Lone scout, skip rank?

[njdrt-rdr]

We currently have a situation where we have one tiger scout. I'm the CM(new at it this scouting season) and I've taken it on myself to work him through the program to gain his tiger rank.It wasn't getting anywhere with just his parent. He has an older brother( currently a Bear) in cubscouts. So he's done some things himself and some things with the bear den where there was overlap.

 

I'm looking at going forward. I don't know if we will get any new scouts to join as Wolf scouts next year and him being a lone wolf scout is not going to fly. His dad is not going to do the program with him by himself. I don't have the time to be a den leader to a single scout. I don't see him changing packs as he's a member of a 4 child household and I don't see the dad changing the pack for the older son, nor running 2 kids to activites for 2 different packs.

 

I'm hoping we get enough Wolf scouts next year to form a den, but if the case happens that we do not. Can I have him skip a year and join the Bear Den(skipping the Wolf level)(we already have 10 scouts at that level he would jump to) while he's in 2nd grade and the rest of the kids are in 3rd grade.

I went and did the long term math with when it's time for him to become a boy scout. The rules read 10 years old and have completed arrow of light. Our den usually crosses over at the end of Feb, he would turn 10 in May.

 

I'm trying to come up with a feasible plan for the scout other than quitting because he doesn't want to be a lone scout.

[momof2cubs]

According to the book:

"The Bear Cub Scout program is for boys who have completed second grade (or are age 9)"

 

So if the boy turns 9 over the summer or early Fall, that would be possible..otherwise, I am afraid not, according to the rules.

 

There are lots of parents that wait to sign up their kids in the wolf year because it means they can drop off and the scout doesn't need a full time adult partner. So it is possible that with some effort, you can build a wolf den next year and this boy doesn't have to be alone. You can try to get him to help you with that, bu trying to recruit his friends.

[DLChris71]

I'm not familiar with your situation but there's no rule against recruiting year round or waiting for Fall Roundup to add scouts to your Pack. So if you're low on current Tigers future Wolves then see if you can do a presentation to local 1st Graders. Usually your source for future Den Leaders come out of shared leadership in the Tiger Dens so I would guess your in a difficult position.

[njdrt-rdr]

We are a one school pack and the current first grade is small. I've already tried recruiting twice with them so far. So I'm not holding out a lot of hope.

[AnnLaurelB]

My son started in Tigers, but when he moved to Wolf, we did a lot of stuff jointly with the Bears, and now this year as Bears, we team up with our Wolves, still.

 

I know the books are different, but Wolves and Bears are a lot closer than any other 2 ranks. (You'll notice on the Charter roster that they lump 2nd and 3rd grade together just as "Cub Scouts".)

 

Have him attend the Bear Den, if necessary, but ~someone~ needs to work with him in HIS book. And Keep Recruiting whenever possible.

 

Go online to Vistaprint and get you some freebie business cards printed up, and give them out to every little boy you see (well, you know...not in a stalkerish way).

 

Take flyers to the school EVERY month, printed with your upcoming activities, and ask that they put them in the boys' backpacks. You can target 2nd graders if there's a limited copy budget, or make enough for ALL the boys.

 

(Can you tell I'm thinking of our own Pack's recruiting?) :0)

 

Meanwhile, put the Wolf in the Bear Den, but he's still a Wolf.

[ScoutNut]

Cub Scout programs are created to be age/grade appropriate. There is no way your Scout can register as a Bear Cub Scout unless he meets the age/grade requirements of 9 years old and/or 3rd grade.

 

I suggest you talk to your Committee Chair (CC) and plan a recruiting push.

 

You stated that you only recruit out of one school, and the 1st grade has not responded well. Recruiting for the Wolf level is very different. There is no longer a requirement that a parent attend everything with their child. This alone causes some who by-pass Tigers to join as a Wolf.

