Musical Instruments for Wolf and Bear Adventures

To complete an optional adventure, Wolves are to make a homemade wind instrument and Bears are to make a drum, sistrum (Egyptian rattle), mbira (African thumb piano), and rain stick. Here are instructions to make all of them.

The total price will depend on what you
already have on hand and what you need to
purchase. I have many of the purchase
prices listed with the materials needed for
each type of instrument. After the title of
each instrument I have put in parenthesis
the actual individual price for making that
instrument for one cub.

I am  not big into arts and crafts.  When I need to do them with cubs, I teach, guide, and assist as needed, but I would rather move on to the next project for them to earn more awards than give them time to decorate in our meeting.  However, in preparation for teaching this class to other cub scout leaders, I took different colored electrical tape and wrapped them around my paper towel tube rain stick then added a leather lacing with a feather hanging on the end.  Surprise!! I now see the value in decorating! My heart wasn’t into it … I didn’t even make sure it looked perfect, but I am so proud of it! Even more proud than the other instruments that I didn’t decorate. When I am finished with them, the other instruments will be no problem to disassemble, but I admit that I will have a difficult time letting go of my decorated cardboard tube with foil and beans, and I am a lot more likely to pick it up to play with it for fun or to show to somebody. The moral: Let them decorate! They’ll take ownership and are more likely to actually get use from it after they get home!

When One Pack is One Combined Den

Is your pack small enough that you need to combine all dens (Wolf/Bear/Webelos) into one combined den?  I was in such a pack October 2017. To boot, we only had one set of den leaders, who would do a Wolf activity one week, Bear the next, Webelos the next, and then we had pack meeting and nobody has completed a full adventure.  I happen to know that with the old Cub Scout program books, BSA provided a very not well-known alternate program combining all 3 dens every week, Plan A and Plan B, for alternating years.  Now we have all new programs and no new alternate c9mbined den program, yet.

Rather than just sit back, knowing what I know, and watching these boys earn one adventure award every 3 or 4 months, and watching these leaders working as hard as they knew how to in order to keep everyone happy, I went to work assembling this admittedly unpolished but very functional lesson plan.

I took a look at the Wolf, Bear, and Webelos required adventures for similar subjects being learned, and I put them together, because as long as you are aware of age appropriate safety guidelines, there's no problem with these cub scouts dabbling in others' activities.

If you choose to use this plan, it will take a little more work on your part to prepare and plan your den meeting.  You will need all 3 books, and I suggest the Den Meeting Planning Book as well.  But, I did the work in letting you know what adventures naturally work together.  You're welcome. ;D Here it is!

Paper Rocket Launcher, Compressed or Stomp: Wolf 10b, Bear 10b, Webelos Craftsman 4

 This image is from madlaboratory.wordpress.com, mentioned below.

You think water rockets are fun?  My favorite are paper rockets! They go WAY higher and faster and give me a huge thrill!  Last summer my husband made a water rocket launcher for our family to use in the summertime, and we're excited about that.  After having experienced air compressed paper rockets at Akela's Council in Sept, he is even more excited about making a paper rocket launcher.  Thus, the reason for this post. This can be done all year round without getting wet! 

An compressed air paper rocket launcher is DEFINITELY the one I'd use for a pack meeting!



At a den meeting the boys can make a stomp launcher for their rocket fun at home with things they probably have around the home:

plastic bottle

bicycle innertube or vacuum hose

2 ft (1/2-3/4” diameter) PVC tube or metal pipe

duct and masking tape or scotch tape

file folder or cardstock (for rocket)

A stomp launcher is where the force of air comes from stomping on a plastic soda pop bottle, sending the air through a tube, sending the rocket off the launcher. 

