hillfarm Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 I am one of the leaders of a club to which my child belongs. Everything was fine when we had only about 15 kids. The younger ones (5-8 or so) would occasionally separate off and work on an age-appropriate activity while the older ones minded their own activities. Recently we have grown to 27 kids. And several of the families now have younger siblings in tow. One of the original moms called me this week in a major snit because she felt that the younger ones (Jr. members and younger sibs) were being too noisy and distracting while her dc were presenting their public speaking project. In a way, I agree with her. Even though I reviewed the behavior before hand that I expected during Public Speaking, the last meeting was one of our noisiest. However, when a 13yo is talking about some topic like side scan sonar, I think it can be expected that most of the 5yo girls are not going to be riveted. I want to find a way so that the older kids can enjoy giving their presentations and at the same time, not offend the new families with their lap babies and toddlers who tag along with the older kids. Unfortunately we are stuck in one big echo-y hall. What is reasonable to expect? The speeches are only 5 - 7 minutes each and we only have 4 with a bit of a break in between each one. IMO, the Jrs. can be expected to sit quietly for short stints like that. They did okay before the group got so big. My other concern is that I need to lay down some ground rules about who is responsible for the little guys. It's not fair for some mom to miss her No.1 son's presentation because she is stuck keeping the peace for some other mom's No. 6 son. Do you all think it would be wrong of me to spell it out that we expect everyone to keep their own children under control? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlockOfSillies Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Can you get a microphone and speaker set to use for the room? Our Cub Scout pack meets in a big, echo-y hall too, and we've started bringing our microphone and amplifier to the meetings. I'm hoping the other leaders will get the hint and start using it so that everyone can hear what's going on. And yes, ground rules are always good, as long as they are clear, few, and fair. And consistently applied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfarm Posted April 17, 2009 Author Share Posted April 17, 2009 Thanks, unfortunately I don't have access to a microphone. I wonder if I could convince the kids to use one of those little Fisher Price Mr. Microphones! I'm really worried about causing the new members to leave by offending them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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