Bear meeting ideas

[sctmom 11]

I just had my first Bear den meeting this past week. I was a Webelos leader for 1 1/2 years.

 

This is what we did this past week with 4 boys.

 

Taught them the square knot (achievement 22)

Did the magic knot rope trick that is in the book (ach. 22)

Did a list of den conduct rules (the boys came up with the rules, about 6 of them)

Played animal charades (I gave them cards with animal names, helped them if they needed it for ideas) -- Ach. ???

Did Relay Races in Ach. 16c

Talked briefly about extinct & endangered animals (ach. 5)

 

I try to start each meeting with a flag ceremony, pledge of allegiance. I want to close each meeting with the living circle for now.

 

Next week I plan to make bird feeders (ach 5). Found online somewhere one where you nail 2 alum. pie plates to a dowel. Hang this from a tree. One plate is the "roof", the other holds the birdseed. Will also do some of cutting a grapefruit in half, pulling out part of the pulp and filling with birdseed, punch holes in the side to hang from a tree with string.

 

Have printed out some coloring pages I found on line about endangered and extinct animals. Will have them color those as they gather for the meeting. (ach. 5) Will discuss this again.

 

Will also play some sort of simple game.

 

Hope that helps.

 

[kittle 10]

That helps alot. I will just look through the book and come up with something to do that will also work with a required achievement.

 

Thanks for the help,

Katrina

[Bob White 20]

Program Helps brochure available through your local scout office follows the 12 monthly themes set by national and followed by Boys Life magazine. In it they will give you 4 den meeting agendas for each month, and tell you which requirements will be completed in each rank for tigers wolves and bear dens.

 

It is an invaluable program tool. Paired with the Cub How To Book you will have about everything you need for successful Den meetings.

 

Bob White

[sctmom 11]

Most of what I am doing came from program helps. This month is "Jungle Fun". The craft they had was to glue pom-poms together to make a panda bear slide or pencil topper. This just didn't do much for me. I just keep imagining a mess of glue and pom-poms! I think these boys will enjoy making some simple bird feeders and they will get to use a hammer! Fits with the theme, is fun, and is an achievement.

 

My den just met for the first time this past week. We are off to a late start. Also, we meet 3 times a month, not 4.

 

BSA encourages you to use the Program helps but doesn't insist you do. As I said in another post, they are great, but sometimes you have to tweak them for your group.

 

 

[LauraMO 10]

Here's a pre-den meeting busy activity that fits the Jungle theme: make animal collages & earn Wildlife Conserv. Pin Req. # 6. My Wolf Cubs did this last week & managed to stay busy enough to not get into trouble as I was gathering the rest of my materials for the den meeting / answering a swarm of questions from parents. My assistant & I tore up catalogs, coupons, newspapers & magazines for every imaginable depiction of animals, tossed them into a cardboard box, handed the boys some card stock & glue sticks & told them to pick one species to make their collage.

 

Last month I had them do an America collage so that they could earn Citizenship Pin Req. #3. They seemed to have a good time with these activities, but we're probably all "collaged" out for now.

 

Your den meetings sound like mine: loaded with lots of things to do while simultaneously earning achievements/points, etc. I agree with your opinion of the Program Helps. It "helps," but sometimes I feel the suggested activities just won't cut it for my rowdy boys.

 

[kittle 10]

I will probably get on the the program help books to help me with some ideas, at least until I get the hang of this. We were just kinda thrown into being leaders and really have no idea what is going on. I want this to be as much fun, and educational, for the boys as I can make it.

 

At the moment, we only meet twice a month with the 3rd meeting being our pack meeting. I am going to get a letter out to the parents after this meeting and see if they would mind 3 den meetings a month and the 4th week be our pack meeting. That way, the boys don't have 2 meetings in one week.

 

Katrina

[forestengr 10]

My Bear Dens joined together for a joint outing their first den meeting of the scout year and went to Montana De Oro State Park in Los Osos, CA and had a hike led by the Park Ranger. They visited areas of erosion on coastal bluffs, waded through a tide pool picking up starfish and sea urchins and ended the day visisitng a beach where hundreds of seals were feeding on a sardine school in the surf. the boys spent hours trying to save fish by throwing them back in the water when they got stranded by the waves beaching them!

[sctmom 11]

Kittle, Yes the 2 meetinsg in one week can be too much for a lot of families. I like the way our pack meets the same night of the week. We all know where to be on Monday night. You know not to make other committments for that night. Some of the other packs around here do the same thing. After awhile it becomes such a habit that when you don't have a meeting, you feel like you just gained SO MUCH freedom!

 

The program helps are the best thing for new den leaders. It lays it all out for you. For less than $4.00, it can't be beat.

 

The only thing is I wish they would make it 3-hole-punched so I could put it in my notebook with everything else. I wear the cover off after a few months. I think I will drop them a letter about that. With the current layout, if I punch holes in it, I'm putting holes in the text.