One big thing to keep in mind is that your audience is made up of children. Children have much different learning styles than adults. As a Marine, you were taught by instructors that were not only experts in thier subject area, but also trained to teach other adults. As a Marine, you were being trained by your employer, also a much different learning scenario than teaching children that are participating in an organization for fun. When an employer trains, it is for very specific outcomes, to an audience that is motivated to learn. Children are taught mainly by exploration and may not have enough exposure or understanding of the topic to even know if they are interested to learn the material.

My advice, as educator of both adults and children, and former USN, is to keep your lessons short. Fifteen minutes max for any type of lecture. I hate to even use the word lecture! Talk to them long enough to give them an understanding of what they are going to do, why it is important and safety considerations - then get them doing something! Get them up off their butts and have them do something together with a friend or two. (battle budy) Don't use groups bigger than three or it becomes a cool contest or one person does the work and everyone else goofs off. When you are lecturing, make sure you use handouts and visuals to help get your message across. This helps the visual learners and gives everyone something to learn from when you aren't around. Keep the overall activity about 45-50 minutes and then do something else. Kids have short attention spans. Don't expect them to be survival masters, but do give them several opportunities to practice at their own pace and with their friends and they will get it - I promise!

Start slowly, maybe one lesson per meeting, then a half day semminar and see how they are doing. Once you see a majority of the kids mastering the skills, then do your 48 hour exercise. I think you will see the team work and mastery of skills that are at par with adults.

Stay positive, keep the atmosphere fun, keep the kids involved and engaged and they will be your best "marketing" tool for thier own parents and the sissy parents too. Word of mouth from excited kids will over come quite a bit.

JR