Suggestions for Webelos Leaders

[sctmom 11]

If you are a new Webelos leader, I'd like to share a few suggestions with you.

 

The Webelos program can be followed, the boys can earn a lot of pins, yet they are still not ready for the transition to Boy Scouts.

 

Have the boys involved in planning what Webelos badges to work on.

 

Have the boys start running the meetings -- flag ceremonies, taking attendance, collecting dues, teaching skills, etc.

 

Can't go camping? Have a family cookout nearby, letting the boys cook over a campstove and fire for their families

 

Find out what each boy likes to do in his spare time. Find a way to tie those to the Webelos Badges.

Boy collects rocks? Let him be the leader on the Geologist Badge.

Boy likes to tinker with electronics? Let him lead the electric part of the engineering badge.

Have them bring in their personal art work or collections.

Have them bring in vacation pictures and maps when working on the Traveler badge.

 

Keep the parents busy with someone other than their own boy! You want the parents involved, but you also need to know when and how to say "back off". Remember you are the one in charge, even of the adults (took me a long time to learn that one).

 

When you give the boys a project to work on, tell them they have to ask each other for help BEFORE they can ask any adult. This will help them a lot when they get to Boy Scouts.

 

My son knew how to put up my tent. One den meeting I had him lead the other boys in putting up the tent. Then let them sit inside, since some had never camped before. The hardest part was keeping the parents out of the way. They mean well, but just took over when the boys could have done it just fine.

 

Walk around with a piece of rope for knot tying sessions. I have seen some den leaders get very colorful rope for each boy and teach them a way to wrap it so they can hang it off their belt when not in use.

 

In any activity requiring tape, MAKE sure an adult is in charge of the tape. It doesn't matter what kind of tape it is, you will turn your back for one minute and then the tape is gone and someone is taped to their chair or worse!

 

Start easing out of having snacks at every meeting if that is a tradition. I only had snacks if it was part of the activity.

 

Try to meet for 1 1/2 hours every week. Our pack was used to den meetings twice a month for 1 hour each. There was no way to complete Webelos activities in that time.

 

A game for the Fitness badge about the Food Pyramid. Bring in 2 sacks of groceries. Divide the den into 2 teams. Tell them you just came from the store and need them to sort the items by the pyramid categories. Have identical items in the bags. Have a roll of toilet paper at the bottom of each bag. You said you came from the grocery store --- not that all items are edible! Of course, this would be a meeting to eat some of the items at.

 

A game for the Forester badge. Fill 2 boxes with identical items -- some made from trees, some not from trees. Canned veggies, canned fruit, paper, pencil, etc. Include some strange items no one knows come from trees (Film, some plastics). Also, include something like peanuts. Have the 2 teams sort the items -- came from a tree or didn't come from a tree.

 

For most of the Webelos Badges you can find a Boy Scout Merit Badge book that is related. You can get some ideas from the MB books, don't have the boys do the whole Boy Scout badge, but just use some of the explanations and activities from the books.

 

Right away have the boys choose a patrol name, emblem and yell. Have the boys take a piece of plain cloth (or pillowcase) and make a rustic looking patrol flag. Refer to them as that patrol at pack meetings.

 

Hope these suggestions help.

[jbroganjr 10]

sctmom

Just wanted you to know that your suggestions are now going to be a handout at the RT I run for Sept. Meetings.

Outstanding

Jbroganjr

[sctmom 11]

Wow, I'm feel so honored!

[fboisseau 10]

sctmom,

I have printed out your suggestion and will include them in my training material for my pack.

 

I have two additional suggestions.

First find a troop and work with them on going to more then the minimum trips and meetings. The more the better. This will give the Webelos a chance to observe how meetings and campouts work.

Second in everything to Webelos do have them function as a patrol.

[Sdriddle 10]

My $.02

 

I had my webelos Denner do a call down each week to remind them about the meeting and if they needed to bring or read anything. It helped them use the phone for something other than homework and how to talk to answering machines.

 

Use the Denner system. The boys elected a Denner each month who was responsible for bringing drinks to the meeting during his term. They didn't forget very often! LOL! A boy could only be Denner or Asst. Denner once until we had rotated through everyone.

 

Have as many guest speakers as you can find to teach the requirements for the pins. I had a volunteer fireman come in for the Readyman, a ham radio operator for communicator, and the middle school pricipal came in for scholarship. It sure makes for an easy meeting plan!

 

Be sure to tell every parent and boy that the parents are not to sign off of anything without your permission. I had parents working ahead and signing off of things and when we did it as a group (Athlete) they couldn't complete the requirements but the parents had already signed them off. It certainly put me between a rock and a hard place because I had not made it clear who was to sign off in the book and when.

 

You can never go on a oudoor troop activity too soon. If you wait until January to complete your AOL troop activities, you have waited toooooo long.