This would pass off several requirements or electives, but just taking a look at requirements:  Wolf 10b (Family Fun), Bear 10b (Family Fun), Webelos Craftsman 4 (Build something useful out of material besides wood)

Here is a paper rocket instruction sheet, but you can see one made with real pictures (much easier to understand, I think) if you just go to the original site: http://madlaboratory.wordpress.com/tag/paper/

Beautiful Routered Pinewood Derby Trophies, Wolf 5, Bear 21, Webelos Craftsman

In "This Old House"-style, our own Grove Rasmusson (a Cubmaster) teaches us and shows us exactly how he makes 30 impressive Pinewood Derby trophies, each costing just over $1.50, depending on your available resources. In his own words:

     "Each year I make the awards for the Pinewood derby. The top piece is 5"x 1-1/4". The Middle piece is 5-3/4" high and the Bottom piece is 8" long. The whole thing costs about $50 depending on what you have around the house. 15 minutes long? I know, but I was pretty thorough! :)" Yes, the video is 15 minutes long, and it certainly is thorough. It makes it easy to craft a trophy worthy of displaying the cubs hard work for a lifetime. Click on the Cubmaster's name in the first paragraph to watch this video. If you live within the Saratoga Springs/Eagle Mountain area, Grove has generously offered the use of his tools to you of you would like to borrow them to make these trophies. If so, contact him at garasmusson@yahoo.com

If you involve your den in making these, it can pass off:
Wolf 5 TOOLS FOR FIXING AND BUILDING
Bear 21 BUILD A MODEL  b. build a display for one of your models.
Webelos CRAFTSMAN  (technology) 1. Safe handling of tools. 2. Construct 2 different wooden objects. 3. Make a display stand to be used to display a model.

Scary Campout Skit

At Roundtable a cub den brought scenery of a woodland they had painted, masks they had made, scenery they had built, and put on a skit for us -- all of which gave them credit for their rank.  We could hear them clearly, and they did an awesome job.  It was funny; it was entertaining; it was appropriate. Wish we had pictures!  The funny skit can be found on the Home Page, if you click the Skits tab at the top.

UNPC 2010 Pow Wow Book & 2011 Supplement

Emphasis on Pack Meeting Ideas, Den Meeting Ideas, and Core Value Ideas

In August of 2010, Utah National Parks Council put out their 2010-2011 Pow Wow book.  It is a 414 page PDF document.  There are many pages with Core Value Info and ideas for Dens and Packs.

In August of 2011, Utah National Parks Council put out a supplemental CD to their 2010 Pow Wow book.  There are many pages with Core Value Info, and pages with forms to be able to keep hard copies for each of the boys so you do not have to rely on the boys books.

The Akela's Council just added a copy to their blog of both the Pow Wow book and that supplement in PDF form, clear and ready to be printed.  Check it out.  There's good and helpful stuff there!  http://akelascouncil.blogspot.com/2012/09/utah-national-parks-council-pow-wow.html

(It is a 414 page document, so be patient as it opens up)

Table of Contents for the Pow Wow Book:
Core Values and Assigned Months

Section 1 - Parts of a Meeting
Gathering Activities
Opening Ceremonies
Recognition Ceremonies
Games and Activities
Audience Participation
Skits
Crafts
Cubmaster Minutes
Closing Ceremonies
Derbies
Blue & Gold (Songs, Cheers, and Menu & Recipe Ideas)
Character Connections
Academics & Sports Program (Belt Loops & Pins)
Tiger Cubs
Webelos Scouts
Advice from Akela

• New Leaders
• Den Leaders
• Den Discipline
• Den Chiefs
• Pack Committee
• Cubmasters
• Pack Communication and Online Resources for Packs
• Parents and Families
• $$$ and Budgets
• Pack Trainers
• Cub Scout Leader Training
• Unit Commissioners (Charter Presentation Ceremonies too)
• Scouting with Disabilities (Includes games

Patches and Awards
Where can I find Scout Stuff?
Index (by core value)

Table of Contents for the Supplement:
                                                 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Advancement & Core Values (All Ranks) .............. 4
     Tiger .................................................. 45
     Wolf ................................................... 51
     Bear ................................................... 59
     Wolf & Bear .......................................... 69
     Webelos .............................................. 87
Character Connection Activities & Worksheets ........ 93
     Practical Examples .................................. 126
     Quotes and Answers ................................. 129
     Where to find Ideas? ................................ 130
Record Keeping Tips & Forms .......................... 131
     Wolf Den Records .................................... 137
     Bear Den Records .................................... 141
     Webelos Den Records ............................... 145
     Belt Loops & Pins Records .......................... 147
     Den Chief Records ................................... 149
     Cub Scout Parents Records ......................... 150
     Cub Scout Leaders Records ......................... 162
Webelos Activity Badges. ............................... 172
     Belt Loop Glue-ins (for Webelos)................... 193

