Membership Practices during a Pandemic

A Scouts BSA breakout topic this month focused on maintaining membership in 2021. Here are some of our ideas and concerns

How are troops engaging with Packs: Cubmasters, Den Leaders, Cub Scouts?

Talk with Webelos & Arrow of Light den leaders, Cubmasters, and committees, starting in summertime and contacting more often as transition time nears.

Hold Zoom meetings dens only, to meet with Troop youth leaders, play Kahoot games, and work on rank requirements. Parents and youth can ask questions and see how the troop goes.

Invite Webelos to unit campouts and events. recent examples include an electronics campout, a ski campout and a sledding event.

Some troop leaders are also Webelos Den Leaders. Others have several den chiefs in multiple packs. Den chiefs can still run a game virtually, to be visible and to inspire crossover. 

Are troops inviting Cubs to their events? Are they inviting Webelos / Arrow of Light to troop meetings?

Invitations are sent out to lots of Cubs, but it is hard to get response back from youth and families.

Many families are not starting new activities or even continuing pre-pandemic activities.

Many kids are not currently involved with extra-curriculars at school or with outside activities.

Troops need to be ready to welcome and involve when families are ready to add something new (or something back) into their schedule.

Are troops attending Cub Scout events (Pack Meetings, Blue and Gold Banquet)?

It depends on Pack’s comfort level, adding extra people in person to an indoor space.

Some packs are not meeting, not even virtually, even since September.

If 5^th graders are not earning the Arrow of Light, then they have to wait until their 11^th birthday or until the end of 5^th grade to join a troop.  This might impact resident camping schedules.

A troop virtually attended a crossover recently at a pack Blue & Gold, which included a virtual callout from the troop. Parents were given troop neckerchiefs, ready to put on the new scouts. This troop will hold an in-person meeting with a small ceremony to welcome these four new scouts.  This will be coupled with a Court of Honor, so they will see Scouts wearing sashes. No potluck/food is scheduled, so it will be a shorter meeting than typical Courts of Honor.

Where do troops need help?

Camp attendance is likely to be down. Parents and scouts alike may be willing to meet in person for 2 hours, but not for a full 6 days.

NYLT attendance may also be wobbly.  our Course Director shared that there will be 2 courses in 2021, with 30 scouts per course, so better for social distancing but more scouts attending overall.

Price and payment are family concerns,.. A last-minute withdrawal without a refund is an issue. Council policy is no refunds (money is spent in preparation).  If a scout or family gets cold feet in April? The troop can swap out one scout for another to attend or the troop can roll payment forward to 2022.

NYLT leadership are expecting a backlog of scouts eligible to attend, as the Class of 2020 is still champing at the bit. This year, instead of 2 scouts per troop, they may send 3 for small troops and 4 if the troop has 30+ chartered. May 1 will be a NYLT go or no-go decision for the event as a whole. We must encourage early registration so that the event can best be positioned to happen. Troops can hold a slot or three now without a particular scout's name yet. No $50 deposits this year, just the full payment.

NYLT on the council website is https://hawkeyebsa.org/training/nylt/  Dates are Week 1: June 24-July 3 and Week 2: July 18-24.  These are later in the summer than usual, due to school schedules also running later into June. Troop scouts can choose whichever week suits them.

How can help be given?

Merit Badge events online are helpful – they are good to get new scouts started.  Signs that 2^nd & 3^rd year scouts are struggling to keep earning MBs.

Virtual MB events can be from all over the nation. Some Scouts earned Oceanography online and also mentioned “EPIC” in Hawaii. There will be virtual events with Pearl Harbor’s 75^th anniversary coming up.

Reach out to young adult Scouts to give back. Be a Merit Badge Counselor.

 

Cold Weather Clothing Ideas

 Notes from our discussion at Roundtable:

·        Cotton kills.  Find a Wool/Spandex fabric for the lowest layer. Synthetics can get sticky.

