View Full Version : Does anyone have Survival-related powerpoint/multimedia items and Teaching Tips?
I just lost my instructor who was going to teach Wilderness Survival Merit Badge to my Boy Scouts starting Monday, so I am going to need t step in and do it myself. The material I know very well, but teaching it is a different matter-I've never taught it to young kids before in a structured indoor setting.
I have 3 nights at 1 1/2 hours each to cover the Merit Badge requirements, so I have a decent amount of time to fill. I want to make the most of it and keep it fun, but really hit all of the fundamentals well. I'll have 6 inexperienced Scouts age 11-13.
Does anyone here have any survival-related power point slides or other multimedia material they can direct me to or would be willing to share with me?
Also, does anyone have any suggestions on Wilderness Survival-related activities for the Scouts to do or demonstrations I could incorporate to keep the class lively so my kids will remain engaged?
I want to do as much hands on as possible and try to avoid Death by Power point, as well as try to avoid inflicting death by Droning Scoutmaster. That said, visual aids I don't have to create from scratch this weekend would be EXTREMELY helpful.
I am planning on covering additional concerns such as clothing layering, and strongly emphasize arctic and temperate land survival, as well as discuss other general comfort tips in addition to teaching the requirements.
We will be at the church the first night. Where we meet after that will depend on weather and suggestions anyone here might have. Our high temp is 25 today, so doing much outside is going to be detrimental to good focus by the Scouts.
Thank you in advance to anyone who has any help they can give me. All suggestions will be very gratefully received.
The requirements for the Merit Badge are below:
Show that you know first aid for and how to prevent injuries or illnesses likely to occur in back-country settings, including hypothermia, heat reactions, frostbite, dehydration, blisters, insect stings, tick bites, and snakebites.
From memory list the seven priorities for survival in a backcountry or wilderness location. Explain the importance of each one with your counselor.
Describe ways to avoid panic and maintain a high level of morale when lost, and explain why this is important.
Describe the steps you would take to survive in the following conditions:
Cold and snowy
Wet (forest)
Hot and dry (desert)
Windy (mountains or plains)
Water (ocean, lake, or river)
Put together a personal survival kit and be able to explain how each item in it could be useful.
Using three different methods (other than matches), build and light three fires.
Do the following:
Show five different ways to attract attention when lost.
Demonstrate how to use a signal mirror.
Describe from memory five ground-to- air signals and tell what they mean.
Improvise a natural shelter. For the purpose of this demonstration, use techniques that have little negative impact on the environment. Spend a night in your shelter.
Explain how to protect yourself from insects, reptiles, and bears.
Demonstrate three ways to treat water found in the outdoors to prepare it for drinking.
Show that you know the proper clothing to wear in your area on an overnight in extremely hot weather and in extremely cold weather.
Explain why it usually is not wise to eat edible wild plants or wildlife in a wilderness survival situation.
Axe, what is your venue? Can you go outside? Can you have the Scouts build simple shelters? Can they build and/or start a fire at the meeting location or an alternate meeting location?
The most important thing to remember is that these guys spend most of their day sitting still in a classroom, so the more interactive you can make the instruction the better. Things I've done in the past include using a couple pre-constructed bow and drill sets to let them try to get a good ember, striking sparks from (real) flint and steel onto char cloth, using a signal mirror to flash another Scout across a field/parking lot, bringing in a few different types of personal survival kits and doing a layout for the Scouts to see, letting them practice using a ferrocerium rod and steel to start a 1/4 cotton ball rubbed with petroleum jelly on fire (even if you're inside, you can do this in a cast iron pan, so long as you have an extinguisher near at hand), having them come to a meeting wearing clothing layers appropriate for various conditions and having them explain why they chose what they did, and demonstrating the many ways to use a tarp or large garbage bag to set up a shelter.
Even the 'lecture'-type topics (7 priorities, how to maintain morale, etc.) can be fun. Break Scouts into two groups to play a type of “Family Feud” game to get ideas for the 7 priorities – “head to head” question to gain control of board, one person answers for group but changes with each question, higher priorities get more points, 3 strikes gives other team control of board, etc.
