First Year Tiger Cub Den Leader in Evanston, IL

[Michael DeMar]

Hello, fellow Scouters.

 

I am a first year Tiger Cub Den Leader in Evanston, IL. I have 11 boys in my den. I know that that's at least 2 too many, but it's working out very well. I'm having a lot of fun being a Den Leader (almost as much fun as I had when I was a Cub Scout nearly 30 years ago), although man is it a lot of work.

 

One of the things that I am trying to do is make the Den program memorable and meaningful in addition to being fun. I'm always on the lookout for an activity, ceremony, or outing that really makes an impact. I've just started closing every den meeting with a Den Leader's Minute and that is going over very well. I'd love to hear from fellow Scouters about activities, ceremonies, or outings that they have done that really meant a lot to the boys in their Unit.

 

Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you.

[ScoutNut]

Welcome! I am in my 8th (I believe!) year of being a Tiger Den Leader & hale from a near west 'burb of Chicago!

 

"although man is it a lot of work."

 

Not that bad if you utilize the Tiger Program & use Shared Leadership!

 

With 11 Tigers (22 folks + sibs - WOW) each Tiger Team should be able to put together & run at least 2, or more meetings.

 

Don't forget about Tour Permits for your Go-See-It's.

 

 

[Michael DeMar]

ScoutNut,

 

Thanks for your quick response.

 

You are right that using the Tiger Cub Program and the Shared Leadership helps lighten the load. My comment about this being a lot of work has more to do with me being new to this than not having enough resources (in fact, part of the workload that I, as a new Den Leader, was referring to is the process of reading through BSA publications for the first time, going to roundtables, training days, etc. in order to get up to speed on how to run an effective and efficient program). I guess I need to look at this as the "start up" cost of becoming an Adult Leader in Scouting -- it will pay dividends in the coming years.

 

As a Tiger Cub Den Leader for 8 years, I'm sure you must have some stories to tell. Are there any particular ceremonies or activities or outings (if so, where) that you have done which stand out in your mind as having been a really exceptional experience for the boys?

 

Thanks for the reminder about Tour Permits. That is a definite must-do.

[MarkS]

Is it really necessary to file local tour permits for Tiger Cub Go-See-Its? If so, I better tell our council's trainers to update their curriculum... I was told that local tour permits are "not required for activities with in our Council boundaries or for activities on Council-owned property." You shouldn't need a tour permit to visit the neighborhood fire or police station, or take that walk in the park.

 

I found at least one other council has similar guidelines. You might want to check with your council before completing a lot of potentially unnecessary paperwork.

 

MarkS

(OvO)

 

 

[Michael DeMar]

MarkS,

 

I think that each Council is allowed to formulate its own policy regarding when a Local Tour Permit Application must be filed for Tiger Cub Den trips and outings (p. 8-2 of the Cub Scout Leader Book states "Check with your council service center for local policy on tour permits for den trips and outings.") Accordingly, the policy in your Council might be different from the policy in my Council.

 

I've received all kinds of conflicting advice on this issue. I plan to check with my Council Office to see what is required in my Council.

[Cubmaster Randy]

Welcome. It is good to read something from someone in my old stomping ground. I was a cub scout in Pack 2 which met at College Hills School back in the 70's

[Michael DeMar]

Cubmaster Randy,

 

Thanks for your message. I'm sort of new to the area, having moved about a year and a half ago from New Orleans (just in time to avoid a lot of headaches and heartaches). I'm not familiar with College Hills School and I couldn't find it on google. Was that a school connected with Northwestern?

 

I'd be interested in hearing about where you and your Unit went on outings "back in the day."

 

Thanks again for writing.

 

Michael

 

 

[Cubmaster Randy]

The school is long gone now. The students were transfered to Walker and Timber Ridge. The land was sold and their are a bunch of townhomes on the land now.

 

I vaguely remember our activities. It was over 30 years ago, but I do remember going to the Presbyterian Home on Grant St. at Christmas time and singing carols to the residents. I remmember going to a neighborhood gas station and them not having gas (72 oil crisis). They still were fixing cars so we saw how they did that and of course We had our pinewood derbies. Our pack was small. We had one den in each of the three grades (No tigers and only a one year Webelos program). Every month we got to show at the pack meeting what we had been working on that month at our den meetings. We did not go family camping as a pack back then, but did as a family. it was sure nice to crossover into Boy Scouts. Other trips were to the Field Museaum and Shedd Aquarium, normal stuff

I would suggest taking a tour of Gross Point Lighthouse if you have not. The climb up is not too bad and fulfills a tiger requirment as well.

