Fun at a den meeting and a snack question

[Lenae]

Our regular den meetings are starting soon, so my husband (the official Tiger DL) and I are planning out our first couple of meetings. I'm looking for ideas for fun activities, songs, games, jokes, whatever. Tried and true ways to keep the meetings fun and involved. First two meetings are working on the Bobcat badge, if that's pertinent. Also, a question. Do you do snacks at den meetings? Our meetings are at 6:30pm, so some kids will have eaten dinner already, some won't.

[mattman578]

Lenea welcome to the Tiger den I was a Tiger den leader last year with my son and it was a blast I had more fun then they did. The best thing I did was got the Tiger cub Den meeting Plans you can get them here http://www.scouting.org/Home/CubScouts/Leaders/DenLeaderResources/DenandPackMeetingResourceGuide/TigerDenPlans.aspx

 

another really good resource for games is the den chiefs handbook witch you can get here https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxgyGhfwmpSpWlp6VUJwaTBZRk0/edit?pli=1

 

On for my first den meeting and all den meetings was a simple plan boring stuff followed buy fun stuff then more boring stuff then more fun stuff Keep it Simple keep it fun.

 

the game we played at the first den meeting was called name name wrong just like duck duck goose but with the names of the scouts if you got the name wrong you were chased around.

 

I also made sure I had a bunch of picnic type games and birthday party games egg relay races extra and we never keep score

This booked helped a lot http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1550465058/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

as a suggestion do not keep score for games were there is a winner they all win because they tried there best

[ScoutNut]

Biggest thing to remember - the Tiger and his partner are a TEAM. They should be doing EVERYTHING TOGETHER!! No sitting on the sidelines chatting allowed. You don't have just 6 Tiger Cubs - you have 12!

 

You need to plan things with that in mind.

 

Next is that you need to utilize the Tiger concept of Shared Leadership.

 

This is where the future of your Pack is. You must nurture, and grow it. This is your chance to teach these families what Scouting is all about. To get them "hooked", and involved.

 

Incorporate the Bobcat items into your regular weekly den format and the Tiger Teams will get them without actually knowing they are.

 

I started every meeting with a flag ceremony that included the Salute, Promise, Law, and Handshake (all done with their Partner!). Meetings were always ended with everyone (including any siblings and visitors) participating in a Living Circle while stating the Motto (with GUSTO!).

 

I used my first meeting, or two, as a type of intro to Scouting. We talked about the den, and the Pack, and what they could expect in the coming year.

 

I also had them do a "Tiger Tales" scrapbook the first meeting (achievement 1-D). With school supplies on sale it was easy to get blue, or orange, 3-prong pocket folders cheap. This gives them a place to store their Handbook, and any Scout stuff.

 

As a first thing to add to their scrapbook, and a way to get to know each other, I liked to use this "All About Me" coloring page from Crayola -

http://www.crayola.com/free-coloring-pages/print/all-about-me-coloring-page/

 

I would give one to all Tigers and Partners. They were to draw themselves, and include something that represented their favorite activity/hobby. Then we would go around and have everyone show their picture, introduce themselves, and tell us a bit about themselves, and their hobby (elective 16).

 

When you plan your meetings, remember to be flexible - with your Teams, and your program. Have some quick/easy alternate activities in your back pocket at all times. The electives can be great for that.

 

Mix up your meetings. Don't do an entire meeting sitting at a table. Get up and move. Start out slow, throw in a song, or a game, go back to something a bit more "teachy", then throw in another game/song. Remember a 1st grader's attention span is VERY short, and their adults is not much better!

 

Some places to go for ideas -

 

http://www.scouting.org/filestore/hispanic/english/33832_WEB.pdf

 

http://www.macscouter.com/

 

http://usscouts.org/bbugle.asp

 

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

 

http://www.funpaperairplanes.com/

 

http://www.abcteach.com/directory/prek-early-childhood-fun-activities-paper-bag-puppets-3033-2-1

 

One last thing to remember - Tiger Cubs are G-R-R-R-R-R-E-A-T !!!!!! (hint - this makes a wonderful den yell - Tiger Teams sure do like getting LOUD!)

[King Ding Dong]

Snacks are great in theory but if you do them I suggest toward the end of the meeting. Some kids eat reeeaaaaallllyyyyyy slow and just want to chatter. Plus the mess. My preference is to let the parents get crumbs all over their car if they can't feed the boys dinner, not my house or the meeting place. Assigning snack duty to the parents always causes problems if they don't show up.

[SSScout]

Scoutnut has the idea, in fact LOTS of ideas! All good!

 

KisMif!

 

And please take'm out places, at least once a month, GO someplace! A museum, the zoo, a hike around the lake, a dad's work place (how fun is that for the Tiger, to show off where dad (or mom! Ooops, sorry!) work. Mention "Scouts" and watch doors open! Yes, not everyone will be able to go on every "Go See It", but make the plans.....even the most boring (to an adult ) office can be an adventure for a 6 year old.

 

Make the Cubs the "gang" for them to want to hang out with.

 

Cub Promise, Law of the Pack, etc. : Write each word on a 3x5 card, throw them in a bag. When you are about to ask Johnny Cub to lead the (?) , hesitate, and say "ummm, I wonder if the adults have been paying attention? Here, (offer the bag to the adults) , take out a word, and let's see if they can line up in the right order to make the Cub Promise, ...." The Cubs will love it, Keep order, let the adults do the work, let them re-arrange themselves until they have it right.

[Sidney Porter]

It is really easy to turn the program in school, don't make that mistake.

 

Get them outside. They spend alol day in a classroom. If you can't get them outside make sure your inside meeting space will allow some running around. We made the mistake of having our first 2 tiger meetings at a meeting room in the public library. After that we switched to a gazebo in the park.

 

As far as snacks. we did not do many. when we did it had a "purpose". I think we had snacks for the food pryamid. At some point when we covered how recyling works we had different food represent different types of trash, I think we did this when they were bears. Several times we had snacks /picnics in the middle of hikes, we usually had them help with planning and steered them in the direction of healthy. In some of the activities where they need to help prepare meals part of that would be desert. But in general we did not have snacks at every meeting.

 

If your meetings are at 6:30 I assume they will last an hour. I assume some of the tigers go to bed by 8pm. Figure 15 minutes for opening and closing, setting expectations about what will be covered in the meeting etc. You are down to 45 minutes. 15 minutes for a game / song / skit etc. That leave 30 minutes for the program. If you do a snack that would be 10 minutes leaving around 20 minutes for the program.

 

During our tiger and bear years we met on saturday's afternoon rather than through the week. We only met 2x a month, but for a couple hours each time. We never felt rushed that we didn't have time because kids needed to get home to go to bed. By having it in the day time if we saw they were getting bored we could easily give them a break by going to the playground throwing a ball, playing tag etc. Since we had blocked 2 hours we were not rushed since we could return to what needed to be covered.

[Lenae]

Thanks for the ideas, I've got a lot to start writing down! I think we're going to nix the snack idea. I don't like kids snacking all the time anyway, but it's usually the expected norm. I'd rather have more time for a game or whatnot. We do have space for the boys to run and play, we'll be meeting either at a church with a large open field near it, or at our community grange. Both buildings have big open rooms and it will only be Scouts there, so no need to keep quiet or anything. Again, thanks for the great ideas. I'll be adding them to my meetings notebook.