You're gonna show PowerPoints to a bunch of Boyscouts? Just have them open their books a follow along. Don't ruin them now. :)
I just taught this in Nov here in AZ. Rained, Snowed, and was generally miserable. I enjoyed it very much, but my daughter and the scouts from Phoenix didn't. Her tarp leaked. :) That'll teach her.
Need any help, other than PowerPoint, PM me.
Old Dog New Trick
03-09-2012, 19:18
Do you have/use a iPad? (Personal use that it)
You can download the SAS Survival Guide as an App (Ultimate SAS Survival by John "Lofty" Wiseman). Cost about $14 IIRC but it's the same as the book with videos and other links to functional web sites. If not go the book store and buy the book.
Should get you to find some interesting subjects to bone up on.
SLVGW360
03-10-2012, 00:08
Here is what I would call a no nonsense approach from a good instructor in a video series. http://vimeo.com/35288549
This is the first of ten chapters. They are a few minutes each and are intended for the general public. They are used in hunter education courses as well.
I hope this helps.
I am sure the other sources mentioned by QPs are every bit as good or better. I do know that this is simple, which might be good for kids.
Axe, what is your venue? Can you go outside? Can you have the Scouts build simple shelters? Can they build and/or start a fire at the meeting location or an alternate meeting location?
The most important thing to remember is that these guys spend most of their day sitting still in a classroom, so the more interactive you can make the instruction the better. Things I've done in the past include using a couple pre-constructed bow and drill sets to let them try to get a good ember, striking sparks from (real) flint and steel onto char cloth, using a signal mirror to flash another Scout across a field/parking lot, bringing in a few different types of personal survival kits and doing a layout for the Scouts to see, letting them practice using a ferrocerium rod and steel to start a 1/4 cotton ball rubbed with petroleum jelly on fire (even if you're inside, you can do this in a cast iron pan, so long as you have an extinguisher near at hand), having them come to a meeting wearing clothing layers appropriate for various conditions and having them explain why they chose what they did, and demonstrating the many ways to use a tarp or large garbage bag to set up a shelter.
Even the 'lecture'-type topics (7 priorities, how to maintain morale, etc.) can be fun. Break Scouts into two groups to play a type of “Family Feud” game to get ideas for the 7 priorities – “head to head” question to gain control of board, one person answers for group but changes with each question, higher priorities get more points, 3 strikes gives other team control of board, etc.
The venue for the first evening is going to be the church, Razor. We could potentially work on firebuilding outside there, but I am going to need to teach these Scouts how to build a fire before they try doing it-these Scouts are green as green can be. Weather is predicted to be 40 and rainy next Monday eve. The first night we will need to meet at the church, but on my other 2 nights we can go elsewhere to meet.
One factor I have to deal with is darkness-our meetings are Mondays at 6:00, so it will be dark outside when we start. I can do some stuff in the church parking lot since there is a minimum level of lighting there, but the darkness is going to interfere with their visibility, thus limiting their ability to fully see any demos I do, and their ability to work. They can eventually benefit from night training, and I want them to do that later as an adjunct but with these guys, we will be in the Crawl evolution of the Crawl, Walk, Run process. I figure after we get them trained in the basics, I will set them up to have to engage in the activities required at night.
We live in a rural town in the UP of Michigan, so I have no shortage of woods close by where we can work on shelters and other skills. With 2 ffet of snow on the ground, building a summer-type shelter using natural foliage will be hard. Since the scouts need to sleep in the shelters, however, I thought I would teach the various types of shelters and then have the scouts build and sleep in them at the next campout. Likewise with signal mirrors, the weather and the darkness will impede their ability to practice with them and demonstrate them-that will have to wait until another time. I can teach them the basic principles, but I want them to know it well.
These Scouts I will be teaching will be the new, inexperienced, younger Scouts (the older Scouts are working on an advanced Eagle-required Merit Badge that will be too much for the younger Scouts attention-wise. These guys I will have are brand new Scouts, and as far as I know, have zero experience in any of the skill sets required. I'm going to need to start with "...This is timber. You use it to get a fire started. Next you add Kindling..."
My plan has been to use the first night to teach them what they need to know in a class format especially since we will be at the church, then on subsequent nights, weather permitting, have them practice the skills they need to demonstrate proficiency in, eIther at the church, or elsewhere.
I like all of your ideas, Razor, and will be incorporating them. Thank you!
[QUOTE=adal;439071]You're gonna show PowerPoints to a bunch of Boyscouts? Just have them open their books a follow along. Don't ruin them now. :)
I just taught this in Nov here in AZ. Rained, Snowed, and was generally miserable. I enjoyed it very much, but my daughter and the scouts from Phoenix didn't. Her tarp leaked. :) That'll teach her.
Need any help, other than PowerPoint, PM me.[/QUOTE
adal,
Did you do your class during meeting nights, on the weekend, or a combination of both?
Yeah, I knw powerpoint is lame, but I really want to get as much info into them as possible, and for them to retain it. We all know about the % we retain when we read as opposed to just hear something said. Since I have a group who are in the Primacy stage of their Wilderness Survival education, I wanted to have some writtten material to increase their retention.
I am hoping to end up teaching them more than just the basic Wilderness Survival curriculum..
I'll get in touch with you to learn how you taught your class.
Do you have/use a iPad? (Personal use that it)
You can download the SAS Survival Guide as an App (Ultimate SAS Survival by John "Lofty" Wiseman). Cost about $14 IIRC but it's the same as the book with videos and other links to functional web sites. If not go the book store and buy the book.
Should get you to find some interesting subjects to bone up on.
Old Dog New Trick,
No Ipad, but I will do some looking and see if it is available in Kindle version or Droid version.
I haven't read the SAS Survival Guide before. I am fairly well trained and educated on Survival subjects but I am always looking for more tools for the toolbox. I have hear good things about that book but have never gotten around to picking it up yet.
Thanks!!
Here is what I would call a no nonsense approach from a good instructor in a video series. http://vimeo.com/35288549
This is the first of ten chapters. They are a few minutes each and are intended for the general public. They are used in hunter education courses as well.
I hope this helps.
I am sure the other sources mentioned by QPs are every bit as good or better. I do know that this is simple, which might be good for kids.
SLVGW360,
I found those videos great!. I looked on Youtube and found the full length version there, and downloaded it to my computer last night. I think I can use that in the classroom to bring some variety to the initial session. I am thinking about running sections of it, then doing show and tell with gear, and adding to what the narrator covers. The weather issues we face are very similar to Colorado's other than our lack of altitude.
One big thing I liked is that it covered the "S-T-O-P" principle. That is something I need to really pound into these kids.
Thanks for that suggestion!!
I want these guys to get the best Wilderness Survival training they can get-I have always felt that the BSA-required curriculum does not teach enough as is, and also that it should be an Eagle-Required Merit Badge, since most of what we do in Scouting is out in the woods.
I always manage to set it up so the young Scouts end up with this badge as one of the first things they learn when they join. I am a fanatic about being prepared and having bsaic survival skills. I also want the Scouts to have already been trained and practiced as much as possible on as many aspects as possible so if they have a Survival experience, they can fall back on their original training, won't be having to try to learn something on their own for the first time, and will hopefully avoid panic.
Everyone, thank you for the ideas so far. They are all going to get incorporated into what I do. Please keep the ideas coming!
As a Scout, Troop 353, in the UP around the late 60's and early 70's weather did not matter. We did a weekend two night camp in the Fall, Winter (Jan time frame) and Spring - in addition to Summer Camp and the 50 mile canoe trip.
Saturdays during the Fall and Spring Camping trips was what we are now talking about as Survival topics - all day long. Fire building was a class, then every scout was given either match or Flint & Steel, everyone scurry to the woods and come back and build a fire. Then patrol competition with them putting up their best, and then a troop competition at the "burn the string".
Built a few shelters on a Saturday and slept in them Saturday night.
Of course being sponsored by the AFB, who gave the fathers time off to go with us, helped a great deal in getting the numbers of adults and kids into the field - and providing the Survival Instructors.
As a Scout, Troop 353, in the UP around the late 60's and early 70's weather did not matter. We did a weekend two night camp in the Fall, Winter (Jan time frame) and Spring - in addition to Summer Camp and the 50 mile canoe trip.
Saturdays during the Fall and Spring Camping trips was what we are now talking about as Survival topics - all day long. Fire building was a class, then every scout was given either match or Flint & Steel, everyone scurry to the woods and come back and build a fire. Then patrol competition with them putting up their best, and then a troop competition at the "burn the string".
Built a few shelters on a Saturday and slept in them Saturday night.
Of course being sponsored by the AFB, who gave the fathers time off to go with us, helped a great deal in getting the numbers of adults and kids into the field - and providing the Survival Instructors.
Were you out of KI Sawyer or Kinross?
Hiawathaland Council, (which covers the UP) is massively in the red, and is going to be merged in a few weeks with Bay Lakes Council, which is out of Green Bay.
Our Troop has more or less aligned with Samoset Council out of Rhinelander, as they have one of the top-ranked summer camp programs in the country. Their winter camps and other activities are outstanding as well. Comparing Hiawathaland's support and camping programs to Samoset's is like comparing a Motel 6 to a Hilton Hotel. When you factor in the fact that their camp is closer to us than our local Council's camp, the decision is a no-brainer. Every year the Scouts decide where they want to go and what they want to do, and they unanimously choose Samoset Council activities.
When Scouts go to local Council events where the coordination is poor and they go hungry because they aren't provided with enough food, they vote with their feet and choose a Council with good activities.
The adults of the troop get some crap from the District and Council staff for not going to the local camp. I got my ear bent about it once,and told the Council Executive that he needed to take it up with the Scouts, since they decide what they are going to do. I have to remind the District and Council staff that we are Boy-Led, the way Scouting is supposed to be, and if they want to get us at their events, they need to sell their program to the Scouts, not to me.
We do a spring and fall Camporee. Our troop used to do no camping or much in the way of activities during the winter until I came along. We now do at least one winter campout over Friday and Saturday nights. The kids learn to build Quincy huts when we have enough snow, which has been a problem the past couple of years. Otherwise, it is sledding, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, ice fishing and broomball.
We usually go to Negaunee on a weekend during the winter and use the luge track, but too much snow, not enough snow, or snow too close to the weekend so that they can't groom the track in time can make it challenging to get the luge trip in.
Once a year, the District puts on a Klondike Derby where the Scouts drag sleds around with a specified gear loadout. There is a timed competition to see which patrol can build a fire and cook an egg in a coffee can filled with snow the fastest, as well as first aid, casevac, knot tying, and other skills based on requirements from Tenderfoot to First Class Scout. The entire event is timed. Unfortunately, the past two years, our Troop has been the only one to sign up, so the event has ended up being cancelled. We end up with the benefit of training up for it every year, however.
Overall, Scouting numbers are down significantly from where they were, but since I started, our troop has grown from 6 Scouts to 20, with a good 12-14 showing up regularly to events. We have excellent parental involvement as well. There is another troop less than a quarter of a mile away who view us as arch-rivals (we just ignore them, however, and do our own thing) They haven't gotten any Crossovers from the Webelos program for a couple of years, so we are growing and they are shrinking. If things keep up the way they are, they will probably have to fold in a couple more years.
We just did a fundraiser and dramatically improved our troop trailer, painting the interior white to brighten it up, adding shelves and buying bins for organization, and adding a battery powered LED interior lighting system along with exterior LED floodlights to improve our ability to engage in night activities. The battery system recharges from a solar panel mounted on the roof and, without recharging, will run for 72 continuous hours on it's original charge.
