Webelos Advancement

[perdidochas]

I've got a conundrum, based on advice I've heard from different Webelos leaders.

 

I'm a first year Web I leader (have been a Bear and Tiger Cub leader). My Web II leader is of little or no help, as he's extremely busy, and our Web IIs meet with the Boy Scout Troop on a different night.

 

My conundrum is whether to have each meeting as primarily an activity badge class, or if I should incorporate more team building exercises into it. I've heard different Webelos leaders around the District advocate both approaches.

[Buffalo Skipper]

First of all, and not to hijack your thread, but I am not an advocate of W2s meeting regularly with Boy Scout troops. Boy Scouts are of a different maturity level than Webs. Throwing elementary school aged boys into the mix of middle and high school boys can be very problematic. However, that's not what you are inquiring about.

 

Webelos meetings should be first and foremost, fun. Many activity badges give the option of earning (as a Webelos) belt loops to fulfill requirements. These should be done a home and signed off by parents. I am against the notion of making meetings Activity Badge sessions. Certainly you can (and should) cover some of this material during den meetings. Even if that is your focus, you should be cautious about boring the boys with this kind of curriculum. Don't turn you Webelos meeting into a classroom--you will loose their interst faster than you can whistle "Tom the Toad."

 

Likewise, team building is really not a part of the program. Obviously, if you choose games which promote teamwork, that is all good. But keep fun the focus. Also remember that if your den preforms or leads skits or songs (or opening or closings) at a pack meeting, take a few minutes of each den meeting to practice this. The Webelos Leader Guide give good lesson plans. If you work on one Webelos Activity Badge (WAB) each month, with an average of 6 requirements per WAB, cover only 2 at each meeting. If you spend 15 minutes on each, broken up by skit practice (or whatever), throw in a 10-15 minute active game, by the time you have added an opening and closing, your hour is done.

 

One of the best resources at your disposal is Cub Scout Roundtable. Come out if you can make it.

[asm 411]

Not to hijack this thread either but Webelos Activity pin requirements are supposed to be signed off by the Webelos Leader only. Parents can sign off on Cub and Bear requirements.

 

I agree with Buffalo Skipper about Webelos II not meeting with Boy Scouts regularly. We do have the Webelos II do open and closing ceremonies with us. The rest of the meeting they are in another room except in rare cases which we coordinate before hand.

 

Back to our regularly scheduled program. Buffalo Skipper describes the standard meeting plan. Use it as described in the Webelos Den Leader book. You can work on requirements and team building if that is what you would like to do. Simply build your activities and games with team building in mind. So instead of doing something like hide and seek you choose something like building a human pyramid.

 

One word of advice if you have not learned this in the past. Always build your meetings with too much in mind. For that matter always have the next meeting ready to go. If you have too much in the plan you can either do some next time or send it home to be finished. If you don't have enough you end up scanning the book for something and winging the end of the meeting. Having too much is always easier to deal with.

 

I had planned on spending 20 minutes in a discussion and demonstration of the water cycle. I start my discussion with boys and they looked at me and said "Not again." I found out they did the water cycle in school earlier in the week. I looked up and said "No problem." Went to my car and got the stuff I was going to use for the next week, Bernoulli's law and continued on. It could have been a very boring meeting had I not been prepared.

[Buffalo Skipper]

Not sure if I was effectively making the point on parents signing off on items, or if I muddied the waters by mistake. As some WAB requirements option earning the Belt Loop, I was suggesting that BLs be done at home, and not to spend meeting time completing the requirements for these (and try not to make it "homework"). As such, it is the parents who would acknowledge the BL requirements, rather than the Den Leader. Obviously Webelos requirements, including WAB and AOL are to be signed off by the leader, not parents.

 

Clear as seawater?

[pavilm]

It's hard not to have your meetings revolve around Activity Pins. That is if you want to be ready by Blue and Gold. What I try to do is do field trips that knock out a lot of stuff at one time.

 

A local nature center can do the Naturalist or Forrester pin in one day and the boys don't even realize it since they are having fun on a field trip.

 

A visit to the Science Center can knock out Engineer or Scientist in a very fun way.

 

Same with Campouts with Boy Scout Troops, you would be surprised how much you can cover if you just plan a little before you go on your campout.

 

The trick is to knock out pin requirements by doing fun stuff, if you turn your meeting into Requirement A,B,C, ect... you will turn off the Webelos.

[fgoodwin]

perdidochas writes:My conundrum is whether to have each meeting as primarily an activity badge class, or if I should incorporate more team building exercises into it. I've heard different Webelos leaders around the District advocate both approaches.It doesn't matter what the other WDLs are doing, as long as you do right by your boys. Get a copy of the Webelos Leader Book, and follow the lesson plans. Don't worry about what the other WDLs are doing.

[Stosh]

During the winter months we did the pin/advancement inside thingy route and when the summer months rolled around, we did the camping, outing, hiking, teambuilding route. It's not an either/or, it's a both/and issue.

 

We met weekly and ran 1 hour prior to the scout meeting in the same building. When there was something neat going on at the troop and they were invited, the Webelos could stay another hour and catch the fun. By the time they crossed over, they merely showed up an hour later for the meetings. Smooth transition!

 

Stosh