CUB SCOUTING

What Is Cub Scouting?

The Purposes of Cub Scouting

Since 1930, the Boy Scouts of America has helped younger boys through Cub Scouting. It is a year-round family program designed for boys who are in the first grade through fifth grade (or 7, 8, 9, and 10 years of age). Parents, leaders, and organizations work together to achieve the purposes of Cub Scouting. Currently, Cub Scouting is the largest of the BSA's three membership divisions. (The others are Boy Scouting and Venturing.)

The ten purposes of Cub Scouting are:

Character Development
Spiritual Growth
Good Citizenship
Sportsmanship and Fitness
Family Understanding
Respectful Relationships
Personal Achievement
Friendly Service
Fun and Adventure
Preparation for Boy Scouts

Membership

Cub Scouting members join a Cub Scout pack and are assigned to a den, usually a neighborhood group of six to eight boys. Tiger Cubs (first-graders), Wolf Cub Scouts (second graders), Bear Cub Scouts (third graders), and Webelos Scouts (fourth and fifth graders) meet weekly. Once a month, all of the dens and family members gather for a pack meeting under the direction of a Cubmaster and pack committee. The committee includes parents of boys in the pack and members of the chartered organization.

Den Meetings

Your son will meet weekly or bi-weekly with a group of other boys who are in his' grade. This provides him a chance to make new friends and do new activities with a close group of friends.

Pack Meetings

This is a meeting for all Cub Scouts and parents to get together to recognize thier sons for the achievements they have accomplished during each month. Skits, songs, and plays are just a few of the activities during a Pack meeting.

Pinewood Derby Races

Pack and District competition where the Cub Scout makes a race car for competition.

Day Camp

Weekday camping at various city parks during the summer. Action oriented. Involves games, crafts, nature, archery and BB gun instruction.

Blue and Gold Banquet

Large pack meeting in February where families come together to celebrate the birthday of the Cub Scout Program. Most will hold a potluck, an ice cream a social or cater food for the event. Advancement program and skits are the main attraction of the night.

What does my son get from Cub Scouts?

- Develops character and encourages spiritual growth
- Develops habits of good citizinship
- Encourages good sportsmanship and pride adn growing strong in mind & body
- Improves understanding within the family
- Strengthens the ability to get along with others & respect for other people
- Fosters a sense fo personal achievement by developing new interests & skills
- Teaches boys to be helpful and to do one's best
- Provides fun and exciting new activities
- Prepares them to be Boy Scouts
- Learns respect for nature and America's natural resources

What does it cost?

- Registration is $10.00 a year (is pro-rated if needed)
- Boys' Life magazine (optional) $10.80 per year
- Uniform varies in price depending on items purchased. Call for details
- Day Camps, Adventure Camps, etc. Fee based on progam

How Much Time Will This All Take?

Cub Scout Time Commitment

Time with one's son is the most important time we have. Cub Scouting is family centered and works well because parents get involved.

Tiger Cubs

1st grade boys will need a parent on all activities. Tiger Cubs meet weekly for group activities. These meetings involve both the Tiger Cub and his adult partner. Tiger Cub and partner will run one of the meetings following a shared leadership concept. This process will be facilitated with the help of a Tiger Cub Den Leader

Wolves, Bears & Webelos

2nd-5th grades, attend weekly meetings that are conducted by a Den Leader. Parents are ot expected to attend the Den meetings unless thay have volunteered to be a leader.

Parents do attend all pack meetings, that take place once a month, and camping outings with their son.

Outside of the Den and Pack meetings, time is used to help your son advance through the rank on which he is currently working.

Additional time can be used by the Pack if you chooses to be a volunteer as a Den Leader, Cubmaster, member of the Pack Committee or as an assistant to one of the current leaders.

Volunteer Leadership

Thousands of volunteer leaders, both men and women, are involved in the Cub Scout program. They serve in a variety of positions, as everything from unit leaders to pack committee chairmen, committee members, den leaders, and chartered organization representatives. Like other phases of the Scouting program, a Cub Scout pack belongs to an organization with interests similar to those of the BSA. This organization, which might be a church, school, community organization, or group of interested citizens, is chartered by the BSA to use the Scouting program. This chartered organization provides a suitable meeting place, adult leadership, supervision, and opportunities for a healthy Scouting life for the boys under its care. Each organization appoints one of its members as a chartered organization representative. The organization, through the pack committee, is responsible for providing leadership, the meeting place, and support materials for pack activities.