We have replaced our tents, have gotten new stoves and other equipment, and have established a uniform bank, as well as acquired a lot of incidentals to have available in the case of unforeseen events.
I am proud of the program we run. We keep stuff fresh and interesting, and our growth and excellent participation in a declining environment shows we are doing something right. Next year, we are going on a fishing trip to Canada, we have rafting and canoeing trips, and a hiking trip to Pictured Rocks this summer.
Were you out of KI Sawyer or Kinross?........
Sawyer. Our last canoe trip we had three full trailers of canoes. Can't remember if it was 6 or 8 per trailer. Some of the little guys were three per canoe.
Man, we used to rack up some merit badges at summer camp. Shooting .22s, archery, all the water related ones.
Food? Tons of food - cooked in the Troop's area by the scouts and scout leaders. I saw just about everyhing come out of a Dutch Oven - and the in ground coolers we had to dig.
The Council did have a small "Trading Post" where you could send a postcard or buy a candy bar and soft drink. For kids with maybe $2 in their pocket that was high living to be able to walk over there and get a snack and drink 3 or 4 times during the week.
A couple thoughts:
You're right about the young guys--they need some instruction before sending them off. However, think of ways to incorporate hands-on instruction as much as possible. Remember BSA's EDGE method--Explain, Demonstrate, Guide, Enable. 'Explain' should be as short as possible, conveying the main ideas that they'll watch you do in Demonstrate and try themselves during Guide and Enable.
Gather up a big bunch of fire building materials to have on hand for your class so that you can briefly explain the basic concepts (tinder, kindling, fuel; big fluffy tinder ball you can move into fire lay after getting some flame; teepee vs. log cabin vs. star vs. trench, etc) before showing them real world examples of materials and how to build a fire lay, and culminating with them actually putting hands on sticks to create a tinder ball and lay while you guide them through it. All this can be done in a class setting (so long as you don't actually light anything), but the Scouts still get to learn by doing.
If any of the adults have really bright shop lights or spotlights, you can still do signal mirror work at night. We've done this, and the Scouts had a lot of fun with it.
If you have two feet of snow right now, show them how to build a hasty snow trench or a tree pit shelter. They can do this at night just as easy as in the daytime. With the time change on Sunday, 6:00 pm this coming Monday should only be dusk anyhow. Spring is on its way, so cover the spring/summer appropriate shelters later on. Take advantage of the current conditions to teach them something that would be very important in a winter survival scenario.
Show the Scouts how little water one gets from melting a potful of packed snow. Boil it to incorporate one of the water treatment methods they need to learn. Perhaps incorporate this with your fire building practice, or use a backpacking stove if the former isn't feasible.
I would assume that at least a couple of your older Scouts won't be working on other MBs, so get 2 or 3 of them and make them assistant instructors to help you with the Guide and Enable teaching. Make sure they know the skills first (have them "teach" it to you a day or two ahead of time) and that they understand your plan, then use the heck out of them. Make a big deal of their help in front of others; make them feel special and trusted, and pretty soon other older Scouts will want to get involved as well. Foster this concept of older Scouts teaching the younger ones, and you'll soon work yourself out of the job of primary instructor and into the training QC guy, which should be the ultimate goal.
The venue for the first evening is going to be the church, Razor. We could potentially work on firebuilding outside there, but I am going to need to teach these Scouts how to build a fire before they try doing it-these Scouts are green as green can be. Weather is predicted to be 40 and rainy next Monday eve. The first night we will need to meet at the church, but on my other 2 nights we can go elsewhere to meet.
One factor I have to deal with is darkness-our meetings are Mondays at 6:00, so it will be dark outside when we start. I can do some stuff in the church parking lot since there is a minimum level of lighting there, but the darkness is going to interfere with their visibility, thus limiting their ability to fully see any demos I do, and their ability to work. They can eventually benefit from night training, and I want them to do that later as an adjunct but with these guys, we will be in the Crawl evolution of the Crawl, Walk, Run process. I figure after we get them trained in the basics, I will set them up to have to engage in the activities required at night.
