Order Of-Eagles Awards Program

Background: The Order-of-Eagles is a fun awards program that provides additional opportunities for parent and child to share experiences in working, learning and earning together. Always remember that everything else that follows is secondary. Part of the fun is that both the parent and child must participate or complete the activities individually so that they can earn the awards together.

This program is unique to the Buehler YMCA and reflects the creativity encouraged in the Y-Adventure Guides program.

There are 9 Primary Awards: Starter / Songs / Campout / Program Goals / Names /Craft / Recruitment / Nature Trip / Meetings

There are 3 Advanced Awards: Community Service/ Nature Report/ Outdoor Skills

Overview: The Primary Awards are “tested” at Tribal meetings and the Advanced Awards are “tested” at Nation Campouts. The 9 Primary activities must be completed before attempting Advanced activities. The award activities are designed to provide an appropriate level of achievement for the children, while still not being too challenging to complete. The Primary Awards are designed so that even the youngest kids can get involved and join in the fun of Achievement and Recognition with their parents early in the Y-Adventure Guides program. The award activities are designed to foster and promote the following: Self confidence; Personalizes the meaning of the Y-Adventure Guides’ aims; Builds a sense of community with the Tribe; Teaches kids how to use their hands to make things; Enhances an appreciation of the things that the Great Spirit has surrounded us with in forest, field and stream; Encourages all to realize the human benefit of service to others. Most of the awards provide options for completion, to provide the parent and kid Teams may have some flexibility, choice and diversity in how they participate in the Order Order-of of-Eagles Eagles.

Primary Awards: Tribal Testing

Awards may be completed in any order Choose from available options Category Color Activity

Starter Purple ¨ Officially join the Program

Songs Black ¨ Memorize the songs:

1) America

2) Friends Forever

Campout Kelly Green ¨ Attend a Nation campout

Program Goals Orange ¨ Memorize Program Aims, Motto and Pledge

Names Yellow ¨ Know all Parent and Kid names in Tribe

(Large Tribes, 8 Pairs Sufficient)

Craft White ¨ Make or donate property needed by Tribe

¨ Make an award for a Nation campout

¨ Make a “significant” craft project and show to Tribe

(Excludes Tribal, Nation or School Projects)

Recruitment Pink ¨ Recruit new member

¨ Invite a recruit to a tribal meeting

¨ Participate or help with Recruitment Night

¨ Promote the program by preparing and distributing

recruitment materials

¨ Remain in program for 4 years

Nature Trip Blue ¨ Attend a Friday overnighter in connection with a Nation

campout or a Tribal campout

¨ Attend and report to tribe on a “designated” or

“recognized” nature hike or area e.g. Lake County Forest

Preserve, Morton Arboretum, Chicago Botanic Garden, etc.

¨ Participate and report to tribe on a canoe or similar trip

(Tribal or Nation Events Qualify for the Above)

Meetings Red ¨ Participate and report on another tribe’s meeting or outing

¨ Be “significant contributors” in planning or running a Nation event

¨ Host a tribal meeting

¨ Participate in and report to Tribe on a significant

parent/child adventure, outing or similar event

Advanced Awards: Nation Testing

Awards may be completed in any order Choose from available options But must be confirmed by Nation testing.

Category Color Activity

Community Red ¨ Organize and/or participate in a significant way in one or

Service a series of community service ¨ or ¨ ecological events.

Be prepared to report on the event and answer questions relating to the “who, where, what, why and how” of the event(s) and how your participation made a positive impact

on someone else’s life

Nature Report Dark ¨ Collect and be able to identify 10 things from any

Brown nature-related groups such as the following:

¨ Trees ¨ Birds ¨ Mammals ¨ Fish ¨ Insects ¨ Planets ¨ Constellations ¨ Rocks ¨ Etc¨

The items can be collected in person, by photograph or by book or Internet research

Outdoor Tan ¨ Complete an advanced outdoors skill (to be individually Skills selected) with minimal adult assistance. Some examples are:

¨Cooking a meal over a campfire ¨ Catching a fish ¨ Starting a fire with a single match using only fire materials found in nature ¨ Learning rope knots ¨ Testing the quality

of water in a pond ¨ Etc. ¨ (The above activities will be reported to the Nation testing

group, but need not be demonstrated live to the council) ¨ Master the ability to orient and/or navigate using a map, compass, the sun, moon, planets, constellations and/or other

natural landmarks ¨ Complete a second project described under the Nature Report category (Dark Brown)

Order-Of-Eagles Awards Program

10/10/04 mhtml:http://www.buehlerymcaadventureguides.org/Summer04/YmcaOrderOfEaglesProgram.mht