Safer at Home, Scouting at Home
Thank you for your interest in keeping the Scouting Program active during this time where face-to-face interaction is not recommended. These resources are meant to be used so that we may safeguard the health of our youth and adult leadership.
With the concerns of COVID-19 spreading, units are canceling campouts and in-person meetings, but that doesn’t mean Scouting stops.
As Scouters, we are never ones to shrink from a challenge. As long as you can provide two-deep digital leadership the program can continue!
For the next several weeks, we’re all going to be hunkered down while we wait out the preparations for the COVID wave. During this time, it’s important to think about how we can mitigate how our youth members are disrupted. More than thinking about it, we need to act! There are ways that we can deliver positive adult associations, even with the “Stay At Home” order.
Editors’ Notes:
- While there’s no replacement for the social benefits of a live scout meeting, we owe it to our youth and parents to continue to engage them in every way we can through the social distancing period.
- This is a living document. Please feel free to comment and contribute. Your Voice Matters!
Table of Contents – Click an item in the table of contents to jump to a specific section.
- Council Resources
- Program at Home
- Jamboree on the Internet
- Advancement
- Training
- Committees
- Video Conferencing
- Walkthroughs and Resources
- About this Project
Sequoia Council Online Resources
Scouting’s official web resources are regularly publishing new ideas on how to provide programs that are socially-distanced.
General Info
- Boy Scouts of America | Prepared. For Life.™
The official website of the Boy Scouts of America, serving youth in Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturing, Exploring, and Sea Scouts. - Sequoia Council
The Sequoia Council website. - Bryan on Scouting
Scouting Magazine Blog.
Finding a Unit or Marketing your Unit
- Scout Me In
Find a Unit to join, or make sure your unit can be found by others.
Health and Safety
- Guide to Safe Scouting
The who, what, where, and how of keeping Scouts safe in age-appropriate activities. - Official BSA COVID-19 Page
The Boy Scouts of America’s office response to our current crisis.
Shopping
- During this time that Scout Shops are closed and a leader needs to purchase Rank advancement items, please use the following steps.
- Unit Leader will email in their Scoutbook Advancement report to NDCSupply.Orders@scouting.org
- Please include contact phone number so that the Customer Service team member can contact for payment information.
- Customer Service Rep will contact Unit Leader for credit card information, ship to and bill to address, and verify the correct Council along with the actual advancement needed.
- The Scout Shop Official BSA Store | Uniforms, Badges, & Gear
Stock up now! Don’t forget that proceeds from these sales help support the Scouting Program.
Program at Home
Time at-home provides unique opportunities to pursue certain types of advancement, like parent-cub activities and merit badges that are well-suited to work at home. See the section on Merit Badges for information on this. Advancement isn’t the only part of Scouting.
Online Patrol and Den Meetings
Official BSA Resources
Games & Fun Stuff
- Gimkit | Live Quiz Learning Game
Online gaming can help engage youth in social interactions in constructive, structured activities. - Boy’s Life: Stuck Inside? 25 Fun Projects to Do with Stuff From Around the House
Bored? Stuck at home? Even if you can’t go outside, you can still have fun. - Fun Stuff to Do
More activities from Boy’s Life Magazine - Fun projects for kids that you can do from home
A list of activities by Cub Scout Rank curated by Scouting Magazine. - Mobile Games
Online games for your mobile device, curated by Boy’s Life Magazine. - JPL Activities by grade level
Here, you can find instructions for making things like rockets, Mars rovers and Moon landers out of materials you have at home.
Hosting Meetings
- See our Video Conferencing Section for tools and tips on hosting meetings.
Online Learning
- Resources for Families from Common Sense Media (includes resources in Spanish)
- Resources for Educators (like Scout leaders!) from Common Sense Media
- Tips for Setting up Online Instruction from Stanford
- Resources for Protecting Privacy Online from Commons Sense Media
Lecture Series
- TED: Ideas worth Spreading
Some of the best lectures ever, online!
