Once we were "done" back when I was a Den Leader, was when we had the most fun. I was searching for something fun to teach them and on a whim I Googled "balloon animals". That was one of the most fun meetings we ever had! The kids didn't want to quit. Their parents came to pick them up at the scheduled meeting stop time, and we ended up teaching the parents as well. The Girl Scouts got wind of this activity (my wife was one of their leaders) and I had to go do a balloon animal meeting for them the next week. You're never "done". We had a lot of fun as a Den, learning and playing together.

Great ideas and sources … thanks everyone.

Les, with regards to the betadine wipe usage, I am going to have to agree with Haertig about that being outside the kids skill set.

Mike_H, I am hoping we don’t have the same problem with getting our scouts to carry their gear. My solution, if the scoutmaster will agree to it, is if they don’t bring the gear then they stay behind. Your assessment of the whistles is correct. They were “borrowed” from my office – they were an item intended as a giveaway for trade shows and the company that produced them has since changed it’s coloring and logos so we can no longer use them. They are not the greatest quality but they are not the worst I have seen or heard about either (in fact they appear similar to the current survival whistle being offered by TOPS knives) and will definitely be first on the list for an upgrade (I already have a source for better pealess type whistles from another recent thread, I just have to talk DW into freeing up more of our budget to buy them).

Dave, I don’t know if it is unique to our area but it seems the boys here take to outdoor life pretty quickly (one of the boys DS plays football with took his first deer at age 7 with his dad’s help of course). The whittling chip presented no problems but we did have to correct some of the boys on some minor safety issues. All in all, though, it went fairly well.

Perhaps I am missing something else about some of the comments about the kit being too sophisticated? I mean, I don’t know too many kids this age (i.e. bears and webelos, 9, 10 and 11) that can’t use a band-aid, duct tape, or cordage. Just looking over the items in the kit again, and noticing that perhaps the wound closure strips are a bit much, and maybe some of the other items (like the wire) may not be used exactly as intended at first. However, I would point out that we will be dedicating future meetings and outdoor activities to discussing the kit contents and their potential uses, as well as how to use them correctly (i.e. the purification tablets, mirror, etc). FWIW, the webelos and bears are already well versed in their ten essentials. I brought lots of different items and had each group of three boys gather what they thought would be essential. I had one perfect score, and 3 groups that only missed 1 of the items. Of course we will have to modify the kits a bit to match the skill set of the younger cubs (I noticed on the scoutermom site that the map and compass are eliminated from their essentials list but a pocket knife is not - interesting).

As a parent a few times over, I have been surprised many times over at how quickly kids can pick up skills, especially if they are taught in a supportive environment. I feel it is better to overreach than to dumb down.

It has been just over fifty years since a group of six boy scouts, endeavoring to summit a mountain near Tucson, hiked right into the teeth of a ferocious winter storm. Three turned back and three didn't. Their corpses were finally found after an exhaustive, two week search.

They made numerous rather elementary mistakes. Their troop had scheduled survival training for the next month. It is never too soon to start learning the basics.

I was a Cub Scout Den Leader for "the" five years, a Cubmaster for four of those years, and now an Assistant Scoutmaster/advancement coordinator for five years ... my awesome son earning his Eagle Rank in the fall of 2009 ... and I'm happy to say that he's still enjoying Scouts.

The best piece of advice I got while a Cub Scout leader was that there is plenty of time for boys to do Boy Scouting in, well, Boy Scouts.

The best advice I got while a Boy Scout leader was to get a good camp chair and never do for a Scout what he can do for himself - decisions included.

Your kit is a tad advanced for Wolf/Bear Cub Scouts, but good for Webelos. I'm not sure I'd give Webelos the purifier tablets. I'd be focusing heavily on teaching them to tell people where their going and to stay put when lost.

Up through Bear I think following Doug Ritter's "Kid's Survival" advice and his kid's survival kit is by far the best advice I've found. A decent loud whistle, a few big bright (orange or blue) plastic bags, water, a bright pocket flashlight (headlamp???), and a bright (orange or blue) bandanna. That's a great kit for anyone.

In the Webelos years you can add a knife, simple (button?) compass, simple first aid kit (band aids, pads, tape, antibacterial ointment, tweezers, soap in a baggie, and some nitrile gloves of reasonable size). Teach basic first aid.

In Webelos 2 you could add a basic baseplate compass and a ferriconium rod/striker, and some cotton/PJ fire starters. Somewhere in Webelos start teaching them how to light matches (kids don't learn how at home) and campfires. That gives them most of the Scout Outdoor Essentials ... which is a nice kit with a few added items (esp. the whistle).

Enjoy the boys ... man do they grow up fast!!!

Ken

Fantastic kit Mark! Nice price point too. The only other thing I might add is a disposable poncho BUT - you've got garbage bags in there, which encourage them to be a bit creative AND - a poncho is going to add to your costs SO - I get it.

I LOVE that you are making this a year long project. that will really bring it to life for the kids.

Well done!
YIS

I love the idea of making them carry the psk when you're out as a pack. that's a great way to start a great - and easy - habit. it's also a great way to mesh the components of the program together.

Ken,

I think you hit the nail on the head perfectly...

Mike

Ken,

Some good advice. FWIW, the kit was originally designed with webelos and bears in mind. That said, based on yours and others recommendations here, we have come up with modified versions for the tigers and wolves, with additional gear they can add as they progress through the ranks. Also as the weather turns warmer we will be doing more of our meeting activities outside close to our school's football field. I thought the kids might have some fun trying to flash their signal mirrors at each other across the length of the field. Some whistle testing will probably also result.

Speaking of whistles, I didn't want to hi-jack Jeanette's whistle thread here so I will ask my question on this thread. Would the TOPS Whistle or Blast's ACR Res-Q Whistle be good for wooded areas? It appears they would be but there is a lot of data in the thread and I am not really sure but I would really like to know. Also, I think the whistles we have already are comparable in construction to the tops but I would like to check that out to be sure ... for the kids's sakes.

oops sorry ajax, meant to do this before. The container is a bit larger than an altoids tin, roughly external dimensions are 1 and 1/2 inches tall, by 3 and 1/4 wide at it's widest by 4 and 3/4 inches long.

This thread is a perfect example of why Equipped To Survive is such a great forum and place to ask, share & learn. Thanks to everyone who participates in this and the myriad of other threads in a like manner. An extra special Thank You to Doug and the other "behind the scenes" staff that make this place possible.

Regards,
Commanche7