Category: Pathfinders

Camping in the Rain? No problem!

What do you do if the camping trip you booked a few months ago, will now be cold and rainy?  OSG leaders were asked this question, and they had a whole lot of suggestions!  Below, are tips from our leaders from all across the country! Bring 3 or 4 extra tarps. I find that they are better than most footprints...

Exploring the New Pathfinder Materials

If you have been around OSG for a while, you are probably aware that our new Pathfinder Handbook has been a long time coming!  The committee to rewrite that handbook formed in 2019 and spent countless hours writing, rewriting, debating and designing a new handbook that went far beyond the previous handbook. If you have not yet gotten a copy,...

First Class Ceremony

First class Ceremony Baden Powel said “When a [child] has become a First-class Scout — but not before then – [they have] got a grounding in the qualities, mental, moral, and physical, that go to make a good useful [adult].” The original First-Class Requirements Swim 50 yards, send and receive a message in Semaphore or Morse go on a fourteen-mile...

Pathfinders: The Journey to First Class

PLEASE NOTE: Since the publication of this post, the Pathfinder Handbook has been published. You can learn more about it here in the announcement on the OSG website. In Outdoor Service Guides, one of the biggest achievements a pathfinder can attain is earning First Class. Attaining First Class is comprised of two pieces. One is that pathfinders complete a set of...

How to be an Amazing OSG Leader!

Being a leader in Outdoor Service Guides is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. However, it isn’t always easy. Today, I’m offering tips from long time leaders about how to have a successful group and be an amazing leader.  This is advice for you, no matter which age level you work with. Rule #1: Make it Fun...

Making Better Knot Ropes

As scout leaders, we teach a lot of knots. Using better ropes, can make teaching them a lot easier! Different groups have different ropes that they prefer for this reason. When teaching knots, scouts often need to remember which end of the rope they are working with. One easy way to do this, is by adding a stripe of colored...

Games for Scouts

As part of a happy and healthy Outdoor Service Guides group, you should plan for your guides to have a lot of fun. One easy way to make every meeting more fun, is to start with a game! This is a list of games that work well for groups of guides. There are Icebreakers for the start of the year,...

Pathfinders: Making Maps

There are lots of good reasons to work on making maps, and several badges now require it for pathfinders. But how do you make it fun? Because scouting is a game we are playing, and we want our pathfinders to enjoy their meetings, as well as learn from them. One thing that it is important to remember, is that you...

What goes in a Patrol Box?

If you are new to scouting, you may have never heard of a patrol box. What is it? A patrol box is generally, a box full of the things you need for cooking and cleaning at camp, plus some necessary items. While there are some very fancy boxes out there, a sturdy plastic tub will work for most groups. What...

New Pathfinder Badges and Awards- A How To For Leaders

PLEASE NOTE: Since the publication of this post, the Pathfinder Handbook has been published. You can learn more about it here in the announcement on the OSG website. Hopefully you have seen the Pathfinder Handbook Prerelease of 3 chapters of our new handbook. If you have, you’ve seen that there are 101 new badges, plus pins, special awards and other...