Pat Moss’ Favourite: Susan Cain: The Power of Introverts
Steve Salyards’ Favourite: Carrie Nugent: Adventures of an Asteroid Hunter - TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
All sorts of engaging educational videos - Crash Course
Crash Course is a great way to educate yourself, your classmates, and your family on YouTube! - Crash Course Kids
- Crash Course on YouTube.
- The Kid Should See This – Smart videos for curious minds of all ages
Smart videos for curious minds of all ages. - Gifted and Talented Online Programs
Enrich your gifted child with these online programs! - Mark Rober
Great Science experiments by an ex-JPL Engineer - Smarter Every Day
Science and Engineering Videos - Vsauce – Michael Stevens
Psychology and Mind Experiments - Language of Friendship from UR Strong
Are the kids getting on each other’s nerves? Work on healthy relationships with these videos
Art
- Easy Crafts for Kids
Easy arts and crafts for little ones - The Imagination Tree – Creative play and learning for kids
Creative art and craft activities for the very youngest - The Artful Parent – Home
Good, free art activities linked to from this Facebook page
Computer Science
- Code.org: Learn computer science. Change the world.
A site dedicated to expanding access to computer science in schools and increasing participation by women and underrepresented youth. - Blockly Games
Learn computer programming skills – fun and free. - Explore Scratch
Creative computer programming
Language Arts
- Duolingo – The world’s best way to learn a language
Learn languages for free
Math
- Khan Academy
Especially good for maths and computing for all ages.. - Prodigy: Math Learning Platform
Good for elementary school ages
Science
- Mystery Science: Lessons for elementary teachers
Free science lessons - CREST Awards
Science awards you can complete from home. - STEM Simulators
PhET provides fun, free, interactive, research-based science and mathematics simulations. - Catalina Island Conservancy Learning at Home
The learning resources designed to encourage staying in touch with nature.
Social Studies
- Big History Project
Aimed at Secondary age, multi-disciplinary activities - World Games
Geography gaming! - National Geographic Kids
Activities and quizzes for younger kids
Tinkering and Toys
- Toy Theater | Fun Online Educational Games for Kids
Educational online games - Tinkercad | Create 3D digital designs with online CAD | Tinkercad
All kinds of making
Virtual Museums and other Enrichment
- Google Arts & Culture: Virtual Museums
Art Collections curated by Google - Online Tours: The Louvre
Visit the museum’s exhibition rooms and galleries, contemplate the façades of the Louvre… - The Museum of the World
The British Museum presents: The Museum of the World. - Guggenheim Online Collection
Featuring over 1,700 artworks by more than 625 artists, the Collection Online presents a searchable database of selected artworks from the Guggenheim’s permanent collection of approximately 8,000 artworks - Museum of Natural History
The Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History virtual tours allow visitors to take self-guided, room-by-room tours of select exhibits and areas within the museum from their desktop or mobile device. - Salvador Dali Museum
By means of this virtual visit, we invite you to take a tour around some of the museum’s rooms and see some works and objects exhibited there by means of panoramic pictures - Air Force Museum
The virtual tour allows visitors to take a virtual, 360-degree, self-guided tour of the entire museum by navigating from gallery to gallery. - Nightly Met Opera Streams
The performances, originally captured as live broadcasts in movie theatres worldwide, will begin at 7:30 PM from the company’s homepage. - Moma Learning
Download and customize slideshows, worksheets, and other resources for use in the classroom or self-guided learning. - Live feed from Monterey Bay Aquarium
With ten live cams to choose from, you can experience the wonder of the ocean no matter where you are. - US Space and Rocket Center
Science Never Stops, STEAM videos exploring museum artifacts, hands-on science, live astronomy demonstrations and so much more! - Online Events and Activities recommended by Common Sense Media
Provide some structure and schedule to your family’s day.
Scouting Specific Activities and Challenges
Make the time matter–work on Rank Advancement at home!
- At Home Scouting Activities
More ideas from “Scout Spirit” - Hawkeye Council 30 Day Challenges are a great way to keep scouting going!
GLAAC Mirror: https://bit.ly/scouting-30days - Scoutshare.org
A resource for sharing remote Scouting ideas and other Scouting ideas in general.
Jamboree on the Internet
What is JOTI?
