Scouts and bushcraft.....HELP... !!!

[Moff8]

I always remember the three things that caught my interest. Making a lean to shelter. Making a bench to sit on. Throwing an axe at a dead tree (though I can't remember if we did this when no one was looking).

Other things I can think of that we did.

Making a stretcher out of two old coats and a couple of poles - then having a race carrying the 'injured'. Four boys carrying a fifth with two others running alongside to take a turn if one of the carriers got tired. there might have been a bit with a triangular bandage being applied as well.

Camouflage - shown the basics of camouflage then split into two teams one hiding along a track and other team walking down the track trying to spot the hidden ones. Then swap over. There was another game that involved stealthy movement.

Food prep, I think ours was fish, certainly don't remember seeing anything that was remotely cute or cuddly.

 

[dommyracer]

Jon, I'll go with what Fin said earlier up the page.

No matter what you decide to settle on showing them, preparation and planning is tha key - as a trainer myself in the world of the day job, half the battle is not what you're teaching but how you get it across.

Much better to pick a few things and do them well than try to cover loads of stuff.

 

[JohnC]

Not Scouts, but when I have helped at cubs, having 2-3 bases and another helper or two worrked well. I was doing rope making, someone else did pioneering knots and spars, the third was a signage project for an upcoming camp..
When I did firelighting one night I had thought it was to be a 15min filler in an evening run by the leaders, but it turned out they decided to just do that as it was nice night. I learned that I should always take/plan a backup activity or challange to have ready, even the old "most things in a matchbox" one while I gathered my thoughts or prepared the next demo.

 

[rich59]

Cor! Enough advice for a decade there! And my 2 pennies worth?

Be enthusiastic. Get them doing stuff ASAP. Enjoy it. Don't kill anyone and you might get invited back to have another play session!

 

[ukarcher]

A lot of good advise already, but a couple of points you should always remember when teaching scouts. Some of them will only be ten years old so don't use big words and technical phrases. And one thing I was taught was that if you tell a scout about something they will forget it. If you show a scout something, they may remember it. But if you get them to do something they will learn it.
Good luck and have fun.

 

[Stew]

Don't kill anyone and you might get invited back to have another play session!

Depending on the Scout, you may get invited back if you do....

 

[brancho]

Depending on the Scout, you may get invited back if you do....

This is of course very true apart from one thing the paperwork. As I always tell my Scouts I dont want them to get hurt adding only because of the paperwork.

 

[Goose]

This is of course very true apart from one thing the paperwork. As I always tell my Scouts I dont want them to get hurt adding only because of the paperwork.

I tell them it is less paperwork to lose a scout than have a scout injured, so we will finish 'em off and bury the body . The worrying thing is they seem to beleive me and focus more , not really sure it is good that they beleive it though!:sulkoff: