5th graders
Lawrence Tuck (lawrence.tuck@GTE.NET)
Wed, 14 Apr 1999 08:28:59 -0700
<<I am interested in hearing what Packs do to prepare their 5th graders and
what Troops do in working with their new boys. >>
Our council strongly encourages bridging in Feb. or March of their 5th grade
year. For us, the big hurdle isn't so much summer camp--most Webelos here
have been to the council's Webelos Resident Camp or Webelos Weekend the
previous summer. The tough thing is Camporee, held in April, just a month or
two after they've bridged.
Our District runs Webelos Woods, which is in part a "learn-by-doing"
introduction to the Patrol Method, with experienced Boy Scouts acting as
Patrol Leaers to temporary patrols of Webelos Scouts. Our troop also invites
5th-grade Webelos to join us on one of our campouts in January or February,
where each Webelos is hosted by a patrol.
We put newly bridged Webelos into a New Scout patrol for their first three
to four months in the troop. The New Scouts meet every Saturday with a
couple of Troop Guides or Instructors and an ASM/New Scouts. They learn
basic camping skills and get at least to Tenderfoot before summer camp. They
transition to regular patrols in early summer.
Just last weekend, we had what was supposed to be an easy training backpack
which half-a-dozen of our 5th-grade New Scouts attended. They got hit by a
freak snowfall (this is supposed to be Southern California) that definitely
put their preparation to the test. It was more challenging than they
expected but everyone survived and they learned from it.
Larry Tuck
SM, Troop 761
Thousand Oaks, CA
