https://wiki.osg-us.org/ 2026-05-30T03:05:03+00:00 https://wiki.osg-us.org/ https://wiki.osg-us.org/_media/wiki/logo.png text/html 2024-04-17T23:46:36+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/animals?rev=1713397596&do=diff Amazing Animals Many Otters love animals! If you can get a vet tech or trainer to come to a meeting for the pet care portion and bring a well behaved animal or two to share with the kids, it's generally a huge hit. * Opening Ceremony * Steam Off Game text/html 2024-04-18T19:20:00+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/birds?rev=1713468000&do=diff Beautiful Birds Birds are awesome, and there are so many fun ways to learn about them! This meeting is divided into two sections: learning how birds eat and then doing a birdwatching activity. * Opening Ceremony * What kinds of birds are there? What birds live near you? text/html 2024-04-17T04:37:07+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/blanket_forts?rev=1713328627&do=diff Blanket Forts Making blanket forts is a great way to teach knot skills to otters! They also love to play in them after they are assembled. Here the blanket fort activity is paired with a craft project, but you could substitute another activity if it works better for your group. text/html 2024-04-22T20:50:14+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/calendar?rev=1713819014&do=diff Swimming Otter in 24 Meetings It may seem like a lot, but it is totally doable to meet all the requirements for the swimming otter badge over the course of 2 years/24 monthly meetings. These are broken out by badge on the badge requirements page, but here is the full list. text/html 2024-04-01T20:37:23+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/caring_for_belongings?rev=1712003843&do=diff Caring for your Things * Opening Ceremony * Ice Breaker Game * Talk about being responsible for your own things * Scouts carry and are responsible for their own packs * How to Pack a Backpack * Bring a poorly packed backpack (stuff sticking out, everything thrown in a jumble, etc) text/html 2024-04-17T20:17:44+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/child_safety?rev=1713385064&do=diff Child Safety & Tricky People It's important for kids to know what to do if they get lost. This is a good topic to combine with a field trip or visit from a police officer, but if that doesn't work for your group you can sub in another community helper or a different activity for the first half of your meeting. text/html 2024-03-29T00:00:41+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/emergency_preparedness?rev=1711670441&do=diff Emergency Preparedness Visiting a fire station or doing an ambulance tour is a great opportunity to talk about emergency preparedness. There are a lot of great resources for Otter aged kids through the Prepare with Pedro program from the American Red Cross & FEMA * text/html 2024-04-16T17:59:20+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/games_with_seniors?rev=1713290360&do=diff Games with Seniors Since COVID, a lot of nursing homes no longer encourage outside visitors. Inviting grandparents to a meeting is a great way for the kids to interact with seniors and fulfill the spirit of that badge requirement. Before the meeting you can ask the Otters or the visiting seniors to bring games they may like to share, but it's always a good idea to have a few on hand. text/html 2024-03-28T16:23:52+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/health_and_hygiene?rev=1711643032&do=diff Health & Hygiene * Opening Ceremony * Steam Off or Name Game * Hand Washing and Germs * Discussion about germs and how our immune system helps fight them off * Glitter Hand Washing Demonstration (If you don't have access to a sink, you can bring a handwashing station to the park. text/html 2024-04-18T19:29:37+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/hiking_safety?rev=1713468577&do=diff Hiking Safety * Opening Ceremony * Play Kim's Game with the 10 Essentials * Discuss the Otter 10 Essentials * Optional activity: Assemble some simple essentials kits for the kids to take hiking * Discuss hiking safety * Staying with the group: don't get ahead of leader or behind the sweep. text/html 2024-04-12T16:27:56+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/hiking_songs?rev=1712939276&do=diff Hiking Songs This is a fun way to learn some Scout Songs and take a hike together. * Opening Ceremony * Sing “Otters on a Cedar Log” * What other scout songs can we think of? * Review Hiking Safety * Day Hike * Sing some repeat after me songs on the trail: the sillier the better! text/html 2024-04-17T00:42:59+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/homes_and_habitats?rev=1713314579&do=diff Homes and Habitats This is a meeting about where we live, with a service project about making things more comfortable for those who don't have a house to live in. The Care Kits cost about $10 per kit to assemble. If that's not in your budget, prior to the meeting you could ask for donations, either of items or money to purchase them. This is approximately a two hour meeting. If you have less time, you could separate the animal habitat discussion and game from the homes and homelessness part of … text/html 2025-10-08T18:37:20+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/introduction?rev=1759948640&do=diff Welcome to Scouting If you have a new group of Otters or you scout on a yearly schedule as opposed to a year-round/ongoing schedule, this is a great way to kick off the scouting year! * Opening Ceremony * Name Game & Welcome New Scouts * Sing Otters on a Cedar Log text/html 2024-04-17T00:04:02+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/intro_to_whittling?rev=1713312242&do=diff Introduction to Whittling This meeting touches on several topics: it's a great way to begin to teach kids about knife safety skills and the parts of a knife, they get to make a cool model of a working knife that they can take home, and they can practice controlling a knife in a safe way. The text/html 2024-03-28T20:04:10+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/leave_no_trace?rev=1711656250&do=diff Leave No Trace & Trail Clean Up There are a lot of resources available through the Leave No Trace Website for all ages. * Opening Ceremony * The Seven Principles of Leave No Trace * Plan Ahead and Prepare * Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces * For Otters, this can be explained as text/html 2024-04-18T18:49:17+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/making_a_difference?rev=1713466157&do=diff Making a Difference This is a meeting that lends itself well to having a speaker for the service badge, maybe a government official or an activist. They can talk about how their job makes a difference in the community. You could also do a service project in the second half of the meeting. text/html 2024-04-16T23:19:14+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/maps_compasses_and_orienteering?rev=1713309554&do=diff Maps, Compasses, and Orienteering Orienteering is the sport of navigation through often unfamiliar terrain and it's a great way to teach kids about reading maps and trail signs. Look for an orienteering club in your area--many hold events specifically for scouts or make their maps and courses available for free online. This activity is a great one to do on a campout where you can do the learning activities in the morning then do a hike or go orienteering in the afternoon. Alternatively you can… text/html 2024-04-12T16:03:58+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/night_hike?rev=1712937838&do=diff Night Hike This is a great meeting to do around the Winter Solstice, when it gets dark early. You can also do this as an all-section meeting, since the activity is appropriate for a wide variety of ages (and the older kids need to get night hikes in too for their own badges). You can start your hike at 5 pm and be done by 6:30 or so, which is good timing for Otters. text/html 2024-04-12T16:15:13+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/otter_campout?rev=1712938513&do=diff Otter Campout A campout is a little different from a regular meeting. You will have some extended time to work on activities and it's also important to give the kids time to free play. This is a general plan for a weekend campout, but you can obviously tweak it depending on what is available where you are camping. text/html 2024-04-16T17:54:06+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/otter_games?rev=1713290046&do=diff Otter Games This is a blend of the red paw and blue paw, and it's an excellent opportunity for the Otters to take a leadership role and share games and activities that they love. You can also use this meeting to give the kids a chance to do set up and clean up of the activities. Before the meeting you will need to ask the kids to bring a favorite game or activity to share with the group. text/html 2024-04-16T22:42:37+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/otter_olympics?rev=1713307357&do=diff Otter Olympics The values of the olympics are excellence, respect, and friendship. These values are echoed in scout law. Doing an olympics themed meeting is a great way to get the otters moving and thinking about fair play. * Opening Ceremony * text/html 2024-04-16T23:06:02+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/pen_pals?rev=1713308762&do=diff Otter Pen Pals This is a great opportunity to make connections with other groups! * Opening Ceremony * Otter Name Game * Why is it important to know each other's names? * Does it make you feel good when people take the time to learn about you? text/html 2024-04-18T18:12:45+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/plants_and_seeds?rev=1713463965&do=diff Plants and Seeds This is a great meeting to do in the spring, when everything is starting to grow. Grow a carrot top and sprout some seeds ahead of time so the kids can see what is going to happen with theirs. * Opening Ceremony * Talk about Plant Propagation text/html 2024-03-28T20:33:05+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/safety?rev=1711657985&do=diff Safety Stations & Obstacle Course * Opening Ceremony * Safety Talk * Why do you think it's important to stay safe? * What are some ways your family stays safe? * Safety Stations (You can either do these one at a time or break into smaller groups for more individual attention): text/html 2024-04-22T20:40:39+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/start?rev=1713818439&do=diff Otter Meetings Program | Badges | Meetings | Activities | Service Projects | Books | Games | Ceremonies Otters have short attention spans and like to run around, so meetings should be kept engaging and lively. We have compiled a database of Otter Meeting agendas that can be used and modified to fit your group's needs, which can be found toward the bottom of this page. text/html 2024-04-12T16:22:33+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/trail_signs?rev=1712938953&do=diff Trail Signs A hike is a great opportunity to learn about trail signs. * Opening Ceremony * Review Hiking Safety * Day Hike * Trail signs * Demonstrate how trail signs can also be used to show people which way to go * Why might this be important? text/html 2024-04-18T15:51:47+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://wiki.osg-us.org/sections/otters/meetings/wonder_walk?rev=1713455507&do=diff Wonder Walk (Nature Walk) * Opening Ceremony * Read Wonder Walkers * What questions do you like to ask about the world around you? * Go on a “Wonder Walk” * Encourage the Otters to ask questions, the more creative the better * Gather nature items along the way (leaves, sticks, flowers, etc. - make sure to take things that are already on the ground so you aren't harming the plants!)