Venture Planning Resources
Planning is a big part of Venturing, because it is another step in helping the Scouts become increasingly independent. At each level of the Boy Scouts of America adults move from the front and center of the meetings and activities to the background. In Scouts BSA adults may still plan many elements of trips even though Scouts should be picking activities and destinations. In Venturing and Sea Scouting the adults should play as small of a role as possible as long as this does not cause safety issues. Remember that Scouting can be a “safe place to fail”, so if the Scouts are doing something that might make life a little harder or unpleasant for an afternoon or a weekend let them. After the activity or event is over ask them how they think it went, what could have been better, and what could they change in the plan to avoid that discomfort or hardship next time. Below is a link to the Planning Resources on our Scouts BSA page for some great starting tools.
The Venturing program is for youth ranging in age from 14-20 so it is almost a guarantee that your Crew will have some Scouts that can plan things very independently and others that need much more support. If Venturers come from a background in Scouts BSA they likely have some experience with planning through; annual planning conferences, Patrol Leader’s Counsel meetings, or even just menu planning for weekend trips. However, we have to remember that not all Troops are as youth led as we would hope. If a Venturer is just joining Scouting for the first time there is a high likelihood that they have not done much planning of this type before. Below are three levels of plans that you could use with Venture Scouts for an activity, each with varying levels of details to best support the needs of your Scouts.
Program Planning
An annual planning conference is a good idea for any unit. The youth leaders will layout what the program will look like for the year and what they will do. Crew leadership should have spoken to the other Venturers prior to the meeting so that they can speak to the Crew’s wishes. Remember, being a leader means being a voice for the people you represent and should not just speaking to your own interests. Although these meetings are held with the youth officers the Advisor and at least one other adult leader should attend to make sure that the plans are safe and reasonable. It is also a good idea for the Advisor to have spoken to other adult leaders to know what weekends they are available to attend so that you can be confident that you will have the needed amount of adult leaders available.
Simple Planning Form
Veteran Scouts and detail minded people may know to take care of the details. They may only need a basic draft of the important parts of the trip. Have them sit down with the Advisor in advance of the trip to go over things and make sure that they have things all planned and taken care of.
Mid-Level Planning form
Many people need a bit more information than the simple form when they are planning a trip. This form is a step back with more information to make sure that the Scouts have put the thought inot it that is needed.
Detailed Planning Form
Some people are just “big picture” people and are not good at planning the important details. Some folks are just new to planning and don’t think about all of the details that they need to have a plan for. This plan will ask them the key questions that are needed for them to make sure that they have not left things out. Also teenagers and young adults often do not realize that some things take longer than other things to plan or how long a plan in itself can actually take. This version has due dates built in so that the Advisor or another leader can make sure that the Scouts aren’t leaving everything to the last minute.