I would have to say the single most important item in my bag of tricks would be…well, a bag.
I call it my Emergency Bag. I’m not talking about a 1st Aid kit, although that is a must as well. I’m talking about my “oh my gosh, these boys absolutely hate the two projects or activities I planned or liked them so well they finished much faster than planned…what do I do now” bag.
A good starting point would be a simple zip top bag of knot tying ropes. Boys may not like to tie knots, but they all should know how. Make sure you know your knots ahead of time. Make your knot ropes out of soft, flexible line, like parachute cord. I really like to take a sharpie and color the tips…red on one side and any other color on the other end. Sometime you are facing the boys, sometimes “knot”. It’s simple to say “take the red end in your right hand…” Next find some games that you can make out of knots. Most important…set the ground rules. Mine are…1. No whipping each other or anything around you or you lose your rope. 2. No tying knots around body parts, yours or someone else. (You can always use the back of a chair, a broomstick between two tables or something similar. 3. The ropes come back to me when we are done (I always suggest keeping old shoe laces to practice on at home).
Another great item, and it’s a multitasker. A deflated beach ball. A beach ball can be used MANY ways. Stand in a circle and Cubs can pass the ball back and forth while reciting part of the Cub Scout Promise. It’s great for a quick game of “crab soccer”. You can actually tweak the rules to almost any ball game to use a much more “indoor friendly” version with a beach ball. And if you can find a nifty one printed with a globe…find the country or bird fly way.
Clothes pins. A package of wooden clothes pins. Wow. A great de-wigglifying game…each Cub receives 3 pins. When you say “go” they run around in a predetermined area (smaller area for smaller group, larger area for larger group) and try to pin all three of their pins on someone else. Of course yet another Cub has clipped a pin or two on the first Cub as he wasn’t looking so he’s not finished yet. You can also pre-print the pins with the monthly core value. As you see a Cub exhibiting “compassion”, you give him a pin to clip to his uniform.
Beano. Okay, not the beano you see on commercials. We always have a zip top bag of pinto beans, and even some tooth picks. For the first game each Cub gets a handful of beans on the table or in a cup in front of him. He will pick up a single bean with one hand, say his right hand, transfer it to his left hand. Then with his left hand place the bean on the back of his right hand. Next, with that first bean on the back of his right hand, pick up a second bean and repeat the process (pick up, transfer to the other hand, place on the back of the hand used to pick up). Who can stack the most on the back of his hand, who drops all of his first? The second game each Cub is given 2 toothpicks. They are instructed to use the toothpicks to pick up the beans and transfer them to a cup or dish. Hmm, do they use the chopstick method, slide parallel picks under a bean, modified chopstick with a pick in each hand…
Bandanas are a great item. There are many games that can be played with a simple bandana or two. Our Cubs may not always have their neckerchief, so we find it easy to just plan on them not having them for games.
Songs!! It’s best to have a “mental grab bag” of songs to pull from. These need to be songs you are comfortable with. If your Cubs are already getting rowdy, you can’t pull them back in line as you are learning a song while you read it from a song book. Have some action songs to help work out the rowdiness. Some quiet songs are excellent for closer to the end of a meeting.
Most important…don’t overuse your tricks. Our Cubs LOVED beano for a long time…until they didn’t. Find what works for your group. Think of a few other options that are similar, but not the same. Then find something totally different for a change..but do this before they are tired of the old standby.
What to do at Cub Scouts 