8 to 9 years or 3rd grade
Objective: Fostering teamwork and instilling the values of the Scout Law.
Goal: To ear Wolf by the first Monday in March in time for the Blue and Gold Ceremony. After this date move onto electives.
http://www.scoutingbsa.org/Programs/CubScouts/CubScoutAwards/bear_rank.html
Bear Den Meeting Agenda
Cub Scout Pack 3352 Wyoming, Michigan 
Click here for Bear Requirements
Pack 3352 Guide to Bear
Belt Loop Requirements & Worksheets
Cub Scout Awards
Adult Leader Awards and Knots
Whittling Chip
Arrow Point Electives
Den meeting 1
What Makes America Special
a. tell what makes America special to you. (short Answer)
b. Choose a state; it can be your favorite one or your home state. Name its state bird, tree, and flower. Describe its flag. Give the date it was admitted to the Union.
on a blank sheet of paper draw map of Michigan using your Left hand
Identify Capital of Lansing
Largest City Detroit
2nd Largest City Grand Rapids
City of Wyoming
Great Lakes Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, Lake Huron and Lake Erie
Surrounding States Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin
Some where on paper
date admitted to union January 26, 1837 (26th)
State bird-Robin
State Tree-White Pine
State Flower-Apple Blossom
favorite thing about home state
c. (Practice Flag ceremony Standing at attention, cub scout salute in proper formation)
Den Meeting 2
Tall Tales (Do all three requirements).Bear Handbook – Page 42
Tell in your own words what folklore is. Definition “The traditional beliefs, customs, and stories of a community, passed through the generations by word of mouth.” To burn time bring extra folk story books or have them make up their own modern tale.
Real People of Folklore
Johnny Appleseed John Chapman (September 26, 1774 – March 18, 1845), also known as Johnny Appleseed, was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. He became an American legend while still alive, largely because of his kind and generous ways, his great leadership in conservation, and the symbolic importance he attributed to apples.
“Davy” Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician. He is commonly referred to in popular culture by the epithet, “King of the Wild Frontier”. He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives, served in the Texas Revolution, and died at the Battle of the Alamo.
Calamity Jane Martha Jane Canary (May 1, 1852 – August 1, 1903), better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, and professional scout best known for her claim of being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok. She is said to have also exhibited kindness and compassion, especially to the sick and needy
Fictional People of Folklore
John Henry is an African-American folk hero and tall tale. He is said to have worked as a “steel-driving man”—a man tasked with hammering a steel drill into rock to make holes for explosives to blast the rock away in constructing a railroad tunnel. According to legend, John Henry’s prowess as a steel-driver was measured in a race against a steam powered hammer, which he won, only to die in victory with his hammer in his hand and heart giving out from stress.
Paul Bunyan is a lumberjack figure in North American folklore and tradition. One of the most famous and popular North American folklore heroes, he is usually described as a giant as well as a lumberjack of unusual skill, and is often accompanied in stories by his animal companion, Babe the Blue Ox. The character originated in folktales circulated among lumberjacks in the Northeastern United States and eastern Canada, first appearing in print in a story published by Northern Michigan journalist James MacGillivray in 1906.
Michigan Tall Tale
Paul Bunyan and the Frozen Flames Michigan, Tall Tales retold by S. E. Schlosser
One winter, shortly after Paul Bunyan dug Lake Michigan as a drinking hole for his blue ox, Babe, he decided to camp out in the Upper Peninsula. It was so cold in that there logging camp, that one evening, the temperature dropped to 68 degrees below zero. Each degree in the camp thermometer measured sixteen inches long and the flames in the lanterns froze solid. No one, not even Paul Bunyan, could blow them out.
The lumberjacks didn’t want the bunkhouse lit at night, because they wouldn’t get any sleep. So they put the lanterns way outside of camp where they wouldn’t disturb anyone. But they forgot about the lanterns, so that when thaw came in the the early spring, the lanterns flared up again and set all of northern Michigan on fire! They had to wake Paul Bunyan up so he could stamp out the fire with his boots.
Den Meeting 3
Bear Be Ready (Bear Handbook – Page 96)
a. Tell what to do in case of an accident in the home. A family member needs help. Someone’s clothes catch on fire.
b. Tell what to do in case of a water accident.
c. Tell what to do in case of a school bus accident.
d. Tell what to do in case of a car accident.
e. With your family, plan escape routes from your home and have a practice drill.
