new to scouting and a den leader!

[my3sonz]

Hi Everyone,

 

Well I enrolled my 9 year old in Webelos and went on their first camping trip. During this trip I found out that our Den leader was getting a little burned out and needed someone to take over. That is where I come in

 

I am going to a leadership conference this weekend to learn how to do all this as I am a little overwhelmed.

 

I am a mom with 3 sons, Steven 13 (not in scouts- trying to talk him into it but to no avail lol), David 9 (webelos), and Sammy 2 who I will get into it when he is of age.

 

There seems to be very good support as far as the leaders of the pack go. I get along really well with the cubmaster and we seem to have the same sense of humor

 

Anyway, I am hoping to get some good advice here and learn some stuff to make this a great experience for my son and his scout mates.

 

Robin

[SemperParatus]

Robin,

 

Well done! Welcome to scouting and this forum. As a poor, downtrodden, forgotten middle child myself , it is so good to see that David will be spending lots and lots of quality time (well, 1 hour a week anyway) with his mother . Best of luck to you and your boys.(This message has been edited by SemperParatus)

[CubsRgr8]

Welcome on board! I found my three years as a Webelos den leader were great fun and went by way too fast.

 

1) Get trained ASAP - Fast Start (http://www.scouting.org/cubscouts/faststart/), Youth Protection, New Leader Essentials & Leader Specific this fall. Then take the Outdoor Webelos Leader course in the spring. Getting trained built my confidence up quickly and also provided me with a wealth of resource materials.

 

2) While there are 20 activity badges to be earned, only 8 are required for the Arrow of Light, the culminating award given Webelos in 5th grade. Working backwards from February or March 2007 (the best time for Webelos to crossover into a troop), put together a plan for the next 16 months out with lots of "just for fun" activities to balance the "required" activities. Take advantage of activity badge workshops, ie Aquanaut earned at the Y, or Artist earned at the local art supply store. And let some of your interests guide which activity badges you choose. There are lots of suggested plans on the internet, or feel free to PM me.

 

3) Start researching where you're going to take your den for Webelos Resident Camp this coming summer. WRC is (typically) a four day, three night session and will become one of your treasured memories as a den leader. Don't settle for the camp closest or the one your pack has "always" attended. Find the one the stands out from the crowd by offering: a program tailored to Webelos; multiple sessions; and a staff dedicated to the WRC.

 

4) Communicate, communicate, communicate with the parents. They're just as likely as the scouts to forget the service project LOL!

 

5) Download a free spreadsheet (http://www.geocities.com/~pack215/cub-tracker.html) to track your scouts' progress or pay for ScoutTrack.com. The Webelos program is a bit more complicated and paper records will drive you batty fast!

 

6) Discuss with your son right away how at scout activities you're not Mom anymore but Ms. Robin, the WDL. It's important for you to treat him the same as every other boy and for him to respect you as any other adult leader in his life. Also, having Mom as his den leader will be a two-edged sword for your son: he'll go to every scout activity BUT he'll go to every scout activity. Be sure to make time for Mom/son time outside of scouting.

 

7) Start building relationships this fall with neighboring troops. Much of what your scouts need to do next fall requires interaction with a troop, and knowing a couple of troops makes it easier to accomplish those activities while the weather still is pleasant (especially important here in the soon to be frozen Upper Midwest).

 

8) Check back in at the Forum to learn, to share, and to vent (yes, there will be times when it's necessary).

 

With my sons now in 9th and 6th grade, I'm growing a bit nostalgic for the "good old days" of Webelos. Have fun and Good Luck!

(This message has been edited by CubsRgr8)

[EagleInKY]

Welcome to the scouting family. You picked a fun place to start. While you are learning all about Cubs/Webelos, make sure to learn about Boy Scouts along the way. Your main job is getting them ready for Boy Scouts, which is way different than Cubs.

[my3sonz]

Thank you so much for your replies

 

Semper, I know the middle chile syndrome well! David has it bad. I am hoping he will feel very special in spite of his position in our family.

 

Cubs, Thank you for the advice! It is all so overwhelming to me. I am going to a conference this weekend that has many classes for webelos leaders and I have already taken the fast start. One of the things that is a concern is there are so many in this pack that have been part of boy scouts for a while and we have been in it for a week! So it will be alot of catching up and seeing where everyone is at.

