Advancement Campout

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At the Advancement Campout, newer Scouts practice Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class skills. Older Scouts gain proficiency by teaching these life skills. Scouts use the Patrol Method to plan their meals & duty rosters. Scouts are asked to bring their handbooks and each individually demonstrate each skill. Other troop meetings focus on Scout skills including First Aid, Swimming, Knots, and Personal Fitness.

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Troops may schedule an Advancement Campout for the early spring after the Webelos have crossed over into the troop. Advancement Camp is so important that many troops work together to pool their resources. Some local councils and districts host these events because it is so important to membership retention and summer camp attendance. Scouts who have learned the basics at an Advancement Camp will be ready for summer camp. The Advancement Campout can also help a troop meet their First Class-First Year goal:

“ Though you can advance at your own pace, active Scouts will usually earn First Class within a year of joining a troop. ”

— Boy Scout Handbook, p. 14

An Advancement Campout Plan PDF and editable Advancement Campout Plan Word DOC file are available. Just fill in the date, Scouts in Charge for each event, and make tweaks as needed!

Contents 1 Troop Meeting - Advancement Campout Planning Meeting 2 Sample Advancement Campout Schedule 2.1 Friday Evening 2.2 Saturday Morning 2.3 Saturday Nature Hike 2.4 Saturday Afternoon 2.5 Saturday Evening 2.6 Sunday Morning 3 Troop Meetings - Scout Skills Themes 3.1 Troop Meeting - Swimming 3.2 Troop Meeting - Personal Fitness 4 Basic Scout Skills 5 Requirement resources 6 Related Awards 7 References

Troop Meeting - Advancement Campout Planning Meeting

Summary: Scouts plan meals, duty rosters, and campout program. Each Scout must be able to individually demonstrate each skill.

Tenderfoot #1. Present yourself to your leader, properly dressed, before going on an overnight camping trip. Show the camping gear you will use. Show the right way to pack and carry it.

9. Explain the importance of the buddy system as it relates to your personal safety on outings and in your neighborhood. Describe what a bully is and how you should respond to one.

First Class #4. a. Help plan a patrol menu for one campout that includes at least one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner and that requires cooking at least two meals. Tell how the menu includes the foods from the food pyramid and meets nutritional needs.

4. b. Using the menu planned in requirement 4a, make a list showing the cost and food amounts needed to feed three or more boys and secure the ingredients.

4. c. Tell which pans, utensils, and other gear will be needed to cook and serve these meals.

4. d. Explain the procedures to follow in the safe handling and storage of fresh meats, dairy products, eggs, vegetables, and other perishable food products. Tell how to properly dispose of camp garbage, cans, plastic containers, and other rubbish.

Sample Advancement Campout Schedule

This schedule is based on the Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills #33640.

Friday Evening

6:00 PM Set up: camp and ax yard, post Duty Roster. (pp. 232-39)
6:30 PM Totin' Chip, Patrol Method, fire building & fire building competition.
Second Class #2.b. On one of these campouts, select your patrol site and sleep in a tent that you pitched. (pp. 77-85)

2.c. On one campout, demonstrate proper care, sharpening, and use of the knife, saw, and ax, and describe when they should be used. (pp. 77-85)

2.d. Use the tools listed in requirement 2c to prepare tinder, kindling, and fuel for a cooking fire. (pp. 248-55)

2.e. Discuss when it is appropriate to use a cooking fire and a lightweight stove. Discuss the safety procedures for using both. (pp. 248-55)

8:00 PM Campfire & cracker barrel
Tenderfoot #3. On the campout, assist in preparing and cooking one of your patrol's meals. Tell why it is important for each patrol member to share in meal preparation and cleanup, and explain the importance of eating together. (pp. 265-81)
10:30 PM Taps

Saturday Morning

7:00 AM Reveille & Flags
Tenderfoot #6. Demonstrate how to display, raise, lower, and fold the American flag.

Second Class #3. Participate in a flag ceremony for your school, religious institution, chartered organization, community, or troop activity.

7:30 AM Breakfast
Second Class #2.f. Demonstrate how to light a fire and a lightweight stove.

2.g. On one campout, plan and cook over an open fire one hot breakfast or lunch for yourself, selecting foods from the food pyramid. Explain the importance of good nutrition. Tell how to transport, store, and prepare the foods you selected.

First Class #4. e. On one campout, serve as your patrol's cook. Supervise your assistant(s) in using a stove or building a cooking fire. Prepare the breakfast, lunch, and dinner planned in requirement 4a. Lead your patrol in saying grace at the meals and supervise cleanup.

