New Wolf Leader

Champ · May 20, 2005

I haven't received my book yet, but am getting prepared! I've read that the 12 achievements are primarily done with the family at home. Is this true? How do the Den meetings fit into this?

Do the arrow points carry over to the Bear year or do they start over again?

Is the Adult Partner theory utilized in Wolf as it was in Tiger?

Is the Adult Partner required to attend the Den meeting or is dropping the kids off for an hour to be expected.

SeattlePioneer · May 20, 2005

You have lots of good questions. While I could answer some of them, I'm not really an expert on details of the Wolf program.

I would encourage you to participate in training for your position of Den Leader and earn the "trained" patch I hope you've seen other adult leaders wearing.

Also, see if your council has a fall Pow Wow, which gives Den Leaders and others a wealth of program ideas I'm sure you'd find useful.

In addition, I'd encourage you to attend your District's monthly Cub Scout Roundtable, which also offers training and program ideas in how to run the Cub Scout program well.

Check with your Cubmaster or Pack Committtee chair about these programs, or check your district webpage for information.

In the view of most experienced Scouters, getting these kinds of training is the best way to learn how to conduct a gret program.

Good luck!

Greg Nelson · May 20, 2005

Yes, the 12 achievements are *SUPPOSED* to be done primarily at home. In practice, if you leave it up to the parents, some of your boys just won't ever get their Wolf badge. If your pack is anything like ours, expect to incorporate a lot of advancement into your den meetings.

Some of the achievements, like the Religion one and the "Making Choices" one, really can't be done in the meeting. You'll just have to find ways to start fires under your parents' feet.

Arrow points are separate between Wolf and Bear. They are worn under the badge they are earned with.

Adult Partners are no longer part of the game in Wolf. Dropping off the kids? It depends on how you set the expectations. In general, give an inch, and there will be a parent or two to take a mile. If you need to, you can always set the expectation that all parents stay for the meeting. As far as the boys' social growth, though, it's probably better if you let the parents go. If you need help during the meeting, ask one or two of the parents to stay on a rotating basis.

Then again, what do I know? I'm just diving into Wolf myself, and giving you the advice of others in my pack.

ScoutNut · May 20, 2005

For Tiger, Wolf & Bear, parents are considered "akelas" or leaders for the purpose of approving completed achievements & electives. Cub Scouts is centered in the family and at the Wolf & Bear level most of the work on rank achievements should be done at home with the family. When the scout becomes a Webelos the emphasis changes and it is the den leader (or den leader approved adult) who is responsible for approving accomplishments.

Realistically, there are some parents that will work non-stop with their sons & some that will almost never open the book. What works well is to go thru the Wolf handbook and decide what you want to do together as a den. Then write up a den newletter telling your families that you are planning on doing XYZ achievements in den meetings and that they are responsible for working at home on the remainder. Send out updates, changes, & reminders regularly.

Check out park & forest preserve districts, museums, conservatories, botanical gardens, business, etc in your area. Many will either already have scout programs or will be willing to put something together for you. Keep them out of the "classroom" as much as possible. When you are not working on achievements or electives (Wolf & Bear are separate) you should be working on preparing for the monthly Pack meeting and having fun.

Adult Partners are strictly a Tiger thing. As the boys get older they are given more independence. Some leaders still require parents to stay for meetings, some do not. I feel that with a regular sized den (6-8) 1 den leader & 1 asst den leader is good enough. What you can do is give out a parent survey to see what skills your parents have. Then have them work with the den on the achievement that fits those skills.

Get trained, buy the handbook, attend your Pack's Committee meetings, attend your Council's Roundtable's.

HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!

johndaigler · May 20, 2005

Champ, WELCOME!

The above posts are all good answers, but I think it's important to get local answers to many of your questions, as well. Different Packs interpret grey areas differently and they may have long-standing customs that they hold more dear than Program guidelines and rule books.

For example, the Program is built for the boys to complete their WOLF badge by the time they end second grade, and much of the Achievement work is meant to be done with the family, not the Den. However, my Pack, as an example, awards the WOLF badge in February at the Blue and Gold Banquet. Thus, you really only have 6 months to do the work, and the Achievement responsibility falls much more upon the shoulders of the DL. Our Cub families, through long-standing local customs, have been taught that Cub Scouts is more of a drop-off program than would be true for many other Packs.

Get trained, definitely. And, with fewer parents around, you should be more aware of Youth Protection guidelines.

Good Luck.

And come on back with more questions and to share your experiences with other Scouters.

jd

(This message has been edited by johndaigler)

frogger921 · May 20, 2005

I was a new wolf leader last year when my son moved up from tigers. Our pack requires all parents to be at all den meetings, pack meetings etc., but it's up to the den and/or pack.We are Boy Scout of America not Babysitters of America...... Some of the achievements you can work into a den meeting, but a lot of them are family oriented. However they all can be tweeked to fit the den. If you talk to the parents in the beginning and let them know that things that their child may do in school, church or at home will also count towards his rank it may go a lot smoother. Arrow points do not carry over to bear. They will earn a new gold arrow point and silver arrow points in the bear program. I had such a great time with my wolves! Just get trained and have fun!!!

johndaigler · May 21, 2005

Frogger, WELCOME!

Why do you tweak Family-based Achievements to fit the Den?

jd

frogger921 · May 22, 2005

Tweaking things like one achievement that is for cooking w/your family. Instead of doing this at home we had a christmas party and the boys each made something at my house and we had a great time. Killing two birds with one stone ). A lot of the achievements are done "as a family". But we turned it into a den meeting and involved the whole family. Another achievement was Making Choices. These were to be discussed with family members and you write down their answers. Instead we held a den meeting with a sheriff, who happened to be a father of one of the boys, and we answered the questions together. If the boys had more questions they could be answered by the sheriff. That's what I meant by tweaked. We involved the family in the den meeting.