Paddle Onward requirements (Webelos)

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, Paddle Onward, 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 Paddle Onward 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 5

Close requirements 1 and 2 of Paddle Onward.

• Read the requirement to the den in plain words: "Before attempting requirements 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 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 for which to complete all requirements: canoe, kayak, or stand-up paddleboard (SUP)" while you move between the two.

Requirement 1 Requirement 2

0:29 · 9 min

Activity 2: Review Safety Afloat

Close requirements 3 and 4 of Paddle Onward.

• Read the requirement to the den in plain words: "Review Safety Afloat".
• 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: put the den in pairs and have every Scout show you "Demonstrate how to choose and properly wear a life jacket that is the correct size" once, in their own way.

Requirement 3 Requirement 4

0:38 · 9 min

Activity 3: Jump feet first into water over

Close requirements 5 and 6 of Paddle Onward.

• Read the requirement to the den in plain words: "Jump feet first into water over your head while wearing a life jacket".
• 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 5 off as each Scout finishes rather than trying to remember afterwards.
• Then requirement 6: put the den in pairs and have every Scout show you "Demonstrate how to enter and exit a canoe, kayak, or stand-up paddle board safely" once, in their own way.

Requirement 5 Requirement 6

0:47 · 8 min

Activity 4: Discuss what to do if your canoe

Close requirements 7 and 8 of Paddle Onward.

• Sit the den in a circle, or in small groups if you have more than eight Scouts.
• Read "Discuss what to do if your canoe or kayak tips over or you fall off your standup paddle board" 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.
• Then requirement 8: set the materials out on a second table and let them build "Learn how to pick a paddle that is the right size for you" while you move between the two.

Requirement 7 Requirement 8

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.