Summer time Activities

[jkpell]

What are some of the summer events you have done?

[foolash4BSA]

Define "summer events." Scouting is year round, even though SOME (not all) units stop weekly meetings when school's not in session. Our BS troop still goes camping EVERY month, and in the "summer" go to weeklong summer camp(s), Philmont, Northern Tier, etc. In August, we usually have a family "planning" campout where the parents and siblings can come and the Scouts select the next year's activities.

In Cubs, we had summertime Fishing Derbies, nature hikes, gem mining expeditions, bus trips to a zoo, an aquarium, a Civil War battlefield, an aircraft carrier (overnight), a gold mine . . . service projects, minor league baseball games, day camp, . . .

[scoutdad]

Summer camp is our troops main summer activity. I do think it is a good idea to give the parents a break during the summer.

[Mr. Bob]

Our Pack had a ton of activities this summer even though we did not have Den and Pack meetings... We had Webelos Scout camp, Day Camp, Bike/Sports day, Family Campout, Park Day and much more... We tried to have atleast two big activities per month.

[mainewoodsman]

Pack and troop activities below:

Pack:
Parades
Overnighter at a local park with campfire program, games etc.
Overnighter on the Portland Sea Dogs (baseball team) field
Overnighter on Battleship Massachusetts in Fall River Mass
Overnighter at the Boston Aquarium
Overnighter at the Science Museum in Boston
Car Wash - Kids love this!
Hike up one of the local mountains (pleasant mtn)
Fishing Derby
Bike Rodeo
Trip to one of the Islands off the coast of maine and spending the day exploring.
Belt Loop-a-Loosa, where cubs can earn some of the sports belt loops in a day or two event.
Cubannopolis
Raingutter Reghatta


Troop:
50 mile Canoe trip in the wilds of Maine :)
Summer Camp (one week at a local camp and one week at an away camp)
Whitewater rafting
Fishing Trip
Disk Golf Day
Day Hike
Hike in Katahdin (up to chimney pond and along the knife's edge)
Nation's Capitol trip.
Gettysburg trip
Rocket build and launch
Acadia National Park... if you've never been, you are missing alot!
Can you Canoe day! Teach basic Canoeing skills to scouts at a local lake.
Trail to Tenderfoot weekend, alot of skills taught to new scouts based on the Tenderfoot Rank.
Spring and Fall Camporee's(although not technically summer, still a warmer weather event).

That's all I can think right off the bat,

Jon

[ScoutmasterJerry]

I agree.. there is no such thing as "Seasonal Scouting" Scouting is a year round program.
We camp 11 times a year plus Summer Camp.
Each Campout is focused on an activity. Weather that is visiting a museum near the campsite, taking a hike, swimming, shooting, or climbing cliffs, the program is designed to go all year.
In the summer we just carry less gear.
Some of the "Activities" we do in the Summer are:
Back pack (Long weekenders)
Camp at the Water Park.. have fun all day
Cook offs
We do a Family Camp so the the parents can see the Skills their boys have learned.
Of course there is Summer Camp. Try to mix up your Summer Camps. We are blessed to have 4 Summer Camps in Council, and many others out of Council that are close.
This year however we are doing an Independant Camp.. just our Troop for 10 days out on a Ranch in Eastern Oregon. Takes some planning and prep work, but it keeps the program alive for all your Scouts.
Summer time also is a great opportunity to throw in some Car wash fund Raisers. Service Projects also have a priority in the Summer, the boys are out of School and can work longer and during the week. Your local City Hall always has a list of things you and your Troop can do.
Lots of Pot Lucks for the Families, but never a dull moment in the summer. You need to keep the boys engaged in the program all year... it is the best way to retain them, and get their friends to join too.

Summer time.... Scouting all the time!

[Nuts4Scouts]

While Scouting may be year round, we do not have regular weekly den or monthly Pack meetings during the summer months.

Unlike Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts is very family oriented & most of the advancement requirements are done at home with the family. With all of the outdoor activities, trips & visits to different places, summer is a great time for families to work on Cub Scout stuff.

Our Pack also has 1 or 2 activities each month. Our activities last summer were -

June - Pack Family Camp - Day Hike

July - Summer Camp - Triple A Baseball Game

August - District Day Camp - Picnic/Rocket Shoot

Not every family attended every event, but the ones who did had a blast!

[ScoutmasterJerry]

Yeah, Cubbies are much different.
You might need to take it easy on the families as they play a more active role in the Pack.
Boy Scouts on the other hand do not require as many parents and should be all about the boys and maintaining lots of activity.

The Pack I was in as a Cubmaster did 1 Activity a month.. we opened it up and went with it, no matter how many people showed up.
As a Webelos Den leader I took the boys camping 4 times as well as summer camp in the 2 years of Webelos.. this got both their Parents and them ready to move up to the Troop were they would be camping 12 times a year.
It was also a great opportunity to start getting the right gear.

[Nuts4Scouts]

Unfortunately, our Troop pretty much takes the summers off. They do 1 week of summer camp in July & that is it until September. The SM, when we can get him to take the Webelos in Feb or March, even refuses to take the new guys to summer camp.

Then he can't understand why the Troop numbers are dropping! :(

[ScoutmasterJerry]

"Then he can't understand why the Troop numbers are dropping! ":(

In addition to being a Scoutmaster... I also am on the district Committee.
I see this all the time. This year alone we have a couple Troops and more Packs that are folding up due to "Lack of interest".
They can't seem to keep adults interested and they can't seem to bring new boys in.
WHY? Because they don't have a program that meets the needs of the Scout and Families.
In another forum here, we are talking about relevance. Stopping in the summer makes the program irrelevant. No consistancy... during the months that the kids are out of School..you need to keep them busy Scouting.
It just boggles my mind why Troops take time off.. and then wonder why no one wants to be in it.
Oh and you brought up the Webelos...
Any Scoutmaster in his/her right mind would be making great strides to getting Webelos involved in the Troop program. They are your New Scout Patrol each year. The summer is a great time to do this too. The Webelos that come to our Troop camp with the Troop each summer at least once.
And in the winter we have a Webelos Lock in. Lots of Pizza and video games all night long..... talk about fun. The boys love it and it ensures success in recruiting.

Ok..I am done.:)

[C.A. Green]

We meet at our regular Troop meeting place until School is out and then move the meetings to a local park. these meetings are far less formal than our regular meetings, mostly games and some prep for summer camp.
We go to camp the last week of July-first week of August so the Monday before the Sunday we leave we have a pre camp gear and uniform check.
We do not meet during the month of August (so many families are on vacation, and we also have a High Adventure trip in mid August).
The PLC gets together in late August, just before school begins and does the final preparation work on the plans made in the Spring for the next few months.
This has proven to be a reasonable balance of activities- so much goes on in the summer outside of Scouting that we make our expectations realistic and do quite well.