MAIN THEME:

Cub Scout Traditions

Program #1 of 4

PROGRAM THEME:

Scouting History

By Denice Walter, June 2004

PURPOSE OF PROGRAM:

Teaching Cub Scouts a little about Baden Powell. (Another resource - “Pack Meeting Programs – Life of B.-P.” PAWS series, Scouts Australia publication)

(10 mins)

Inspection, Grand Howl, Flag Break

(10 mins)

B-P and the Street Kids

Equipment required:    None

One CS is chosen to be “B-P”, one is chosen to be a “Sixer” and the rest are “street kids”.  B-P chases the street kids to catch them.  If a Cub Scout is caught he/she must freeze.  This means they are interested in Cub Scouting and now their only h ope is to be released in to the Cub Scout Pack.  The “Sixer” releases them by crawling between the legs of the Cub Scout who has been caught by B-P.  They are then free to run around again, but this time as a cub scout.  Once they have been caught three times by B-P, and released by the Sixer each time, they then become a Sixer also.

See how many Street Kids, Cub Scouts and Sixers you have at the end of time.  You can have more than one “B-P” or change cub scout to be “B-P”.

(10 mins)

Skip to my Lou

Equipment required:    4 skipping ropes

Sixes line up at one end of the room behind their Sixers.  Each Sixer is given a skipping rope.  At the command “Go” from the leader, the Sixers run and touch the far wall of the room and then have to skip ten before running back to their Six and handing over to number two and so on.  The first team to complete these actions and stand to attention are the winners.

(15 mins)

Story about Baden Powell  (adapted from CSL Resource Folder)

Once there was a boy born on 22^nd February 1857.  His father died when he was three years old leaving, ‘Stephe’ (as he was called by the family) to be brought up by his mother, who had nine living children.  B-P later said “How that wonderful woman managed to bring us all up, I do not know and cannot understand.  It was her influence that guided me through life …” 

One day a group of boys are exploring an island.  One of them, sandy haired and freckled has stopped exploring and has been reading in an old pirate book about a great hero of his, a pirate captain ‘One-eyed Bill’.  He can splice, sing and take care of himself at sea.  He had lost his right arm, so he had learnt to do things equally well with his left hand.  In fact he was a very all round sort of fellow.  The boy decided when he was a man he would be as good as Pirate Bill.  He than began mentally ticking off the things he could do already.  It was here that he decided that he wanted to explore the world.  This boy was Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell. 

At thirteen B-P entered Charterhouse School where he quickly developed a reputation for liveliness.  He was not known as a brilliant student.  He was a keen and good actor.  He had many friends and was always popular because he was not afraid to get into a scrape and own up afterwards.  Nowadays you often hear boys and girls running down their teachers which is a pity, because no great adventure is complete unless we can make friends with people who can teach us things. 

In spite of his poor schooling record, Baden-Powell took an examination for the army and surprisingly enough, he finished second out of 700.  This brought him directly into the army where he distinguished himself in India, South Africa and Malta.  He was willing to enter the gates of the enemy to get information for his country.  His enemies named him IMPEESA, ‘The wolf that never sleeps’.  This name came as a result of many scouting trips at night.  He would disguise himself in different ways, posing as an artist. 

During the Boer War between the English and the descendants of the Dutch settlers in South Africa, Baden-Powell was in charge of the defence of a key town, Mafeking.  His troops, badly outnumbered and completely surrounded by the enemy, were under constant attack day after day.  Using every trick in his book, Baden-Powell and his men held out for seven months until another army group broke through enemy lines to relieve them.  All that time, 217 days, they stayed alert and observant. 

After retiring from the army he met his wife-to-be Olave St. Claire Soames, in 1912.  They had three children and remained trusted husband and wife, and friends until B-P’s death in 1941, at the age of 83 years. 

Baden-Powell wrote a book called Aids to Scouting for soldiers.  It was about how to track, stalk and live in the outdoors.  Later he rewrote this book for boys and called it Scouting for Boys.  In 1907 he decided to try out his ideas.  He brought together a group of boys, coming from different social backgrounds and took them to camp at Brownsea Island.  Here he learnt that boys were eager to do things he called ‘scouting’.  

(10 mins)

Run and Touch

Equipment required:    Nil

A very good game to let cub scouts release a bit of energy after sitting quietly for a while.  Leader asks to “run and touch” a list of about 6 – 8 objects.  On the signal all cub scouts run and touch the items listed by the leader.  It does not matter in what order they are touched as long as each of the listed items are touched.  First one back, sitting in front of the leader is the winner. 

(15 mins)

I know B-P

Equipment required:    Nil

This is actually a memory/story type game.  Have cub scouts work in their Sixes.  The leader starts by saying, “I know B-P founded Scouting”.  The first Six continues by saying “We know B-P founded Scouting and his birthday was on 22^nd February”, the second six may then say “We know B-P founded Scouting, was born on 22^nd February and we remember him on “World Scout (Founders) Day”.  The game continues in this way around each six, adding in some other fact about B-P, which they remember from the story.  It may be hard to remember things, but with a little help will at least start to remember some very basic facts about B-P.  Other facts could be – wrote Scouting for Boys, was in the army, held an experimental Scout Camp at Brownsea Island and any other facts they like to add in.  Some facts chosen may be very simple but should not be excluded.  E.g. B-P had red hair and freckles, liked school, loved football, was a good actor etc.

(10 mins)

B-P Drawing

Equipment required:    Paper and pencils for each cub scout

B-P enjoyed drawing and could draw with both his right and left hands.  Give everyone a pencil and paper and have each person draw some wavy or zigzag line.  Then tell the cub scouts to exchange papers and make their line into a picture.  The one with the funniest or the best picture is declared the winner.

(5 mins)

Grand Howl, Flag Break, Prayer