We live in a rural town in the UP of Michigan, so I have no shortage of woods close by where we can work on shelters and other skills. With 2 ffet of snow on the ground, building a summer-type shelter using natural foliage will be hard. Since the scouts need to sleep in the shelters, however, I thought I would teach the various types of shelters and then have the scouts build and sleep in them at the next campout. Likewise with signal mirrors, the weather and the darkness will impede their ability to practice with them and demonstrate them-that will have to wait until another time. I can teach them the basic principles, but I want them to know it well.
These Scouts I will be teaching will be the new, inexperienced, younger Scouts (the older Scouts are working on an advanced Eagle-required Merit Badge that will be too much for the younger Scouts attention-wise. These guys I will have are brand new Scouts, and as far as I know, have zero experience in any of the skill sets required. I'm going to need to start with "...This is timber. You use it to get a fire started. Next you add Kindling..."
My plan has been to use the first night to teach them what they need to know in a class format especially since we will be at the church, then on subsequent nights, weather permitting, have them practice the skills they need to demonstrate proficiency in, eIther at the church, or elsewhere.
I like all of your ideas, Razor, and will be incorporating them. Thank you!
I'd think you could spend a great deal of time on knots, rope bridges, lashing, etc.
tom kelly
03-10-2012, 18:10
I just lost my instructor who was going to teach Wilderness Survival Merit Badge to my Boy Scouts starting Monday, so I am going to need t step in and do it myself. The material I know very well, but teaching it is a different matter-I've never taught it to young kids before in a structured indoor setting.
I have 3 nights at 1 1/2 hours each to cover the Merit Badge requirements, so I have a decent amount of time to fill. I want to make the most of it and keep it fun, but really hit all of the fundamentals well. I'll have 6 inexperienced Scouts age 11-13.
Does anyone here have any survival-related power point slides or other multimedia material they can direct me to or would be willing to share with me?
Also, does anyone have any suggestions on Wilderness Survival-related activities for the Scouts to do or demonstrations I could incorporate to keep the class lively so my kids will remain engaged?
I sent you a PM about Boy Scout Survival and the i Phone that appeared in "EAGLE SCOUT MAGAZINE" Winter 2011 edition...
I want to do as much hands on as possible and try to avoid Death by Power point, as well as try to avoid inflicting death by Droning Scoutmaster. That said, visual aids I don't have to create from scratch this weekend would be EXTREMELY helpful.
I am planning on covering additional concerns such as clothing layering, and strongly emphasize arctic and temperate land survival, as well as discuss other general comfort tips in addition to teaching the requirements.
We will be at the church the first night. Where we meet after that will depend on weather and suggestions anyone here might have. Our high temp is 25 today, so doing much outside is going to be detrimental to good focus by the Scouts.
Thank you in advance to anyone who has any help they can give me. All suggestions will be very gratefully received.
The requirements for the Merit Badge are below:
Show that you know first aid for and how to prevent injuries or illnesses likely to occur in back-country settings, including hypothermia, heat reactions, frostbite, dehydration, blisters, insect stings, tick bites, and snakebites.
From memory list the seven priorities for survival in a backcountry or wilderness location. Explain the importance of each one with your counselor.
Describe ways to avoid panic and maintain a high level of morale when lost, and explain why this is important.
Describe the steps you would take to survive in the following conditions:
Cold and snowy
Wet (forest)
Hot and dry (desert)
Windy (mountains or plains)
Water (ocean, lake, or river)
Put together a personal survival kit and be able to explain how each item in it could be useful.
Using three different methods (other than matches), build and light three fires.
Do the following:
Show five different ways to attract attention when lost.
Demonstrate how to use a signal mirror.
Describe from memory five ground-to- air signals and tell what they mean.