More Great Stuff.......................................... 202

     Useful Websites and Links ........................... 203

     Red Ribbon Week Patch..............................205

     Camp Jeremiah Johnson Flier ...................... 206

     Resource Guide Tips.................................. 207

                              Outdoor Activities (Tour Plan, LNT etc.) .......... 210

Cub Visor Craft

I will be completely honest.  I found this picture on an internet image board.  I don't know where it came from, but I think it is a marvelous idea (probably because it's simple enough that even I could do this).  You could have the boys trace around a pattern onto craft foam, cut out, and glue onto a blue plastic or foam visor, which you can find online for 80 cents to $1.

I'm thinking to do this as a Pack activity just for fun and to kick off summer or before a water carnival or Scout Expo (Scout-A-Rama).

Wolf 9: Let's Have A Party! (as a party hat)
Wolf Arrowpoint 3: a. Make something useful for home

Bears:  In anticipation and preparation for a hike, neighborhood clean-up, family outdoor adventure, or gardening.  You could also have it be an invitation, if you tape meeting info under the visor.

Webelos Craftsman #4: Make four useful items using materials other than wood

Run-on Jokes

A run-on joke is used in Pack Meeting as a way to keep the audience focused and interested during delays, because more than half the audience probably has a very short attention span - so you wanna keep it.

The delay might be the Den Leader giving quick last minute instructions before a presentation.  The delay might be the Cub Master asking the Committee Chair a question or digging around trying to find something.  The delay might be the time it takes for a den to gather up front.

A run-on joke is a one-liner joke, usually more "punny" than funny.  It can be one person delivering the line or question and answer, or it can be two - one asking the other.  Either way they run on stage very quickly, deliver their joke, then run off very quickly, almost as to not interrupt or delay by the Cubmaster at all. The dens in my pack take turns being prepared with run-ons for each pack meeting.  They love it!

Other times they may coordinate to randomly walk on stage while the Cubmaster is talking (but not during a ceremony), the Cubmaster asks a "what are you doing?"-type question, and the line is delivered.  For example, a cub walks on stage pulling a rope.  The Cubmaster asks, "why are you pulling that rope?", to which the cub answers, "Have you ever tried pushing one?"  These are my favorite run-ons, but there aren't many out there as compared to riddle or knock-knock jokes.

Three of the best places I have found for quick and clean jokes are http://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/joke/show-jokes-wolf.asp (just click "clean jokes" above), the back two pages of Boy's Life Magazine -- a section called Think & Grin, and my Cub Leader Pow Wow books.  At boyscouttrail.com and in Cub Leader Pow Wow books the jokes are organized by topic (for example, Astronauts, Cows, Elephants, Halloween, Knights, What Do You Call A Scout Who....).

Last night our Cub Leader Roundtable's value was Courage (July), so we chose the them Knights of the Roundtable.  Here are the puns used, which was taken from boyscouttrail.com:

Where do knights go to grab a bite to eat? To an all-KNIGHT diner.
Why did every castle have a bank with an automated teller?  For making KNIGHT deposits.
What did King Arthur listen to every evening at six? the KNIGHTLY news.
What do you call it when all the knights trade places at the roundtable?  The KNIGHT shift.
What do you call a mosquito in a knight's suit?  A bite in shining armor.
Why were the early days of history called the dark ages?  Because there were so many KNIGHTS.
What do you call a knight who's afraid to fight?  Sir Render.

Food Pyramid Now My Plate

"The Food Pyramid" has been replaced by the U.S. government by "My Plate".  
For future reference, this is found at ChooseMyPlate.gov. Or, just click HERE.

Cub Scout Service Projects

At the bottom of this post is a link to a bunch of ideas I've found. 

First, the following items to consider for a service project is found in 

Pack 98 Service Project Committee Guide

1.  Does it serve a real need?

2.  Is it within the boys’ ability and understanding?

3.  Does it show dignity and privacy of the people being helped?

4.  Does it make the best use of time and money being spent?

5.  Is it a project that the boys are interested in?

6.  Can it be supervised adequately?

Here is the HUGE list of Cub Scout Service Projects

Power Point Games

These classroom games were created in PowerPoint and LOOK very attractive and user-friendly.  

Download the templates and modify the games to fit your curriculum needs here.

Lots of whole class participation games similar to Jeopardy,Wheel of Fortune, Pyramid, Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?, Password, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, and more.

Feb 2012: I just found another site with 52 more power point game templates.  Click here.

Costumes

As a Former Cubmaster I found that just adding a hat or some type of costume to a ceremony made the ceremony special for that Cubscout. These were found at WinCo for $4.98. I immediately thought of Cubscouts.

Citizenship Football

Pack 152 Webelos came up with this fun game to combine the sport of the season with the core value of the month! For template, instructions, and qustions click PACK 152.

This will take some advanced preparation. Review the questions, and be prepared to update or change some of the answers. For instance, when this was written our current President of the United States was Bill Clinton (you'll have to change that), and in another question it places the name of a local religious leader as a funny choice, but wrong answer.

I think this will be a popular game. The questions support review for the Webelos Citizenship Badge, but can be altered for the pack, or come up with completely new questions for Tiger, Wolf, or Bear den reviews, or even Belt Loop reviews.

Getting to Know You Page

Have the boys fill this out and use the page/pages as: Getting to know you or Spotlights. Click HERE for a scrapbook page for the boys to fill out, that looks like this:

Human-Size Board Games (esp. Wolf den)

Think of a board game that kids like to play. You might choose Candyland, Monopoly, Battle Ship, Trouble, or Life, or you could use elements of several of your favorites and make up your own game. I have chosen Snakes and Ladders (Chutes and Ladders). Purchase or make a giant die to roll (i.e, out of a 1-foot square box), or make a giant 2-foot square spinner (or convert your Twister spinner). The Cub Scouts are their own game pieces. The week before the game, give your den homework to talk with their parents about the rules in their house. For instance, if you are a Wolf den, have them go home to pass off with their parents Requirements 4: Know Your Home and Community, 9: Be Safe At Home and On the Street, 11: Duty to God, and 12: Making Choices. The day of the game, go to an empty parking lot and draw a giant game board of your choice with sidewalkchalk, with like 4-foot squares or something, on the parking lot blacktop. Use the situations in their homework assignment for the game. If they can give an answer of what their family does, they roll the die or spin the spinner and move. If they cannot give an answer, they stay where they are without rolling the die, or you can give them another question if you want. If they give an obviously wrong answer (particularly if they are wise-cracking), they go back - just be sure they don't land on a ladder! Use opportunities like these to discuss possible correct answers. You can reuse the questions, because every family has a different correct answer.

Value of Hand Washing

Let kids discover for themselves how effective their hand-washing habits are in keeping germs from spreading. Here is a 55-min hand-washing experiment for kids. I found Glogerm to be the best price of the germ-glowing agents ($5.50 for 25 applications in a 2 oz bottle) and have included it's link here.

Mini Gel - 2 ounce Code: MG2O Price: $5.50

Teach them this song, to the tune of Happy Birthday To You to sing twice while washing hands.
No dirty paws for me
No dirty paws for me
A cub scout is clean
No dirty paws for me

Secret Code Wheel

This Secret Code Wheel will help pass off: Wolf Elective 1a (It's A Secret: Use a secret code) and Webelos Communication Achievement 5. Instructions: Print wheels on white or colored paper, cut out, and connect using a paper brad. The smallest wheel and the medium wheel each have common alphabet letters, numbers, and symbols. This is so that one wheel can be turned then matched up with the other wheel for one code. For example, T can match up with K, setting all the other letters on the wheels up as a code itself. The largest wheel is for the boy to make up his own code; write new code symbols lining up with an upright letter on the right side of the wheel. The picture in color includes my son's made-up code on the largeset wheel as an example of a finished project. If a boy's friend has the same wheel, the first boy writing a note to his friend could put the code at the top of the note, for instance "T=K", so that his friend can line up those letters on the wheel and decipher the note from there. Of course, in order to write in his secret code, the friend will need to have the same code on his wheel. This alphabet wheel by itself makes several systems, since A can = A or B or C or L or K, etc. If H=5, then 4WW1 7WY means GOOD JOB