The last few weeks of Cub Scouts have been rough. Today we (my co-leader and me) said enough! We sat the boys down and went over the Scout Law discussing each principle asking for examples of ways to live the Scout Law, making sure the boys new what they were promising to do each week. We even went so far as to give examples of ways they had misbehaved (without giving names of course). A few were shocked to realize we were referring to something they had done in a previous meeting.We then brought out our new behavior chart. It's very simple. If I were more artistic it could be much cuter. We needed something simple and easy to understand but got the point across quickly.
At the end of each den meeting we give the boys 10 minutes to do what they want. This usually means playing a group game - anything from a circle game to basketball, tag, you name it. It's the boy's choice and something they really look forward to.
Prep:
- Print and laminate the number sheet
- Print, cut out each of the badges and laminated these
How it works:
- Cover each of the numbers and the sad face with the different badges.
- If no badges are removed the boys get their full 10 minutes at the end of den meeting.
- If one badge is removed (the Bobcat - I do them in order but you certainly wouldn't have to) they are now down to 8 minutes.
- Remove the Tiger, now they're down to 6 minutes and so forth.
The beauty of this chart is you don't have to say anything or get angry at a Cub Scout you simply remove a badge. The Cub Scouts give you this look of horror and gasp for air. They know exactly what this means. It's amazing how quickly behavior improves. Our den meetings end on time so there isn't any overtime to make up for bad behavior. Boys learn quickly to govern themselves and help their friends do the same. It's made a huge difference in our den meetings!
