Bear Strong requirements (Bear)

0:00 · 10 min

Gathering: keep it up

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

• Put a beach ball or a balloon in the middle of the room and start a den count.
• The den's job is to keep it off the floor and beat the count from last week.
• Stop it the moment the opening is ready, mid-count, so it stays fun and short.

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, Bear Strong, 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 Bear Strong 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 · 12 min

Activity 1: Sample food from three of the following

Close requirements 1 and 2 of Bear Strong.

• Read the requirement to the den in plain words: "Sample food from three of the following food groups: protein, vegetables, fruits, dairy, and grains".
• 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: read "Be active for 30 minutes with your den or at least one other person that includes both stretching and moving" out loud, work it in pairs, and mark it off as each Scout finishes.

Requirement 1 Requirement 2

0:32 · 12 min

Activity 2: Be active for 15 minutes by doing

Close requirements 3 and 4 of Bear Strong.

• Read the requirement to the den in plain words: "Be active for 15 minutes by doing personal exercises that boost your heart rate, use your muscles, and work on flexibility".
• 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 3 off as each Scout finishes rather than trying to remember afterwards.
• Then requirement 4: read "Do a relaxing activity for 10 minutes" out loud, work it in pairs, and mark it off as each Scout finishes.

Requirement 3 Requirement 4

0:44 · 11 min

Activity 3: Review your BSA Annual Health and Medical

Close requirement 5 of Bear Strong: Review your BSA Annual Health and Medical record with your parent or legal guardian. Discuss your ability to participate in den and pack activities.

• Sit the den in a circle, or in small groups if you have more than eight Scouts.
• Read "Review your BSA Annual Health and Medical record with your parent or legal guardian" out loud and give the den ten seconds of quiet before anyone answers.
• Take one answer from every Scout. Nobody gets skipped and nobody gets rushed.
• Write the den's answers on a flip chart so parents can read them at pickup.

Requirement 5

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.