Through circumstances entirely my own fault, I became the Cubmaster of my son's Sub Scout Pack. Frankly, the leadership was lacking, and what was there was less than exciting for the kids, so I took over. Long story.
Anyways, this week, Central Ohio Cub Scouts go to day camp at Camp Falling Rock in Licking County, Ohio. I volunteered yesterday, and simply had a great time. Arrive in the middle of nowhere in some very beautiful country at 0800 with a van full of 7 year old boys. unload and watch the boys interact with other members of their assigned den prior to opening ceremony. By about 0820, there were almost 400 boys between 7 and 10 years old running around. Rick, the director, called everyone to teh P.A. for the opening, and it was amazing to see 400 boys get that quiet that quickly. A group of Boy Scouts acting as "counselors" conducted a flag raising ceremony, followed by the Pledge, an inspired version of Go Bless America, and the days activities. My day (three other adults and 15 7 year old boys) went like this:
0900-1000 Rowing (should be called geting wet in a boat, but still fun)
1000-1030 Values/Character/Choices (meeting with an elder leader to talk about values, character, choices. Our leader was a retired Marine sergeant who was great with the kids.)
1030-1100 First Aid Basics (what to do for small cuts, scrapes, etc.)
1100-1145 BB Guns (I wipe a tear from my eye to say that my son's first five shots on a real target, measured distance, resulted in a 43 out of 50)
1200-1245 Lunch
1300-1330 Bead Craft (beaded lanyards for pocket knife or keychain)
1345-1430 Outdoor cooking (camp cobbler, pie filling topped with cake mix, baked in a dutch oven. Not great, butthe kids loved it.)
1445-1515 Camp songs (the kids had fun)
1515-1600 Compass basics
1600-1630 Daily awards, lost and found, and flag retreat.
I spoke with the director before driving my load of sleeping boys back home. Two injuries over the day of note. One boy touched a hot dutch oven, resulting in a second degree burn on his hand. Another boy cut himself during knife class, and needed to be taken for a few stitched in his hand, because he was playing around and not paying attention. One adult needed medical attention because he was a tough guy and thought he didn't need to keep drinking water all day.
Nice to see 400 kids without a single earphone, videogame, etc. actually enjoying life, learning good things, and shooting without becoming serial killers.