 

Eagle, Yes getting to know the boy scout system is a good idea. We have already camped with them last weekend and that was a great experience for the boys!

 

Thanks guys!

Robin

[johndaigler]

Robin, WELCOME and good luck!!!

 

You've heard some great ideas already, but let me share a word of caution. You don't have to complete CubsRgr8's list by Dec 1!!! It's a superb list, but be sure to make this whole Scouting thing work for you - and your son. For example, "Mom" might work for you both. Take time to enjoy the journey - and be sure your son is enjoying it, as well. One of the potential pitfalls is worrying so much about the Cubbing experience of other people's children that your son's experience gets taken for granted. I suggest structuring as much as possible so that you can fill the "parent enjoying Scouting with their son" role just as often as you fill the WDL role.

 

And though he means well, don't pay any attention to EagleInKY!!! He's just plain wrong this time!

 

Be sure to read the Webelos Cub Handbook and the Webelos Leader Book!!!

 

Don't forget you're a subset of the Pack. Your Den should have specific responsibilites for Pack Meetings. Also, Day/Resident Camp is often seen by Pack Leaders as a Unit event - you might not be encouraged to go your own way. Each unit is filled with caring, but unique, individuals - it's just as important to be strong members of your Pack as it is to offer a strong Webelos Program.

 

KISMIF

 

jd

[kenk]

Excellent advice has already been given.

 

I have few additional pieces of advice:

 

(1) Identify an Assistant Webelos Den Leader. They will make your job much easier.

 

(2) Ask a local Boy Scout Troop if they can provide a Den Chief - a Boy Scout who will attend you den meetings and help/teach/lead as appropriate.

 

(3) Get your den's parents as involved as possible. Find out who they are, what they do for a living, what their hobbies are, and if they have any Scouting background. They have a wealth of knowledge and experience for your den to tap into.

 

I am a WDL also. In our den each den meeting is assigned to a parent. They don't lead the den meeting - I do that - but with my help (amount varies) they put together the main activity-based portion of the meeting. I keep in contact with them during the weeks leading up to their respective den meeting to make sure they are covering what needs to be done. It has worked out well and has kept the parents involved - they like that.

[my3sonz]

Excellent advice everyone!

 

I love the idea of a parent taking a den meeting and doing the main activity.

 

Also the part of being involved in the pack. I am pretty lucky in that way. The cubmaster and I get along great and her son is in my den. The asst. cubmaster is also really cool and his son is in my den too! We are also going to have the meetings at his house so it should be a great experience.

 

I am printing out this thread to look back on. Thanks guys!

Robin

[Lisabob]

Welcome Robin!

 

Webelos was my favorite part of the cub program. There are so many opportunities to do fun things and the boys are old enough that they can handle more challenging activities too. I'm sure you'll have a blast.

 

Three things to add to what's already been said (and it is great advices!):

 

1) As you progress through the Webelos I and II years, start handing the boys more responsibility for various den decisions and even program management. You can start small but when they join Boy Scouts, if the troop really is "boy led" then they'll be making a lot of decisions for themselves in their patrols. Help them build up to that while they're Webelos and it will increase the chance that they stick around once they cross over into Boy Scouts.

 

2) Don't feel obligated to stick only to the Webelos book. Some of the absolute best activities we did were things that were interesting, fun, age-appropriate, and in keeping w/ BSA rules, but not in the webelos book anywhere. Plus this lets you draw on the talents of the other parents in your den more fully.

 

3) Arrange to attend district events geared toward Boy Scouts (often webelos are also invited for all or part of these programs) even if you're only there during the day and not camping overnight. A lot of district-level events for Cub Scouts are designed (as they must be) with younger Cubs in mind so by the time our guys were in 4th/5th grade they were ready for something a little more involved.

 

One of our den's all time favorites was a trip to a district "fly in" at a local airport. This was arranged for boy scout troops but it wasn't hard to wrangle an invitation to spend Saturday there with a troop and it was awesome - really gave them an idea of what they had to look forward to when they crossed over to Boy Scouting.

 

Have a great time with your son!

 

Lisa'bob

A good old bobwhite too!