Some Words for Wise Straight Arrow Chiefs
by Mike Johnson
1. Pray continually. Pray for the boys. Pray for the other
leaders. Pray for the parents. Pray for the boys' brothers and
sisters. Pray for wisdom and ability as a leader. Pray that God
would strengthen you in purity and righteousness.
2. Live your faith. It is impossible to fool God. It is nearly
impossible to fool a room full of boys. They see you and model
their lives after yours, even when you think they are not
looking.
3. Study the Bible as if your life depended on it.
4. Plan meetings in advance. Make the plan happen. Be there
early and establish the tone of the meeting.
Meeting Structure
Meetings may vary, but usually include (1) opening activity and
check-in, (2) opening ceremonies, (3) Devotion or Bible story,
(4) craft or presentation, and (5) fun recreation. Other things
to do may include show and tell (once a month or so), work on
advancements, field trips, and special learning activities.
Opening Activities and Check-in
Check-in is a good time for individually welcoming each boy,
letting them recite memory verses and report progress on
advancements. There has to be something ready for the boys who
have checked in to do, like coloring, working puzzles, cutting
and pasting, or playing a game organized by the other
commander.
Opening Ceremonies
Here is the official opening, which should include prayer and
the pledges to the U. S. Flag, Christian Flag, Bible, and the
Straight Arrow pledge.
Devotions and Bible Stories
Do not underestimate the ability of Straight Arrows to absorb
the Word of God full strength. Even when it doesn't appear that
they are listening intently because they fidget or their eyes
wander, they are probably listening better than the average
adult after the first 10 minutes of the average sermon. Don't be
average. Pack as much of the Word of God as you can into 5 or 10
minutes. Get the boys' attention. Introduce the story in a way
they can understand. If you read, do so with dramatic enthusiasm
and clarity of speech. If you recite from memory, be excited and
sincere. The subject of the study may derive from the same
scriptures that are used in the Sunday School lessen that week,
or may further explain a Bible Memory Verse, or may be from the
Straight Arrow two-year lesson plan.
I prefer to read from a Bible version that adults would use in
serious study of the Bible, and that is easy to read. My
favorite for reading is the New International Version (NIV). The
Reading from the NIV Bible does have an additional benefit of
slightly increasing a Straight Arrow's vocabulary. Today's
English Version (also called Good News for Modern Man) is a good
translation with a more limited vocabulary. The New King James
Version is what we have standardized on for memory verses, and
is almost as easy to read aloud as the NIV. Avoid translations
the use Elizabethan English, like the King James Bible. I don't
know anyone who speaks that language any more, especially among
5, 6, and 7 year old boys.
Selections of Scripture to read to boys of this age should
mostly emphasize the many stories in the Bible about real
people, places, and events. On the other hand, the whole Holy
Book is good to teach from, so it is not particularly hard to
find good lessons.
After reading a passage of Scripture, it is good to ask and
answer questions. This is a good time to get the boys to think
about how to apply the Word of God to their daily lives.
Crafts
Boys like to be creative. They like to build things. Boys this
age like to build things that can be done in one meeting, but
longer term projects, such as the Pinewood Derby, are rewarding
as well. Some ideas for crafts:
+ Paper airplanes
+ Styrofoam boats
+ Pin wheels
+ Magnetic compasses (floating magnets)
+ Indian headbands
+ Indian necklaces
+ ID necklaces
+ Walking sticks
+ Mobiles
+ Leaf collections
+ Paper weights
+ Signs and posters
+ Bird houses
+ Bird feeders (pine cone, peanut butter & bird seed)
+ Cooking projects (preparing gorp for an upcoming hike, for
example)
+ Jewelry for Mom
+ Musical instruments (like oatmeal box tom-toms)
+ Popsicle stick coasters
+ Crystal radio sets
+ Dioramas
And so on.
Presentations
Boys are curious. They want to learn about God's creation. Try
to cover a wide range of topics, preferably something you know
about and are interested in. Almost any topic in science,
safety, and nature can be scaled to a decent presentation for
Straight Arrows. Some ideas (certainly not exhaustive):
+ Astronomy (star gazing field trip; planetarium trip;
identifying constellations & planets; astronomical current
events, like comet Shoemaker-Levy meets Jupiter, current space
probes, etc.; features of the moon; features of the sun.
+ Biology (what is inside animals?; look through microscope at
microbes)
+ Camp craft (preparing for camp in or camp out)
+ Data processing (how computers work, look at the insides of
one)
+ Energy sources (hydroelectric, solar, coal, oil, gas,
nuclear)
+ Entomology (bug collecting, butterflies, moths, beetles, ant
farms, bees & honey)
+ Fire Safety (when & how to call fire department, fire escape
routes, don't play with fire)
+ First Aid (calling for help, Band-Aids, treat for shock, throw
floatation device to distressed swimmer)
+ Geography (stories about missionaries in other countries, show
globe)
+ Geology (rocks, mountain formation, minerals, gold mining)
+ History (what happened xx years ago today? stories of famous
people & places)
+ Illusionists - rope tricks, coin tricks, and such, preferably
used to increase interest in a Gospel story
+ Indian Lore - but avoid some of the pagan religion associated
with some Indian lore.
+ Jokes - the clean kind, Christian clowns
+ Kings and Queens -- who has them, traditions of royalty in the
past and now
+ Land Navigation (map reading, what to do if you get lost, how
a compass works, telling direction from the sun, where the
mountains are in Colorado, etc.)
+ Law enforcement (how police help us)
+ Medicine (when it is and is not appropriate to take medicine,
avoiding harmful drugs)
+ Nests and other animal homes
+ Ornithology (identifying birds by sight and sound, imitating
bird calls)
+ Plant life (identify & name some common plants; categorize
edible, poisonous, etc.)
+ Quaking earth and what to do about it.
+ Rope craft (how to tie shoes, square knots, coiling and
throwing ropes)
+ Sea stories and sailing vessels
+ Tool craft - how to pass a pocket knife properly
+ Underground passages - caves.
+ Volcanoes - explosive or oozing
+ Weather - normal and emergency, predicting, measuring
+ X-rays and other electromagnetic radiation & application to
medicine
+ Zoology (zoo trip; animals in local area, both city and
country; animals in other areas)
Recreation
FUN is a requirement. It isn't enough by itself, but it is one
of the reasons boys like to go to Royal Rangers. Rotate the
games, but come back to favorites periodically. Don't get into a
rut.
Special Activities
These may be as simple as a walk to the park or to an Ice Cream
shop, or as involved as a hike in the mountains or an overnight
camp-out or camp-in.
___
Michael Paul Johnson aka Soaring Golden Eagle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
http://eBible.org/mpj Rocky Mountain Outpost 207 New Creation Church
Jesus Christ is Lord! If Jesus came back today, would you be READY?
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