A question about recognition
Brian sent this question which relates to den doodles:
I am looking for ideas for recognizing boys for attending any activity outside their den meetings and pack meeting. For instance, going camping with the pack, helping at a popcorn show-and-sell, a council activity, etc.
I’m hoping it will encourage other boys to attend more because they see everyone getting recognized but them. An incentive.
At 1st I thought a patch, but those are harder to find for every activity, plus those get expensive.
My thought now is to start belt totems with beads. Make a different color bead for each kind of event. But I’ve never heard of anyone else doing this, so I’m looking for advise. See if anyone else struggles with attendance at these activities and if they reward their boys for joining in and participating or helping. Or are we not supposed to reward for everything??
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Den Doodles
Brian, I think what you are looking for is a den doodle. Many Cub Scouters use these to recognize Scouts for participation in activities and any other behavior which needs encouragement. Typically these involve each Cub Scout having a string of beads, with each bead representing something specific.
For ZM’s den, I had a den doodle made from a hoop with some leather stretched on the inside, sort of like a mandela. Then we hung beads from the lower side of the hoop. Unfortunately I can’t find any good pictures of it. We displayed it at den meetings, pack meetings, and campouts. By the time they crossed over to Scouts BSA it was pretty worn out, but they liked it because it was a record of sorts of everything they did.
How to Use a Den Doodle
We gave out beads for all sorts of things. Many of the ideas were suggested by the den members themselves. “Can we have a bead if we ….?” I also had a variety of colors and shapes of beads. For example I had some red, white, and blue star shaped beads. These were earned by participating in service projects. Here are some of the things they got beads for:
- Den meeting attendance
- Pack meeting attendance
- Remembering their book – we had some who needed encouragement in this area 🙂
- Have a parent come to a den meeting and do something special
- Service projects (special bead)
- Earning their rank badge (special bead)
- Campouts (special bead – different for each campout)
- Pack hikes and other events (special bead – different for each event)
If you search the web for “den doodle” you should be able to find some pictures. But be creative! No two den doodles are alike.
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