Webelos-o-ree 2023

My youngest son went to Webelos-o-ree in his Scouting BSA district. It's a chance for older cub scouts (4th and 5th graders) to visit with some scout troops (the middle school/high school-aged scouts). The younger ones go on a trail from station to station, doing different activities at each. The activities align with the rank advancement goals of Webelos and give the kids a chance to interact with troops that they might join in the future.

Typically, cubs go and camp for the weekend but the weather was bad and the schedule was tight for us, so we drove up early Saturday morning and just did the trail rather than the whole experience (which includes a campfire and camp-wide competitions, in addition to outdoor sleeping). 

After going to morning reveille (where we did our den cheer and found out what was going on that day), we started the trail at a station with gaga ball, box oven cooking, and fire building. I didn't get any pictures there. The adults from the troop did have chili and cornbread for parents. We adults sat with some of the troop's leaders and discussed how they implement the BSA program, where they met, what the fees were, etc. It's a conversation that happened at every station, more or less. 

Our next station was the rifle range, where the boys got to shoot BB guns. Our den enjoyed it very much.

 

Getting instruction from an older scout

Adult leader watches 

At each station, we repeated the den cheer as loud as possible, because it is fun to be loud!

Giving the den cheer

A later station had knot tying which is not my son's favorite scout activity but he did well.

Lashing two sticks together

In a nod to the previous day being Friday the 13th, one station had the boys identifying the bones of animals before they could come back to life and hurt someone. 

Are you for real?

Glad to have some hot chocolate to help identify critters

Further along, one troop was roasting a pig on a spit, which was impressive. The charcoal pit had been going since the early morning and the pig still was not ready.

Pig roast

Later, at a first aid station, the boys learned how to transport someone without moving them too much.

An improved stretcher

Building fire without matches or a lighter is a classic scout skill that they practiced at another station. It was hard to get the wet kindling lit in the rainy, cold weather.

Making sparks

Blowing to encourage the fire

The final station we went to was the axe yard. There, scouts learned to use saws and axes in a safe manner.

Ready to chop some wood

Getting some pointers

A good chop!

In the saw station, he saw his older brother who helped him use a bow saw.

Bow-sawing brothers!

We came home with a lot of happy memories and one target sheet full of BB holes.

A bang up job