While an icy and snowy winter keeps many people inside and less active, Cub Scout Troop 318 of Jamison uses the winter months to learn new exercise and fitness activities while earning activity loops too.
Cub Scout Troop 318 has 40 boys and girls as members ranging from ages kindergarten through fifth grade as well as several dedicated parent and adult volunteers. They meet and are chartered out of St. Cyril’s Church in Jamison, near Warwick Elementary School, and is part of the Washington Crossing Council.
“Every month we hold a pack meeting where we get all the cubs together and have a theme for that particular month. The theme for January was health and fitness, and part of that is to help meet certain requirements to earn their rank based on their grade,” explained Rob Stianchi, Assistant Cubmaster and the former Cubmaster of Pack 318 for the past four years. As the only pack in Jamison, it has grown significantly over the last few years and is one of the largest in the Bucks County area. “When I became the Cubmaster four years ago, we had 11 scouts. We’ve grown a lot with lots of help from our dedicated parents and volunteers, including Holly Reutter our Committee Chair and Chris Macumber, our current Cubmaster,” Rob said.
Cub scouts earn their rank based on their school grade; for example kindergarteners are lions, first graders are tigers, second graders are wolves, third graders are bears, fourth graders are webelos and fifth graders are arrows of light. All of these ranks have personal fitness and outdoor requirements to earn belt loops. After achieving certain required loops and optional loops, then the scouts can earn that rank for the year, Rob explained.
“In order for the scouts to earn their rank for whatever badge that they're earning, they have to participate in different activities which have some type of fitness activity or being active. We used January as a good month for this because it aligns with the theme of New Year’s resolutions when people are usually trying to get into shape,” Rob said.
At the January pack meeting, the cub scouts were required to participate in various activities set up by the pack leaders and parent volunteers. “We had different stations for the kids to walk through and participate in either health or physical activities. In one rotation, the scouts did static stretching exercises to get themselves warmed up involving isometric movements like holding a plank position. We did another station with healthy eating focused on choosing the right kinds of food like picking vegetables and proteins. We talked about sugar and when it’s appropriate or not. In another station, we did yoga where the scouts used yoga mats and tried yoga poses.”
The scouts learned how to move like animals as another component for physical activity. “At one station they mimicked animals like a frog leaping or an inchworm walking, kangaroo hopping or the crab walk.” Rob said. “So, each of the scouts tried something different to move like an animal to get themselves moving around. And each one of the stations were set up in a way so that it met one of the requirements for each of the age groups to meet their activity requirements.”
Throughout the winter and into early spring, Cub Scout Pack 318 continues working on skills that promote an active and healthy lifestyle both indoors and outdoors -- with a dose of creativity.
The scouts have recently taken a hike in Washington Crossing State Park and learned to ski at Spring Mountain Adventures. They visited the Warwick Police Department and collected non-perishable food, paper products, cleaning supplies and toiletries in a friendly competition called the ‘Souper Bowl’ for the Warrington Food Bank. The scouts helped pack food at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Jamison. They made cards in November to distribute to veterans for Veterans Day and visited a firehouse for a 9-11 memorial in September.
“For our February meeting, we had older scouts come in from Doylestown Troop 24 to help us with the pack meeting. They set up stations to help the younger kids learn scouting skills such as learning how to tie knots and set up a tent,” said Rob.
The scouts have camped and hiked at several nearby national parks and participated in bicycling events. “We’ve done camping and hiking trips near Fort Washington and Valley Forge. It’s also about observing nature directly and identifying plants or trees or animals and birds and really interacting with the physical real world. The kids reflect on it and we talk about it. So, it gives kids back that tangible reality. It also gives families a way to engage in a different way that otherwise they may not be doing.”
Throughout the month of February, the pack prepares for one of scouting’s most popular events – the Pinewood Derby.
“Most of the kids participate in the Pinewood Derby. We have 35 or maybe even 40 cars that race against each other. The top three cars will get a prize in terms of the car’s speed and then we also have the scouts vote on which car they think looks the coolest design-wise, for the scout that put the car together from an artistic perspective.”
Rob noted how scouting provides kids and their families with many opportunities related to health and fitness without dependency on the digital world. He called scouting “truly a family affair.” Rob said in his own life, it has come full circle. He is a former Eagle Scout and will be moving to the next level of scouting when his son, Ryan, a fifth grader, graduates this year. Rob’s older son, Michael, is working on his final steps to becoming an Eagle Scout. Rob’s wife, Erica, is a den leader in the pack.
“I think scouting is a fantastic opportunity, especially since the world is getting more and more difficult for both kids and parents with digital devices and everybody spending time on those. But within scouting, we really don't use those things to do what we do. We focus on the skills that kids can learn and use, not just the direct skills, but indirect skills that they learn in terms of both leadership and teamwork. And it's not necessarily directly related to sports, as sports doesn't always fit for every child, but even still, it provides an opportunity for them to try that teamwork in a different way to be outside and try different new things.”
Cub Scout Pack 318 Leadership includes: Holly Reutter, Committee Chair; Chris Macumber, Cubmaster; Rob Stianchi, Assistant Cubmaster; Dan Reutter, Assistant Cubmaster; Colleen Seckinger, Committee Member; and Cassie Dunn, Chartered Organization Representative.
The Den Leaders and Assistant Leaders include: Holly Reutter and Dan Reutter (Lions/Kindergarten), MaryAnna Connor and John Zieger (Tigers/First Grade), Marshall Davis and Chris Macumber (Wolves/Second Grade), Karl Midthun and Ryan Duntzee (Bears/Third Grade), Jessica Cangiani and Paul Talbot (Webelos/Fourth Grade), and Erica Stianchi and Rob Stianchi (Arrows of Light/Fourth and Fifth Grade).
For more information on Cub Scout Pack 318 visit www.facebook.com/Pack318.