8:30 AM First Aid
Tenderfoot #12.a. Demonstrate how to care for someone who is choking.

12.b.. Show first aid for the following:  Simple cuts and scrapes,  Blisters on the hand and foot,  Minor (thermal/heat) burns or scalds (superficial, or first degree),  Bites and stings of insects and ticks,  Venomous snakebite,  Nosebleed,  Frostbite and sunburn

Second Class #6.a. Show what to do for "hurry" cases of stopped breathing, serious bleeding, and internal poisoning.

6.b. Prepare a personal first aid kit to take with you on a hike.

6.c. Demonstrate first aid for the following:  Object in the eye,  Bite of a suspected rabid animal,  Puncture wounds, from a splinter, nail, and fishhook,  Serious burns (second degree),  Heat exhaustion,  Shock,  Heatstroke, dehydration, hypothermia, and hyperventilation

First Class #8. b. Demonstrate bandages for a sprained ankle and for injuries on the head, the upper arm, and the collarbone.

8. c. Show how to transport by yourself, and with one other person, a person:

from a smoke-filled room

with a sprained ankle, for at least 25 yards.

8. d. Tell the five most common signs of a heart attack. Explain the steps (procedures) in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Saturday Nature Hike

10:00 AM Introduction to: Hiking & Orienteering
Tenderfoot #5. Explain the rules of safe hiking, both on the highway and cross-country, during the day and at night. Explain what to do if you are lost.

Second Class #1.a. Demonstrate how a compass works and how to orient a map. Explain what map symbols mean.

First Class #1. Demonstrate how to find directions during the day and at night without using a compass.

10:00 AM Hike: 2 ½ miles out with your lunch in a day pack (book backpacks work great.)
Second Class #1.b. Using a compass and a map together, take a 5-mile hike (or 10 miles by bike) approved by your adult leader and your parent or guardian.
11:00 PM Nature: Plant & animal identification and Leave No Trace
Tenderfoot #11. Identify local poisonous plants; tell how to treat for exposure to them.

Second Class #5. Identify or show evidence of at least ten kinds of wild animals (birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, mollusks) found in your community.

First Class #6. Identify or show evidence of at least ten kinds of native plants found in your community.

12:00 PM Lunch: Eat the picnic lunch you have packed in
12:30 PM Hike back to camp: continuing to find evidence of wild animals & native plants

Saturday Afternoon

1:30 PM Knots and Knot Tying Competition.
Scout 6. Square knot

Tenderfoot

4.a. Whipping and fusing, 4.b.. two half hitches - taut-line hitch

First Class

8. a. bowline

3:00 PM Pioneering
First Class #7. a. Discuss when you should and should not use lashings '7. b. Demonstrate tying the timber hitch and clove hitch and their use in square, shear, and diagonal lashings by joining two or more poles or staves together. '7. c. Use lashing to make a useful camp gadget.

4:30 PM Games

Saturday Evening

 5:00 PM Flags/Prepare dinner
 6:00 PM Dinner
 7:00 PM First Aid Competition to review Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class skills
 8:00 PM Campfire: games, Scout Skits, etc.
10:30 PM Taps

Sunday Morning

7:00 AM Reveille & Flags
7:30 AM Breakfast (simple) & Pack up
8:30 AM Scout's Own Worship Service
9:00 AM Service Project: Police area, prepare firewood, & conservation projects
Second Class #4. Participate in an approved (minimum of one hour) service project.
10:00 AM Depart

Troop Meetings - Scout Skills Themes

Troop Meeting - Swimming

An annual swimming event could be held at any time. It is a chance to have fun, play games, and work on swimming skills.
Goals: Scouts First Class and above teach First Aid skills to the newer Scouts. Each Scout must be able to individually demonstrate each skill.
Second Class #7.a. Tell what precautions must be taken for a safe swim.

7.b. Demonstrate your ability to jump feetfirst into water over your head in depth, level off and swim 25 feet on the surface, stop, turn sharply, resume swimming, then return to your starting place.

7.c. Demonstrate water rescue methods by reaching with your arm or leg, by reaching with a suitable object, and by throwing lines and objects. Explain why swimming rescues should not be attempted when a reaching or throwing rescue is possible, and explain why and how a rescue swimmer should avoid contact with the victim.

First Class #9. a. Tell what precautions must be taken for a safe trip afloat.

9. b. Successfully complete the BSA swimmer test.

9. c. With a helper and a practice victim, show a line rescue both as tender and rescuer. (The practice victim should be approximately 30 feet from shore in deep water.)

