Advancement Ceremony for whole pack

[JDickerson]

I'm looking for a short and sweet, but meaningful advancement ceremony for my pack. We are moving all the boys to the next grade dens at the end of May, so the boys have the complete summer to start on their next rank. Any ideas?

[johndaigler]

J,

My Pack would use advancement to mean "earned their rank badge", but it sounds like you mean the evening that we call graduation. Tomorrow night we'll hand each Cub a new handbook and neckerchief for the coming year.

 

Are you awarding rank badges? Or are the boys "moving up"?

 

jd

[JDickerson]

Most of the boys have earned their rank and have received their badges already and are ready to move to the next group. A few boys who joined the pack recently will be getting their Bobcat.

[jens3sons]

We did our advancement ceremony for our pack a week and a half ago. This year, we were again hoping to have it outside like we did the year before, and that is a long story that I will spare you . We had this one at a forest preserve that offers hay rides. We scheduled 4 hay rides, one for Tigers, one for Wolves, one for Bears, and then one for Webelos and any one else who wished to go (Webelos had already earned their patch a few months ago). The Cubmaster said something to each group before they went on the ride, and we had the parents give the boys their rank patch. When the boys went on the ride with their leaders, on the ride they switched their scarves and slides and hats. The rides lasted about 12-15 minutes each, so while the boys were on their ride the rest of the group we had each den bring a demonstration for camping. While a den or two were on their ride they didn't perform their demonstration, still leaving plenty of others to go to. We had dens that did things like: campfire songs, tent set up, making bamboo fishing poles, one made an ettible campfire, sleeping bag roll-up relays, (and I know I am forgetting one). Anyways, the boys had a great time, and as much as the committee planned for this event, it was so cool when the Tigers (now Wolves) came back to the pack chanting "WE ARE WOLVES!" It was so neat to see the boys add their own "touch". The great thing about this was we only had to keep the boys' attention for a few minutes in between each hay ride, then it was their choice where to go and what to do!

 

We did add an extra 1/2 hr to the pack meeting, but it was so worth it! Parents got to socialize, the boys were able to run from station to station. After, we made s'mores around the campfire. Everyone got some fresh air and the weather broke long enough for us to still go with the original plan (it had been raining that week, most of the week). We had a back-up plan to meet at the school at the original time had it been thunderstorms or colder than 55 degrees, as the horses would not be allowed out of the stable under either one of those conditions, so we were so pleased we could go with the original plan.

 

It takes a lot of work to plan a meeting outside under those conditions (especially if the pack hasn't ever done one like that). Last year was our first year, and because the weather very well could've been a problem, I must've had 2/3 of the parents calling me and asking if it would still be outside, since it had still been raining that day, and it rained all week, and now it would be muddy. My standard answer became, "We are not mice, we are scouts, wear crappy shoes and take a hot shower when you get home!" All it was, was they couldn't see the "vision" I had, and once they saw it, they couldn't believe we hadn't done this in the past. This year I only had one parent call me! For both last year and this year, we prepped the boys regarding "Leave no trace", and about leave only footprints, take only memories and photographs.

 

Jens3sons

[ScoutNut]

I have not found a whole lot of ready made graduation ceremonies for the whole Pack. What I usually do is take rank advancement ceremonies that I like and adapt them (basically re-write).

 

You can keep it pretty basic by talking about Aklea and/or Scout Spirit. Then call each den up & do a short thing about what they have done this year. Ask them if they are ready for the challenges waiting for them at their new level. Give them whatever it is you give them and there you go. You can add a wrap up comment at the end if you want.

 

If you want to get fancier, face painting is always fun. You add a different symbol to the boy for each level. Then the various "magic" ceremonies like water changing color if the boys are ready to change levels. Glowing ceremony, burning neckerchief, etc. Another one my Pack liked was the Cub-O-Matic. You put the scouts in a machine at one level & they come out another level. We combined this with crossover to Boy Scouts one year and added a Scout-O-Matic to the Cub one so they went into the Cub machine & came out the Scout one.