Scoutmaster

Friday Fives - Leadership

This Friday a look back at five posts on the subject of leadership:

Leadership or Not?
Key characteristics of leaders and non-leaders.

Train 'Em, Trust 'Em and Let Them Lead

Keep in mind that unwarranted, ill-advised interference discourages leadership and that those boy leaders of yours are "learning by doing."

AMC Guide to Outdoor Leadership

Scout leaders may not routinely lead expeditions to Nepal or outings requiring extensive specialized skills but the information in the AMC Guide to Outdoor Leadership remains a vital resource.

Hitting The Wall

Otherwise capable and energetic leaders may encounter a simple setback that drains their enthusiasm - a common experience; especially for developing youth leaders.

Ten Things a Scoutmaster can do for a Senior Patrol Leader
There will always be problems - challenge is good. He is responsible not to prevent problems but to lead the Troop through them.

Friday Fives - Building Campfires

Every Friday five posts from Scoutmaster worth a second look - this week building campfires.

Making & Using a Fire-by-Friction Set

Do you think that you can build a fire using a fire by friction set made by yourself? If you answered YES to the this question, you are already 50% done with the building of your fire by friction.

Fire by Friction
'World Champion Fire Starter' Eagle Scout Dudley Winn Smith from Independence, Missouri held the record for starting a fire using a bow and drill.

Never-Fail Campfire Building
Building a campfire is, for many, an elusive skill. Books show us tidy pictures of tepees and log cabins, extol the merits of exotic fire starters and generally make the job unnecessarily complicated. This little film explains how to collect the three things needed to build a fire.

Making Fire With a Bow Drill at Wildwood Survival
The most common cliché about scouting is a toss-up between helping old ladies across the street and rubbing two sticks together to make a fire. Making fire with a bow drill is an obtainable skill for those who are willing to devote themselves to a little study, finding the proper materials and patient practice.

Three Wall Fireplace

The three-walled heritage fireplace has been a Temagami tradition for over a hundred years and many blackened campsite fireplaces  have been in use for decades.

Friday Fives - Knots and Pioneering

Every Friday five posts from Scoutmaster worth reviewing. This week a look back at knots and pioneering.

Improbable Pioneering Project
Had M.C. Escher been a Scout he may have come up with something like this.
I Will Knot
Perhaps the best, least cluttered and useful wedsite with video knot tutorials.
Pioneering Book
PDF Book of pioneering information I created for counseling the Pioneering Merit Badge.
Chippewa Kitchen
A pioneered cook stand and pot rack.
Pioneering as Sculpture
These Israeli Scouts create some incredible and inspiring pioneering projects on a scale that is truly amazing.

Friday Fives - Canoeing

Every Friday five posts from Scoutmaster worth reviewing. This week a look back at posts related to Canoeing.

Canoe Paddling - Canadian Style
An interesting look at the mechanics  of paddling a canoe solo in the Canadian Style.

Algonquin Outfitters
The folks at Algonquin provide equipment, advice and great Swift canoes at a very reasonable price. Algonquin Outfitters staff was well informed and helpful making every possible accommodation for our needs.

Paddling Articles by Kevin Callan
Callan is an author of several books and guides. Here's a collection of his articles that will appeal to canoeist's and campers alike.

Making Canoe Paddles

Making a paddle is a reasonably complex process but the authors of this book explain every step with well-illustrated clarity.

Expedition Canoeing
Anyone planning a canoe trip of a few days or a few weeks will benefit from studying the advice given in this book.

Friday Fives - Chuck Boxes

Every Friday five posts from Scoutmaster worth reviewing. This week a look back at chuck boxes, camp kitchens and various ways to store and transport cooking gear. 

Chuck Boxes
A decent chuck box makes cooking in camp a lot more pleasant. Call them patrol boxes, Field kitchens, or chuck boxes they all store cooking gear.
More Camp Kitchens
More links on the camp kitchen, chuck box, patrol box theme:
Patrol Box Design
Here's a design for patrol boxes or chuck boxes that would be relatively simple to build.
Two Patrol Boxes
Two new versions of the classic patrol box
Even More Chuck Boxes Patrol Kits and the Like
Haven't had enough? Here's a couple more.

Friday Fives (and Tens)

Every Friday five posts from Scoutmaster worth reviewing. This week the subject is Tens (and one six) ; 

Ten Common Scoutmaster Mistakes
Avoid these common pitfalls and everything else will be easy.
Ten Essentials With a Quiz
What to always bring camping.
The Ten Bushcraft Books
An Australian Classic
Ten Practices for Retaining Older Scouts
Measures to keep older Scouts engaged and motivated
Six Commandments
Heed these, my commandments, for they are only six – though ten could I make, for I am the Scoutmaster of thy Troop.