[Michael DeMar]

Cubmaster Randy,

 

Thanks for sharing some of those memories with me.

 

You might be interested to know that as much as things change over time, many things do remain the same. Later this month our Den will be singing Christmas songs for the residents of what used to be the Swedish Retirement Home on McDaniel St.(we were considering Presbyterian Homes) and we are gearing up for the pinewood derby (possibly with your old Pack, now re-numbered as Pack 922)in March of 2006.

 

If you ever get nostalgic, you can check on the progress of our group at www.pack924.com.

 

I will look into the Grosse Point lighthouse visit. We'll probably have to wait for winter's deep freeze to end before getting that close to the Lake again.

 

Nice hearing from you. Keep in touch.

 

Michael DeMar

 

 

[meredelaire]

We have a small group spread out in the countryside. The boys always enjoy seeing the local volunteer fire department. They especially like to see a fire extinguisher demonstration.

 

When we go into town for bigger Go-see-its, each family drives its own vehicle. We don't need a permit if everyone goes in their POV. We meet at one location to caravan to town, and each family can go straight home whenever they need to.

[Prairie_Scouter]

Hi Michael,

 

and welcome to the campfire.

 

I'm in Hoffman Estates, IL, just west of Woodfield Mall. Good to see another Midwesterner on the forum (even if you are a relative neophyte ) Welcome to Winter, Chicago style!

 

I'm not real familiar with the new Tiger program. My boys finished with Cub Scouts before it went into effect. But, we've done overnight trips to the museums in the city. Most of them have an overnight program, but it can be kind of costly, so you have to consider what you're folks can afford. In particular, we did an overnight at the Adler Planetarium, and it was a blast.

 

And yeah, you should check with your Council on tour permits. In the NWSC, we need a tour permit for anything that's not Council-run, basically.

 

[Michael DeMar]

meredelaire,

 

Thank you for sharing your experiences.

 

We did a firestation visit in October, but we did not get a demonstration or anything. I can see how that would be really fun for the boys. Maybe I can get the fire department to incorporate a demonstration into next year's visit.

 

Thanks for the advice on the Tour Permits, too.

 

[Michael DeMar]

Prairie Scouter,

 

Thank you for the nice welcome and for sharing some of your Scouting highlights with me.

 

I don't know if I am techincally a midwesterner, having grown up on the East Coast and subsequently lived on the Gulf Coast, but maybe I get a pass since I am raising two midwestern boys and am putting up with this extreme deep freeze that you all call "Winter" around here (I guess global warming is only a summertime issue in these parts).

 

We are looking into next year's overnighter at the Adler Planetarium, so it was nice to hear that your group really enjoyed this. We probably will try the overnight program at the Northbaert Nature Museum this spring, which looks like it will be both fun and educational.

 

Where do the NWSC kids go camping? We have some nice camps in our Council, but it might be nice to visit some outside the Council borders at some point down the road.

 

Michael

[kenk]

meredelaire,

 

I agree with your position on tour permits. We figure that as long as parents drive their own boys to Go-See-Its, then no tour permit is required. That a tour permit is only required when the unit makes arrangements for boys to be driven by other parents/adults. Sometimes parents make private arrangements for their boy to tag along with another scout's parent, but since that is not planned/arranged by the unit, no tour permit is required for that either.

 

We don't assemble cars at a common point of departure. We simply tell people where to be at a specified time. I think if you assemble cars at a common point of departure and then leave for a common destination, this can be done without a Tour Permit ONLY if parents ONLY drive their own children.

 

Be careful with caravaning. The Transportation - Automobiles section of the "Guide to Safe Scouting" says "Do not travel in convoy.", though it is OK to have a common point of departure and a common destination.

 

[bchan]

I'm also a new Tiger Cub Den Leader. We are in the Naperville area. I was looking for things for my own kids to do over the holiday break and for the den if they were interested - the Federal Reserve has guided tours M-F. I specifically told them that I have tigers (1st grade) and some brownies (3rd grade) - they told me they have a specific program for this age group.

 

The Oakley Guide also has some great pointers as well as the Chicago Parent magazine (the free one).