Den Meeting 4
Whittling Chip Shavings and Chips (Bear Handbook – Page 146)
Each Bear will get a pocket knife from the pack.
Need as many parents as possible for this meeting.
Each scout will be required to have a parent present before they can bring home pocket knife.
After pocket knife leaves school it can not ever be brought back in.
The pocket knife is theirs to keep but belongs to pack so if they violate contract rules on Whittling Chit it can be confiscated. In short this is not a toy it theirs unless they violate rules.
To earn the Whittling Chip card you will need to read, understand, and promise to abide by the Knives Are Not Toys guidelines and the Pocketknife Pledge.
Knives Are Not Toys
• Close the blade with the palm of your hand.
• Never use a knife on something that will dull or break it.
• Be careful that you do not cut yourself or any person nearby.
• Never use a knife to strip the bark from a tree.
• Do not carve your initials into anything that does not belong to you.
Safety Rules For Handling A Knife
• A knife is a tool, not a toy.
• Know how to sharpen a knife. A sharp knife is safer because it is less likely to slip and cut you.
• Keep the blade clean.
• Never carry an open knife in your hand.
• When you are not using a knife, close it and put it away.
• Keep your knife dry.
• When you are using the cutting blade, do not try to make big shavings or chips. Easy does it.
• Make a safety circle: Before you pick up your knife to use it, stretch your arm out in a circle.
If you can’t touch anyone else, it is safe to use your knife.
POCKETKNIFE PLEDGE
In return for the privilege of carrying a pocketknife to designated Cub Scout
functions, I agree to the following:
1. I will treat my pocketknife with the respect due a useful tool.
2. I will always close my pocketknife and put it away when not in use.
3. I will not use my pocketknife when it might injure someone near me.
4. I promise never to throw my pocketknife for any reason.
5. I will use my pocketknife in a safe manner at all times.
Show blood Circle, how to hold a knife, cut away from self, cut in a downward angle
Take shavings and chips quiz http://scoutermom.com/wp-content/uploads/Shavings-and-Chips-quiz.pdf
Using a bar of soap let them practice whittling making a cool creation
after completion scout and leader need to sign whittling chip card
Den Meeting 5
Tying it up (bear handbook page 162) Easiest ways to learn knots is on youtube prior to meeting
Each scout will get a section of rope they can keep.
a. Whip the ends of a rope.
b. Tie a square knot, bowline, sheet bend, two half hitches, and slip knot. Tell how each knot is used.
c. Learn how to keep a rope from tangling.
d. Coil a rope. Throw it, hitting a 2-foot square marker 20 feet away.
e. Learn a magic rope trick.
Knots
Two Half Hitch Knot
Bowline Knot
Slip Knot
Square Knot
Den Meeting 6
Bear Games! (Bear Handbook – Page 126) Building Mussles (Page 130)
Do physical fitness stretching exercises. Then do curl-ups, push-ups, the standing long jump, and the softball throw.
With a friend about your size, compete in at least six different two-person contests. (Many examples in book.)
Compete with your den or pack in the crab relay, gorilla relay, 30-yard dash, and kangaroo relay.
Play two organized games with your den.
Set up the equipment and play any two of these outdoor games with your family or friends. (Backyard golf, Badminton, Croquet, Sidewalk shuffleboard, Kickball, Softball, Tetherball, Horseshoes, Volleyball, bean bags ect)
Den Meeting 7
Bear What’s Cooking (Bear Handbook – Page 80) needs to be planned week before
As a Den Make a list of the “junk foods” you eat. Discuss what is “junk food”
Food pyramid or balance diet.
As a den using resources available make a balance meal. (have scouts bring items or see if we have enough in activity fund to purchase items)
Make some trail food (easiest if each scout brings an ingredient such as cereal, dried fruit, nuts)
Den Meeting 8
Saving Spending Well (Bear Handbook – Page 112) remainder of meeting, can they stay in budget bring a calculator
Each scout is given a card with job, each job comes with a one week salary. For example Nurse $800, Lawyer $1000, cashier $400, fast food $300.
They must pick one of several houses, apartments or condo each having a weekly cost
pick a car or ride the bus costs
Using store shoppers they must then find food each with a costs
extras cable, cell phones, going out to eat.
