When is earliest that a Webelos can bridge ??

[Pack212Scouter]

Maybe this will clarify. Assuming that there are no grades skipped....and assuming that school starts in Aug and finishes in May (this may vary slightly by area)...(remember that in addition to Boy Scout requirements, they must be a Webelos for 6 months since completing 4th grade or turning 10...probably the origin of the 10 1/2 myth.

 

Jan birthday - Enters K at 5 years, 7 months - completes 4th (starts 5th) at 10y, 4 months. Eligable for AOL & Boy Scouts at 10 1/2 (July before starting 5th grade year). Without AOL, eligable in Jan of his 5th grade year (11y).

 

May birthday - Enters K at 5 years, 2 months - completes 4th (starts 5th) at 10y. Eligable for AOL & Boy Scouts at 10 1/2 (Nov of 5th grade year). Without AOL eligable in May upon completion of 5th grade (or turning 11 if that's first).

 

Oct birthday (before school cutoff) - Enters K at 4 years, 11 months - completes 4th (starts 5th) at 9y, 7 months. Eligable for AOL & Boy Scouts at 10 years and 1 month of age. Without AOL, eligable upon completion of 5th grade (May at age of 10y 7 months).(This message has been edited by pack212scouter)

[ntrog8r]

From Pack212Scouter: "Oct birthday (before school cutoff) - Enters K at 4 years, 11 months - completes 4th (starts 5th) at 9y, 7 months. Eligable for AOL & Boy Scouts at 10 years and 1 month of age.)."

 

"I see", said the blind man to his deaf wife after their mute daughter explained.

 

There's a word problem I can understand; Thanks!

[WestCoastScouter]

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR ANSWERING THIS QUESTION... AND MAKING IT SOMEWHAT MORE DIFFICULT THAN I WANTED IT TO BE !! HA HA HAAA...!!

 

Long and short.. in my situation, the boy will be well over 10.5 yrs old come December, which is when he antisipates finishing his AOL. He simply had asked me if he could bridge earlier than our AOL ceremony in Feb. His older brother is in a BS Troop, and we've done some joint camping with them... a visit so to speak. He loved it so much that he wants to go ASAP. (But the min. 6 months will put him into early December)

 

So I've told him that he is eligible to go to a BS Troop, on Dec. 10th, so long as he completes his AOL.... and that he's welcome to come back and "formally" bridge in the ceremony with his Webelos Den if he wishes. He is a mature boy for his age, and will do fine.

 

Thanks again for everyone's help. That's why this forum is here..

[Buffalo Skipper]

We had a very similar situation last year. We had two Webelos 2 dens. The boys in both dens had pretty much finished up the AOL quite early. The DL from one den had two sons, one of whom was a Boy Scout. Scouts from that den decided to cross over to a troop in November (older brother ran the OA crossover ceremony at the pack meeting).

 

The other den could also have crossed over, but had absorbed 2 newly joined 5th graders, and it was agreed by these parents to wait until the end of February and cross at our traditional time. This allowed the new Webelos to complete their Webelos badge (min. 3 months) and their AoL, (min 3 more months), almost 6 months to the day from when they joined Cub Scouts. Without this DL who was willing to work with these new Webelos, they would not have been able to complete their AoL and join with the experience of Webelos. It ended working out well for everyone involved.

 

edit:

We discussed this at length last year, but I cannot find the thread at this time. Sorry, I though the material may have been helpful to you.(This message has been edited by Buffalo Skipper)

[Scouting Mom]

10.5 years or 4th grade plus 6 mo....

 

My son finished 4th grade at the age of 9 years, 10 months. He could have crossed over at the age of 10 years, 4 months. He wasn't even the youngest boy in his den.

 

OTOH, my younger son has boys in his den who will be 10 in October of their 4th grade year. They are eligible to cross over in April of their 4th grade year (assuming all AOL requirements are met), without ever being a "Webelos II" (As someone mentioned I or II is not an official designation, just what is commonly used for convenience sake)

[nolesrule]

" They are eligible to cross over in April of their 4th grade year (assuming all AOL requirements are met)"

 

As has been pointed out in this thread, you can't meet all of the AOL requirements while in the 4th grade.

[Lisabob]

Yes, you could, nolesrule. The program is set up to be either age *or* grade based. While most packs follow the grade level basis, some do not. Some allow boys to move to the next rank based on age. And sometimes there are special circumstances, even in packs that typically follow the grade-based guidelines.

 

We had a boy who did 3rd grade twice. The first time he was a Bear. The second time, his family, in consultation with the pack leadership, opted to allow him to move ahead with his den buddies based on his age. The result was that he earned AoL while he was in 4th grade, and he joined the troop as a 4th grader with his AoL. Several years have passed. He's still happily in the troop, doing fine.

 

One of the things about cubbing is that there's a lot of flexibility. That's good, but it appears to lead to mis-statements. I can see where a typical SM who doesn't often deal with the minutia of cub life could lose track of all of it.

[Basementdweller]

Using my son as an example. He is currently a Bear and will be turning 9 Oct 21st and he is in the third grade. It is my intention for him to have earned all the activity badges for his arrow of light by his 10th birthday. Summer camp and weeblo camps are fantastic for doing this.

 

at the age of 10 and in the 4th grade he will have completed the AOL requirements except the tenure. So in April of His 4th grade year 6 months after turning 10 he can cross into boy scouts if he wants that is.

 

No weeb 2 year(This message has been edited by Basementdweller)

[nolesrule]

Lisabob, you're right. Serves me right for relying on the requirement quote earlier in the thread which was missing the age portion.

 

Besides, I'm suffering from lack of sleep. Daughter #2 was born Wednesday.

[Lisabob]

Congratulations! I hope everyone is doing well.

[GKlose]

B-Dweller, my son (now first year in a Scout troop) did something very similar. In his case, he turned 10 even before his 4th grade year started (early September birthday, school starts the Tuesday after Labor Day).

 

But in his case he was done with Cub Scouts. It was a poorly-run pack and he was tired of all the same old stuff. He felt most pack meetings were for little kids, not kids like him. So, he wanted out of Cub Scouts. I asked him if he would earn Arrow of Light, and pointed out that it would be hard work to do it all in six months, but that he could do it.

 

And he did. The pack Blue and Gold Banquet was this last March, and he'd finished everything and was ready to cross over with the older, 5th grade Webelos.

 

I've told a few people who were curious about this, but I pointed out the lead really came from my son -- he was ready to be done with Cub Scouts.

 

Guy

[acco40]

12:01 AM.