Cub Scout Den Leaders...

[mrs.m]

I'm a little scared to post this after the other thread which I did not read. ;) But I need an answer to this question.

 

Anyway, our pack leader has asked DH and I to lead the Bear Den this year. How much time is needed for planning and preperation should we take this on? I would be doing administrative work and DH would lead the meetings. He's good with kids!

 

I'm also thinking it is time to move to another pack. DS was a bear last year. But we moved in the middle of the year from out of state and joined this new pack. They didn't have a pack leader for Bears last year either(they were just doing it all on their own) and without meetings I coudn't keep him on track during the time we were getting settled. It was not a big deal to ask him to do Bears again. He is technically in 3rd grade now. The last pack was insistant on placing him by birthdate despite my request to have him start in Tigers. (he's a July baby so he would be a very young 4th grader)

 

So the choice is to find another pack with an active Bear Den leader. Or take over and lead the Bear Den. I've been very happy with the activities offered by the pack. They are actually very organized in that area. It's just the Bears that seem to be lacking leadership...

[lionfamily1999]

You can do very little or you can do a lot.

 

When I was a Bear leader we did a lot of activities. I started out by planning the number of activities they needed to get their badges by the end of the year and then scheduling everything. :shrug: It's sort of like planning a class for hsing ;)

 

As a Webelo leader we did much less, but I had less help and had to run two dens (Wolves too). So, I didn't have the time or energy to do the more interesting achievements and stuck with the easiest ones.

 

I loved Bears, it gave you so many options for completion. It was my favorite year.

[Unicorn.]

One hour per week (per boy). Ok, that's kind of an inside joke, because they will tell you it will only be an hour a week, but that doesn't include planning, phone calls, gathering supplies, etc.! I was my son's den leader in Cub Scouts. Do it! It's worth it!! How much time depends on how much you put into it. Buy the cub scout leader's activity book, and use it. Have fun!

[VeganCupcake]

I'm a Bear den leader, and I'd say I spend about an hour or two a week planning, and then the hour or so at the meeting. Maybe I'm a huge slacker, though? I think I currently have 4 Bears, but I sure don't spend 4 hours a week preparing.

 

I'm also in charge of the achievements for our pack, so that takes some extra time. And then we have committee meetings once a month. We also have roundtable once a month, but I can rarely attend that.

[SailorMom]

Placement in Tiger/Wolf/Bear/Webelo is ENTIRELY dependent on birthday and grade level. It is not like Boy Scouts.

So - no matter what Pack you go to, they will place him the same way. This is BSA policy.

Trust me, this is a good thing.

Whether or not he gets the other ranks doesn't matter a smidgen, not even a bit. The activities in the younger ranks are BORING for the older scouts, and not age appropriate at all.

As for how long it takes, well - about 4-5 hours a week I would say if you average it out. Some week smore, some less.

[SailorMom]

 

So the choice is to find another pack with an active Bear Den leader. Or take over and lead the Bear Den. I've been very happy with the activities offered by the pack. They are actually very organized in that area. It's just the Bears that seem to be lacking leadership...

 

Someone - some parent - has to take on these roles. So - looking for a Pack with a leader.... well, then be prepared to take on a different role in the Pack (such as a committee position).... running a pack is a lot of work :)

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I did Tigers last year and am continuing on as Wolf leader in our very active pack. I had 11 scouts in my den. I had almost no help from other parents, although I did ask and then just started assigning things to other parents. I spent about an hour to an hour and a half per week planning and gathering supplies, an hour every other week leading meetings, and our pack has monthly den leader meetings for two hours. That along with all the pack activities and service projects seems to take up a great deal of my time.

[starwarsmomma]

Here are my thoughts... as a mom who has now done this 3 times.

LOL

 

At bear and webelo-- I make hubby do the meetings. (like you already planned)-- I do the shopping, planning, paperwork (for trips, campouts, etc...), emails, phone calls, etc..

That works great for us.

 

I spend about 5 hours (total) at the beginning of the year planning things out. Once I get that settled for the year, I just email parents, nag for volunteers, etc... MAYBE 30 minutes a week of my time. But that's because I spent time in the beginning.

 

Usually I just show hubby what needs to be covered the day before and if there's any ideas he has -- he does them on his own.

 

Bears and webelos do alot of fun things!

 

And a major piece of advice.....

Don't plan anything with pom poms and glitter. Seriously. ANY art or creative projects (especially webelo) need to involve manly things like duct tape, PVC pipe, wood, industrial glue, wiring, and anything that can be purchased at home depot.

