What to Expect with BALOO Training

[Eagle92]

Ok found out that the district is putting on BALOO training this weekend. No advertisement, no preregistration, nada. 10 folks from one pack complained enough that the powers that be added BALOO to a scheduled BS event and they emailed all CS leaders. Since I'm not a CS leader, I didn't get the email. Person incharge of the overall event says 'just show up" So I'm asking you folks what to expect and what to bring.

[ScoutNut]

Wow, should be an interesting training event.

 

Since it is so last minute, with no idea of how many will actually be there, I have no idea what they will, or will not have available for you.

 

I would bring a pen, and a water bottle or cup. You might also need some $$. We usually charge to help offset the cost of materials and food. But then we plan in advance and take registrations too.

 

Call the Course Director, if there is one, or the person in charge of the event.

 

 

[dg98adams]

I chair BALOO for our council, and knowing how many is coming is directly related on my purchasing food for the "foil lunch", which is a major part of the course.

 

I usually push 20-30% extra for the "day-of's", and if I have extra, I buy it back for either my Troop or myself personally. I send a receipt to the council for what gets used.

 

Participants get a course book for their fee and the "foil lunch". Hopefully they will get several ideas to take back to the pack to make the Pack overnight safe and meaningful.

 

I usually have some Scouts augment the food with their favorite fire-side snacks. I get Scouts to tend the fire & foils while the course continues.

 

[fgoodwin]

You might want to bring a notebook or folder, to store all the handouts you'll get.

 

If you bring a ring-binder, bring a hole-punch also, in case the handouts are not punched. I've found a book-bag or backpack works nicely for keeping those stray papers in place on a windy day or (relatively) dry on a wet day. Bring a "spork" in case they don't provide utensils for the foil meal.

 

You might also want to bring a camp-chair (lightweight folding chair) in the event there are not enough chairs to go around, or they can't be moved from station to station.

[Eagle92]

Yeah I know, fast and furious. Like I said they decided to add BALOO training to a scheduled event. Everything seems haphazard due to the last minute nature of the event. Hopefully things will get a bit more organized. 3 of the folks, including yours truly, have offered to teach this course on the district level from now on, and we just got our DE finally, so that will help with the organizational process.

 

Besides the notebook and pen, should I bring anything else, i.e. tent, backpack, cookgear, song book, etc. I've already done and taught IOLS, but never BALOO or OWL. District hasn't been able to get enough interest until this year for a course, and the 10 folks who've been complaining all come from the same pack. I just want to be prepared and have fun.

 

 

Also is there a syllabus online for the course?

eagle92

[BeaverIII]

Bring an open mind and a smile. The presentations may be a bit haphazard if the course was put together at the last minute.

 

BeaverIII

[ScoutNut]

Are you a participant, or a trainer for this weekend's course?

 

BALOO participants do not spend the night, so camping gear is not needed.

 

The folks putting on the BALOO course should have all of the food and equipment necessary for lunch, so no cookwear is needed.

 

If you are a participant you will not need the syllabus. You should receive participant materials.

 

If you are a trainer for this course (you should not be if you have not taken it yet) you can get a 2008 version BALOO syllabus in your Scout Shop. The ones that I have found online are not current.

 

Not knowing the facilities that will be available to you, Fred's suggestion of a camp chair is a good one.

 

If you have the Cub Scout Sparklers and/or song book, while they should not be necessary, considering the quick and dirty aspect of this, if there are not sufficient materials on site to use, it could be helpful to you to bring them along.

 

Also extra eating utensils might come in handy since they have no idea weather to plan for 1 or 100.

 

Just a thought - if there hasn't been any interest in a course, until the 10 folks from the same pack started complaining, what the heck are the Packs in your District doing about Pack camping? Not camping? Camping without a Tour Permit? Getting Tour Permits approved by your council with no trained BALOO leader listed?

 

I can't say I blame those 10 folks for complaining. I would too if I wanted to take my Pack camping, and could not do it, under the BSA rules, because of a lack of the proper training offered by my council.

 

 

[Eagle92]

Ok I'm one of the participants. I get a laugh from freinds because I've done a bunch of outdoor training and have taught those courses already, have staffed and ran CS events on the district and council level before, yada yada yada. But I haven't done BALOO or OWL.

 

Reason for the outline is twofold 1) to see what is involved and 2) get a copy of the syllabus for my district. The district's copy was never returned when the CS trainer left 2 years ago. not that it was used.

 

As for faciltiies, small college campus. I hate to say it, but I think it's going to be in a classroom, especially since it may rain. Would have preferred it ot be at the local scout camp 18 minutes away, but that's where it is scheduled.

