j.edi

So far, I see a lot of imbalance between Wolf Adventures. Some seem almost too dense, others seem rather weak in contrast. The Den Leader Guide has a lot of superfluous fluff that might work for small dens in small packs not in a rush to earn rank by Blue & Gold. Also, as a Pack we have switched the awarding of belt loops to the den meetings in order to save time and have found it neccessary to purchase all the required belt loops on the front end of the programming year, utilizing the loops as instant recognition in much the same way as we used the 'progress beads' in the past.

A little joke I've been telling my peers lately is that I am so excited that my son is in Tiger Cubs because now I finally get to build my OWN Pinewood Derby car! Yes, my Dad helped a little "too much" when I was a cub back in the 1980s, and yes, it kinda goes with the territory... but it is such a challenge to hold back. Lately, I've been looking through some guidelines on advising OA scouts, and the gist is basically, "Be helpful, just not TOO helpful." That credo works in this situation also. Our Pack has a few checks for overzealous Dads: First, all cubs are required to pick up their kits at a Pack "Build Day". We have sawhorses, tools and templates. The leaders make sure the majority of cubs are doing a majority of the work. Our Pack also has a separate category for non-cub-built cars, so that helps channel the adult male ego away from the cubs. On the district level, we also have distinct categories for "racing" cars and for "beautiful/creative" cars. Just another check in the system. But, even on the instructions that come in each PWD kit box say, this is a "cub and adult activity".

Our district/council has not announced any formal transition program yet, but it seems from the writing on the wall that it will be a gradual shift starting next spring and summer. As a Tiger DL, it's not been on my radar as much as the Webelos leaders'.

Devices are tiny, shiny brass pins: [TABLE] [TR] [TD]Tiger Cub device[/TD] [TD]No. 615865[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Cub Scout device[/TD] [TD]No. 604950[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Webelos device[/TD] [TD]No. 00932[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Boy Scout device[/TD] [TD]No. 00927[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Venturing device[/TD] [TD]No. 00940[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Varsity Scout device[/TD] [TD]No. 00928[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Sea Scouting device (Formerly called Sea Exploring)[/TD] [TD]No. 00931[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Exploring device[/TD] [TD]No. 00930[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Commissioner device[/TD] [TD]No. 00871[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]District Committee device[/TD] [TD]No. 00872[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] http://usscouts.org/awards/devices.asp http://www.scoutstuff.org/cub-scout-pin.html#.VIngGCeWeG4

That is very true. I am only a beginner at this Den Leader thing and learning as I go - but I've been lucky, because so far it seems the adult partners in my den have already had enough opportunities to engage w/ each other because of our Pack and Den activities. We have had an overnight camping trip, a hike & picnic, a pinewood derby build day, and three go-see-its. I think doing this game at the halfway point in our programming year has allowed the 'ice to be broken' already, so to speak.

Two days before the den meeting, I sent out my typical FYI email and included a 'warning' that I would be assigning themes to the adult partners, so they knew it was coming, to some extent. The psychology behind this game of chance was to force some type of 'ownership' on the parent's part, and having their sons pass the hats made it between the cub and partner. Even though I was pulling the strings, this seemed to take me out of the equation. Time will tell if it proves to be fruitful or not - I am optimistic about it, however.

We are approaching the midway point in our Tiger Cub den programming year, most of our 10 boys have earned all orange and white beads, and most only have 2-3 more go-see-its before achieving the Tiger rank. We distributed a parent talent survey and sign-up sheet for monthly themes at the beginning of the year, but had only one parent step up to lead a segment. Now that we turn to wrapping up the Tiger requirements and into Elective territory, I decided to assign themes to each adult partner. Unwilling to put out a general call for help (which usually go unanswered in my experience) and reluctant to appear biased or unfair in any way, I devised the following plan: On a sheet of card stock, I printed out a list of the upcoming months and cut them out into small equal-sized strips. On another sheet, I printed out the numbers and titles of some electives that my ADL and I picked out, also cut into equal-sized strips. During the meeting, after our game segment, I announced that I had a game for the adult partners to play! The cubs were intrigued... I picked one boy who was wearing his hat, and asked him to place the strips of paper with the months typed on them inside his overturned hat. I then instructed him to go to each adult partner in the room and have them draw a slip of paper. I announced the month, and the partner's name - he/she would be responsible for arranging our game segment for that month. Likewise, I continued the 'game' again, next with two boys - one with a hat full of 'month' slips, one following with a hat full of 'elective' slips. This became a lively way to share leadership planning, with full participation of the den. It became a funny exercise, and I think I found a successful way to get a roomful of reluctant volunteers to sign up for future programming assistance!

Scouting alumnus from the 1980s, back in uniform as a new Tiger Cub DL with 10 active boys in a large urban pack. More than a few search engine hits brought me to these forums, so I figured I'd register during this visit. Scout On!