Incorporating Scouting into Schooling

Welcome to the first day of 5 Days of Teaching Creatively.  Here in the state of Missouri we need to log at least 1000 school hours each year, 600 of which must be in core subjects like math, science, and language arts.  That still leaves plenty of hours to be filled.  While I devote some of that time to Bible study (which I consider "essential" if not officially "core"), I allow Schnickelfritz to choose other areas he'd like to explore using 4-H projects and Royal Ranger merits as his guide.  I usually make some sort of bound notebook for written responses and pictures of his activities.  We can show the Outpost Commander to prove he's earned the skill merit and then I keep it for our homeschool records. Then it's just up to me to figure out how to log the hours.  Even in the sports merits (which would qualify as P.E.), I may be able to log some hours of Language Arts since there's usually an essay to be completed.

The great news for parents/ teachers is all the planning is done for you through the requirements of the merit. Fritz's Outpost commander makes copies of these for me as well as the weekly lesson plans for teaching the merits during meetings (which also incude answer keys).  I'm focusing on Royal Rangers here since that's what I'm familiar with, but I'm sure most of the merits are also available in Boy Scout handbooks (which are often carried by libraries).  Tell me your son (or daughter) can't find something of interest in the list below.

Academics	Fingerprinting*	Plumbing
Air Rifle	Fire Craft*	Pottery
Amateur Radio	Fire Safety	Presidents
American Cultures	Firearm Safety	Primitive Shelters
American History	First Aid Skills*	Primitive Snares
Animal Husbandry	First Aid-CPR*	Public Health
Archery	Fishing	Public Speaking*
Architecture	Fly Fishing	Puppeteer
Art	Football	Railroading
Astronomy	Foreign Language	Rappelling
Atomic Energy	Forestry	Reading
Auto Mechanics	Gardening	Reptile Study
Aviation	Geology	Rock Climbing
Bachelor	Golf	Rocketry*
Backpacking	Graphic Arts	Roller Skating
Baseball	Healthy Body  New!	Rope Craft*
Basic Sign Language	Hide Tanning	Rowing
Basketball	Highlands	Safety*
Basketry	Hiking	Sailing
BB Gun	Hobby	Salesmanship
Bird Study*	Home Missions – Construction	Scholarship
Black Powder	Home Repair	Scuba Diving
Black Powder Shooting	Home Safety	Sculpture
Boating	Horsemanship	Senior Citizens
Budget & Finance	Hunter Education/Safety	Shotgun Safety
Bugling	Ice Skating	Shotgun Shooting
Camp Safety	Indian Lore	Sign Language
Camping	Inline Skating	Skateboarding
Canoeing	Insect Study*	Skiing
Carpentry	International Service*	Skin Diving
Chemistry	Journalism	Small Bore Safety
Chess	Kayaking	Small Bore Shooting
Church History	Knife and Hawk	Snowboarding
Cinematography	Landscape Architecture	Soccer
Citizenship	Lashing*	Soil & Water Conservation
Coin Collecting	Law	Solar Science
Collections	Law Enforcement	Space Exploration*
Communications	Leather Craft	Speed The Light
Compass	Lifesaving	Sports
Computers	Mammals	Stamp Collecting
Cooking*	Marksmanship	Surveying
Crime Prevention	Masonry	Swimming
Cycling*	Medicine	Tennis
Darts	Metalwork	Tool Craft*
Dentistry	Model Rocketry	Track
Disability Awareness	Models & Designs*	Traffic Safety
Dog Care	Motor Boating	Truck Transportation
Drafting	Mountain Biking	Veterinary Medicine
Dutch Oven Cooking	Music	Water Safety Instructor
Economics	Nature Study*	Water Skiing
Electricity	Oceanography	Weather*
Electronics	Orienteering	Whitewater Rafting
Emergency Preparedness*	Pageantry	Wilderness Survival
Energy	Paintball  NEW!	Wildlife
Engineering	Painting	Winter Camping
Family History	Pets	Wood Carving
Family Life*	Photography	Woodworking
Farm & Ranch Management	Pioneer Lore	World Missions
Farm Mechanics	Pioneering	World Missions - Construction
Fine Arts Festival	Plant Science	Wresting

So far Schnickelfritz has completed Presidents (that was his first choice), Chess, Railroading, Astronomy and Space Exploration.  We'll be beginning Sign Language soon.  He's also looking forward to Orienteering and Dutch Oven Cooking over the summer.

Of course that's just the way we incorporate Delight-directed learning into our home school.  Check out some of the other blogs below for more ideas.  And don't forget to check out the 5 Days of Teaching Creatively Giveaway.