Who Pays For It?

Groups responsible for supporting Cub Scouting are the boys and their parents, the pack, the chartered organization, and the community. The boy is encouraged to pay his own way by contributing dues each week. Packs also obtain income by working on approved money-earning projects. The community, including parents, supports Cub Scouting through the United Way, Friends of Scouting enrollment, bequests, and special contributions to the BSA local council. This financial support provides leadership training, outdoor programs, council service centers and other facilities, and professional service for units.

Advancement Plan

Recognition is important to young boys. The Cub Scout advancement plan provides fun for the boys, gives them a sense of personal achievement as they earn badges, and strengthens family understanding as adult family members work with boys on advancement projects.

Tiger Cub

The Tiger Cub program is for first grade (or age 7) boys and their adult partners. There are five Tiger Cub achievement areas. The Tiger Cub, working with his adult partner, completes 15 requirements within these areas to earn the Tiger Cub Badge. These requirements consist of an exciting series of indoor and outdoor activities just right for a boy in the first grade.

Bobcat

The Bobcat rank is for all boys who join Cub Scouting.

Wolf

The Wolf program is for boys who have completed first grade (or are age 8). To earn the Wolf badge, a boy must pass twelve achievements involving simple physical and mental skills.

Bear

The Bear rank is for boys who have completed second grade (or are age 9). There are 24 Bear achievements in four categories. The Cub Scout must complete 12 of these to earn the Bear badge. These requirements are somewhat more difficult and challenging than those for Wolf rank.

Webelos

This program is for boys who have completed third grade (or are age 10). A boy may begin working on the Webelos badge as soon as he joins a Webelos den. This is the first step in his transition from the Webelos den to the Boy Scout troop. As he completes the requirements found in the Webelos Scout Book, he will work on activity badges, attend meetings led by adults, and become familiar with the Boy Scout requirements—all leading to the Arrow of Light Award.

Activities

Cub Scouting means "doing." Everything in Cub Scouting is designed to have the boys doing things. Activities are used to achieve the aims of Scouting—citizenship training, character development, and personal fitness. Many of the activities happen right in the den and pack. The most important are the weekly den meetings and the monthly pack meetings.

Cub Scout Academics and Sports

The Cub Scout Academics and Sports program provides the opportunity for boys to learn new techniques, increase scholarship skills, develop sportsmanship, and have fun. Participation in the program allows boys to be recognized for physical fitness and talent-building activities.

Camping

Age-appropriate camping programs are packed with theme-oriented action that brings Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts, and Webelos Scouts into the world of imagination. Day camping comes to the boy in neighborhoods across the country; resident camping is at least a three-day experience in which Cub Scouts and Webelos Scouts camp within a developed theme of adventure and excitement. "Cub Scout Worlds" are used by many councils to carry the world of imagination into reality with actual theme structures of castles, forts, ships, etc. Cub Scout pack members enjoy camping in local council camps and other council-approved campsites. Camping programs combine fun and excitement with doing one's best, getting along with others, and developing an appreciation for ecology and the world of the outdoors.

Publications

Volunteers are informed of national news and events through Scouting magazine (circulation 900,000). Boys may subscribe to Boys' Life magazine (circulation 1.3 million). Both are published by the Boy Scouts of America. Also available are a number of Cub Scout and leader publications, including the Tiger Cub Handbook, Wolf Cub Scout Book, Bear Cub Scout Book, Webelos Scout Book, Cub Scout Leader Book , Cub Scout Program Helps, and Webelos Leader Guide.

Cub Scouting Ideals

Apart from the fun and excitement of Cub Scout activities, the Cub Scout Promise, the Law of the Pack, the Tiger Cub motto, and the Cub Scout sign, handshake, motto, and salute all teach good citizenship and contribute to a boy's sense of belonging.

Cub Scout Promise

I, (name), promise to do my best To do my duty to God and my country, To help other people, and To obey the Law of the Pack.

Cub Scout Motto

Do Your Best.

Tiger Cub Motto

Search, Discover, Share.

Law of the Pack

The Cub Scout follows Akela. The Cub Scout helps the pack go. The pack helps the Cub Scout grow. The Cub Scout gives goodwill.

Colors

The Cub Scout colors are blue and gold. They have special meaning, which will help boys see beyond the fun of Cub Scouting to its ultimate goals. The blue stands for truth and spirituality, steadfast loyalty, and the sky above. The gold stands for warm sunlight, good cheer, and happiness.