Troop Meeting - Personal Fitness

New Scouts can record their times for the Tenderfoot personal fitness requirements. Older Scouts can start Personal Fitness Merit Badge or play basketball or other games with the troop.
Tenderfoot #10.a. Record your best in the following tests:

• Push-ups
• Pull-ups
• Sit-ups
• Standing long jump
• 1/4 mile walk/run

10.a. Show improvement in the activities listed in requirement 10a after practicing for 30 days.

Basic Scout Skills

Orienteering

Second Class #1.a. Demonstrate how a compass works and how to orient a map. Explain what map symbols mean.

1.b. Using a compass and a map together, take a 5-mile hike (or 10 miles by bike) approved by your adult leader and your parent or guardian.*

First Class

1. Demonstrate how to find directions during the day and at night without using a compass.

2. Using a compass, complete an orienteering course that covers at least one mile and requires measuring the height and/or width of designated items (tree, tower, canyon, ditch, etc.)

Camping

Tenderfoot #1. Present yourself to your leader, properly dressed, before going on an overnight camping trip. Show the camping gear you will use. Show the right way to pack and carry it.

3. On the campout, assist in preparing and cooking one of your patrol's meals. Tell why it is important for each patrol member to share in meal preparation and cleanup, and explain the importance of eating together.

5. Explain the rules of safe hiking, both on the highway and cross-country, during the day and at night. Explain what to do if you are lost.

9. Explain the importance of the buddy system as it relates to your personal safety on outings and in your neighborhood. Describe what a bully is and how you should respond to one.

Second Class #2.b. On one of these campouts, select your patrol site and sleep in a tent that you pitched.

2.c. On one campout, demonstrate proper care, sharpening, and use of the knife, saw, and ax, and describe when they should be used.

2.d. Use the tools listed in requirement 2c to prepare tinder, kindling, and fuel for a cooking fire.

2.e. Discuss when it is appropriate to use a cooking fire and a lightweight stove. Discuss the safety procedures for using both..

2.f. Demonstrate how to light a fire and a lightweight stove.

2.g. On one campout, plan and cook over an open fire one hot breakfast or lunch for yourself, selecting foods from the food pyramid. Explain the importance of good nutrition. Tell how to transport, store, and prepare the foods you selected.

First Class #4. a. Help plan a patrol menu for one campout that includes at least one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner and that requires cooking at least two meals. Tell how the menu includes the foods from the food pyramid and meets nutritional needs.

4. b. Using the menu planned in requirement 4a, make a list showing the cost and food amounts needed to feed three or more boys and secure the ingredients.

4. c. Tell which pans, utensils, and other gear will be needed to cook and serve these meals.

4. d. Explain the procedures to follow in the safe handling and storage of fresh meats, dairy products, eggs, vegetables, and other perishable food products. Tell how to properly dispose of camp garbage, cans, plastic containers, and other rubbish.

4. e. On one campout, serve as your patrol's cook. Supervise your assistant(s) in using a stove or building a cooking fire. Prepare the breakfast, lunch, and dinner planned in requirement 4a. Lead your patrol in saying grace at the meals and supervise cleanup.

Citizenship

Tenderfoot #6. Demonstrate how to display, raise, lower, and fold the American flag.

Second Class #3. Participate in a flag ceremony for your school, religious institution, chartered organization, community, or troop activity.

4. Participate in an approved (minimum of one hour) service project.

First Class #5. Visit and discuss with a selected individual approved by your leader (elected official, judge, attorney, civil servant, principal, teacher) your constitutional rights and obligations as a U.S. citizen.

Nature

Tenderfoot #11. Identify local poisonous plants; tell how to treat for exposure to them.

Second Class #5. Identify or show evidence of at least ten kinds of wild animals (birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, mollusks) found in your community.

First Class #6. Identify or show evidence of at least ten kinds of native plants found in your community.

Pioneering

First Class #7. a. Discuss when you should and should not use lashings

7. b. Demonstrate tying the timber hitch and clove hitch and their use in square, shear, and diagonal lashings by joining two or more poles or staves together.

7. c. Use lashing to make a useful camp gadget.

Knots

Tenderfoot #4.a. Demonstrate how to whip and fuse the ends of a rope.

4.b.. Demonstrate you know how to tie the following knots and tell what their uses are: two half hitches and the taut-line hitch.

First Class #8. a. Demonstrate tying the bowline knot and describe several ways it can be used.

First Aid

Tenderfoot #12.a. Demonstrate how to care for someone who is choking.

