Keeping Webelos Scouts active in their second year

When committee member E.M.P. asked for ways to retain second-year Webelos Scouts, readers suggested more activities with Scout troops, unique service projects, and earning special awards.

The second year of Webelos Scouts is the time to get boys excited about Boy Scouting, so expose them to as much Scouting as possible.

Ask a Scoutmaster to recommend an older Scout, preferably an Eagle Scout or senior patrol leader, to visit a den meeting to talk about Boy Scouting. Invite an Order of the Arrow member or a Scout who has been to a national or world jamboree or Philmont Scout Ranch to talk about it.

Visit as many troops in your area as possible. Ask Scoutmasters if their troops are planning activities suitable for Webelos Scouts to join in. Plan your own camp-out or hike and invite Boy Scouts to come and teach outdoor skills. Plan a joint Webelos Scout-Boy Scout service project.

Troop Committee Member K.B.
Salem, Ore.


By maintaining a close relationship with a local pack, our troop has been fairly successful in helping to retain Webelos Scouts and bridging them into the troop.

For better communication and planning, the pack and troop committees each have a liaison member on the other unit’s committee.

Our special activities for the pack include running the pinewood derby and playing a major role in Arrow of Light ceremonies. We also host an annual Webelos Scout weekend, where Webelos Scouts camp for two nights and get a feeling of what Boy Scouting is like.

Scoutmaster T.B.
Harrington Park, N.J.


To keep boys interested in the program, we often throw too much at them too soon, leaving little to look forward to.

We should string out the experiences, give a small taste of what the future offers, and build toward the lure of Boy Scouting.

Plan activities that are more age- or rank-specific and just for the first- or second-year Webelos Scouts. Younger boys or siblings should not take part in these advanced activities but have to wait until “their turn.”

Committee Chair D.W.B.,
Lockport, Ill.


We found one of the best ways to keep our Webelos Scouts involved was to give them a project to aid the pack—constructing an artificial lighted campfire for indoor ceremonies. The boys planned and built it during den meetings.

Webelos Den Leader K.H.
Manteca, Calif.


For Webelos Scouts who haven’t earned the Arrow of Light, hold up that award as the “Eagle of Cub Scouting.” For those who have earned it, consider working on the Emergency Preparedness or Leave No Trace Awareness Awards. Or perhaps, with their families, work on a special project for the pack. Include lots of camping for second-year boys.

If a boy still wants to quit, see if he is eligible to immediately join a Scout troop. If he has earned the Arrow of Light, he probably is.

D.D.
Tallahassee, Fla.


Here are some ways pack and troop leaders can insure that graduating Webelos Scouts will want to cross over into a troop:

Have first-year Webelos Scouts begin to look for a troop. Have second-year Webelos dens meet with a troop once each month starting near the beginning of the school year. They can operate as a patrol or be integrated into existing patrols.

At day camps and resident camps, the program for first-year Webelos Scouts should focus on activity badges while second-year boys work on developing outdoor skills.

Encourage Scoutmasters to recruit Boy Scouts who have been in a troop two years or more to be den chiefs.

Each troop should have an assistant Scoutmaster whose sole job is to act as liaison between troop and pack for second-year Webelos Scouts who visit the troop.

Scouter K.P.
Huber Heights, Ohio


In five years as a Webelos den leader, I found that some Webelos Scouts were very aggressive about advancement and worked with their families on activity badges at home. Other boys never opened the book, and while the leaders would work with these boys at den meetings, the boys who worked on badges at home got bored.

My solution was to ask the parents to refrain from completing work on a badge with their sons, and at meetings I would pair up a boy who had already worked on the badge with one who hadn’t started on it.

R.C.
Lowell, Mass.


Our pack and troop have found three things essential in retaining boys:

Attendance at meetings and involved parents. Parents should encourage their sons to participate and make Scouting a priority.

Leadership. Leaders of second-year Webelos dens should plan meetings with many outdoor Boy Scout-related activities—knots, lashings, fire building, etc.