Friday Fives - Cooking

Every Friday five posts from Scoutmaster worth reviewing. This week the subject is Cooking;

Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Next time you go camping make a pineapple upside down cake. No, really, it is easy, fun and delicious.

The Venerable Foil Dinner
A mainstay of any Scout's arsenal of cooking methods the foil dinner is simple, fun and (almost always) delicious.

Freezer Bag Cooking
The ingenious technique 'boils down' to this ;  measure ingredients into a 1 quart freezer bag and add hot water, wait a few minutes and viola! - a great-tasting meal.

Freeze Dried Food
Freeze dried food is not the cheapest option to fill out a camping menu. There are times, like backpacking, when the weight savings are well worth the cost.

The World of Spoons and Sporks
Do we really need this many sporks (or over priced specialty camping spoons) in the world?

Friday Five - Books

Every Friday five posts from Scoutmaster worth reviewing. This week the subject is Books;

Nessmuk
' We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it we go to smooth it. We have it rough enough at home...'

' The temptation is to buy this or that bit of indispensable camp kit has been too strong and we have gone to the blessed woods handicapped with a load fit for a pack mule. That is not how to do it.

Go light, and the lighter the better so that you have the simplest material for health comfort and enjoyment. '

Camping's Top Secrets
Twenty five years of camping on the average of once a month and I got a lot out of this book.

Wildwoods Wisdom
Ellsworth Jaeger wrote several books about outdoor living in the 1940's. My favorite is Wildwoods Wisdom. He is a passionate advocate for ' the rich American folklore ' of living in the woods.

AMC Guide to Outdoor Leadership
Scout leaders may not routinely lead expeditions to Nepal or outings requiring extensive specialized skills but the information in the AMC Guide to Outdoor Leadership remains a vital resource. Competent leaders should have a grasp of group dynamics, risk assessment, effective decision making and planning.

An Axe to Grind
The druidical science of axemanship is glossed  over in scouting literature. Wielding an axe expertly is more than meets the eye. Can you properly 'hang' an axe? Are you able to detect hidden flaws when choosing a new axe handle?

Friday Five - Camping Skills

Every Friday five posts from Scoutmaster worth reviewing. This week the subject is Camping Skills;

Never-Fail Campfire Building
This little film explains how to collect the three things needed to build a fire; tinder, kindling and fuel. Gathering the right kind of material in sufficient quantities assures quick, reliable campfire.

Philmont Dining Fly
Here is a novel, useful way to rig a 12x12 tarp to stand up to strong winds and rain. This rig will keep about eight people (who get along fairly well) out of the rain.

Fire by Friction
'World Champion Fire Starter' Eagle Scout Dudley Winn Smith from Independence, Missouri held the record for starting a fire using a bow and drill. The 1937 book Games and Recreational Methods for Clubs, Camps and Scouts, C.F. Smith, records his winning method.  I have tried this out and it works(!)

Lost Scout
We are all vulnerable to making mistakes and misjudgments.  When in doubt we should consider our training, policy and common sense - one of the three is sure to keep us out of trouble.

Friday Five - Advancement

Every Friday five posts from Scoutmaster worth reviewing. This week the subject is Advancement;

Holding Scouts Hostage - the 13 year-old Eagle?
" Now I'll go further... To artificially and arbitrarily hold a Scout back from his own advancement goals is a form of hostage-taking.  In doing this, in purposefully delaying a Scout by throwing up roadblocks, so that he "stays in the troop longer" is a complete and total miscarriage of the Scouting program itself, to say nothing of the advancement plan."

Kill Your Troop Advancement Plan
My contention is that if a system for compelling scouts to advance they will wait until they are prompted. If advancing depends on their own initiative they will motivate themselves.

Standardization of Advancement
We want to get them ALL along through cheery self development from within and not through the imposition of formal instruction from without.

Tough Calls - Advancement
What I came to realize was that these requirements are purposefully silent when it comes to numbers or uniformity of evaluation. We cannot assess these requirements by comparing one Scout to another. The only way to assess that a Scout has successfully completed these requirements is the Scout himself. Has he met his own expectations? Have we done our job of helping him internalize a personal standard of responsibility?

Boards of Review
He has had his requirements signed off, he has had a Scoutmaster's conference and in uniform and armed with his handbook he's off to a Board of Review.