Timberwolf First 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 specifically a plan for a campout early in the scouting year that revolves around building six identity and covering some first star skills.

Friday Night

• Families & scouts arrive and set up tents, everyone on their own for dinner
• If Timberwolves are camping separately from their families, identify a space for Timberville
• Encourage scouts to get their campsites set up before dashing off to play with their friends

Saturday

• Flag & Morning Announcements - generally the Timberwolves are the ones who act as the color guard for the flag ceremony. If you have all brand new Timberwolves, make sure to go over the flag ceremony with them prior to raising the flag.
  • Go over general schedule
  • Review camp safety
• Breakfast
  • Cooking breakfast for the group is a great Timberwolf activity. They are old enough to scramble eggs, cook sausages, cut fruit, etc.
• Group Stretch or Game
• Morning Activity Time
  • Talk about the flag
  • Review the flag ceremony and have the kids practice folding the flag
  • Discuss the National Anthem
  • Have the kids divide into sixes and decide on colors
  • Have the kids make patrol flags for their six - felt is great for this!
• Lunch
  • Often time we will have the kids cut stuff up for lunch when they are doing the breakfast prep so all that needs to happen is laying out sandwich stuff then cleaning up. You could also have adults who aren't helping with programming get all the lunch stuff set out.
• Afternoon Activity Time
  • Introduce the idea of lairs. Have the kids identify areas to serve as lairs and mark them with the flags they made in the morning.
  • Do another activity that ties into pack identity. This could be making wolf masks, working together with their six to accomplish a task, going on a hike, or anything else that gives them an opportunity to bond.
• Free Time
  • Free play time is important for the kids. This is a great opportunity for the kids to continue to build that pack identity. It is also an opportunity to review investiture requirements with kids who may have missed the first meeting.
  • Another suggestion is to remind the kids that the campfire will be this evening and they can spend some time putting together a skit. If you have a scout MCing the campfire, they can ask people to sign up during this period.
• Flag and Evening Announcements
  • If you have more than one six, have the sixes take turns raising and lowering the flag.
  • This is a good opportunity to get everyone together after free time and remind everyone what is happening for dinner prep and campfire.
• Dinner
  • Depending on what is for dinner, Timberwolves can definitely help prep and cook.
• Campfire
  • Timberwolves love to help start the fire, and are often major participants in the skits and songs.
• Night Hike
  • Campouts are a great opportunity to fit a night hike in! Encourage the kids to keep their lights off as much as possible and let their eyes adjust. It's also really fun to try to be quiet and listen to the night sounds as much as possible. Stargazing on/after night hikes is a big hit as well.

Sunday

• Flag and Morning Announcements
• Breakfast & Lunch Prep
  • On Sunday, we send people home with sack lunches so we prepare the lunch stuff at the same time as breakfast, then have everyone make their lunches right after they eat. That way we only have to clean up once and parents can pack up the kitchen during activity time.
• Morning Activity Time
  • Generally this is a shorter block of time so that people have a chance to pack up their stuff. You can use it to review the weekend's activities or wrap up something from the day before.
  • Make sure to leave time for the Timberwolves to clean up any activities from the weekend.
• Flag and Final Announcements
• Families Pack Up
• Group Sweep of Camp & Clean Up

• Know about the United State flag, how to fly it, about flags and symbols in your community, and how to show respect to flags and symbols.
• Know about the United States National Anthem or an alternative song that is significant to you and your community.

• 2 Nights of camping with your pack