BALOO - What Do You Wish You Were Told

[moosetracker]

Per the syllabus

 

Arrival is at around 8:30 to get registered and organized.. Then the course is suppose to run from 9am through to about 4pm..

 

If you get out early, great.. But as LaurelB states less on ghost stories and .. More on the Basics of camping, and for camping Basics making sure they know it, and are comfortable with the basics is more important then getting out early .. If you have a room full of people like BasementDweller it's early release day.. If not, go until 4pm, letting them try to set up stoves & lanterns, putting the ones who know with the ones who need help..

[Scoutfish]

When I took BALOO, the troop that oner of the instructors was a member of, sent along 6 boy scouts who were earning service hours by helping set up.

 

One of the cool things about tis was this:

 

They boys demonstrated most of the campfire ceremony stuff, put on 6 or 7 skits, and conducted colors at the start and end of the class.

 

Basically, instead of an instructor telling us what we should do, the instructors showed us what we could do.

 

Anybody can explain what a couiple papers or a book says..but having a live visual makes a big difference.

 

 

[Scoutfish]

Oh, and while not directly related, spend a few minutes explaining about parents who cannot go, can get other parents to be replacement guardians.

 

Also a little talk about the difference between YP and 2 Deep as many get this confused.

[AKdenldr]

Remembering back cooking was foil dinners (is this as per course directives?). Then when we tried to do this for the Pack campout we went through an earth unfriendly amount of tin foil and dinner took 2 hours.

 

We've since individually purchased Dutch ovens.

 

Campout schedule was helpful in retrospect.

 

Too much time spent on paperwork and rules -- how about making it into a quiz show to make it lively?

 

We wanted more time with the gear and lighting stoves.

 

I've found OWL and OLS more useful.

[Basementdweller]

To me a Saturday morning is a couple of hours. My course was an entire saturday. We had a bunch of war stories and quibbling about nonsense.

 

 

 

How are you going to teach someone who has never been camping to lead a group of people a weekend camping trip in that short a period?? You can't. Ann, I am a life long outdoorsman, inside and outside of scouting.

 

 

In remembering further......

 

I could have done with out the foil dinner lunch.

I could have done with out the first aid lecture.

I could have done with out the who can sleep with who lecture.

 

 

 

A Pack with out experienced outdoor leadership going camping is a recipe for disaster. As your troop for help, If they are not willing to help, find a troop that is.

 

 

 

 

 

[AnnLaurelB]

Oh, we've been and done and survived already. We're up for Camping Trip Number Four in June. Live and learn.

 

And someone who has never been camping CAN lead a camp out; I have the t-shirt to prove it. No one ended up with stitches, no one got poisoned, no one got lost, no one tumbled into the flames, and a good time was had by all.

 

It was just...um... a bit dark because the manifolds on the lanterns were blown. But we had flashlights. And I had to cut that damn zipper-overflap on MY tent because my kid zipped the zipper into it irrevocably.

 

But, it would have just been NICE if someone had given me some basic pointers. The QUESTION, you know, was "What do you wish you had been told at BALOO?"

 

If the training IS supposed to be 7 or 8 hours, then YES! They COULD have spent 12 1/2 minutes on lighting options.

 

But WHATEVER you decide to teach, the tampon-shaped rolled-paper string-tied wax-dipped fire-starters were WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION, just for the laughs!!! :0)

 

(They should have told me to not poke bears with sticks, but...I just can't resist!)

[moosetracker]

AnnLaurelB.. That is a personalization of your districts BALOO training.

 

It wasn't in the BALOO training I took, nor do I remember the instructions in the Syllabus..

 

They probably just did it knowing you were taking the course and wanted to enjoy your reaction to it.

 

I know what you are saying Basement, but if National gives the Pack their walking papers with the BALOO training then they have a license to camp with the BALOO Training.. NOW.. some packs may be small like ALB's and a newbie to camping may be the only resource they have.. Some may just send a newbie to the training to get the license, while the expirenced leader stays home, and can whip together and lead the Pack camp out, with or without the person who gets trained, but they are on the camping trip holding the permit.. Or they may send their expierenced people to the BALOO training to be bored with everything presented..

