asked to be cubmaster whats involved

[pack625]

i was recently asked to be the new cubmaster for next year and was wondering what all is involved. i am a new stay at home mom. have a 6mnth old and wanted to make sure that i will be able to do all that is involved since where i go my new daughter goes too. really looking forward to being such positive cubmaster to try to make more out of the pack. want to get the boys doing more things. more active in the community and have more outings to fun places and events.

 

thanks ahead of time for the help.

[markinzeroland]

For a relatively accurrate by the book answer, check out the following URL...

 

http://www.geocities.com/~pack215/cm.html

 

Try to get a volunteer for Asst Cubmaster too. Not only for the help, but it'll make the pack meetings flow better. As you can trade off on performing the songs and stunts involved, and performing cheers while dens get set up for skits and stuff. There is no idle time during a pack meeting. Just a nanosecond will cause chaos to break out.

[pack625]

ty. its hard enough getting the parents to get the kids there on the days they are supposed to be there. and no one wanted to be the cubmaster thats why i stood up to the task. how do i get the parents to be more active in wanted to meet more than 2x a month for den meetings. we have them meeting 2x a month and the pack meeting and maybe one outing as a pack if we are lucky. the wolfs that i know of dont have to many outings other than that.

[Trevorum]

pack265, just DO IT! Cubmaster is the best job in scouting! You will rise to the task, I am sure!

 

The CM is most of all a Master of Ceremonies for the pack meetings. Pack meetings that are FUN and lively and FUN and interesting and FUN will keep the cubs comin' back for more. (Did I mention fun?).

[ScoutNut]

Make the Den meetings FUN! If the boys are having fun they will want to go to meetings. The same goes for Pack meetings. You, as CM, should not be afraid to act like a 7 year old! Pack meetings should give the boys recognition in front of their peers and be silly and fun for the ENTIRE family!

 

Purchase a copy of the Cub Scout Leader book & the 2004-2005 Program Helps. They should give you an idea of what you should be doing. After that get trained!

 

BTW - Are the Dens that only meet 2X a month progressing? Are the boys getting close to earning their rank? If the dens are progressing & the boys are having fun I would not worry about it to much.

 

If, on the other hand, the boys are not progressing and are getting bored you might need to sit down with your Den Leaders. How often the Den meets, & the activites done, are up to the Leaders, not the parents.

 

[SemperParatus]

There is so much involved in being a cubmaster, although it was probably the 'funnest' four years of my scouting past. However, it can consume your time and so, I would be very careful of accepting this position with a 6 month old baby at home. Figure a minimum of 5 hours a week to get ready for pack meetings, coordinate with leaders, handle issues over the phone, meet with den leaders, planning etc. And that's a minimum, you could easily spend twice that which may be the case if the adults in your pack are not very helpful or cause issues that need to be addressed. You would want to have a strong support at home. If you can swing it, it is well worth the time though.

[scoutldr]

If you have a strong CC and Pack Committee, the job of CM can be easy and fun. If not, and you have to do the job of CC too, that's way too much. A good annual planning meeting of the Pack Committee is the key. Then assign responsibilities for each task and just sit back and watch it run!

[pack625]

im new to all this so could you tell me what a cc is? scoutnut, they have all reached their wolf rank but were very bored getting there because until i stepped in they only worked on the achievements. i was the only one working with my son on beltloops and electives because all the other parents in the beginning were like thats stuff isnt madatory is it. it is ELECTIVE right.

[SemperParatus]

CC = Committee Chairperson

[Eagledad]

Hi all

 

Boy, everyone has given great wisdom in their replies.

 

Six month old, wow! I think it can be done, but Im with Semper, CM takes a lot of time to do the job right and can easily take the fun out of the job.

 

Committee Chair (CC)? I agree, if you dont have a good CC, your work will double because the title of Cub MASTER naturally pulls pack business matters to your phone.

 

Rewarding, I have to say it was a blast, but it took me a couple to really get it right.

 

How do you get parents involved? Keep the meetings fun and short. Anything longer than an hour is too long. My meetings of 80 scouts were usually about 50 minutes long when I got good at it. And everyone should be smiling or laughing all the time. If the boys start talking to each other, that part of the meeting is too boring and needs to change.

 

If you do it and manage to have fun with it, it will be a highlight of your life.

 

Have a great week.

 

Barry

 

[dsteele]

Welcome 625!

 

I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet, but my advice to you is to get to training and also attend your council's POW WOW if it's upcoming.

 

The training will help you understand how to make the meetings fun, what a CC is, and what other resources are available to help your pack. You'll want to take New Leader Essentials and Cub Scout Leader Specific training. They don't cost much and don't take more than a day to complete. It's well worth the time.

 

If you need training information, call your council service center and ask. If they don't have the information, ask for the name and phone number of your district's training chairman/woman -- a volunteer who will be happy to help you out.

 

Best of luck!

 

Unc.

[CubsRgr8]

I loved being a cubmaster! I got to bust my buttons with pride whenever any scout in my pack did something note-worthy. I got to ham it up in front of an enthusiastic audience every month. I got to go to Cub Scout Camp in the summer. I got to sing songs around a campfire. I got to be a kid again - at least for a few hours every month.

 

That said, here's today's "must do" list to be a happy, productive Cubmaster.

 

1) Attend the training, it increased my confidence level 100%, and attend a couple of pack meetings yet this year at other packs besides your own. No better way to figure out what you like/don't AND what your pack does/doesn't do well.

 

2) Since it sounds like you'll be starting in the fall, go with the pack to cub scout summer camp, even if it's just for a day. This will be a bonding experience that will make your job so much easier come fall.

 

3) The pack meeting is about the scouts, not about the CM. Try and have the boys up front as much as possible. One thing I did that worked was having "Cubs On Display" every meeting, where each den had a couple minutes to do a skit, sing a song, or tell about what they were doing.

 

4) Make sure the committee chair clear on understanding that while you are Ms. Cubscouting in the eyes of the scouts and their parents, the CC is the paperwork, organizer, in-the-background, get the stuff done person - not you!

 

3) Recruit two assistant cubmasters, people who can promise to attend the leader and pack meetings, keep the crowd under control, and serve as occasional backups to you.

 

Please feel free to contact me, or anyone else in the forum, via private message (use the PM icon at the top of our individual posts). We're happy to have you aboard! Congratulations!