Weebelos Woods Weekend - Bad!!

[mudman2003]

I feel your pain. We were invited to camp with one troop. Fri night the Webelos wound up arriving before the boy scout troop and had no idea where to set up. We had our own tents and set them up when finally told where to go which wound up being at the far end of the area from where the boyscouts set up so we were kind of by ourselves.Troop leaders did introduce themselves. Sat morning breakfast was to be at 8:30 and we showed up at 8:30, but the boy led cooking team didn't serve breakfast until 10:00. By then the kids were famished. When it was time they said ok, Webelos go first and get your food and that was all that was said. Well they went up to the buffet and grabbed food, I was behind my son and when I saw the amount of food they had, I had to hold him back from taking what he would normally eat and we went back to the table. Then when the food ran out older scouts from the troop came over and yelled at them for taking too much food. After the food was gone they brough out cereal for those that didn't eat enough. My son went for cereal and they were out of mill (keep in mind the know how many people are coming weeks before the event) Then there was supposed to be a flag ceremony, it never happened and an American flag never flew the entire weekend. There were supposed to be stations for the scouts to go to, but they wound up playing games for almost all of Sat morning so much that there wasn't enough time in the rest of the day to get through the acitivites. On a good note, the Sat night dinner and campfire program was done well.

We are now invited to visit another troop and camp. That troop had us visit early, split our webelos into two patrols and put two older boy scouts as their patrol leaders. They all planned a menu and a duty roster together. Then were told that they can use troop tents and the senior scouts will put the tents up for them since it will be dark when they get to camp. I'll give a report back after the event. Our guys came out of the meeting visit liking what they had seen and heard.

[Sidney Porter]

boy led vs adult led is one thing. But it sounds like the boy scouts treated the cub scouts poorly this would be my biggest concern. The troop camp out that we attended was scout led but I think that the adults helped focus the planning. Obviously we did not get to see the planning that went into it. But the troop led the webelos through every aspect of the outdoorsmans activity badge. It was more thought out than what I have seen with district summer camps. You could tell that the older boy scouts understood the reason they were there is for recruitment and helping the webelos get their outdoorsmans. This is where I think the adults explained the purpose of the gather to them and then let them execute. The SPL was very mature.

 

The only real issues was that nothing started on time and everything took longer than expected. But that is part of being scout led.

[IM_Kathy]

sorry you had a bad experience. Visit multiple troops both meetings and campouts.

 

You mentioned the adult kept saying it's boy-led, but in what you wrote I didn't actually read any form of leading. There is adult-run, boy-run, and un-lead where they say it's boy-led but none of the boys are doing any leading they're just doing and those are totally different.

 

Was their a scout or maybe a couple that was instructing the other scouts what to take and put in the trailer? This should be the job of the quartermaster

 

Was there a scout that was gathering other boys together and assigning tasks and over seeing and helping them out? This would be the SPL for whole troop or PL for just the patorl

 

Our troop - webelos visiting normally do tent with their parent and depending on the number we might need extra tents for that arrangement. We do this because we do want the parents to see camping as well. If it's a full den that has our den chief they would be either be their own patrol for a campout with their chief and a guide or instructor assisting... or else split evenly among the patrols. They would be given jobs just as an patrol member dishes, assistant cook, etc, but with the patrol leader and assistant (or the chief and a guide/instructor) explaining, quick showing, and then over-seeing them.

 

The cub parents are with the adult troop members. We will discuss how things are done with the troop: patrols, positions, rank advancement, merit badges, past camp locations, future camp locations, how meeting activities are planned and scheduled out, service projects we do yearly, other service projects we previously have done, and future service projects planned. We answer all questions they have the best we can. We discuss behavior expectations and consequences. But at bed the cubs sleep with their parent.

 

Now that being said we have had only a couple come and they tented in 1 tent with their parents in another, but prior the boys told them the lights out rule... which is boys go to bed after our evening campfire and snack which is closed with chaplain aid's prayer and taps if we have instrument player (yes even have had it on guitar and even once a phone app LOL), adults have a little adult time by the fire while the boys start to settle, I go to the bathroom, when I return I say "good night boys" and that means it's quiet time. That said that can be harder when you are at a camporee where they put troops closer together and another troop doesn't follow quite time given by hosting group.

 

Latest we have ever arrived, set-up, and gone to bed was I think 9:30pm arrival with 11pm quiet and those are the long distant trips which normally we don't have a webelos visit on. It has never taken our troop that long to load, unload, set-up that's just insane.

 

And even with boy-led there is a point where adult leadership has a job in sitting down with youth leaders and doing the "what went good? what would you do differently and how?" and if needed make some suggestions. SPL always rides with me (SM) (plus other boys youth protection is followed) on the way it's "so what is planned and how do you plan on making that happen?" on the way home it's the questions I just mentioned. I like doing it right away so it's all fresh in his mind.