This special edition of our largest digital jamboree will allow you to connect to others, learn new skills, bring Scouting online, and build new friendships during this challenging time. We’ll foster teamwork and intercultural interaction while enhancing safe social engagement and wellbeing.
Dates and Links
Website: https://www.jotajoti.info/
Dates: April 3-5 2020
Advancement
The rules of Scouting work very similarly online as they do live. If you have a question about how to make online activities work well, the literature below can provide official guidance. For example, under these circumstances, there’s not really any reason why we shouldn’t be doing boards of review by videoconference.
- National Guidance on COVID-19 – Advancement
- Guide to Advancement
- https://www.scoutbook.com/
Unit Management, directly from the BSA. - Scoutbook – Den Leader
Den Leader Experience in Scoutbook - The Eagle Scout Rank
The Eagle Scout Rank Application Process- Further instructions on applying for eagle rank during Shelter in Place.
- Rank Advancement and the Corona Virus Q&A
Merit Badges Online
- Find a registered merit badge counselor: Scouts should work with their Scoutmaster to identify a merit badge counselor for the badge or badges they want to earn. (Merit badge counselors — either current or future — should read our guide to being a merit badge counselor for some helpful tips.)
- Use the official requirements: You’ll find a lot of outdated merit badge requirements online. For the most current and up-to-date requirements, go to the BSA’s official merit badges page.
- Understand what made the cut: All 137 merit badges have certain requirements Scouts could complete at home.
- Have fun: Earning merit badges is one of my favorite parts about Scouting. Other than the merit badges required for Eagle, young people get to pick any merit badge that interests them. That decision should be 100% theirs. If earning a merit badge ever feels like schoolwork … well, you’re doing it wrong.
If your scout leader does not have a listing of merit badge counselors you can email info@seqbsa.org to request one for your district.
Merit Badge Listing: https://www.scouting.org/programs/scouts-bsa/advancement-and-awards/merit-badges/
Other Online Merit Badge Resources:
- Central Florida Council – Online Merit Badge Classes 2020
Utilize time at-home to complete merit badge advancement. - https://www.meritbadge.info/
Utilize time at-home to complete merit badge advancement. - https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2020/03/20/merit-badges-for-social-distancing/
NOVA Awards
NOVA awards are opportunities for Cub Scouts (Wolf-Arrow of Light), Scouts, Venturers, and Sea Scouts to delve into Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) topics with the help of registered NOVA counselors. Most awards include a requirement to watch educational videos. In addition, youth can count adventures, badges, and explorations that they’ve already earned, or use this opportunity to start new achievements.
- Cub Adventures that apply to NOVA awards
- Scouts BSA Merit Badges that apply to NOVA awards
- Venturing and Sea Scouting Explorations that apply to NOVA awards
Special Extensions
Online Boards of Review
- Boards of Review by Videoconferencing
You don’t have to be face to face to run boards of review.
Earning Eagle Scout Rank
During this period of Shelter in Place, we have special instructions for submitting your Eagle Application to the Scout Office while they are closed.
In the National Guidance on COVID-19 – Advancement there is a provision for a special extension for Scouts of Life rank whose 18th birthday is a short distance away and their advancement has been interrupted by the COVID-19 virus. If a Scout meets the criteria for the special extension:
- Use the standard form for Request for Extension of Time to Earn Eagle Scout Rank
- Submit to the District Advancement Chair the form with Scout (or family) statement on the interruption in advancement and a Scoutmaster statement endorsing the extension and describing the Scout’s progress towards Eagle rank. Include an Advancement Summary report if available.
- The District Advancement Chair will review and forward to the Council Advancement Committee for final review before approval by the Scout Executive.
Earning Summit and Quartermaster Ranks
- Scouts wanting extensions for the Summit or Quartermaster ranks should refer to the criteria described in the Guide to Advancement, paragraph 9.0.4.0.
Cub Scouts and Webelos
- Cub Scouts and Webelos can work on their current rank requirements through July 31st. See National Guidance on COVID-19 – Advancement for more information.
Training
Lots of BSA training is available through the online learning center. Now is an ideal time to complete your position-specific training if you haven’t already.
