Yo-Yo (AOL) requirements (Arrow of Light)

0:00 · 10 min

Gathering: what would you do

Give the Scouts who arrive first something to do, so the meeting starts the moment they walk in.

• Write three short what-would-you-do situations on index cards and lay them face down.
• Arriving Scouts turn one over with a partner and agree on a first move.
• Hold the answers until the activity block, then let those pairs go first.

0:10 · 5 min

Opening

Flag ceremony, Scout Oath and Scout Law. The same five minutes every week, run by the Scouts.

• The denner calls the den to order and leads the flag ceremony.
• Say the Scout Oath and the Scout Law together. New Scouts read from a card and nobody makes anything of it.
• One sentence on tonight's adventure, Yo-Yo (AOL), and the one thing everybody will get done.

0:15 · 5 min

Talk time

Den business while everyone is still sitting down, and a look at what is coming.

• The two dates parents need: the next den meeting and the next pack event.
• Ask who already did part of Yo-Yo (AOL) at home, and write the names down so it gets recorded.
• Take one question from the den. Answer it or say when you will.

0:20 · 9 min

Activity 1: Learn the safety rules of using

Close requirements 1 and 2 of Yo-Yo (AOL).

• Read the requirement to the den in plain words: "Learn the safety rules of using a yo-yo and follow them at all times".
• Work it in pairs or small groups for most of the block while you move between them.
• Bring the den back together and have each Scout tell you what they did.
• Mark requirement 1 off as each Scout finishes rather than trying to remember afterwards.
• Then requirement 2: put the den in pairs and have every Scout show you "Using a real yo-yo string, a regular string, or a piece of yarn, show how to find the proper yo-yo string length for you" once, in their own way.

Requirement 1 Requirement 2

0:29 · 9 min

Activity 2: Explain why it is important to have

Close requirements 3 and 4 of Yo-Yo (AOL).

• Put the answers where the den can find them: three stations, a set of cards, or a chart for "Explain why it is important to have the correct string length and to be in the right location before throwing a yo-yo".
• Give the den five minutes in pairs to work it out, then bring the answers together on one sheet.
• Go round the circle so every Scout says one answer out loud in their own words.
• Then requirement 4: set the materials out on a second table and let them build "Demonstrate how to properly string a yo-yo and how to create a slip knot" while you move between the two.

Requirement 3 Requirement 4

0:38 · 9 min

Activity 3: In an area where there are no

Close requirements 5 and 6 of Yo-Yo (AOL).

• Put the answers where the den can find them: three stations, a set of cards, or a chart for "In an area where there are no hazards or other people, conduct the pendulum experiment with a yo-yo".
• Give the den five minutes in pairs to work it out, then bring the answers together on one sheet.
• Go round the circle so every Scout says one answer out loud in their own words.
• Then requirement 6: put the den in pairs and have every Scout show you "Show that you can properly wind a yo-yo" once, in their own way.

Requirement 5 Requirement 6

0:47 · 8 min

Activity 4: Gravity pull

Close requirement 7 of Yo-Yo (AOL): Gravity pull

• Read the requirement to the den in plain words: "Gravity pull".
• Work it in pairs or small groups for most of the block while you move between them.
• Bring the den back together and have each Scout tell you what they did.
• Mark requirement 7 off as each Scout finishes rather than trying to remember afterwards.

Requirement 7

0:55 · 5 min

Closing

End on time, and make sure every Scout leaves knowing what they finished.

• Cubmaster's minute: one short thought tied to what the den just did. Sixty seconds, no lecture.
• Read back what got finished tonight, requirement by requirement, so the Scouts hear their own progress.
• Send the den off with the den yell, and catch the parents who need to hear something at pickup.