My son and I, upon mutual agreement, have withdrawn from the cub scouts for a long list of reasons, all of which I won't share here, with one exception: He was not allowed to carry a pocket knife to meetings and/or events.

We have formed, with 20 other people, aged 7 to 45, the "Young Adventurers Club" and we are doing stuff that I thought we should have been doing in the scouts all along. A lot of what we do sounds like what they used to do in scouting, however, we don't treat the kids like idiots, and lo and behold, they don't act like idiots.

The one requirement of membership in the YAC?
You have to have a pocket knife.

The basic principles of the YAC are:

- doing things is better than just watching things done.
- mixed age groups and genders (just like real life)
- real tools, real adventures, real risks.

So, while factory tours and prefab birdhouse kits might be fun for some, we're out in the woods, in the rain, making a shelter and a real fire. We're exploring a cave, we're floating on the Delaware river in our canoes. We're shooting real .22 rifles, we're doing stuff that our grandparents did when they were kids.

Right now, we're looking for some ideas for INDOOR adventures for the next few weeks, while cold weather survival is interesting and all, I know that I'd rather be indoors for a while.

So, given what you've read, what would you suggest?

martin,

EXCELLENT IDEA!! I've often thought about doing something similar once my girls are a bit older.

Possible indoor activities:
1. knots and lashing
2. first aid
3. raising frogs (kits can be purchased on-line)
4. eating frogs once they mature 9may be a bit much for some kids)
5. tanning leather (any roadkill around this time of year)
6. making assorted campstoves (pop can, wood gas, etc...)
7. the "What If/How Could..." game (what if you a blizzard trapped us in this building with no power. How could we stay warm, fed and hydrated?)
8. basket weaving (useful skill!)
9. sewing/mending
10. whittling

-Blast

Martin,

Have some "speed" events set up to practice basic skills. Something like an indoor Seneca run:

-Knot-tying station.
-Setting up/tearing down a freestanding tent or shelter. You can use dumb bells (iron, not people) as dead man anchoring points for a primitive shelter.
-Repair some torn clothing from the backpack sewing kit
-Have them tie some of the knots blindfolded.
-Set up first-aid scenarios: make a litter, sling an arm, etc

-See who can burp the entire alphabet in one burp.

-A knife sharpening "clinic"
-Discuss home and camp fire safety

Good point BDTX....I started my son cooking when he was about 9 yrs old.

That is such a great idea!

How about an impromptu Emergency Kit Scavenger Hunt. They look through an area (limits defined, indoors or out) for materials that could be useful in an emergency. They would have to have a reasonable use for each, and the one with the most useful stuff wins something.

Sue

1. Bouldering/Rock climbing

Some wild edible classes while its cold with good color pictures, and then actual scavenging and taste testing during the spring during a camping trip.
When I was a kid I built Estes rockets, a good winter project that you can launch when the weathers better. Most of the rocket parts can be made from household goods or from kits.
tracking skills from pictures with follow ups during camping trips.

"...You have to have a pocket knife..."

I'm not at my best (if there is such a thing) tonight, having spent the last couple of days painting the inside of a visitor center/office complex (did I mention that I hate to paint?), so this is the best I can come up with right now. Make sure that those pocket knives have locking blades...

Martin,

Have you considered looking into a different troop/pack? Because if you didn't mention that you've already tried the scouts, I would have said the group you describe is exactly what the scouts are supposed to be. The problem is, the pack is only as good as the parents in charge, and usually you'll have some overzealous parent trying to make it into what he wants or thinks it should be. That kinda sounds like the problem you're having. I can't be sure about the pocketknife issue in cub scouts, but in the Boy Scouts it was practically required to have a pocketknife on you at all times. And we did almost everything you mentioned, and more. One advantage to being in the Scouts is that you will have opportunities to go places and do things that most of the normal public probably can't, just because they have such a huge network.

Unless there was something fundamentally wrong with the core scouting ideals that you disagree with, I wouldn't let one experience ruin it for you, I'm almost positive that the group you describe does exist in one of the scouting troops in your area. It's just like being in school, the teacher can make or break your experience in class. And rather than trying to start something completely new from scratch, why don't you just start up a different cub scout troop? At the very least you'll have the support of the BSA, and you might be able to win over some of the poor cubs stuck in that other troop.

Hi Martin,

I agree with the person who replied that a youth group is the product of what the leaders make it; I have been in poor ones, good ones and am currently involved in a great one (very functional and outdoor oriented).

In the youth group that I am involved with now the on-person required items for an outdoor event are: folding locking knife or multi-tool, matches in waterproof case, small flashlight, plastic pea-less whistle, notepad and pencil, sunscreen/lip protection, sun glasses, personal identification and a small personal survival kit.

You could teach a survival lesson, the basic one I do takes about an hour, and we follow it up with each student assembling there own small survival kit. I posted what our youth group did here http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=9218&Number=100560#Post100560

Something interesting that I made with the kids years ago was a simple spark-based fire starter.

Take a 1.5" piece of hardwood dowel, angle one end at 45*s and cut a shallow groove lenght-ways on the long side with a hacksaw blade .

Mix-up some 5 minute epoxy and glue about 7 lighter flints into the groove, allow to set. Have the kids print their names on the dowel.

Using a short piece of hacksaw blade, scrape the sparks from the striker into some cotton balls/PJ = Instant fire and a very amazed kid.

Let the child start their own campfire with the sparker-tool and then cook over it (even a marshmellow), to them it is a very big, rewarding accomplishment.

All of the parts of this fire set; dowel/flint striker, mini-hacksaw blade, PJ/cotton balls can be stored in a watertight 35mm film canister (I still have mine from 20 years ago).

This is a great exercise as it involves practicing a lot of useful hands-on skills; measuring, toolcraft, mixing, fire triangle theory, survival, how to build a fire, how to put it out, etc.

You do need to have the responsibility talk with the kids about when a fire is appropriate and when it is not.

Good Luck with your group and have fun!

Mike