Tiger Scouts ONLY?

[Enigmanupe]

Howdy!

 

As a new Cubmaster and member of the chartering organization, I didn't want to start out too fast. My idea was to start with a single den of Tiger Scouts and as these kids move up, we increase the number of dens/troops/units.

 

Ex. As the Tiger Cubs move up to Wolf, we then maintain our Tigers AND Wolf. The year after that, as we move our Wolves up to Bear, we now maintain Tigers, Wolves, and Bear. Does that make sense?

 

Has anyone done it this way? Was it effective? Do you see any problems in doing it like this?

 

Thank you for you're advice.

[Enigmanupe]

Ok, one other question along with this. If we DO have just Tiger Cubs, how will we handle Pack meetings if they are the only group?

[msnowman]

Howdy and welcome.

 

Why limit yourself to just first grade boys and their parents? Grab any interested and eligible boy and bring them in to the fold while the interest is there. So what if the numbers are small? For the last 2 years we have had no more than 4 of any den and last year had zero Wolves and Bears. If you do get just a couple of each you could do a joint Den since most of the requirements are still able to be done at home and are signed off by the parents.

 

Good luck with your new Pack

Remember - KISMIF (Keep it Simple, Make it Fun)

And the best piece of advice anybody ever gave me - BSA does not stand for BabySitters of America.

 

YiS

Michelle - CM - P102

[rkfrance]

I agree with msnowman. Simply put, don't place all your eggs in one basket.

 

We have a newer pack, mostly Tigers. We had 11 at the beginning of the year. We had 4 actively participating at the end of the year. You will lose boys and parents to any number of things. (Some parents even after it's explained don't understand the Tiger program until they see it in action. When they figure out they have to come every time, some will pull out to wait for next year, when they don't have to be there.)

 

Try to get as many interested boys as you can.

 

If you only get 3 or 4 Wolf and Bear, you could combine the dens functionally as one. Hopefully, though you will get more interest.

[Cubmaster-Fred]

Welcome,

 

I would not limit myself on which boys join. Hold a recruiting carnival or roundup and see who comes. Have a fun and exciting year and watch as more and more boys come with thier friends and join.

 

I took over a failing Pack 2 1/2 years ago and now have a thriving Pack that continues to grow. I accepted any boy who wanted to sign up, but I concentrated on keeping the younger ones involved.

 

I now have a strong Bear and WOlf den, with dedicated leaders. A a good sized brand new TIger Den.

 

If you make it fun, they will come!!!!

 

CMF

[Lynda J]

PLEASE DON'T LIMIT YOUR PACK. If you only have Tigers you don't have Wolves and BEars and Webs for the Tigers to look up to. That is part of the program. The younger kids seeing what the older ones are doing. Same thing with Cubs to Boy Scouts.

At one point the pack I was in only had 3 Bears. Then the next recruitement they added 6. This year they have 7 Tigers, 8 Wolves, 7 Bears, and about 12 Webs total. I know there are 4 Web 2 that will be moving up just after the first of the year.

But just jump in with both feet all the way up to your neck. Get leaders trained, The best programs are where boys have well trained leaders.

Make it fun and sometimes make it silly. Remember we are working with young boys and they need to be silly part ofthe time.

[ScoutNut]

A well rounded Cub Scout program includes all levels of Cubs. A Pack meeting is so the boys of every level can interact, get to know one another, share & be recognized for their accomplishments.

 

A Pack is just that, a large group of many smaller groups. A Tiger Den is a Den NOT a Pack. You asked in another post about how to keep the Tigers interested for a full 12 months. Part of that is having other activites to do at the Pack level & giving them the example of the older boys so that they know that there are more fun adventures to come as they get older.

 

Remember, that if you limit boys you are also limiting volunteers. You need volunteers for the Pack to grow. Right now you should have, at the very least, a Tiger Den Leader (& 5 registered Tigers), Cubmaster, Committee Chair (who can also be your Charter Org Rep), & 2 other Committee members. That is 5 adults & 5 boys. If the same 5 parents are doing all of the work in the Pack they will get burned out VERY quickly!

