Greetings from the Rockies!

[scarey357]

Hello all. I'm new to the forum, and new to being an adult scout leader. I was in Cubs for 4 years, Arrow of Light, Boy Scouts for six years, got my Eagle scout literally 2 days before I turned 18 I helped out as an Asst. Scoutmaster in my early 20's for about a year and a half. Now, my son just turned 6 and is in Tiger Cubs, and I'm the Den Leader. I'm pretty good with older kids, but I struggle with younger kids a bit (not my own son, but with groups). Just here looking for good ideas/suggestions in running Cub Scout Den Meetings.

 

Just as a personal aside, and one reason why I love scouting so much...I still have all my old badges, rank, merit and camp stuff, but no council or number patches. Well, my son is helping me put together a scrapbook of my stuff, along with starting his own. I sent out 4 emails to various District Leaders (I was involved with 3 different troops through the years). Within 14 hours, I had responses from ALL 4, including my troop numbers and councils that I belonged to. How awesome is that?

 

Look forward to chatting with everyone.

 

Sean

 

[Trevorum]

Welcome Sean! (I think we'll probably all just call you scarey) and welcome back into scouting! You're gonna have a GREAT time!

[nmstowe]

Greetings from Northern California. Buckle up and enjoy the ride. It's all fun from the adult side! I was a den leader for 6 years, Cubmaster for 5, Webelos for 4, and too many other things to count. Some suggestions I have are to sit the boys down and have them make up "Den Rules of Conduct" and what to do if they are broken. This way the boys can have a say in it and you can guide the discussion by following the Cub Scout Law and Oath. I was sneaky enough that if they didn't say one of the items I thought should be on the list, I would "suggest" Well, what happens if someone does this? Should that be a rule? It worked well and I had a den of 13 boys. Thank goodness for assistant den leaders and den chiefs! Another thing we did was right after the flag ceremony, (which rotated each week with a different boy who also brought a healthy snack to share) we had each boy stand up in front of the room and share something fun or whatever that they did since the last meeting. They each had 2 minutes or less to talk. It helped them learn to talk in front of groups and they were the den most likely to have a lot to say during pack meetings. After that we went outside and did some exercises for 15 minutes. (Wore them down a bit for the inside activities) Then we came inside and worked on their requirements in their books. We made moccasins, real pvc rockets, a radio, a shelf for their scout items so they wouldn't lose them each week, a cub mobile and a lot of other fun things. We also scheduled some field trips to things like the Saturday morning at 6 am wildlife refuge walk/ with a ranger to see what animal life was up and about. They still talk about that one and they are 16-18 years old now. They earned a National Wildlife pin for it which I paid for and enjoyed giving them to them. We visited the planetarium, discovery center, airport, crop duster, cheese factory and too many other places. But the memories are sure worth it. Probably why I had so many boys in my den. Ask around for people to come and talk. We called the district attorney who had us in for a "legal talk". He also set up a mock court where the boys got to play all the parts- Judge, lawyers, defendant, and jury. He had the baliff come in too.

 

Most people I asked to come to den meetings to share their work and what they do there came. It's hard to say no to little guys! We had a bridge builder/contractor come in when we made popsicle stick bridges. He helped the boys with structural designs. We had the health department over to talk about alcohol and smoking and what they do to your body.

 

It all fell in with chapters in their cub books. Just remember to keep it simple and make it fun. KISMIF

 

And pick all of our brains for more ideas anytime you need them!

 

[MarkS]

Working with the youngest lads in the program can be a challenge. The KISMIF method is the way to go. Just remember that S also stands for short. Tiger Cub lads won't have a long attention span. Be prepared (where'd I hear that before) and keep things moving in your meetings. Lack of idle time equates to lack of problems.

 

Also remember that a Tiger Den Leader works with a different boy/adult partner team each month to plan the den meetings, the Go See It, and the dens part in the pack meeting. The emphasis is on shared leadership. You're trying to build a foundation of cooperation that helps you build a quality fun program that boys will enjoy and help them develop.

 

Everything you need to get started is the Program Helps! guide and Tiger Cub scout manuals. Have fun.

 

I sent you a PM.