Bear Elective adventure 3rd grade

Bears Afloat requirements (Bear)

Bears Afloat is a Bear elective adventure with 7 requirements. Below is what each one asks in plain language, and a sixty minute den meeting plan that works through them: a gathering activity, the opening, the activity blocks, and what to say in the closing.

Plan this meeting in DenBuddy Jump to the plan

Free for one den. DenBuddy reads your den from Scoutbook Plus, and writes back only when you press Send.

Bears Afloat requirements

Paraphrased for planning. Read the current wording in the handbook or Scoutbook Plus before you sign anything off.

Handbook requirement 1

Before attempting requirements 6 and 7 for this Adventure, you must pass the BSA swimmer test.
Handbook requirement 2

Pick a paddle craft you'll use to complete all requirements: canoe, kayak, or stand-up paddleboard.
Handbook requirement 3

With your den or an adult, discuss the role of qualified adult supervision at a paddle craft activity.
Handbook requirement 4

Explain the safety rules to follow when safely using a paddle craft.
Handbook requirement 5

Discover how to tell if a life jacket is the correct size and approved for your paddle craft activity. Demonstrate how to wear it.
Handbook requirement 6

Explore how your paddle craft responds as you move your paddle through the water from different places.
Handbook requirement 7

Have 30 minutes,or more, of canoe, kayak, or stand-up paddleboard paddle time.

Check out this resource page to get the most out of this adventure!

Ready to run

A 60 minute den meeting for Bears Afloat

Five kinds of block in the order that works: something to do on arrival, the opening, den business, the adventure work split into chunks a Cub Scout can hold attention through, and a closing that names what got finished.

0:00 · 10 min

Gathering: tallest tower

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

Put scrap cardboard, painter's tape and two pairs of safety scissors on the gathering table.
The task on the card: build the tallest thing that stands on its own before the opening.
Scouts join whichever table has room, so nobody waits alone for the meeting to start.

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, Bears Afloat, 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 Bears Afloat 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: Before attempting requirements 6 and 7

Close requirements 1 and 2 of Bears Afloat.

Read the requirement to the den in plain words: "Before attempting requirements 6 and 7 for this Adventure, you must pass the BSA swimmer test".
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: set the materials out on a second table and let them build "Pick a paddle craft you'll use to complete all requirements: canoe, kayak, or stand-up paddleboard" while you move between the two.

Requirement 1 Requirement 2

0:29 · 9 min

Activity 2: With your den or an adult

Close requirements 3 and 4 of Bears Afloat.

Show a finished example first so every Scout can picture "With your den or an adult, discuss the role of qualified adult supervision at a paddle craft activity" before they start.
Set materials out at two or three tables so nobody stands waiting for the scissors.
Move table to table while they work and ask each Scout to tell you what they are making and why.
Give a five minute warning, then have every Scout hold up what they made and say one thing about it.
Then requirement 4: set the materials out on a second table and let them build "Explain the safety rules to follow when safely using a paddle craft" while you move between the two.

Requirement 3 Requirement 4

0:38 · 9 min

Activity 3: Discover how to tell if a life

Close requirements 5 and 6 of Bears Afloat.

Show a finished example first so every Scout can picture "Discover how to tell if a life jacket is the correct size and approved for your paddle craft activity" before they start.
Set materials out at two or three tables so nobody stands waiting for the scissors.
Move table to table while they work and ask each Scout to tell you what they are making and why.
Give a five minute warning, then have every Scout hold up what they made and say one thing about it.
Then requirement 6: set the materials out on a second table and let them build "Explore how your paddle craft responds as you move your paddle through the water from different places" while you move between the two.

Requirement 5 Requirement 6

0:47 · 8 min

Activity 4: Have 30 minutes,or more, of canoe, kayak

Close requirement 7 of Bears Afloat: Have 30 minutes,or more, of canoe, kayak, or stand-up paddleboard paddle time.

Read the requirement to the den in plain words: "Have 30 minutes,or more, of canoe, kayak, or stand-up paddleboard paddle time".
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.

What to bring

Tonight's requirement list, printed, with a box to tick per Scout
A clipboard and pen for sign-offs as they happen
Cardboard, painter's tape and safety scissors
Towels, drinking water and a change of clothes
One laptop or tablet, and a printed copy of the pack's device rules

Worked out from the requirement text. Swap anything you already have in the den box.

Plan this meeting for your own den

This plan does not know your Scouts. DenBuddy does: import your den from Scoutbook Plus and the planner starts from the requirements each Scout is actually missing, keeps the block times, and turns the agenda into the record sheet afterwards.

Plan Bears Afloat Create a free den

How the planner works

Youth protection is built in: Scouts have no accounts, check-in is done by a parent from a public link, and nothing DenBuddy does writes back to Scoutbook.

How youth data is handled

Questions about Bears Afloat

How many requirements does Bears Afloat have?

7. Each one is a single thing the Scout does. Check the current wording in the handbook or Scoutbook Plus before you sign anything off.

Is Bears Afloat required for Bear?

No. Bears Afloat is a Bear elective. A Scout needs the six required Bear adventures plus at least two electives, and this one can be part of those two.

How long does Bears Afloat take?

The plan on this page runs 60 minutes and covers 7 of the 7 requirements. Most dens spend two meetings on an adventure, because somebody is always absent for the first one.

Can a Scout finish part of Bears Afloat at home?

Any of it can be. Nothing in Bears Afloat is marked as family-only work, so a Scout who misses the meeting can finish with a parent and you record it when the family tells you.