 

It's a crap shoot, what mixture of participants you are going to end up with.. You can suggest those with little expirence to find a scout unit that can loan a few scouts.. But, they have the license and it is up to them what they want to do..

 

Heck.. I got my drivers license after about spending 5 hours learning to drive, scared the driving instructor into giving me my license by almost killing him in a car accident.. He gave me my license (I think he didn't want me to come back..).. With the advice.. "You pass, but I advise you not to go out on the road alone..".

 

Think of BALOO like that..

 

(Oh I did get some more driving training.. Got a car.. Then went to by boy friend at the time, and said, "Honey, I have my car, I have my drivers license.. Can you please take me out and teach me how to drive"..)

[Basementdweller]

Last camp out we had 115 people on the Roster I turned into the campmaster.

 

Baloo does not train you to manage that.

[Scoutfish]

Thing about experince is shaky.

 

I know people who are experinced in the wrong thing to do. But they are still experienced.

 

I know plenty of people who are experienced in camping for months nonstop and can survive with a pocket knife and 3 foot of fishing line.

 

But they are not aware how to take their experience and use if for Cubs.

 

And there is only one way to get experience...you go out and do it. But having pointers is a great way to learn quite a few things without having to go through disater first.

 

My BALOO was never even planned on being a morning only event. We knew from the start it was all day long.

 

"I could have done with out the foil dinner lunch.

I could have done with out the first aid lecture.

I could have done with out the who can sleep with who lecture"

 

Sure, so could I, but the class wasn't designed specifically for me or my experience. It was basd on a general expectation of what people may not know.

 

BALOO is also about making camping a kid friendly experience, not to teach adults how tio survive in the jungle. I had plenty of experience camping, but I didn't necessarily have any experience or idea how to make it fun ( the whoile time) for the CUB SCOUTS.

 

And not yelling, but emphasising CUB SCOUTS as it is their program we are talking about.

 

Not everybody knows how to do the tin foiul dinners.

 

Just because I do means nothing to them.. I never even heard of bag omlettes before I went to Pow Wow, much less how to make them.

 

Then you look at your leaders. Some are brand new and fresh to scouting. Some are stuck in a position of becoming leaders because most of the pack quit or crossed into Boy Scouts.

 

Some are brand new parents who just created a brand new pack.

 

They may not want to skip camping for a couple years until they get experience camping with kids.

 

Of course, that begets the question: How do you get experience camping with kids other than to go camping with kids?

 

It's a catch 22 situation really: You don't go camping - and scouts dropm out. You go camping, but are nbot sure what to do, expect or know any tidbits of info to use.

 

Hey, that's where BALOO comes in. It's not an advanced survival camping school, but it's the basic to get you going class.

 

When I took BALO, one of our instructors was a retirted Lt Col in the US Army ( ben retired for about a year). He took over as CM and as he put it...led millions of dollars of equipment and thousands of troops in some of the most dangerous places in the world while exercising some of the most complicated and involved tatical operations.

 

He said he would have no problem with a group of 20 kids.

 

About that time, his wife stands up and itterupts and tells us he came home almost in tears after 1 evening as a CM at a pack event at the CO.

 

So, my point is, you may be the greatest camper in the world, but may totally suck when you take kids. You may not need BALOO for you when camping, but may need BALOO for them when you go camping.

 

And the parenst who have been camping for years who use gasoline while guzzling a 32oz beer to start a 15 tall pile of fresg green logs on fire may have 25 years experience doing it that way, but they have ZERO Cub Scout camping experience.

 

Not saying youy are doing anyting wrong basement, but experince is relative to common sense..which you and I know iks not all that common among many people. The same people who become leaders in a pack and may end up being in charge of a campout.

 

At least BALOO may let them know what not to do...even with all their experience.

[moosetracker]

Basement -

 

Last camp out we had 115 people on the Roster I turned into the campmaster....Baloo does not train you to manage that.

