New webelos den leader needs help

[mallway]

Wow! You all are great. Thanks for all the great advice. I feel a little better and a lot less like I'm going to drown. I have ordered the leader book(it took two weeks to come in,I'll pick it up Thursday) and although I am very frustrated with our council and lack of leadership and organization I think I'll be able to cope with scouters like you to help me.I contacted our District Commissioner and the nearest roundtable meeting is 40 miles away. And they meet on the exact day and time as my den meetings!GO Figure. Thanks again for the help.

[romboman]

Bummer that you have a schedule conflict with Roundtable..

It can be a great source of info, and relating with others in your position is a great comfort. that's what Roundtable is all about.. I want to echo what others have said about training and reading the Webelo Den Leaders Manual. Don't try to re-invent the wheel.. I started as WDL, am now the SM of my son's troop. You have one of the best jobs in all of scouting, It is up to you to get these boys excited about joining a troop. They are Cubs, but get to hang out with the Big Boys!!! Use your resources (Parents) to cover activity badges, This is also a introduction to being a Boy Scout Leader. Remember, in the troop, the BOYS are the leaders. The adults are advisors and mentors..Get your webelos used to the idea by asking more of your Denner. Don't even try to do it all yourself. but rely on others..Remember your mission is to help them get the AOL, and MORE importantly to have a good transition to a troop...

[dsteele]

Mallway:

 

I do feel your pain, although you may wonder if I truly do when you finish reading this post. Believe me, it is meant to get you thinking and not to offend (I hope it does the former, but not the latter:)

 

Roundtable may be 40 miles away for you. That is not uncommon in the BSA, especially in rural areas. However, you can probably be there in under an hour if you have a vehicle (not everyone does.) Try going to a roundtable as the others have advised. I'd suggest taking a car-load of as many of your pack people if you can. Roundtable is one method the council/district provide information and support.

 

At roundtable, you can expect (not wish for; expect) information on upcoming training and events, program support ideas, fellowship with other Scouters who have been in your position, and interaction with your DE. Commissioners are there, experienced Scouters are there, and it is there that your cry for help will be met by a warm body who is probably willing to drive to your meetings to help you understand the program.

 

Your council/district also provide: a newsletter, perhaps a web site, training, commissioner service, a DE, phone information, etc. It's up to you to use them.

 

Are you registered with the BSA? Sometimes, den leaders, Webelos Den Leaders, etc. are never asked to fill out an adult application and pay the fee? If you haven't done this, then the council/district doesn't know about you. It's also possible that you did fill it out and it was incorrectly filed. A call to the council service center asking about your registration could fix the problem either way.

 

Please allow me to tell a little joke I heard recently that this thread reminded me of:

 

A hard rain fell on an Ohio town and the town started to flood.

 

An older man went out to his covered porch and watched the waters rise.

 

Soon a couple came along in a row boat, as the waters hit the third step of the porch. They said, "Hey, let us get you out of here."

 

The old man said, "The Lord will save me."

 

The couple left.

 

Soon the waters were around the old man's ankles. A man in a canoe came by and said, "Old man, let me get you out of there!"

 

The old man said, "The Lord will save me."

 

The man left.

 

Hours later, the old man sitting on the roof, with water swirling around him, a helicopter flew overhead and dangled a ladder in front of him. "Come on! We'll get you out!" a loudspeaker from the helicopter shouted.

 

The old man said, "The Lord will save me!"

 

The helicopter flew off.

 

The old man was washed away and drowned.

 

In Heavan, St. Peter looked at the man and asked, "What are you doing here?"

 

The old man replied sourly, "The Lord didn't save me!"

 

St. Peter sighed, "We sent you a canoe, a row boat and a helicopter. What more did you want?"

 

I hope I'm wrong in this case, but it's been my experience that the people who feel they aren't getting help from their council or district are the ones who are (select one or more and this applies:) unwilling to drive to get assistance, don't read materials mailed to them, aren't registered for their current position, aren't trained, haven't asked, don't attend roundtable, or don't recognize help when it's there.

