DenMom12 10 Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 We have our Spring Camporee coming up real soon and I'm at a total loss on decoration ideas!! Our theme is "Scouting in a Rural Community". Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!! Link to post Share on other sites
SSScout 1619 Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 This is a Boy Scout Camporee or Cub Scout Day Camp (noticed your sign on name)? I have a hard time conceiving Boy Scouts worrying about "decorations" at a Camporee ;-) Activities, yes. Demos and exhibits, yes. Crepe paper and party hats... mmmmm no. Scouting in a Rural Community... Service to those less fortunate? Family? Night navigation? Farming? Hiking? Lumbering? Fishing? Animals? Organic Gardening? Stewardship of the Land? Erosion control? Ecology? Games with a purpose? Boating? Emergency Be Preparedness? First Aid? Not much different than Scouting in a more Urban Community... Link to post Share on other sites
DenMom12 10 Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 It's a weekend campout for both. This is the first year I'm doing this, but I assume they will be split off from each other. Cub Scouts decorate their campsite to go with the theme. We also have to come up with a dinner to go with the theme for Saturday night. There's a contest between all the Cub Scout Packs - they are judged on decorations and food. We already have the food figured out. We live in a rural community, so it shouldn't be hard, but I'm having difficulty coming up with decoration ideas. They must have been thinking more on the Farming side of things when they came up with the idea...there's a picture of a tractor, barn, hay, apples, etc. on the flyer!! The only idea I've come up with is to set a few bales of hay around to sit on....but am at a loss for anything else!! Link to post Share on other sites
OldGreyEagle 5 Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 How about Axes, Scythe, Sickles, Sledge, Adze, Hoe, Garden Rake, Leaf Rake, and wasn't there a push garden cultivator known as a "boy scout", my father called it? Notice the lower case letters? Have those around with the straw and farm animals if you can Any antique or older tool would be cool as well as people using them for the intended purpose Link to post Share on other sites
Deaf Scouter 23 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Add to those bales of hay!!.. *grins Do some pioneer fencing to fence in your area like a nice farm pen. Take those plastic Nothnagle-like signs and make them in cows, sheeps, pigs and etc. farm animals shapes. Spray paint then and funny names connecting to shape and stick them in front of each tent to give the tent a name. Make a few extra cows to go round the campfire and leaders tents. On those make cowbells from aluminum cans with bells inside to represent the cowbell. Make sure the ribbon is nice and bright colored for tying it onto. Make some dung piles of funny but clean surprises when stepped on. (you can put the dung piles out daily in unexpected places for FUN for the scouts... *winka Other ideas.. specialized farms- those with trees that grow a specific fruit.. make pioneer trees and hang fruit: apples, cherries, plums, peaches and throw in some non fruit to make it funny and turn the tree into a game for the scouts to find the items that don't belong like rolling pin, pie tin etc. Google these themes for pics and ideas from off the 'farm' idea: Apple cider making strawberry jam Farm equipment... comes to mind to use wheel barrows that can also be a fun game/race for the scouts to do that weekend. (9 chances out of 40 there is a set time that they will do the judging like when all the scouts are elsewhere at an event or meal) Wagons with rolls like a combine tractor or trench maker. (google kinds of farm tractors. Use the google 'image' section! Pictures have a way of generating more ideas or spin off ideas... *winka) You guys into gaming: gensis, xbox, playstation and etc.? (I don't know what the latest system is these days) Combine the two themes: gaming and farm to come up with a twist to my first paragraph and have those plastic Nothangle face in the character of different video games and doing farm work with rake, hoe, trowel. Maybe a twist to the doing farm work is using the wrong stuff like broom, dustbuster, and etc. Funny and outlandish yet meaningful has a way of getting peoples attention yet 'teach' a lesson on change from farming days of youth to video days of youth and you can teach the kids a lesson of outdoors instead of indoors is more fun and less were obese then.. *winka Try for something totally different and exciting on the word 'farm'... wind farm. *prays for wind if you do it as scouts just love what they make moves. Pioneer again or some straight that holds a propeller made by the scouts. PS.. Pioneer is reference here as a type of know typing. Webelos already do knots so take it a step further and show them how to build things with it. Hit the scout store and ask for the Pioneering Merit badge book or google knots for pioneering. have FUN, FUN and more FUN creating memories! Link to post Share on other sites
SSScout 1619 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Split rail stacked fence. Straw bales (real hay is twice the price, believe me) Is this becoming Scouting in a FARMING community? Check out your county fair folks. I bet they could help you. And the local County Extension Agent. Talk about a soil erosion demo, plant trees, many things possible. Link to post Share on other sites
Deaf Scouter 23 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 If its in April.. definitely a lead into Earth Day.. *winka Link to post Share on other sites
whitepine 10 Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 I don't know what direction you want to take it in, but around here farming is common. Instead of your average farming, I'd imagine a local event would show how people farmed and homesteaded before electricity. Have a logging demonstration with a mule team, sheep herding, blacksmithing, just something to represent frontier/rural living. Axe and saw stuff is always cool, so set up an area where 2 man teams get to compete at sawing off logs. Or maybe you can have an area focused on soil/water conservation and land management. Hope you guys have fun Link to post Share on other sites
Scoutfish 16 Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 Time to start thinking Norman Rockwell. Link to post Share on other sites
le Voyageur 72 Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Give your local 4H a call.... Link to post Share on other sites
qwazse 4353 Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Following up on the other thread about youth leadership in multi-unit events ... Why don't you find out which troops/packs are meeting early this week, pay a visit to one or two, and ask the boys what they'd like to see in a gateway? One fun idea would be a "wood-shingle" sign-in. Have boys burn or paint 1/2 tongue depressor sticks with their name and unit number, glue velcro on the back of the round end and stick 'em to a felt board in a layered fashion. The rough flat end would hang down and form the roof. Invite the boy-scouts to come and decorate their own shingle. I bet you'll have quite a few of the older boys stopping by to give it a go! Pre-dip the sticks in light stain (food coloring maybe?) that corresponds to epaulets (so you can tell cubs from boys etc ....). They can double as buddy-tags if your event involves any activity that needs that sort of thing. Link to post Share on other sites
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