Activities with troops. This is probably the most important. On their own turf, such as at a den meeting, Webelos Scouts can become friendly with a Boy Scout, who visits to teach them a skill. After that, Webelos Scouts can attend a few troop meetings and join in troop hikes, camp-outs, and other activities.

Our troop also holds an all-day event for Cub Scouts, where Boy Scouts teach knots, lashing, archery, first aid, map reading, compass, tent pitching, fire building, and Scout lore.

Pack and Troop Committee Chairman M.M.
Bath, Pa.


Our pack has two Webelos Scout-only events each year. At forestry camp, first-year Webelos Scouts earn the Forester and Outdoorsman activity badges and second-year Webelos Scouts earn Naturalist.

We also have a winter weekend trip to a local military base combined with a caving experience. The program details are changed every other year so the Webelos Scouts have different experiences each year.

I save a few special events for the second-year Webelos Scouts—a factory tour, an observatory visit, indoor rock-climbing, and a den camp-out. We also join the local Boy Scout troop on troop events.

Webelos Den Leader R.R.
Cincinnati, Ohio


Keep the parents involved and have exciting activities so they want to stick around and work with their kids. We plan one meeting a month with different troops and one troop outdoor activity to look at Boy Scouts in action.

Our second-year den’s other activities include skiing, fishing, hiking, and an Indianapolis Colts football game. As guides to planning, we use KISMIF (Keep It Simple, Make It Fun) and PPP (Proper Prior Planning).

J.C.
Fort Wayne, Ind.


Our pack has benefited from using former Webelos Scouts who have gone on to Boy Scouting as den chiefs.

It is important to get second-year Webelos Scouts involved with a Scout troop. Our council runs many events to foster relationships between packs and troops to encourage the transition to Boy Scouting.

Assistant Cubmaster J.W.
Marlborough, Mass.


The key to keeping second-year Webelos Scouts is to get them outdoors, improve their outdoor skills, and prepare them for their transition to Boy Scouting. Make arrangements with local troops for more visits and joint activities. (Remember to keep them age appropriate and within BSA guidelines.)

N.T.
Ruther Glen, Va.


First, make sure you have a good relationship with one or more troops and have Boy Scout den chiefs interacting with both first- and second-year Webelos Scouts.

Second, arrange for the Webelos Scouts to have lots of outdoor time with the troops.

Assistant Council Commissioner T.L.
Chippewa Falls, Wis.


We make the second year of Webelos Scouting the most exciting for our soon-to-be Boy Scouts—visiting Scout troops, camping, and attending Scout shows and camporees before March, when our Webelos Scouts usually cross over into Boy Scouts.

As part of our blue and gold banquet, we stage an elaborate Arrow of Light Award ceremony, the highlight of the program year. Each recipient is given an arrow made by his den leader, and each boy’s accomplishments are announced.

As the “senior class” of the pack, the second-year Webelos Scouts start developing leadership skills they will need in Boy Scouts. Let them plan and run a camp-out. They will show more interest if they are involved in decision-making.

Former Webelos Den Leader T.B.T.
Newport News, Va.


Make the fall season for second-year Webelos Scouts the start of the boys’ transition to Boy Scouting. Ask the Scoutmasters of one or more local troops to invite the Webelos Scouts to a troop camp-out. You could also have Boy Scouts teach basic Scouting skills at a den meeting.

Don’t forget the Arrow of Light. If you spend the fall selling the program, you may be surprised by how enthused the boys and parents are.

S.S.
Beavercreek, Ohio


Follow the national Webelos-to-Scout Transition plan (ask for No. 18-086 at your local Scout council service centers or find it on the Web at www.scouting.org/boyscouts/resources/18-086/index.html).

Every Webelos Scout should be introduced to a troop in January with a visit from the Scoutmaster. The relationship that starts with this introduction will keep the Webelos Scout and his parents interested in the Boy Scout program through the second year of Webelos.

Also, a Webelos den chief will strengthen ties between the den and troop.

T.K.
Grafton, Wis.


Web Exclusive Responses

The following responses do not appear in the print edition …


Use the requirements for the Arrow of Light to start second-year Webelos Scouts thinking about Boy Scouts. Talk about the differences between the pack and troop.

Have the den attend a district camporee or work on some of the new belt loops. Options would be to work on the Leave No Trace Awareness and Emergency Preparedness Awards.

Webelos Leader 2 E.W.
St. Louis, Mo.


Our pack urges new second-year Webelos Scouts to attend the excellent Cub Scout day camp and Webelos resident camp summer programs offered by our local council.

Second, to help them feel more involved and eager to participate, we ask for their input in planning the calendar for the coming year. Often they suggest a favorite activity or pack event that we adults have forgotten about.

Third, we plan as many hikes and outdoor activities as possible and give them an opportunity to work for special outdoor awards and others, like the World Conservation Award.

Pack Committee Chairperson J.K.
Santa Monica, Calif.


The answer is activities. There are plenty of fun things Webelos Scouts can do after they have earned the Arrow of Light Award. Camping, fishing, hiking, service projects, and other activities will get them into the rhythm of a Boy Scout patrol.

Also, allow the Webelos Scouts to take a greater share of the decision-making process in planning and preparing.

M.L.
Lilburn, Ga.


We invite second-year Webelos Scouts to participate in some of our troop activities. This keeps them interested in joining the troop when they cross over in February at the pack’s blue and gold dinner. We invite them on a camp-out and to several meetings. This fulfills requirements for the Arrow of Light Award.

A.F.
Staten Island, N.Y.


Go camping! We encourage Webelos Scouts to come to almost every troop camp-out with their adult partner. If the boy has a good time, he will stay in the Webelos den and be anxious to join the troop. And if his adult partner has a good time, he or she is likely to become a troop committee member or assistant Scoutmaster.

L.W.
Waterford, Mich.


If the second-year program is just a repeat of the first, it will be very boring, for boys and adults alike. As a Webelos den leader, I tried to have the boys complete their activity badges in the first year so we could focus on other things in the second year.

We went ice skating, wall climbing, skiing, and toured a marble maker’s factory. We got involved with nearby Scout troops, which helped the boys decide which one to join. The local council made the second year different with bouldering activities and launching model rockets. They loved it!

Former Webelos Den Leader M.D.
Gardner, Kan.


A second-year Webelos Scout will stay in a quality program—one with Webelos leaders who are preparing boys to cross over into a troop and who are working closely with a troop.

The troop should have a Webelos liaison who works on joint program opportunities and provides den chiefs for the pack.

Also, make the second year special. Give the boys more responsibility in planning meetings, take them camping like a patrol, cook over open fires, and have them set a positive example for younger boys.

R.O.
Flowery Branch, Ga.


Second-year Webelos Scouts should get more involved in camping. Troops and patrols have weekend camp-outs frequently, and Webelos Scouts should be invited. In our troop we have at least one Dutch-oven meal at every camp-out. Campfires are usually the high point of any camp, and ours are no exception.

Former Scoutmaster G.L.W.
Lake Elmo, Minn.


2 Comments

  1. Don’t see Webelos as the end of Cub Scouts, so much as the beginning of Boy Scouts. Camp camp camp! And begin ramping it up. Get them out of mommy/daddy’s tent an in with their buds. Give them a simple cookbook and help them pick meals beyond hot dogs – and give them the cast for their meals budget and take them to the grocery store to do their own shopping. Think big. Why build a simple tabletop catapult when for $20 you can build a full-size from PVC, and learn about that too? Remember what we learned in Tigers – one go-see-it a month. Too often Webelos results in sitting around a kitchen table working on pins, when the kid would rather be out fly fishing. Take them on a basic orienteering course with your local troop. And above all – GET THEM TO CAMP.

  2. Helpful piece . BTW , people are looking for a Eagle Scout Service Project Worksheet – Boy Scouts of America , my boss discovered a fillable document here https://goo.gl/92pakF

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