B. Show first aid for the following:

• Simple cuts and scrapes
• Blisters on the hand and foot
• Minor (thermal/heat) burns or scalds (superficial, or first degree)
• Bites and stings of insects and ticks
• Venomous snakebite
• Nosebleed
• Frostbite and sunburn
  

Second Class #6.a. Show what to do for "hurry" cases of stopped breathing, serious bleeding, and internal poisoning.

6.b. Prepare a personal first aid kit to take with you on a hike.

6.c. Demonstrate first aid for the following:

• Object in the eye
• Bite of a suspected rabid animal
• Puncture wounds from a splinter, nail, and fishhook
• Serious burns (second degree)
• Heat exhaustion
• Shock
• Heatstroke, dehydration, hypothermia, and hyperventilation
  

First Class #8. b. Demonstrate bandages for a sprained ankle and for injuries on the head, the upper arm, and the collarbone.

8. c. Show how to transport by yourself, and with one other person, a person:

from a smoke-filled room

with a sprained ankle, for at least 25 yards.

8. d. Tell the five most common signs of a heart attack. Explain the steps (procedures) in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Swimming

Second Class #7.a. Tell what precautions must be taken for a safe swim.

7.b. Demonstrate your ability to jump feetfirst into water over your head in depth, level off and swim 25 feet on the surface, stop, turn sharply, resume swimming, then return to your starting place.

7.c. Demonstrate water rescue methods by reaching with your arm or leg, by reaching with a suitable object, and by throwing lines and objects. Explain why swimming rescues should not be attempted when a reaching or throwing rescue is possible, and explain why and how a rescue swimmer should avoid contact with the victim.

First Class #9. a. Tell what precautions must be taken for a safe trip afloat.

9. b. Successfully complete the BSA swimmer test.

9. c. With a helper and a practice victim, show a line rescue both as tender and rescuer. (The practice victim should be approximately 30 feet from shore in deep water.)

Personal Fitness

Tenderfoot #10.a. Record your best in the following tests:

• Push-ups
• Pull-ups
• Sit-ups
• Standing long jump
• 1/4 mile walk/run

10.a. Show improvement in the activities listed in requirement 10a after practicing for 30 days.

Requirement resources

Orienteering

• REI Videos: Parts of a Compass - Topographic Maps - Map to Compass - Compass to Map - Triangulation - Declination
• REI:Navigation Basics - How a Compass Works
• Topographical Maps Free US Geological Survey - Topozone.com - Google Satellite, Street, and Terrain Maps

Camping

• Your handbook is your primary reference. See Outdoor Skills for step-by-step instructions and lesson video links.
• See also: Camping Merit Badge Pamphlet - Hiking Skills - Hydration - Outdoor Gear - Tents - Water Purification - Weather Skills

Citizenship in the Community

Nature

• General Resources: American Museum of Natural History - Discover Magazine - Environmental Protection Agency - Int. Assn. of Fish and Wildlife Agencies - Nat. Climatic Data Center - Nat. Geographic Society - Nat. Park Service - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - American Meteorological Society - American Zoo and Aquarium Association - The Discovery Channel - Nat. Fish and Wildlife Foundation - Nat. Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin - Nat. Wildlife Federation
• Conservation Resources: Soil and Water Conservation Merit Badge resources - Conservation and Resource Center - Leave No Trace Center - Wildlife Conservation Society
• Bird Resources: Bird Study Merit Badge resources
• Fish Resources: Fishing Merit Badge Requirement resources - American Fisheries Society
• Insect Resources: Insect Study Merit Badge resources
• Mammal Resources: Mammal Study Merit Badge resources
• Reptile & Amphibian Resources: Reptile and Amphibian Study Merit Badge resources - Frog Songs

Pioneering

Knots

• Animated Knots: Basic Scout Knots - Forty Scout knots - Special Knots - Sailing knots - Fishing knots - Folsoms Knots - Animatedknots.com - Great Animations - More Animated Knots - More great Animated Knots - Still more - Knot Videos - Basics Videos - Basics2
• Other Knot Links: Advanced knots - Ropers Knots Page - Climbing Knots - Fishing knots - Knots Index

First Aid

• Your handbook is your primary reference. See First Aid Skills for step-by-step instructions and lesson video links.
• See also: First Aid Merit Badge Pamphlet - First Aid Kit - Emergency Kit - Guide to Safe Scouting - Physcial

Swimming

• Your handbook is your primary reference. See Swimming Skills for step-by-step instructions and lesson video links.
• See also: Swimming & Lifesaving Merit Badge Pamphlets - Guide to Safe Scouting - Safe Swim Defense - Safety Afloat