Improvise a natural shelter. For the purpose of this demonstration, use techniques that have little negative impact on the environment. Spend a night in your shelter.
Explain how to protect yourself from insects, reptiles, and bears.
Demonstrate three ways to treat water found in the outdoors to prepare it for drinking.
Show that you know the proper clothing to wear in your area on an overnight in extremely hot weather and in extremely cold weather.
Explain why it usually is not wise to eat edible wild plants or wildlife in a wilderness survival situation.
Sent you a PM. Did you receive it?
PM Received, and reply sent, Mr. Kelly.
Thank you, Sir.
A couple thoughts:
You're right about the young guys--they need some instruction before sending them off. However, think of ways to incorporate hands-on instruction as much as possible. Remember BSA's EDGE method--Explain, Demonstrate, Guide, Enable. 'Explain' should be as short as possible, conveying the main ideas that they'll watch you do in Demonstrate and try themselves during Guide and Enable.
Gather up a big bunch of fire building materials to have on hand for your class so that you can briefly explain the basic concepts (tinder, kindling, fuel; big fluffy tinder ball you can move into fire lay after getting some flame; teepee vs. log cabin vs. star vs. trench, etc) before showing them real world examples of materials and how to build a fire lay, and culminating with them actually putting hands on sticks to create a tinder ball and lay while you guide them through it. All this can be done in a class setting (so long as you don't actually light anything), but the Scouts still get to learn by doing.
If any of the adults have really bright shop lights or spotlights, you can still do signal mirror work at night. We've done this, and the Scouts had a lot of fun with it.
If you have two feet of snow right now, show them how to build a hasty snow trench or a tree pit shelter. They can do this at night just as easy as in the daytime. With the time change on Sunday, 6:00 pm this coming Monday should only be dusk anyhow. Spring is on its way, so cover the spring/summer appropriate shelters later on. Take advantage of the current conditions to teach them something that would be very important in a winter survival scenario.
Show the Scouts how little water one gets from melting a potful of packed snow. Boil it to incorporate one of the water treatment methods they need to learn. Perhaps incorporate this with your fire building practice, or use a backpacking stove if the former isn't feasible.
I would assume that at least a couple of your older Scouts won't be working on other MBs, so get 2 or 3 of them and make them assistant instructors to help you with the Guide and Enable teaching. Make sure they know the skills first (have them "teach" it to you a day or two ahead of time) and that they understand your plan, then use the heck out of them. Make a big deal of their help in front of others; make them feel special and trusted, and pretty soon other older Scouts will want to get involved as well. Foster this concept of older Scouts teaching the younger ones, and you'll soon work yourself out of the job of primary instructor and into the training QC guy, which should be the ultimate goal.
All excellent ideas. Thank you, Razor. This is the exact kind of help I was hoping to get from here.
I had thought about dragging one of my halogen shoplights out for night mirror work, but did not know how well it would work. Knowing now that it will serve the purpose, I'll be packing the light in the truck tomorrow, along with a bunch of tinder and kindling material. I can pull the troop trailer out of the garage and stand the lights up on top of it to simulate the sun height at mid-day.
Doing snow trenches is an excellent idea. Our new Scouts didn't get to do the Quincy's due to lack of snow last month, but snow trenches are currently doable.
Melting snow is an excellent idea. The Scouts each have to light three fires anyway, why not teach them how little water they get from snow since they are doing that.
I have just the Scouts in mind for the assistant instructors. I have three older Scouts who need a mission to motivate them.
I'd think you could spend a great deal of time on knots, rope bridges, lashing, etc.
Absolutely. Shelter building will give them an excellent opportunity to practice a bunch of lashing and knots, and there are a lot of improvised tools I can have them learn to create that will involve rope work and knife work.
With the suggestions I have gotten to expand my horizons, I now think I could spend the next year doing nothing but Wilderness Survival-related training with these guys!
Before I thought I was going to be hard pressed to come up with ideas to fill the time up. Not anymore.
Keep 'em coming, please, Gentlemen.