 

I wish all new people the best of luck. If you feel lost and alone, I suggest you make three phone calls -- their names and numbers will be in your council newsletter: The district commissioner, the district chairman and the district executive. Call each of the three and do what they tell you to do. Someone in the district will sit down with you and tell you what resources are available.

 

Godspeed!

 

Unc.

[anarchist]

great thread! less vitriol being tossed about...

 

Mallway, Training, particularly the Webelos leader outdoor training (WLOT was the best i have had!) will help you keep your head above water. And the bs you were probably shoveled about only one hour a week...they lied...

But if you jump in and use the life lines these folks are tossing... you will make it! Get others in the pack involved in training and know what? a few extra weekend to finish activities will be worth it four or five years from now when several of your scouts start running their own troop as Patrol leaders and SPL's! It is so cool to see the ground work in outdoors skills YOU help lay-down grow into full blown active Boys Scouts and outdoorsmen!

good luck it'll be quite a ride!

anarchist

[ScoutMomAng]

Hi! I'm a Webelos leader in Panama City, Florida. I read your post today and I think I can help! First of all it is VERY possible to earn one activity badge per month! Some however, do requirea little more work than one month (i.e. Citizen). But those that require more than one month also usually have belt loops that they will earn to complete requirements and those will be the awards they will earn for that month at the pack meeting. Fortunately there are not many activity badges that will take more than one month. Second of all...use your resources wisely. Find out from your parents their hobbies. Maybe you have a dad that knows some woodworking. He can help you on several badges (craftsman, engineer etc.). Maybe you have a mom that is good with crafts, she can help with the craftsman activity badge! Find outside speakers to come and talk to the boys about some other things! Nobody ever said you had to know how to do it all by yourself! There have been several badges that my boys have earned that I did not do a thing for except set up the meeting! For example, my boys just earned their Geology activity badge, belt loop and academics pin and all I did was contact the Florida Geological Society! They did all the work for me, except the driving from here to there and back. Use the internet! There are several places to go that can give you step by step instructions on what to do to complete a badge! Plan out a couple of months worth of activity badges ahead of time and always try to stay one week ahead of yourself. For example if you meet on Tuesdays then for the upcoming Tuesday you should've already had in place the stuff ready for this meeting the week before (make sense?). As a first year Webelos leader the most important thing you should do is first concentrate on Fitness and Citizen. Both of those badges are REQUIRED to get the Webelos badge. To keep your boys in line, pick a denner and an assistant denner. They will help you set the example. Learn the Cub scout sign. This sign they should know when it goes up their mouths go shut. I have only 8 boys this year. Last year I had 15 boys. They learned the sign in a hurry. I don't speak when my sign is up and they soon realize that sign means they are off task. Also, I have incorporated, recently, that if I have to tell them to stop doing something more than once in a den meeting they owe me some exercises. I start out with push ups, then jumping jacks then a 50 yard dash. It isn't punishment because in realization they are working on their Athlete Activity Badge! Tricky I know but its killing two birds with one stone if you know what I mean. Make sure you time their 50 yard dash, count their push ups in a 60 second time frame and their jumping jacks in a 60 second time frame, and document it but don't tell them you are documenting it for their sake. None of my boys realize they are working on their Athlete Activity badge! But several are showing improvement! If you have powerpoint on your computer I'd be more than willing to send you the power point training I helped my husband put together for Webelos, just e-mail me. I love webelos and I will stay a Webelos leader for a long time to come, even after both my boys move onto boy scouts! They are a great age group to work with. One other important thing to remember is that your meetings should only be one time per week for no more than 1 hour and 15 minutes, and their attention spans are short so keep your activities changing or make sure they are hands on. No lectures. This age HATES lectures, they get that all day at school. If you need anymore help please feel free to e-mail me. Oh yeah...and some requirements say "with your parent...." make those homework. Emphasize how important it is they work with their parent on this activity and how important it is to have it back by the next meeting.