What have you done for a den flag?

[howarthe]

We have a den flag. Someone made it. They did a nice job. It is the face of a tiger cub (from the badge) painted on a blue field with the pack number above it in red and white. The boys love it, but I think I will give it to the new tiger cub den in June. What should we make next? I don't want to do the same thing with a wolf and then hand it down again. I want a flag we can use as cubs and Webelos. The flags they have for sale in the scout store are different for scouts and Webelos and they feature the den number. We could put the den number on it. We could put a tiger a wolf a bear and Webelos badge. Or hand prints. That might be fun if each boy put his hand print in a different color-not very scouting, but we could put more hand prints every time we add boys to the den. That might be fun. What have you done for a den flag?

[Eagle92]

Technically CS dens don't have a choice, they are suppose to use the standard flags from national.

 

That said, have fun and be creative. I am proposing using US Calvary guidons for den flags at CSDC this summer since we have a Wild West theme.

 

Except the Tigers, we're using a lance with eagle feathers.

[rdurrett99]

I got blue felt to make the flag, and had the boys trace their hands on yellow felt and cut them out. Then I sewed them on the flag with yellow thread so you can see the outlines on the back of the flag. Anytime the majority of the den does something that earns a patch (camping, Scouting for Food, Pinewood Derby, etc) I get an extra patch to sew on the back of the flag.

 

I explained to the boys that since the flag has their hand prints on it, it makes them part of the flag and the flag part of our den. They make sure the flag goes everywhere they do.

[Brewmeister]

Each summer, before the new year, we make tie-dye "class b" tshirts for the den. In the wolf year we did yellow, bear year blue, webelos year green. We the use iron on transfers to print a den logo or something on them.

 

We then make a white flag out of heavy cloth, tie it up, and chuck it in the dye pot with the shirts. Typically we also iron on the same logo to the flag and have the boys sign it. So, the flag matches the shirts and vice versa.

[SeattlePioneer]

We have a den flag making exercise at our June pack campout each year. The dens cycle through various activities and events during the days, and making a den flag for the next year is one of the activities.

 

We supply a piece of cloth in the den colors (Orange=Tiger Cub, Yellow = Wolves, Blue= Bears and paint and various materials that can be painted on, cut out and glued on and such.

 

When I was a den leader, the den flag was a center of opening and closing ceremonies and a real symbol of the den. I don't see most Den Leaders using it very effectively, but they do get used after a fashion.

[briantshore]

My first time as a den leader, I bought some blue material like the uniform shirt. Had it folded over, and sewn. Then had each boy tacky glue patches on the flag. Council Patch, Pack numbers and den tab on each side. Then had gromets punched into it to attach on to the flag pole.

[SeattlePioneer]

I cut branches off of suitable trees to use for a flagstaff and crosspiece to hold the flag. I find that Cub Scouts are usually strong enough to be able to operate a staple gun to staple their flag to the crosspiece.

 

The one thing they usually can't do is lashings to hold the crosspiece to the pole. I usually do that and explain that lashings are a skill they will learn in Boy Scouts.

 

We also make flag stands as needed using 2x4s, with the Cubs cutting the lumber to length and drilling a hole for the pole. I use an axe to trim the pole to a diameter that fit in the hole.

[5yearscouter]

"Technically CS dens don't have a choice, they are suppose to use the standard flags from national. "

 

Where does it say that in any of the cub scout leader literature?

 

the dens in our pack sometimes choose a mascot from the boy scout patrol patches by their bear year, and make a flag to go with that idea. sort of pre-patrol, pre-webelos, probably not kosher, but they enjoy it. then they make a cool flag to use those last 3 years, make a really good den cheer that is more than "den 1 den 1, we are so much fun!" and they have a blast. it ends up being the emblem they wear on their webelos uniform and gives them more of a den unity right off the bat. when they make a tiger flag, and then change to wolf year, they may quit cause they think they are done with tigers and something new is starting. the continuation of the same den flag seems to help them to see that they are still an expected part of the group and you just get a book full of new ideas to do for the next year of fun.

[Alassa Eruvande]

When I stepped up to be a den leader for my son's Bear den, no one had ever done den flags at our pack, so I was sort of on my own. At summer day camp, the kids made flags with their handprints and signed their names with sharpie markers. The flag was made of unbleached muslin and had grommets on one side and was attached to a PVC flag pole with zip ties. The zip ties were attached to eye hooks in the PVC pipe.

For my son's den, we did that, but instead of zip ties, grommets, and eye hooks, I sewed a pocket up one side and just ran the piece of PVC pipe through the pocket. The upper end of the pocket was closed, so the pipe wouldn't poke through and the flag would stay on. Home Depot even donated the length of pipe, from their stash of odd sizes. Flag stand was a gallon bucket with a slightly larger piece of PVC pipe set in plaster. This worked well for indoors, but next time I'll use something a little heavier, as a stiff breeze could knock it over. The kids had fun making their hand prints, and we carried that flag to all our events, including camping. Also, after each den meeting, one boy got to take the flag home for the week and keep it at home, then bring it to the next meeting. Sort of like when you get to take the class hamster home over the weekend at school. I used it as a reward for a job well done, or good behavior, or whatever. The kids really got into it. At the end of the year, we drew names and one boy got to keep the flag.

 

For Webelos, the boys chose the patrol name "land sharks", so we made a new den flag with a shark and a palm tree. I made the flag the same way, with muslin and the pocket, and used fabric paint to draw the pictures of the shark and tree. Then we cut a shark bite on the end of the flag. Same as before, the kids got to take it home for the week, we took it everywhere, and drew a name just before crossover and gave it to one of the boys to keep.

 

For future flags, though, I think I'd make it smaller and of a lighter fabric. I have a Tiger cub coming up next year. :-)(This message has been edited by Alassa Eruvande)