Twister + Record Cards + Investiture = An Impossible To Title Blog Post

Tonight was a bit of a mash up for the scouts as the radio station we were planning to visit never got back in contact with us. M'eh, it happens... you plan things, you try to arrange them and for some reason the planets don't align and it doesn't go ahead.


This is why we have back up plans.


I will admit that it was Mim that came up with this particular back up plan. (Yeah, buying a house really takes up a lot of your time... they should come with a health warning or something)

Also... be careful of giants

After a quick game and introducing a newbie (a cub moving up- huzzah!) we got on with one of our activities for the night. OS Symbol Twister! We taped 16 OS symbols in a 4x4 grid on the floor, one grid for each patrol.... and then we randomly shouted out hand/foot and symbol combinations.

Sprogs should not be that flexible.

Both hilarious and disturbing at the same time, arms and legs all over the place.... one tiny little scout cowering completely underneath her PL. Slightly more disturbing when one of the sprogs asked "where's my left foot...?" *facepalm*

Once they had finally all fallen over Niall and Jason went on to do 4 and 6 figure grid references with them, while I pulled one of them aside and went through their Record Card, and it was a good thing that we went through it, as we had found that she had completed a couple of challenge badges.

The end of the night came along and I got to present a whole host of badges, most of them challenge badges.

And what's more I got to invest a PL.

Yes, I invest my PLs. It isn't normal practice, but I've found that it helps give them some confidence in taking on the role and it helps the others recognise the authority that they have. The investiture runs like any other investiture, but with a modified promise that I came up with.

Patrol Leaders Promise

On my honour I promise, 

That I shall lead my patrol to the best of my abilities,

And that I shall remain worthy of the position of Patrol Leader,

For the sake of my Patrol, my Troop and the Scout Movement.

It doesn't seam like much, but my scouts have taken it all to heart. You should have seen the beaming smile he had when I told him that I was going to invest him as a PL.

Drowning in paperwork

HELP....!

Or at least that is how it can feel...

The Child Protection Officer from the Salvation Army came down to see us this Friday (we're affliated with the Salvation Army if you were wondering why) and she came armed with a small forest of paperwork.

So while the sprogs were out doing urban tracking, one patrol would leave a trail for the other to follow... making the symbols out of stuff they could find, but making them stuble enough not to be trashed by the public... I was in signing my soul away.

The sprogs seamed to enjoy it, and we didn't have any hassle about any of them running away like the last time we let them out... so in my books that is a success. *woo hoo*

Mind you, I think it really surprised some of them when we told them that the groups that they had been working in for the evening were their new patrols! Awww, the shocked look on some of their faces was just priceless


Kind of like a shocked fish...

On the sidelines

Sometimes you set challenges and you really aren't entirely sure if the sprogs are ready for it... but you throw it at them anyway just incase.

Well, I had challenged the patrol leaders to run the entire night, and I said that all I would do is stay at the side and only step in if I really had to. Personally I had thought that they would not have planned anything. Given that last week they had forgotten about the challenge, my expectations for a program weren't very high.

In fact, I even had an alternative plan...

...cleaning out the store cupboards.

I know it sounds boring, but that's my point! Why should I give them a really fun night to reward the patrol leaders lack of planning? It would also mean that next time I set a similar challenge they would be even less likely to bother, given that they would know they would get a load of fun.

My cupboards are still in a state.

In fairness to them, they did a good job. They did run out of program about 45mins before the end of the evening (we meet for 2hours every week), but they managed to blag the rest of it. It was really really strange to be at the side while they just got on with it! But somehow I am prepared to get used to it, especially given that the patrol leaders have said that they enjoyed it and would do it again! woo hoo

I would say that the experiment was a success!

One of these things is not like the others

1) What we had programmed
2) What the kids were expecting
3) What we actually did

... one of these things is no like the others, can you guess which?

I'll give you a minute

...

No, you're wrong, it wasn't 2, it was number 3!

We were supposed to be getting the kids to do bivvy building at the local campsite this evening; well, that's if you actually believe the programme plan we write up completely. Unfortunately my foreplanning kind of went out the window and I forgot to get letters etc out to parents in enough time for them to sort out travel arrangements... so something had to be done in the hall.

So the last minute plan of wonders was *drum roll* ... FIRST AID. More specifically, bandaging up someones legs so that you are using one leg as a splint for the other, and then getting them to make stretchers out of stuff from the cupboard (mainly rope and poles- so it kind of tested their knots skills as well).

I was expecting them to enjoy dragging each other round and the stretcher part... but was slightly surprised at how much they got into tieing each other up (and getting tied up). Not sure if I should worry about this!

But this wasn't the only trick I had up my leave. At the recent Patrol Leaders meeting I challenged the PLs to take a more active role in running things, so added to the Duty Patrols duties was to run the initial game, and then next weeks duty PL was to run a 15minute basic skills session (knots, first aid or map and compass). My PLs agreed to this challenge and this was going to be the first week that it was put into effect. Thank goodness it went well- I think it was a big confidence boost for the PLs involved. We'll see how that progresses.

Next week should be interesting. The other big challenge I set the Patrol Leaders was to run an entire night. And I mean the entire night; flag break, inspection, games, basic skills, main activity, packing away, flag down.... EVERYTHING. We haven't given them an entirely free rein tho, we have told them that we want them to cover the parts of the orienteering badge that can be done in the hall (we told them this about a month ago, so in plenty of time). I wonder what they have planned. Or for that matter if they actually have any plans!

I can't wait!

One last thing. I would like to publicly thank Dirty Scout (one of my best mates) for coming down to help out as I was short on leaders that evening and she did a fantastic job with the kids!

Patrol Leaders Training Camp

Beware!

When you're on a night out on town, are onto the third bar of the night (i think); which so happens to be a rather cheap cocktail bar; and you are getting rather pickled... don't answer the phone from your District Commissioner for Scouts!

If she is smart like mine, she'll tell that you're inebriated and take the opportunity to ask you to help with the running of the district Patrol Leaders Training camp.

...

... damn cocktails.

In all honesty tho, even tho it sounded like it might not be that much fun (given that a fair chunk of it was tutorial type talks with the 30odd sprogs)... it actually turned out better than I thought it would be.

The sprogs and the other leaders were a good laugh, and the little darlings seamed to pick up a lot of what being a Patrol Leader is. Tho, only time will tell if they really have learned anything from the experience.

Chris, (my District Commissioner for Scouts) am sorry to tell you that I no longer drink alcohol... so you will have to find other methods.


... I suggest chocolate =)