For Adults: YPT, Position, and Program
- My Scouting website
Your source for adult training (and some youth as well)
For Youth: Cyber Chip, Den Chief
- Cyber Chip
Maybe this is an ideal time to renew that cyber chip with all the screen time in front of our youth? - Den Chief Training
Den Chief Training gives our youth valuable leadership skills
Committees
Districts
- Roundtable Support from the National Office
Why not use Round Table Templates and Meeting Guides?
Units
- 30 Day Challenges can keep your unit working and collaborating together.
- Online meetings can be fun and offered more frequently.
Not everyone has to attend all meetings, but all Scouts can attend at least some.
Video Conferencing
Best Practices
When conducting meetings over videoconference, here are some tips to follow for a successful meeting:
- Ask everyone to mute themselves while the meeting chair is talking. If needed, use the mute function if the system has moderator capabilities.
- Remember to follow YPT rules if meeting with youth on a videoconference
- Try not to start your meeting on the hour/half hour to avoid system overload.
- Be mindful of “Zoombombings”, the posting of lewd or offensive material from uninvited guests in online scouting activities. The University of Southern California has published a list of best practices that we can all use to avoid this YP hazard. Zoombombing Resources | Keep Teaching | USC
For more tips, try this link from Stanford University: Meeting Etiquette Tips
Video Conferencing Systems
- BlueJeans: Video Conferencing, Screen Sharing, Video Calls
Ideal for council and district gatherings; contact your District Executive for more information on how to take advantage of BlueJeans - Zoom: Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Webinars, Screen Sharing
Recommended for unit gatherings (see below)
- Google Hangouts
Lets you set up video conferencing through Calendar, but can only be accessed by people who have Google accounts. It might be good for units with widespread Google use. - GoToMeeting
- Join.Me: Screen Sharing, Online Meetings & Web Conferencing
Easy interface for most. - WhereBy: Video Meetings
Free version lets you and three others meet. - Webex.com
Hosted by Cisco this is another great option for online conferencing.
Recommended Unit Resource: Zoom
We recommend Zoom for unit-level video conferencing because of its widespread usage by small businesses, schools, and other organizations. It doesn’t require any software download (although if you want to, you can; participants can also just join in their browser) or user accounts for participants, and people can join by telephone, as well (though that seems to be temporarily removed from free Basic accounts because of high demand)—so there should be few technological barriers to participation.
People can sign up to use Zoom’s Basic service for free; the service requests that you sign up using a work email, but you can also sign up using a personal account, which we recommend instead—unless you plan to use it for work.
As a Basic member, you are given your own dedicated Personal Meeting URL, which you can use to hold online gatherings. The free tier of service supports:
- Hosting up to 100 participants
- Unlimited one-to-one meetings
- A 40-minute limit on group meetings—which might make the paid Pro tier more interesting to some units
- Group meetings also support breakout rooms, so you can hold larger and smaller group sessions within the same environment
- An unlimited number of meetings
- Online support
There’s also a Pro level, which costs $14.99/month. (That nets out at about $180/year for a unit.) The Pro tier of service includes all of the features of the free Basic tier, as well as:
- Guaranteed dial-in by phone audio conferencing capabilities
- Longer meeting times—a duration limit of 24 hours (that’s some troop meeting!)
- User management options
- Administrator features and controls
- Usage reports
- A custom Personal Meeting ID—rather than the randomized one you’ll be assigned for the free tier
- The ability to designate another person to schedule meetings for you—that means you need just one Pro account for the unit, and someone else can help manage it
- 1GB of cloud recording
- Skype for Business interoperability
You can learn more about the Zoom tiers here.
Walkthroughs and Resources
my.scouting.org
- Organization Security Manager Help
- Member Manager Help
- Training Manager Help
- How to use Invitation Manager
- How to use Application Manager
- Printing Charter Certificates
- Printing Membership Cards
www.scoutbook.com
- Getting started with Scoutbook Tutorials
- Getting Started with Scoutbook Video
- Why Scoutbook Video
- Login Help
About this Project
Many of the resources quoted here were assembled by Western Los Angeles Council.
Contribution Ideas
- Got something you’d like to see added please send them to webmaster@seqbsa.org.