 

Recruit as many boys as you can get. If you limit yourselves, you will end up killing the Pack before it even has a chance to grow.

 

BTW - Get Trained ASAP. The training for Den Leader, Cubmaster, Committee & Charter Org, will help show you how to run a BSA Cub Scout program.

 

[Enigmanupe]

Thank you everyone for your input.

 

When we thought about starting a unit, we were told that we need 5 kids and 6 adults. These 11 people would consist of committee members, Cubmaster, and scouts. I was under the impression that we had to have all 5 kids within the same den (not pack).

 

From what I am reading, I see that some dens have only 3. Is that ok? Would you recommend that we do both the cub scouts AND boy scouts or start first with cub scouts? In asking that, I am being a little more open to the fact we CAN do Tiger, Wolf, Bear, and Webelos all at the same time. If our volunteers are limited, can we run the meetings all at the same time and place? How close are their programs?

 

I will look to find out when we have our next set of trainings.

 

Thank you again.

[msnowman]

I sure hope 3 is okay as for 2 years we only had 2 Web II's and will be having just 2 Wolves this year if everything turns out as I'm expecting it to. Our current count is 5 Tigers, 2 Wolves and 3 Web II's heading in to September.

 

You could run Tiger/Wolf or Wolf/Bear programs together, the boys are close in age and the parents still sign off on achievements towards Rank. Webelos (IMHO) really doesn't mesh well with any of the other ranks as far as running the programs together. However, you can all meet in one place at the same time (we have done that frequently) and some activities can be tweaked down as necessary. For example, last winter our Web I's were working on their Artist pin and the leaders worked together to tweak the activities so the Tigers could earn the Artist beltloop.

 

Also - Cub Scout Fast Start training is available on line. Punch in Cub Scout Fast Start as your search string and it will take you right there. Also, many councils now offer Youth Protection Training on line. Until a formal New Leader Essentials training is available in your area these would be good starting points.

 

Michelle - CM - P102

[ScoutNut]

When starting a new unit, the only requirement for the 5 boys is that they are paid, registered members of BSA. They can all be in different levels (1st-5th grade).

 

Per BSA, the optimal size of a den is 6-8 boys. It can be done with both smaller & larger numbers however. It just takes more work & creativity.

 

Why is your organization chartering a BSA unit? Is there a need in your community for more units? Is there a need in your organization for a youth program? Are there boys connected with your organization who want to participate in Scouts & have not had the oppportunity? The answers to these questions will help you see if you should charter more than 1 type of unit.

 

The programs for Tigers thru Webelos are quite different. You can have all of your dens meet on the same day & time, some Packs do, but they should have their own separate meetings & meeting areas. The only exception is if you only have 1 Wolf or 1 Bear then you could have a combined Wolf & Bear den, but it would be challenging to keep the programs separate & the boys of both levels interested.

 

[Cubmaster Jerry]

I will agree with ScoutNut and others that it is best to keep the programs separated. While there are certain requirements (specifically in Wolf and Bear) that are similar, it would be far too difficult to do them together over the course of the year. I had a new fifth grader join my Pack last year. Since the current 2nd yr Webelos had already earned their badge and were now doing their Arrow of Light requirement, I led him through the year. He not only earned his badge but his AOL as well AND is now thriving in the Troop. What I am saying is that if you end up with a Den of one, so be it. As CM Fred suggested, hold recruitment events. School night for Scouting is right around the corner. Depending on the size of your area, you are sure to get a few then.

 

NEVER turn away boys. I understand you not wanting to get too overwhelmed but once you get rolling (which will be about November ) you will be just fine.

 

Good luck and make it fun.

 

Jerry

[Torveaux]

Some of your 1st graders (or their friends...recruits) will have older brothers that may be interested in being Wolves, Bears or Webelos.

 

Our dens tend toward 5 or 6 per, but the Web IIs have only 2 this year and two years ago there were none . The whole group missed having the older boys as part of the Pack.