 

Repeat the Scout Oath and Law at every meeting. The boys don't usually work on that at home until you finally tell them they won't get their AOL at the Blue and Gold banquet next week if they don't memorize it.

 

Don't wait for a troop to contact you. Find troops now to visit and hound them until you get the activity or meeting you want for the Webelos to attend. (Can you tell I didn't have a troop connected to the pack?!)

 

These are a few of the things I learned the hard (most effective) way. I completely agree with Scoutmoms suggestions. Personally, with the exception of stressing over AOL requirements I thought that being a Webelos leader was easier than Wolf or Bear.

 

Sheila

[janssenil 10]

Sheila,

The call down idea is great. I only have 5 Webelos and last week only one showed up (in addition to my son). I was VERY unhappy after having stayed home all day to make sure I had everything planned and recorded. Turns out one new parent got their meetings mixed up; I still have no idea what happened to the other two. A call down would have saved me a lot of grief.

 

A variation might work, too. Set up a list of who will call who until the last person calls the first person. And, if a boy has trouble contacting his assigned person, have him call the leader.

 

Does anyone else have any problems with boys not showing up?

[sctmom 11]

Janssenil,

I had the same problem with a Webelos den I had. Three of the boys were friends and lived in the same neighborhood. Sometimes one parent would bring all three. I think the moms would get together and decide whether or not to attend a meeting. Then all or none would show up. I kept saying "call me before the meeting if you can't make it". Right near end of our den, they didn't show up one night. When I got home I had a voice mail they had left DURING the meeting. Soon after that they all just dropped out. They tried to say they thought I wasn't having meetings anymore. What I had said was that I would continue to have meetings even after my son crossed over, if their sons had not crossed over.

 

Arrghhhh!

 

I could call these people the day before the meeting, they would say "okay, thanks for calling" and then not show up. For over a year I dealt with this, never finding a solution for this group.

 

I explained over and over that I spent my time preparing for the meeting, buying supplies, etc. If their boys didn't show up then any games I had planned could not take place. I would expect 6 and get 3 (one being my son).

 

They tried the "oh, but WE work " excuse. Okie dokie, so do I. And even the stay at home moms I know are very, very busy. Most parents in our den work outside the home. Many work different shifts. But they find a way to get their kids to the meetings.

 

I got tired of doing the calling myself because it was such a waste of time. And everyone has the same calendar of events that I do.

[Wallace 10]

I have worried over the attendance issue as well. I have finally decided that I can only be there for the boys that show up and not worry so much about those who do not. Yes, I am tired of preparing 8 copies of handouts, etc. only to have 2 boys show up.

I have stressed to the boys and families that Webelos is a time to prepare to be Boy Scouts. We have a set calendar and regular meeting schedule. This year I only contact the boys (about the meeting) if the meeting time has changed. At some point the Webelos need to learn that they are responsible for remembering the meeting. I tell them (boys and parents) that when they join a troop, they will not be reminded about meetings. So far they have all risen to the challenge and attendance is up over the Bear and Wolf years.

Be Prepared! is very much the theme.

 

[janssenil 10]

Thanks for sharing the attendance problems! It makes me feel a little better. As much as one tries not to take things personally, it's hard not to wonder what you're doing wrong. Actually, sometimes I wonder how parents can be so rude when you are trying SO hard to do something for their most prized possessions.

[rlculver415 10]

Sadly, the parents often think you are doing all this effort for your boy, and theirs get to benefit also when they are there. "Well, of course your son got that award - he's the leader's son, after all."

 

Actually, Wallace has the right idea. Webelos should be responsible by now to be in attendance and on time. They don't need phone reminders for normal meetings. A phone tree is a good way to remind them of special events. Start expecting more responsible behavior from them, and they usually rise to the challenge, including motivating someone to bring them.

 

If boys do not attend a meeting, they just miss out. Never try to go back and catch them up. Your other boys will get bored, and it's unfair to them. When you have extra time at the end of the meeting, play a game - not catch-up. If Johnny doesn't earn a certain activity badge, too bad. In our Pack, Webelos could work on activity badges at home as long as they brought their work in for approval by the den leader. (This is done either before or after the meeting, not during - and of course, only the den leader signed off the requirements) I'm not saying to be mean or callous, but sometimes we leaders have to ignore our tender feelings for the good of the group.

[Sdriddle 10]

On the reminder calls.... we actually met after school which meant that most of the boys actually remembered the meeting. The main point of the calling was to give the boys a responsibility that made them feel important to the group. I have had a difficult time trying to get the boys to realize that they are a team and should look out for one another. It also helped them learn how to leave messages for people. Most boys hang up when they get an answering machine because they don't know what to do or say.

 

Leaders just have to do what they feel will benefit their group the best as long as you follow BSA guidelines.

 

Sheila