![\"bike](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/533\/2017\/09\/bike-rodeo-2-1024x605.jpg\")
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So here\u2019s an update on my Adventures as Cub Scout Committee Chair.<\/p>\n
We are a small pack \u2014 by my count, 31 boys. \u00a0Maybe a few more, if we get some more new boys. \u00a0Maybe a few less, if we some of the boys we\u2019re assuming are continuing this year, turn out not to be doing so. \u00a0This means that we don\u2019t really have the numbers for some of the Big Things that other packs might do, and we don\u2019t have the cash to lay out for a big budget activity, either, so we try to do things that are inexpensive but still entertaining for the boys and worthwhile for the parents. \u00a0On the other hand, being small does have some advantages since we can do some things that would just be too chaotic with a larger group.<\/p>\n
Which means that last year we had a pack meeting where the Boy Scouts came in and demonstrated camping skills. \u00a0At another meeting, the boys played \u201cminute to win it\u201d games. \u00a0Another time, we had the middle school and high school robotics teams come in and demonstrate their robots. \u00a0We had a Raingutter Regatta where the boys brought in plastic-bottle boats, and we raced them informally, with boys with successful boats sharing with those whose boats sank in the first round, and with dad vs. son and dad vs. dad races. \u00a0We had a pack rocket launch where our small size meant that each boy got a turn or two at launching the rocket and got to chase after the rocket, vs. the hyper organized affairs where boys get to do little more than watch. \u00a0This year we\u2019ll have a couple navy veteran dads put together a Veteran\u2019s Day-themed pack meeting in November (with PT and uniform inspection), and I\u2019m playing around with the idea of recruiting some high schoolers to do some science demonstrations.<\/p>\n
And tonight was the Bike Rodeo.<\/p>\n
This was the pack\u2019s first time trying this event out, and it was a little chaotic. \u00a0I think I\u2019m reasonably competent at coming up with ideas and planning them out, but implementing them \u2014 well, that\u2019s where I hope for the best, and by that I mean, hope for sufficient number of other parents to help maintain order.<\/p>\n
This is what we did:<\/p>\n
We started with a \u201cbike inspection,\u201d which really ended up taking the form of the Scoutmaster talking to the boys about helmets and safety and the like. \u00a0In a perfect world it would have been more organized. \u00a0Oh, well.<\/p>\n
We then had three stations: \u00a0a slalom course, a \u201cRock Dodge\u201d and a \u201cLook Back\u201d station. \u00a0The Rock Dodge was meant to simulate an obstacle on the road. \u00a0The \u201cLook Back\u201d was meant to practice signalling, looking back, and then turning, if the way was clear, by having an adult with, in this case, a white cushion (it was supposed to be a car-shaped cardboard, but the white cushion seemed the better choice for tonight), stand behind the boy as he rode on a cone-marked path, so that the boy was required to look behind him to see if a \u201ccar\u201d was coming. \u00a0The boys rotated through these by den. \u00a0Then we switched the cones around for a \u201cslow race\u201d (slowest wins, to practice balance), and a \u201cpebble drop\u201d game, dropping, in this case, sticks into buckets while riding. \u00a0After this we moved indoors for a brief flag ceremony, announcements, and the like.<\/p>\n
Now, the whole thing gave me quite some worry beforehand, not only because keeping boys in line, and soliciting help from parents, is not among my skill set, but also because the whole event was set to take place after dark. \u00a0We\u2019d been having our pack meetings at 7:00, because I figured that the old 6:30 start time was causing problems for parents, and dropping our attendance due to conflicts, dinnertime, etc. \u00a0But sunset was 6:51 \u2014 not good. \u00a0So we located the events at the part of the parking lot closest to the school building\u2019s lights, asked everyone to get there early if possible, hoped for the best, and, well, we did manage to have enough light to do the activities, and we didn\u2019t lose any of the boys to the darkness, so that\u2019s a plus.<\/p>\n
As I was putting together my notes on the activities earlier today, it occurred to me that I could have probably taken this a step further and called the police station or the local bike shop to see about some kind of Bike Safety booklets or stickers, or even having someone \u201cofficial\u201d give the safety talk. \u00a0But I got some positive feedback from the parents and hopefully the parents of the younger scouts, when my son moves on to Boy Scouts in the spring, will see this as something worth repeating and improving upon.<\/p>\n
So there you go. \u00a0And now I can move on to getting other things done.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
So here\u2019s an update on my Adventures as Cub Scout Committee Chair. We are a small pack \u2014 by my count, 31 boys. \u00a0Maybe a few more, if we get some more new boys. \u00a0Maybe a few less, if we some of the boys we\u2019re assuming are continuing this year, turn out not to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":7379,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[461],"class_list":["post-7378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-cub-scouts"],"yoast_head":"\n