Cub Scout Glossary

[Twocubdad]

At our recent planning meeting, one of the just-graduated Tiger parents suggested a Cub Scout Glossary for new families. He said that throughout the past year, he was constantly trying to crack the code of what we were talking about: Blue and Gold, Pinewood, crossover, etc., etc.

 

Actually, there's about 6 pages of glossary terms in the back of the Cub Scout Leader Book, but this ties in nicely with the current thread regarding FAQ's for new Boy Scout parents.

 

What would you add to the list?

 

Tiger, Bobcat, Wolf, Bear, Webelos, Den Leader, Cubmaster, Pack Committee, Den, Pack, Patrol, Troop, Unit, District, Council, Akela, Boys' Life, Blue & Gold Banquet, Pinewood Derby, Raingutter Regatta, Family Camping, Cublaree and Webloree (local terms for Cub and Webelos fun days), Den Chief, Denner, square knots (awards), FOS/Friends of Scouting, Trained (as in leaders), Whittlin' Chip, Youth Protection

[sctmom]

Scouting For Food

AOL

Recharter

 

[evmori]

Committee Chairman, Committee Member, Camporee, Roundtable, Trails End.

 

Ed Mori

Scoutmaster

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[LauraMO]

Arrow of Light; crossing over (or bridging over) ceremony

[Twocubdad]

Good suggestions. I also think that instead of organizing it alphabetically, that I'll group the terms into three catagories: Program (Wolf, Bear, AOL), Organization (den, pack, district), and activities, (B&G, PWD, Camporee), and maybe "Other", but I haven't really thought it out yet.

[Wallace]

Add the training codes...

G2SS

WLOE

BALOO

 

and any other local manifestations.

[dsteele]

Actually, there is a BSA published document called something like "Glossary of Scouting Terms" that explains the proper capitalization and usage of many popular Scouting Terms. It is intended mainly as a guide to the media rather than to the parents, but it is available through your Scout Shop.

 

It doesn't contain anacronyms like G2SS (which I had to puzzle over) and others of it's ilk, but a copy of it may assist you, Twocubdad.

 

I hope this helps.

 

DS

[ScoutNut]

Don't forget Charter, Charter Organization, Charter Organization Rep, Rank, and Lord Baden Powell!

[Twocubdad]

Thanks, Dan.

 

Actually the glossary in the back of the CSLB is very thorough, it's really a matter of culling the terms which are important to new parents.

[NJCubScouter]

I was thinking of "uniform" related terms, but I guess those would not really be "glossary" items. When I wrote a "parent guide" for our pack I just wrote it as "text" with sections and defined terms as I went along, rather than breaking out the definitions in glossary format. Your way sounds better as far as defining terms. But in terms of uniforming, I wrote out a description of what each boy at each level should have, mentioning those items that are provided by the pack and those that must be purchased. In the past, parents had been given this information somewhat haphazardly, sometimes in a flyer from the previous den leader for that level, sometimes by word of mouth, and sometimes not at all. It seemed like a good idea to give even Tiger parents the "big picture" of what they were looking at. There was also a booklet from council that explained a lot of things but it seemed like a good idea to explain it in more "local" terms -- including such things as what our expectations are from people as far as the popcorn sale, things like that.

 

A great thing about doing what you are doing is that with a relatively reasonable amount of work, you will help the new parents a tremendous amount, and avoid a lot of confusion.

[Twocubdad]

We've had a similar "Pack Owner's Manual" for several years. (yeah, yeah, yeah, I know the CO "owns" the pack, not the parents, but I didn't create it so please don't write.) We give this to the parents on registration night and then go over it with them at the new parents' orientation meeting. They also get a similar handout from the council, which I think is part of the national "Fun at Every Turn" recruiting package. There is some overlap, but our material includes more details about our pack.

 

It includes a section covering uniforming, even including a check list to take to the Scout Shop.

 

The glossary is probably at another level of detail. The comment we got from a couple of new parents was that they were constantly being hit with new activities and concepts that we never fully explained. What the heck is a District Cublaree? What's the difference between a Pack, a Troop and a Unit? That sort of thing.

[evmori]

Putting together a resourse such as this is a great idea! It can give the new Scouts AND parents a lot of the information they will need. But this document, pamphlet, etc. must be updated as time goes by.

 

Ed Mori

Scoutmaster

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[EagleBeaver]

Those of you that said your Pack has a New Parents Guide, would you be able to get me in touch with a copy? I'm working on one for our Pack now and I'd sure like to see what has worked for others. You can send me a private message with the URL of where your guide is or email it to me at paulkautz@hotmail.com - thanks!

 

I've created a guide for New Boy Scout parents and am working on a similar document for Webelos parents to hopefully improve the transition for our local Packs and Troops. These will be available for anyone that wants a look - just ask.

 

Paul

 

[NJCubScouter]

Cublaree, huh? That's a new one. In one of our "old" councils there was a twice-annual Cub family camping trip called a "Cub Camporee", pretty straightforward. In the other (mine), it was called "Cubelos." Pronounced like "Cub" followed by the last part of "Webelos." Get it? I never thought it made much sense as the name of a camping trip, but hey, nobody ever asked me. But it was one of those things that would definitely be a good item for a "Cub glossary", because every year the new Tiger parents (including me, way back then) would hear the word "Cubelos" being thrown around and have to ask what it meant. In the merged council, they now call it "District Cub Family Camping" or something equally bureaucratic-sounding. At least nobody has to ask what it means, but I would still put it on the glossary if I were doing one.

 

(But now that I think about it, even calling it family camping is misleading to a degree. The name Cub Camporee was probably the most descriptive of the the three. It really is a Camporee scaled down to Cub Scout size, with the "unit competition" aspect removed and everything being planned and run by adults with some assistance from older Boy Scouts. As far as the camping itself, the focus was really on the pack rather than the family. (And the "family" was usually a father and son(s) in their own tent, though there were usually 2 or 3 mothers along as well, either with husband or not. Now and then a family would be there with dad, mom, Cub and 4-year-old little sister; but since this was happening at a Boy Scout camp, with all the (ahem) accommodations of a Boy Scout campsite, by the next trip mom and little sis mysteriously found something better to do for the weekend, in the warmth and dryness of their home, with its beds and bathrooms.) The pack was together in a site, and we cooked as a pack, with the adults leading the way, usually assisted by boys going for their Outdoorsman badge.)

[jbroganjr]

Money is the root of all evil... so I always included a break down of money in (reg. fees) and money out (awards, Blue and Gold, trips, pack expenses) and emphasized the need to sell popcorn so that we only needed on fundraiser. Include explanations of Nat. membership & boys life costs.