 

Invite all eligible boys and their families to a recruiting event or two. Have the lone Tiger invite his buddies. We generally invite new families to our last Pack meeting of the year. The families get to see a fancy graduation ceremony, and get to know the Pack a bit. We also hand out fliers at registration day in early August, and invite all interested families to our Pack picnic the weekend before school starts.

 

Make sure that families understand that while family involvement is still a big part of Cub Scouting, parents are not required to attend den meetings for Wolf-Webelos Scouts. Push the positives of the program. Sell the heck out of it.

 

Think bigger than just the school.

 

Advertise your recruiting events in the community section of your local paper. Put fliers up in local churches, and libraries. Some stores have public bulletin boards where they allow community groups to post things.

 

[momof2cubs]

You are not limited to recruiting at one school. Try churches, temples, clubs, community events, and other schools.

 

And again, a lot of parents baulk at having to have someone always with their Tiger, but they are more agreeable to a drop off situation.

[Fehler]

We have one wolf this year, so he attends den meetings with the bears, but working on his "Wolf Badge". Next year, he will attend meetings with the Wolves (current Tigers) and earn his Bear Badge. I'm not sure if it will work, but its the best we can do (had a poor recruiting and retention year last year.)

[njdrt-rdr]

Thanks for the suggestions. We don't have an official CC It's pretty much me. But that is a while other topic. We usually discuss thing among the leaders. I will.talk about a spring recruitment. Maybe invite new scouts to our last meeting and summer activities. Just not sure asour first summer activity is a campout, not sure how prospective tiger scouts would handle that. But they could come for the day and our fishing derby,dinner and campfire.

[Twocubdad]

Unless the rules have changed in the last couple years, it is permissible to have a "Cub Scout den" of both Wolves and Bears. Look at the regs on minimum pack leadership. Not sure how that works with the new canned den programs, though.

 

Back in the day, this is how all dens ran. Cub Scout den and Webelos dens. Not all rank requirements were driven through the den program. The 8-year-olds worked on Wolf, the 9-year-olds work on Bear. Den meetings were frequently something different all together.

[momof2cubs]

Twocubdad, that's not a bad idea at all. There are several achievements in wolf and bear that are quite similar..they could easily be done in a mixed den by adjusting the activities just slightly for the wolf.

 

For instance the Wolf Achievement 1 (Feats of Skill) has a lot in common with Bear Achievement 16 (Building Muscles). Wolf Achievement 5 (Tools for Fixing and Building) can easily be done at the same time as Bear Achievement 20 (Sawdust and Nails).

 

I think this could work.

[njdrt-rdr]

Fehler, your one wolf who worked on wolf stuff at bear meetings. Who worked with him on it, IE who was his den leader. Was it his parent, or did the Bear leaders work with him?

[AnnLaurelB]

It *DOES* work! :0)

 

For a few months, when we were in transition from my son's Tiger to Wolf year, we ALL met weekly for Den meetings in the church hall for an opening, then broke into Dens. Webs in that corner, Tigers over there, etc...

 

It worked fine.

[SeattlePioneer]

As a District Membership Chair, I'd certainly encourage you to continue your recruiting efforts.

 

I had our pack recruiting night Monday. I'd distributed 1000 flyers to ten different schools, gone to four schools to invite boys in person, and set up a fun egg drop as a parent and son activity for the sign up night.

 

We got ten families to turn out, two of whom signed up and paid membership fees so far. I would have liked to see more.

 

That said, if the Bear Den Leader is willing, I'd put the boy in with them. As others have noted, the Wolf and Bear den programs are quite similar.

 

A tougher issue would be the next year. The Webelos program OUGHT to be a good deal more challenging than a Bear program, and might well not be suitable for a Bear to do.

 

Unfortunately, a lot of Webelos programs are just more Cub Scouts.

 

 

 

 

[njdrt-rdr]

A 1000 ...wow....if I recruited kindergarden and first grade, it might hit 50 flyers. We are a small town with 1 school and the Towns on both Sides have their own packs. As well as my church has their own pack already.