 

Basement Packs who have 115 people to go on campouts most likely can find someone in that group with expirence.. Or divy up the expirence, to a few with camping expirence, a few with skills to keep kids entertained etc..

 

A starter pack that consists of 5 to 10 scouts tops, and a few Adult leaders, may not have the experience.. But they also will not lead 115 people into the forests.. It will more be something like 10 to 25 people.. If they have a few Adults with common sense, and someone BALOO trained, they will some how survive their first attempt, and learn from their mistakes.

[Old_OX_Eagle83]

How to do that really cool dance while singing Bear Necessities! Kidding aside, it was appropriate material for the target audience. Although Id like to have a get out of training free card, as an Eagle Scout, I understand why that cannot be done. Once the trainer saw that tell tale red, white, and blue knot I made the volunteer for everything, and but of all jokes, lol.

 

It was actually fun, and I could see these leaders absorbing the material, and the gears turning on how they were going to teach the cubs. If it fell short it was in not being overnight, but owls covers that well.

 

[Scoutfish]

I think of BALOO as a conjuntion.

 

OK ..everybody now..."Conjunction Juncton - what's your function? ..."

 

WOW! I am old .

 

So anyways, BALOO is the conjunction between Camping and the CUB scout program. It's what you use to adapt a indoor den and pack meeting to an outdoor camping experience.

[AnnLaurelB]

Ooooh! Ooooh! (name that t.v. character)

 

Scoutfish touched on what I was trying to say; that AS a noob, it would have been nice if they had maybe ASKED, "So, where are you?" That's all I'm saying. Kind of like if you have a new kid join in November, he's gonna hafta get his Bobcat before he can do anything else. A checklist: CAN you pitch a tent? HAVE you lit a propane device? etc...

 

ANYWAY, here's what I thought of, too:

 

I wish they would have mentioned some things to do outdoors during the down times. The times when the adults are either exhausted, or have to focus on something else for 1/2 hour. Like if something goes wrong with supper prep. (NOT THAT I WOULD KNOW!)

 

I saw other Packs who had set up a shade tent with some tables and they had some sort of craft kit to keep the boys' hands busy. And a supervising adult could SIT DOWN while they did it. THAT was a great idea!

 

And make sure someone brings a soccer ball. Or 6. Not every boy can throw/catch a football (yet), and not every boy can throw/catch a frisbee, but they can ALL kick the stuffing out of a soccer ball. And you can use it for a TON of different games, not just soccer.

 

However, I saw some Packs at Cub-O-Ree who passed out some *impossible* schedules of events for their boys. I was exhausted just LOOKIN' at 'em! I would say to new campmasters that we can never underestimate the fun of simply running around banging things with sticks.

 

I did a scavenger hunt with some odd things on it. I brought an old Pinewood scale and included a paper lunch sack with their lists. They had to bring me 1/2 pound of ...something... Didn't matter what. Just whatever they thought 1/2 pound of something was. Dirt, rocks, pinecones, sticks. It was fun to see what they brought, and how close to 8 ounces they each got.

 

Ooooh! Again! It WAS very helpful when they told us to tuck the tarps UNDER the edge of the tents, so if it rained, the water wouldn't run between the tent and the tarp, soaking the floor. If you tuck the tarp UNDER the edge, the water runs into the ground, more, and mostly under the *tarp*, not your sleeping bag. Very helpful.

 

Not that I know about camping in the rain, or anything...no. Not at all.

[Basementdweller]

A skills check list is a fantastic Idea?

[dg98adams]

If you cover the course syllabus, and have 8-10 Scouters, you shouldn't get out early. In the 4 years I chaired our council BALOO, the course is dependent on the group for skills content. When I had skilled participants, I got them involved in the demos whenever possible.

 

Portions of the course should have some question/answer periods. Especially during the "who can sleep with who" and "getting the Cubs involved in meal prep and cleanup safely at a Cub Scout level".

 

But you need to cover the course syllabus, without the "this is the way we do it (or did it) stories" while making it fun.