 

As for the packs and tour permits issue DON"T ASK. Yes it's a problem we are trying to solve, but we have packs going camping without tour permits. Trying to change it is like herding cats. The unit that the 10 leaders are from had 1 leader BALOO trained, and he just stepped down as CM in December. They've complained for a while, but now that it's about to effect the largest and most active pack in the district, it got noticed. I htink that's one reason for the fast and furious approach to the course this saturday.

[rjscout]

That is interesting... you taught IOLS, and now you are taking BALOO. I took BALOO 17 months ago, which was integrated with the IOLS class. I showed up Saturday morning and participated in most of what IOLS was doing through the day. Our Webelos leaders also use the IOLS for their training (not required to camp Friday night, but do camp Saturday night, but who would want to miss out on the fun?). After my BALOO, I couldn't wait to attend IOLS. I am not familiar with what is required for the Webelos part of the training that is different than the Boy Scout Leader part of IOLS. I guess I'll find out in May.

 

Let us know how the class went.

[dg98adams]

The BALOO syllabus was updated last year, but the changes were minor.

It's a big PDF file, so I use "sendthisfile.com" when someone wants it electronically. If you want a copy just let me know.

 

As the course chair I bring all materials for the break out sessions ( or the Scouter covering that section does), like tents, stoves, first aid kits, etc.

 

I also augment the sessions materials with songs/cheers and ice breakers. I also lean on cub stuff like the "Helps, Sparklers book, Magic book, How To's, and Flag Ceremonies".

 

The big part of BALOO is the G2SS, Campfire Program, Sanitation, How to Plan a cub Overnight and then the "foil Lunch". If you have camped and had Outdoor Skills, it will be a little slow.

 

It is fun though, or at least as fun as the participants make it.

 

I also know this year "Hazardous Weather Training" (ONLINE) is required to get a tour permit. So I will be hitting that next month when I cover the course for our Council.(This message has been edited by dg98adams)

[fgoodwin]

rjscout, I haven't taught BALOO in a couple of years and have not seen the latest syllabus, but the syllabus I taught from specifically states that it is not to be combined with other courses.

 

How in the world did your council / district combine BALOO with IOLS? The audiences, skills taught, and skill levels assumed are completely different. The syllabus for Outdoor Leaders Skills for Webelos Leaders (OLS-WL) specifically provides a modified agenda that combines some sessions with IOLS, but I've never seen a syllabus that combines BALOO with either IOLS or OLS-WL.

 

I thought when trainers go through TDC, they make an oath to teach the course as written?

[Buffalo Skipper]

We do combine out BALOO with OWL training, at least in part. If you look at the material, there is a common ground for what can be several hour of program. We share class time for that and then break apart for the remainder of the material.

 

Once we did this in conjunction with OLS, by "sharing" some of the Round Robin setups. There was a model campsite set up and it was used by OLS and later by the BALOO. Same instructors, different presentations, but it was scheduled in a manner timely for the Round Robin instructors. Likewise, the general knots (OWL) and the Fire basics were shared in this way.

 

This was really not combining course material, but utilizing rescources concectuively (not concurrently) for the greater good. It worked out well, especially in regards to the OWL--after all, the Webelos leaders are presumed to be moving to Boy Scouts soon, so getting them to meet the Boy Scout trainers and Scouters is good networking and preperation.

 

We pitch BALOO as the administration and planning of Cub Scout camping, and OWL as the how-to outdoor skills for Webelos leaders.

[Eagle92]

Question since I've taken IOLS, does that mean I DO NOT have to take the Webelos Leader One? Yeah I should know these answers having been the training chair for my district a few years back, but the way it was organized is one person and his staff covered the CS end, while I and others covered the BS end.

[ScoutNut]

IOLS is not a subsitiute for OLSWL.

 

Webelos Outdoor is aimed at the CUB SCOUT Webelos level leader, and includes info on doing the outdoor Webelos Activity Badges.

 

 

[Buffalo Skipper]

I hope I did not create that confusion. BALOO, OLS (or ILOS) and OWL are completetly different courses (though there are areas of overlap). Each is inteded for a different audience and serves a different purpose. None is a pre-requisiste or a substitute for the others.

 

BALOO is a good course. It teaches quite a bit about campout planning and administration of outings. Some of this applies to Boy Scouts as well. As an example, I can't off the top of my head, think of any BS level course which teaches how to fill out a tour permit (and explains the purpose of each part of the form). No, it's not brain surgery ("Hi, I'm Dr. Baloo. I'll be doing performing the operation on your frontal lobe today. And Dr. Akela will be assisting with the proceedure. He is just and intern, but he had very high test scores in brain anatomy...."), but it can help.

 

(This message has been edited by Buffalo Skipper)