What is your frequency of Den and Pack Meetings?

[ElyriaLeader]

I'm a Webelos 1 leader

we have 3 den meetings a month during the school year

1 pack meeting each month during the school year

we have some type of Fri,Sat,Sun outing 4 times a year(every 3 months)

we all try to attend resident camp each summer

we try to attend 1 webelos adventure weekend at camp each summer

no formal den meetings during summer break

[molscouter]

When I was a den leader several years ago:

 

1) The pack met once a month on Mondays

 

2) As Bears, we met twice a month on Mondays for 75 minutes.

 

3) As Webelos, in order to prepare them better for Boy Scouts (who meet every week), we met 3 times a month for 60 minutes. If there was a 5th Monday in the month, they got that off (unless we missed a week for a Monday school holiday).

[wdavis18]

1) What type of Den do you lead, orare you a Pack level Scouter, or are you a District Scouter supporting Cubbing?

 

CM, Wolf Den Leader, and Tiger Leader last year. I revived a pack from 2 kids up to about 12 active scouts this year.

 

2) How often does your Den meet during September to June (or your local school year)?

 

Last year - 2 den meetings/month + 1 activity (found this was too much - not for me but for our families that increased to 4 scouts); This year - 1 Den (only have wolf and tiger), 1 Fun Activity, 1 Scout Skills Den Meeting for all

 

3) How often does your Pack meet during September to June (or your local school year)?

 

See response above for #2 as we do not have leadership at Bear/Webelos level; families turn away as soon as they realize they will have to immediately lead at these levels.

 

4) What kinds of summertime activities does your Den or Pack participate in (Day Camp, Family Camping, 4th of July parade, August swim, Webelos Camp...???)

 

Summer activities are heavily advertised; it seems families want a break plus there may be cost issues; I and my son attend a lot of scout activities - day camp, scout night and camp-out at a baseball game, visit to a museum, trip to a national historic site/battlefield.

 

In sum, I am trying to run a "start-up" pack which is difficult when families have a low cub scout IQ and can not believe it when I tell them that the national program is 3 den meetings plus 1 pack meeting per month. I try to use this as a selling point that we do not meet as often. The scout skills den meeting is for both Tigers/Wolves. I noticed that the District Run Cub Day Camp had the same scout skills activities for Tigers/Wolves so I thought this could be a positive way to get families from both dens together for a modified pack meeting.

 

There have been comments in this thread to reach out to other small packs.....well, I do but remember we are all volunteers and running your own pack takes up a lot of time especially when you are NOT functioning in your actual role (i.e. a Cubmaster should NOT be running den meetings). So, I understand that I do not hear from other pack leaders. 9 times out of 10, I am the one initiating the contact.

 

Thus, I am now taking the approach to share information with the local District Executives who then share it with their small packs. I think the local pack leaders are more likely to listen to them than me who they do not know.

 

[MarkS]

My son and I have moved on to the Troop but when we were in the Pack and I was a Den Leader, here are the answers:

 

1) I was previously a Bears Den Leader/Webelos Den Leader.

 

2) Twice a month/Weekly. After my first year as Den Leader when the boys were Bears, I decided that meeting only twice a month was a mistake because there was too much to make up if they missed a meeting, that's why I started meeting weekly. It was also a lot easier to plan meetings using Program Helps! or Webelos Leaders Guide because their program plans are based on weekly meetings.

 

3) Monthly.

 

4) They boys in my den participated in day camps and council resident camps each summer I was their Den Leader. The rest of the Pack didn't do a thing because the Cubmaster didn't promote summer activities.(This message has been edited by MarkS)

[GopherJudy]

#1 - I am a Bear Den Leader this year, been with the boys since Tigers! I started out with 2 Tigers & then another boy joined. In Wolves I started out with 3 & a boy transferred from another pack to make it 4. This year I had 4 boys, another boy joined to make it 5 & then the boy that transferred quit, his parents had issues & complained about everything & they were the only ones.

 

#2 - we meet once or twice in September as I don't have a den meeting the 1st week of school & depending on any days off in September for holidays! We usually meet 3 times a month for den meetings, sometimes more depending on how many weeks are in the month.

 

#3 - our pack meets once a month from Sept - June, in Sept. we have Pack Kick off Night.

 

#4 - In June we take a charter boat out for about 4 hours & go fishing. In July we go to a Ducks baseball game (minor league team here on Long Island) & in August we've had a pack picnic at a county park or gone to the Long Island Game Farm. Depending on whether the state/county parks close because they have a problem with deer ticks or mosquitos, we go camping too.

[jethro]

1) I'm in my fourth year as a den leader, but will become CM in January.

