of some siblings. We spent a couple of hours swimming, then we had hotdogs, made a "rain stick" and had a boat building competition with craft sticks (my Den won!!! Way to go guys!!!)

 

After that was a neat game that called for teams of 4 Cubs to hold a corner of a piece of cardboard that was their boat. When the DE blew the whistle they were to run as fast as they could with each boy holding on. At the next whistle blast they were to drop the cardboard and step on it with no part of their feet hanging over the edge. This resulted in many using only 1 foot and a lot of balance to stay on board. The first team across the line won. Any team that had a foot touching the ground instead of the board had to go back to the start line and try it again. Then we kicked it up a notch and had three boys close their eyes and one boy direct them around 4 adult "turning points". This was done at a walk so that we didn't have bunches of eager Cubs carreening out of control...nice thought, but it happened anyway :-)

 

A quick wrap up and application of the NLT principles and we were on our way home with cool shirts and patches, crafts and good memories. I took my son (a Tiger) and his buddy, a new Bear, and they really enjoyed it. It was a very positive start to the fall Scouting season.

 

Thanks to all in the Potomac District who made this fun event possible.

 

John

[ScoutNut]

Sounds like lots of fun!

 

What was your den's name & did you have a den cheer? Did they have an ending campfire with skits & songs?

 

A one day event is fun & a LOT less tiring & headache for the staff!

 

 

[WVCubDad]

Scout Nut - I'm sorry to report that it went so quickly that we didn't have a den name or cheer. That won't happen again!

 

My den had Cubs from each level - 2 Tigers, a Wolf, 2 Bears and 3 Webelos, so I tried to come up with Ti-Wo-Be-Los, but they didn't really like it. In the end when it was time to name our model boat we agreed on "The All Of Us".

 

I was a little worried about the spread in ages, but the older boys helped the younger ones and it worked out okay.

 

The camp was pretty short - 3 to 8 pm and we didn't have a campfire because the city park closed at sunset, but that's a good idea for the next one. I suspect that had the original twilight camp gone off as planned we would have had a campfire.

 

It was a good learning experience for me as a new leader and I got a chance to meet some of the other leaders in the District. I can't wait for our next pack meeting and my son is ready for that as well.

 

The other night he offered an interesting comment - "I'm going to quit Cub Scouts." I asked him why and he said "I only get to see them when we go on trips." I explained that we would start up regular weekly meetings the first Tuesday in September and he seemed okay with that, but his complaint stuck with me. So my question is, how many packs or dens keep meeting through the summer and has it made a positive or negative difference?

 

John

[ScoutNut]

"The All of Us" sounds like a GREAT name to me! Hopefully your District will get their Day, or Twilight Camp stuff together better for next year. Or maybe you will give the regular Summer Camp a try (think BB's & Archery)!

 

Most of the Packs & Troops around here do not meet weekly during the summer months. With everyone on vacation & all of the summer activities, it is just unrealistic for us. We do plan 1 or 2 activities per month for our Pack. In June we had our Family Campout. July was Parent/Pal Summer Camp Weekend & a minor league baseball game. August is District Day Camp, Pack picnic & a rocket shoot. One of my new Tigers will have attended all 6 of our summer activities & has earned his National Summertime Award!