Related Awards

Orienteering - Camping - Pioneering - Knots

Outdoor-related awards

• Boy Scout ranks: Tenderfoot - Second Class - First Class
• Boy Scout awards: Firem'n Chit - Totin' Chip - Paul Bunyan Woodsman
• Boy Scout Merit Badges: Astronomy - Backpacking - Camping - Canoeing - Climbing - Cooking - Cycling - Fire Safety - Hiking - Orienteering - Pioneering - Rowing - Weather - Water Sports - Whitewater - Wilderness Survival
• Venturing: Outdoor Bronze Award; Ranger Award electives: Backpacking
• Webelos Activity Badges: Forester - Naturalist - Outdoorsman
• Cub Scout Belt Loops & Pins: Astronomy - Map and Compass - Weather

Citizenship

Personal development-related awards

• Boy Scout merit badges: American Cultures - American Heritage - Citizenship in the Community - Citizenship in the Nation - Citizenship in the World - Communications - Disabilities Awareness - Family Life - Genealogy - Personal Fitness - Personal Management - Public Speaking - Reading - Scholarship - Traffic Safety
• Venturing: Religious and Community Life Bronze Award - TRUST Award - Quest Award - Ranger Award electives: Physical Fitness - Backpacking
• Webelos activity badges: Citizen - Communicator - Family Member -Fitness - Scholar; Other resources: Flag Ceremonies
• Cub Scout belt loops & pins: Citizenship - Communicating - Heritages - Language and Culture - Physical Fitness

Nature

Ecology-related awards

• Boy Scout Merit Badges: Bird Study - Environmental Science - Fish and Wildlife Management - Forestry - Gardening - Geology - Insect Study - Mammal Study - Nature - Oceanography - Plant Science - Reptile and Amphibian Study - Soil and Water Conservation
• Boy Scout awards: Conservation Good Turn Award - Leave No Trace Award - William T. Hornaday award - World Conservation Award
• Venturing: Ranger Award electives: Ecology - Plants and Wildlife; Awards: Conservation Good Turn Award - Leave No Trace Award - William T. Hornaday award - World Conservation Award
• Webelos Activity Badges: Forester - Naturalist - Outdoorsman
• Cub Scout Belt Loops & Pins: Geology - Weather - Wildlife Conservation
• Cub Scout awards: Conservation Good Turn Award - Leave No Trace Award - World Conservation Award

First Aid

Emergency Preparedness-related awards

• Boy Scout Merit Badges: Crime Prevention - Emergency Preparedness - Fire Safety - First Aid - Lifesaving - Public Health - Safety- Traffic Safety
  
• Webelos Activity Badge: Readyman
• Others Links: First Aid Skills - First Aid Kit - Emergency Kit - Safe Swim Defense - Safety Afloat - Guide to Safe Scouting: First Aid
• Venturing: Ranger Award-Emergency Preparedness Requirement

Swimming

Aquatic-related awards

• Boy Scout Merit Badges: Canoeing - Kayaking - Lifesaving - Motorboating - Rowing - Scuba Diving - Small-Boat Sailing - Swimming - Water Sports - Whitewater
• Boy Scouts ranks and awards: Second Class - First Class - BSA Lifeguard - Boardsailing BSA - Kayaking BSA - Mile Swim BSA - Scuba BSA - Snorkeling BSA - BSA Swim Test
• Venturing: Ranger Award electives: Lifesaving - Scuba - Watercraft; Sea Scout Bronze Award - Sea Scout Ranks: Apprentice - Ordinary - Able - Quartermaster
• Webelos Activity Badge: Aquanaut
• Cub Scout Belt Loops & Pins: Cub Scout Swimming

Personal Fitness

Personal development-related awards

• Boy Scout merit badges: American Cultures - American Heritage - Citizenship in the Community - Citizenship in the Nation - Citizenship in the World - Communications - Disabilities Awareness - Family Life - Genealogy - Personal Fitness - Personal Management - Public Speaking - Reading - Scholarship - Traffic Safety
• Venturing: Religious and Community Life Bronze Award - TRUST Award - Quest Award - Ranger Award electives: Physical Fitness - Backpacking
• Webelos activity badges: Citizen - Communicator - Family Member -Fitness - Scholar; Other resources: Flag Ceremonies
• Cub Scout belt loops & pins: Citizenship - Communicating - Heritages - Language and Culture - Physical Fitness

References

Boy Scout portal

Varsity Scout portal

• First Class-First Year
• Sample Advancement Campout Plan - Just fill in the Scouts in Charge for each event and make tweaks as needed.}}
• Sample Advancement Campout Plan - fill in by hand