Under threatening clouds, the Salamander Efts met for their first outing ever at Fairhaven Park last Sunday. Huge raindrops fell as boys arrived and Mentors immediately took to their raingear. Fortunately, the rain stayed quiet until the Mentors debriefed after the outing. That is a sign of good luck for this group!
Explorers were excited to meet one another, get into the woods, and explore. Being the first outing, however, Mentors forced some structure upon the slippery salamanders. We set the foundation for a culture of safety and respect as we each took a job and carried group gear. Following the motto, Safety First, Explorers also learned about the Crow Call and the importance of building trust by staying within sound distance of the group, especially during games like Hide. Parents, please ask your son what job he had, and see if he can explain the rules of Hide. Encourage him to practice his Crow Call too. :)
Boys are excited for the possibilities of using knives, bows, and fire-by-friction kits, but mentors are quick to remind them that they have to show responsibilities with simpler tools before using more sophisticated ones. Sticks and mini-bows kept the boys occupied through much of the day. We learned about two more vitalmottoes that will hopefully become part of your sons’ regular vocabularies.
The Difference Between a Tool and a Weapon is You: This motto refers to how the same object, for example a stick, can be used as a weapon or as a tool. As a tool, the stick can help us reach an apple to eat or to help us dig a hole. As a weapon, we can hurl it through the air and hurt someone. Mentors’ hope is that Explorers will consider their individual power-- wisely using sticks, stones, and even blades of grass as tools as opposed to weapons.
The second motto, A Tool is an Extension of the Body, reminds us that with a stick in our hand, our wingspan gets much bigger. Our likelihood of accidentally hurting someone else increases. So does our responsibility. Boys have the power to take the space they need to have a safe “Blood Circle,” and the voices to share with other group members that they need a safe space to use their tools. Please ask your Explorer if he remembers what a “Blood Circle” is. And parents, if that language is too intense, please ask us to explain.
While we took a lunch break we noticed that the forest suddenly was very quiet. Salamander Efts got the feeling that a guy named Steve was stalking them. And they were right! All the sudden, Efts saw movement in the forest and found Christian, a member of the oldest group called theFirestalkers. As part of the Four Shields program, he seemed out of place being so close to us. Then we saw Steve, another Mentor! The boys realized they were being ambushed by the oldest group and began searching for the fourth Mentor, Matt, and the other six Firestalkers who were closing in on us! We were being hunted.
After we found everyone, Salamander Efts, Firestalkers, and Mentors all introduced themselves to one another. Then the Firestalkers took off because they had more skills to build in the Art of Navigation and Orienteering. And Salamander Efts recognized that they had a lot of work to do in the realms of quiet, stealth, and camouflage. It’s going to take much more than two games of Hide to be able to blend into the woods and “go the way of the deer and the cougar!”
We ended the day with a Camouflage Gauntlet. Boys used their observation skills to find chenille sticks (or colored pipe cleaners) hidden along the trail. Ask your son how many he found and how many there were.
The last order of business was a Closing Meeting during which we had a Circle of Thanks. Following another important Boys Explorers Club motto, Attitude of Gratitude, boys shared one thing for which they were thankful and one thing they learned. It’s so important that we give thanks so that we recognize what we actually have to be thankful for!
In that vein, thank you Explorers for doing such good work during your first outing. You learned a lot, planted the valuable seeds for being a successful group, and put down the foundations to fit well into the Boys Explorers Club culture.
Parents, thank you for supporting your boys and this program. We appreciate your families and are excited for the relationships we will form during this season and future ones.
Please look at the few pictures we took during this outing in the Photo Gallery. And we’ll look forward to seeing you at the next outing on September 29th at Galby Lane!
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