clemlaw Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 I'm in the Northern Star Council, and as far as I know, I'm the only Lion parent on this forum. My son was a Lion Cub in Kindergarten. For reasons mostly involving meeting night conflicts, we switched packs for his Tiger year, and our current Pack (of which I'm now the CM) is not doing the Lion program. I haven't pushed it, because the new Pack has a different dynamic, and it probably wouldn't work quite as well. But I'm glad it was available to us. With so many activities available these days, you need to get 'em when they're young. It's just a program that's available to keep their interest. Most importantly, they get to see the older kids doing fun things, and my son, for one, is definitely hooked. Our old Pack had Lion den meetings almost every week, and frankly, that was a little bit much. In fact, the Den meetings really didn't amount to much. He got the most out of being able to see the Pack meetings, and participate in some activities, including many council events. The program was still run for the older kids. And as far as I could tell, it didn't detract from the program having a few Kindergartners tag along. In fact, the reason why it worked particularly well at the old pack is because there were a large number of siblings who came along to Pack meetings anyway. Most of the parents were involved in some way, so attending meetings meant that the whole family came along. Having a program for younger brothers seemed like kind of a no-brainer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChaiAdventure Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 I don't see the big issue. If your Pack doesn't agree with the concept, then start your Dens at the Tiger age. For that matter, if Tigers are not to the age level where the Pack leaders are "comfortable", then have a Wolf Den be your entry point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeattlePioneer Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Lions and tiger and bears.... Oh my! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikecummings157 Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Our Council has been running a Lion program for a few years now under Learning For Life. It's very similiar to the old Tiger program, with the T-Shirts, Iron-on's, and Adult Partners. It's been sucessful for our Pack as well. There are a lot of boys this age who otherwise wouldn't be exposed to the outdoors and learning to work in a group environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BS-87 Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I think clemlaw just hit the nail on the head on how and why we should be using a "Lion" program or something like it. If you have boys with younger siblings (Kindergarten, Pre-School, Toddlers), they need a program too at Pack Meetings. If there are some simple activities for them to do at Pack meetings, they can earn some simple awards or at least have their pictures they colored held up for the crowd to see. What this also provides is a program for families of kindergarteners to bring their son to and watch everything that goes on in Cub Scouts before "taking the plunge" so to speak and let them walk into the Pack with some realistic expectations. When a boy joins Scouts, his entire family joins Scouts. Programs that can make that truth known should be encouraged, not discouraged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutNut Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 So, BSA should expand the Lion program to include pre-schoolers and toddlers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BS-87 Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Maybe even preschool and toddler sisters *GASP* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momof2cubs Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Does anyone here remember the Little Scout Buddy program? My youngest did it for a year, but I wasn't as involved as i am now, so I don't remember much about it. I know it was meant for younger siblings. I still have the T-shirt and the hat! Reason I bring it up, is maybe this is a better way to go than Lions. I personally had a very hard time with Tigers and scouting. They boys like it, but it is very difficult to hold their attention for periods longer than 5 seconds. I can't imagine having to do it with 5 year olds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clemlaw Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 >>>>They boys like it, but it is very difficult to hold their attention for periods longer than 5 seconds. I can't imagine having to do it with 5 year olds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
83Eagle Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 ScoutNut, what do you think and why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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