·        Sorel brand boots. https://www.sorel.com/

·        Boot liners are found at Cabela’s, remove to dry easier. https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en#

·        Two pairs of socks, thin knee-high then wool Wigwam. https://www.wigwam.com/

·        Army Surplus glove liners, then deerskin welders gloves.

·        Military Surplus leather mittens with wool liner

·        Farm Supply leather gloves with built-in wool liner – warm but harder to dry, as liner is attached.

·        Ski mask + neck cover, topped with a Navy Surplus Watchman’s cap

·        Fit-over sun glasses or ski goggles for folks who wear glasses

·        Carhartt has outer shell of cotton, but they are very warm. https://www.carhartt.com/

·        Darn Tough socks https://darntough.com/

Zoom Options for Troop Meetings

Gathered by Heidi Haney, Eager Beavers C-10-09

Red Cedar District, Hawkeye Area Council

·       Mystery Hike virtual or design your own local puzzle

·       https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2020/07/27/try-this-safe-smart-mystery-hike-activity-with-your-scouts-and-their-families/

·       https://www.cindyderosier.com/p/the-case-of-missing-scoutmaster-google.html

·       Zoom Meeting Ideas

·       https://scoutsmarts.com/virtual-scout-zoom-meeting-ideas/

·       The Red Rope Challenge is to tie 14 knots in under one minute.  Impossible, you say?

·       https://troop811.org/resources/scout-resources/red-rope-challenge/

·       The Red Rope Challenge How-to Guide for technique and order

·       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NtzUlTftsE

·       Merit Badges to work on at home

·       https://scoutsmarts.com/interesting-merit-badges-to-earn/

·       Jeopardy

·       https://JeopardyLabs.com

·       First Aid Jeopardy Template https://jeopardylabs.com/play/first-aid-713

·       Knots & Lashings Jeopardy Template https://jeopardylabs.com/play/knots-lashings

·       Scouts Jeopardy Template  https://jeopardylabs.com/play/scouts-93

·       Bingo Cards

·       https://myfreebingocards.com/bingo-card-generator/edit/aw7fs

·       Online Chess

·       https://lichess.org

·       Civics Quizzes

·       https://www.icivics.org/game-odyssey

·       Skribbl

·       https://skribbl.io/

·       100 Virtual Camp Ideas (on five pages)

·       https://www.summercamppro.com/20-virtual-camp-ideas/

·       Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

·       https://keeptalkinggame.com/#aboutgame

·       Gimkit

·       https://www.gimkit.com/

Current Local Ideas for Camping and Hiking

 Red Cedar District and Hawkeye Area Council had a double whammy of adding a derecho on top of the COIVD-19 restrictions. 66% of area trees were damaged at curbside, on personal home and business property, and in parks and campgrounds.

   Red Cedar Trails and Campgrounds – October 2020
The following Marion parks have reopened to the public:
·       Gill Park
·       Lowe Park
·       Thomas Park
·       Butterfield Park
·       Waldo’s Rock Park
·       Taube Park
·       Ascension Park
·       Donnelly Park
Except for the trails through Lowe Park, all Marion trails remain closed for storm clean-up.

The following Cedar Rapids parks & trails have reopened to the public:

SW/SE Quadrant
·       Cheyenne Dog Park
·       Hidder
·       Redmond
·       Hoover
·       Huston
·       Poets Park
·       Wellington
·       Prairie Park Fishery
NW/SW Quadrant
·       Manhattan (Robbins Lake)  
·       Cleveland
·       Delaney
·       Ellis Harbor
·       Wilderness Estates
·       10th Square
·       Reed
·       Jackson 
NE Quadrant
·       Noelridge (Trail Closed)  
·       K9 Acres Dog Park
·       Huntington Ridge
·       Artists Memorial
·       Fox Trail
·       Twin Pines
·       Nixon
Urban Core
·       McGrath Amphitheatre
·       Sunner Memorial
·       Hayes
·       Mays Island
·       Greene Square
Trails
·       Cedar Lake Loop
·       Cedar Valley Nature Trail  
·       CEMAR Trail
·       Lindale Trail
·       Prairie Park Fishery Loop
·       Wilderness Estates Loop

