Bears on Bikes requirements (Bear)

0:00 · 10 min

Gathering: who helps here

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

• Put a sheet of butcher paper on the wall with the question: who helps our town run?
• Every Scout adds one job or one name as they come in, out loud, so the quiet ones hear ideas first.
• Leave it up through the meeting and point back at it in the closing.

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 on Bikes, 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 on Bikes 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: Show how to properly wear a bicycle helmet

Close requirements 1 and 2 of Bears on Bikes.

• Do it once yourself at normal speed, then once slowly while you narrate every step.
• Put the den in pairs so each Scout practices "Show how to properly wear a bicycle helmet" while their partner watches for the one thing that matters.
• Go round the circle and have every Scout show you once, in their own way.
• Mark it off as each Scout finishes rather than trying to remember at the end.
• Then requirement 2: sit the den in a circle and take one answer each on "Decide what you should wear when riding a bike".

Requirement 1 Requirement 2

0:29 · 9 min

Activity 2: Demonstrate proper hand signals

Close requirements 3 and 4 of Bears on Bikes.

• Do it once yourself at normal speed, then once slowly while you narrate every step.
• Put the den in pairs so each Scout practices "Demonstrate proper hand signals" while their partner watches for the one thing that matters.
• Go round the circle and have every Scout show you once, in their own way.
• Mark it off as each Scout finishes rather than trying to remember at the end.
• Then requirement 4: put the den in pairs and have every Scout show you "Demonstrate how to adjust saddle height" once, in their own way.

Requirement 3 Requirement 4

0:38 · 9 min

Activity 3: Demonstrate how to operate brakes

Close requirements 5 and 6 of Bears on Bikes.

• Do it once yourself at normal speed, then once slowly while you narrate every step.
• Put the den in pairs so each Scout practices "Demonstrate how to operate brakes" while their partner watches for the one thing that matters.
• Go round the circle and have every Scout show you once, in their own way.
• Mark it off as each Scout finishes rather than trying to remember at the end.
• Then requirement 6: sit the den in a circle and take one answer each on "Learn how to use a pump to inflate your tires".

Requirement 5 Requirement 6

0:47 · 8 min

Activity 4: With your family, den, or pack, follow

Close requirement 7 of Bears on Bikes: With your family, den, or pack, follow the buddy system and go on a 30-minute bike ride.

• Read the requirement to the den in plain words: "With your family, den, or pack, follow the buddy system and go on a 30-minute bike ride".
• 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.