Den Meeting 9
Bear Sawdust and Nails (Build a Tool Box) (Bear Handbook – Page 152)
Show how to use and take care of four of these tools. (Hammer, Hand saw, Hand drill, C-clamp, Wood plane, Pliers, Crescent wrench, Screwdriver, Bench vise, Coping saw, Drill bit)
Need as many parents or responsible adults as possible for this meeting
Build something. We can build kits for tool boxes, bird houses, bat houses, treasure boxes with hidden compartments, game boards ect.
Den Meeting 10
Bear Law Enforcement Is a Big Job (Bear Handbook – Page 64)
a. Practice one way police gather evidence: by taking fingerprints, or taking shoeprints, or taking tire track casts.
b. Visit your local sheriff’s office or police station or talk with a law enforcement officer visiting your den or pack to discuss crime prevention.
c. Help with crime prevention for your home.
d. Be sure you know where to get help in your neighborhood.
e. Learn the phone numbers to use in an emergency and post them by each phone in your home.
f. Know what you can do to help law enforcement.
Den Meeting 11
Bear Taking Care of Your Planet (Bear Handbook – Page 56) DTE and Consumers often offer handbooks
If there is spare time we have some games on Conservation games Pack3352.org scout links tab https://cubscoutspack3352.wordpress.com/scout-links/ can be completed in library computer lab
Some facts
On average, a person in the U.S. uses energy two times more than a person in Japan or West Germany does, and 50 times more than a person in India.
The average home uses over 200 gallons of water per day.
The average American makes about 3.5 pounds of trash a day.
What we can do
Save Energy (have scout name some things)
=Turn the lights off.
=Turn down the heat a few degrees in winter (wear a sweater).
=Turn up the a/c a few degrees in summer or use fans (wear less).
Save water! (have scout name some things)
=Repair drippy faucets.
=Turn off water while brushing your teeth.
=Take short showers instead of baths.
=Properly dispose of toxic wastes like paint, batteries and =cleaning supplies that contaminate our water supply.
Save fuel! (have scout name some things)
=Carpool!
=Whenever possible, use a bus, ride your bike or walk.
=Check your tire pressure for better mpg.
=Plan your day to minimize the number of car trips.
Save resources! (have scout name some things)
=Separate and save paper, glass, plastic and aluminum for your local recycling center.
=Donate to charity unused clothing or household items that are still in good condition.
=Use less paper. Reuse old paper.
=Say, “No!” to paper and plastic. Take reusable cloth bags to the grocery instead.
=Avoid products that are used once and then thrown away.
=Put used motor oil into a clean plastic container and turn it into an oil recycling location.
=Buy recycled products.
Den Meeting 12
Bear Sharing Your World With Wildlife (Bear Handbook – Page 50)
Story of the Dodo Bird
Although this bird is called the dodo, it wasn’t a particularly stupid bird. When visitors to the island of Mauritius, off the coast of Africa, first saw the bird they thought its friendly approach meant the bird was dumb.
The dodo bird inhabited the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, where it lived undisturbed for so long that it lost its need and ability to fly. It lived and nested on the ground and ate fruits that had fallen from trees. There were no mammals on the island and a high diversity of bird species lived in the dense forests.
In 1505, the Portuguese became the first humans to set foot on Mauritius. The island quickly became a stopover for ships engaged in the spice trade. Weighing up to 50 pounds, the dodo bird was a welcome source of fresh meat for the sailors. Large numbers of dodo birds were killed for food.
Later, when the Dutch used the island as a penal colony, pigs and monkeys were brought to the island along with the convicts. Many of the ships that came to Mauritius also had uninvited rats aboard, some of which escaped onto the island.
Before humans and other mammals arrived the dodo bird had little to fear from predators. The rats, pigs and monkeys made short work of vulnerable dodo bird eggs in the ground nests.
The combination of human exploitation and introduced species significantly reduced dodo bird populations. Within 100 years of the arrival of humans on Mauritius, the once abundant dodo bird was a rare bird.
The last dodo bird was killed in 1681. The dodo was not alone of the 45 bird species originally found on Mauritius, only 21 have managed to survive.
part 2
Explain what a wildlife conservation officer does
“A conservation officer is a law enforcement officer who protects wildlife and the environment.”
part 3
Using old magazines such as national geographic have scout or pair of scouts cut out pictures of a particular animal to place on a small poster board. Have each of them talk about their animal.