   Linn County Campgrounds continue to be open with additional sanitation and safety protocols.
·       Buffalo Creek Park
·       Morgan Creek Park
·       Pinicon Ridge Park
·       Wanatee Park
Linn County non-modern (primitive) campgrounds are also open.
·       Matsell Bridge Natural Area (including Mt Hope)
·       Wakpicada Natural Area
Wickiup Hill Learning Center front land and playground are open, back trails are closed, learning building is available by reservation.
Iowa State Campgrounds
·       Pleasant Creek State Recreation Area

News from the Troops

Camping close to home is best right now. Families are providing individual transport due to COVID-19 protocols, and staying nearby helps to prevent widespread outbreaks.

Sites known to be currently available

Benton: Rogers Park, north of Vinton
Benton: Winegar Lake-Tobin Park: Open, cabin recently redone, busy in deer season
Iowa: Lake Iowa, near Williamsburg
Johnson: Kent Park
Jones: Central Park: some trails are open – lake
Linn: Matsell Bridge – cabin
Linn: Camp Waubeek & Camp Wakonda are both open for camping

Concerns from leaders and families

How many are sleeping per tent? How many per cabin?  Who makes the decision?
How far apart are the Scouts while eating? while cleaning up? during activities?
Individual family transportation to and from sites is necessary but hard on schedules.

Replies from the Troops

Patrol cooking can be done with just one or two cooks wearing masks and gloves. Some troops have face shields.
Some Scouts bring their own food from home anyway due to other concerns.
Foils packets keep food portions apart. So do pie irons.
Sit apart while eating.
Be more careful during clean-up.
Lots of hand sanitizer.

Return to Blogging during COVID-19

 And I'm blogging again.

With COVID-19, Roundtables have been virtual for a while, first with pre-recorded YouTube video messages and now with Zoom full meetings and breakouts for Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA.

New this fall, National is providing video content for meetings and breakouts, but Red Cedar has started including a second topic of local interest during breakouts.  Since the situation is still rather fluid, it isn't reasonable to try to plan a full year's worth of topics.

And amid this transition, I have moved to leading the Scouts BSA breakouts. I shall resume using this space as a means of gather my thoughts and posting collective responses from the breakouts. I'll also cull the expired sidebar links and refresh with new information for quick reference and referral.

-- Heidi

Eager Beaver C-10-09

Boy Scout & Cub Scout Breakout Topics

I have heard different reasons, but the results are the same - there will not be a robust 2018-2019 Roundtable Planning Guide book or two published, as there had been in years past from BSA National.

As a spark for others, here are the breakout topics for Boy Scout leaders and Cub Scout leaders in my district over the last eight years. It is a mix of Planning Guide / Philmont topics and our own local ideas. Green grids for Boys and tan grids for Cubs. We do two 15-20 minute topics each month to a group of many positions. We hope that everyone will get something out of at least one of the subjects each month.

When we planned in August, we were hoping that the books would soon be published, so we left gaps for some of this year's topics. We will get it figured out soon, now that we know that nothing else is on its way. Best wishes for next year.

Most topics are self explanatory. "Wood Badge Ticket" is a placeholder, as usually one or two recent Wood Badge participants wish to address a topic with one of our break out sessions in order to complete a ticket. We welcome this opportunity and now make room for it. If no requests are made, then we discuss the Wood Badge program itself as the topic.

And I also encourage everyone to look at the archives of the Baloo Bugle, going back to 1996, for other Roundtable topic ideas. The current issues are being restyled, but the archives are a wealth of combined Scouting knowledge. http://usscouts.org/bbugle.asp

Click on each grid to see it larger.

Relaxed Requirements for Cub Scouts

On November 30, 2016, BSA relaxed many of the requirements for rank adventures and electives in the new Cub Scout handbooks. We have added a breakout session for January 2017to discuss these changes. All of the changes can be found through this link:
http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/programupdates.aspx