 

2) Our dens follow their own schedules. As a Wolf and Bear leader, I held meetings roughly twice a month. I wanted to go to weekly meetings, but got a lot of "feedback" from the parents. When we started Webelos I this year, I told everyone we were having weekly meetings. I would never go back - we've had a LOT of fun, learned a lot, and had no complaints from parents. As CM, I'm going to strongly recommend to the DLs that they follow more regular schedules.

 

3) We have a major pack activity monthly:

 

Meetings September - January

February B&G

March snow tubing trip and Pinewood Derby

April Crossover (3-day camping trip)

Meetings May - July

August off

 

4) Our pack has historically had very poor attendance at Council day camp and resident camp (one or two participants from a 40-boy pack). I'd like to see that improve. In August participants from our Council packs camp in the outfield at a minor league baseball game.

 

In general, we don't participate a lot in District/Council activities, instead focusing on the pack program. The few Cubs who have participated in District Camporees and Council summer camp have been blown away by the experience, and I'm working on them to convince their friends to go the following year.

[WVCubDad]

I am one of our Wolf Den Leaders and the Assistant Cub Master, last year I was the Tiger Den Leader and this spring I'll move up to be the Cub Master. I am also active at the District level as the Popcorn Chair and Twilight Camp Director.

 

Our Den meetings are every Tuesday evening during the school year from 7 to 8 pm.

 

Our Pack meetings are usually the last Tuesday of the month except holidays (as this month) from 6:30 to 8 pm.

 

During the summer we usually have at least one pack activity each month - a camping trip in June, ball game or airshow trip in July, and bike ride or swimming activity in August. We also hold a lock-in at our chartered organization (a church) in January.

 

Additionally Cub Resident camp is in June and Twilight Camp is in August. During the school year we usually have two pack overnighters in the fall and two in the spring as well as a Council Family Camp in the fall and Adult/Cub camp in the spring.

 

My son was counting up all his Cub camping trips recently and son of a gun, he's been on 10. I hadn't even gone camping once at his age. The good news is he likes it.

 

John

Assistant Cubmaster

Pack 13

Shenandoah Area Council

[ScoutNut]

Wow! 3 Pack overnighters in Fall (Sept - Nov?), 1 in Winter, another 3 in Spring (Mar - May?) and 2 in June!!

 

That's almost 1 per month! How the heck do you find the time for all of those?

 

Do you have enough BALOO trained leaders that the overnights can be split up between them, or do you have 1 or 2 doing them all?

 

Is your Pack doing other monthly Pack activities besides camping too?

 

What is your average percentage of participation at your overnighters?

 

 

[MTAF]

1. Tiger Den Leader

2. Den meets 3 times a month.

3. Pack meets once a month on the last Friday. Pack campout is in April. We also participate in council sponsored campouts throughout the year.

4. We participate in day camp on an individual basis during July. Pack cookout in August. Dens meet for outdoor activities a few times during summer.

[struax]

1) What type of Den do you lead, orare you a Pack level Scouter, or are you a District Scouter supporting Cubbing?

 

I lead Tiger Den

 

2) How often does your Den meet during September to June (or your local school year)?

 

We meet as a Den once a month (boy, after reading this thread that seems a bit light)

 

3) How often does your Pack meet during September to June (or your local school year)?

 

The Pack meets once a month, with other special events thrown in the mix.

 

4) What kinds of summertime activities does your Den or Pack participate in (Day Camp, Family Camping, 4th of July parade, August swim, Webelos Camp...???)

 

There hasnt been many summertime events in the past but this will be changing in the future!!!!

 

Scott

[starwolfmom]

I'm the Cubmaster.

 

Most of the dens in the pack seem to meet twice a month, although when my sons were in this pack, their den meetings were weekly, except for the week when the pack meeting was held.

 

Our pack meetings are the third Thursday of the month, except when there is a conflict (e.g., this month, our December meeting will be the second Thursday).

 

We also try to participate in activities offered by the district or council (Webelos day at fall and spring camporees, Cub Scout Healthy Hike, Space Exploration Day at the Science Center, etc.), which happen every couple of months.

 

In the past, we had never been really big on summertime activities--only my son and one other Scout ever went to day camp. That changed last year when we did a concerted effort to promote Cub Scout day camp, parent-son camp, and Webelos resident camp. We had more than half the pack participating in one or more of these offerings, and I expect a similar turnout this summer.

 

Elizabeth

[jethro]

struax, don't worry. I don't think once a month is light for Tigers at all. When I was a Tiger leader, we did one meeting and one Go-See-It each month from October through February. They got their Tiger badges at the Blue and Gold that way. Then we had one meeting a month thereafter until they became Wolves.