 

ONE TIME I had glitter out to make Christmas cards for elderly people at a nursing home and I thought there was going to be a serious revolt on my hands. LOL The boys are all boy scouts now and still bring it up, shaking their head in confusion that I would dare do such a thing. Apparently, that's a huge no-no for boys once they reach that age. LOL

[A.J. at J.A.]

While being a Bear den leader in itself might not take much time - you are then, in a way - also signing up to being the Webelos den leader for the following two years, which does require a lot of time, in my opinion. Just something to consider.

 

ETA: I know the grammar on that sentence is horrid, please just look past it. :0)

 

Blessings,

Angela

[A.J. at J.A.]

 

ONE TIME I had glitter out to make Christmas cards for elderly people at a nursing home and I thought there was going to be a serious revolt on my hands. LOL The boys are all boy scouts now and still bring it up, shaking their head in confusion that I would dare do such a thing. Apparently, that's a huge no-no for boys once they reach that age. LOL

 

:lol:

[FriedClams]

I am a Webelos 1 leader. I was an assistant last year but did 95% of the work. The new Cub Scout 2010 planning guide is AWESOME. If you aren't a big planner/idea person - it has everything laid out for you. I found in immensely helpful. (And, as others have said, I had minimal parental help.)

 

I have thoroughly enjoyed being a leader. Sometimes the kids are nuts, but most of the time they are great. I really enjoy the other leaders and being with people who actually DO things for kids other than their own. I know that many HSers are busy with lots of kids - I understand - but with only 2 its been a great place to serve.

 

If you do sign up - do BALOO and other adult training. They can be a BLAST. I am really looking forward to Wood Badge in the spring!!

[angela in ohio]

Placement in Tiger/Wolf/Bear/Webelo is ENTIRELY dependent on birthday and grade level. It is not like Boy Scouts.

So - no matter what Pack you go to, they will place him the same way. This is BSA policy.

Trust me, this is a good thing.

 

If she has held him back a grade (we did the same with our late-July ds,) he would be placed by that grade, so he should have been placed where she wanted him. Going strictly by birthdate and ignoring that a child might have been grade delayed or advanced is not policy.

 

My guy is with his grade-level peers, because if he goes to school those will be the kiddos he knows.

Edited September 1, 2011 by angela in ohio
bIrthday

[angela in ohio]

I prefer it when dh is the leader. That way, we know it will be a quality activity, and we can set the schedule.

 

We have two monthly Den meetings, the Pack meeting, and a monthly committee meeting.

 

Dh is now CubMaster and I am secretary of the committee, and we have always been more involved than just being a Den leader, so it's hard to say exactly what the minimum time would be. Den meetings require an hour or two of planning, depending on the activity. Much of what you will be doing, you would do anyway (attend meetings and activities.)

 

I say go for it!! :001_smile:

[SailorMom]

He'll loose a year of Boy Scouts, and he'll be one of the younger kids at the lower ranks.

That's why - although it is usually by grade - age is a factor. It isn't as much of a factor in Cubs - but the placement in cubs affects Boy Scouts....

Just something to think about.

I would say stick with whatever rank his AGE group peers are in. If he's close the age cut offs, then that leaves you more wiggle room :)

If a child has been held back in school in the PS system, they are usually assigned to a den based on what grade they would have been that year had they not ever been held back.

[mrs.m]

Did he earn his Bear badge? If he did, he wouldn't be a Bear again. If he didn't, then, yes, it goes by grade. He DEFINITELY wouldn't be a Tiger--he'd be bored to tears. The only problem with having him "back" a year is that he'd be twelve or almost when he crosses over to Boy Scouts from Webelos. However, he could still cross over at the regular age of 11, even if he hasn't earned his Arrow of Light. But, that means only one year of Webs--that's doable, but he'd miss some stuff. To cross over they have to be 10.5 AND finished 5th grade, 11yo, or 10.5 AND have AoL. If he's twelve at crossover, he loses a year of Boy Scouts. If he moves into a troop with a lot of "death-bed" Eagles (Eagling right before the 18th birthday) just keep an eye on his advancement. It's hard to have the oldest boy in the crossover cohort sometimes, because the other boys have an entire year more to advance. My ds will no longer be a Scout most of his senior year--too old. We have a young man who has aged out already--he won't be a Scout any of his senior year. That's fine--he'll be an Assistant Scoutmaster!

 

 

I think you misunderstood what I said. I don't want him in Tigers now. My youngest will be in Tigers. I started him in Scouts in what was 1st grade for him but by age, according to the school district, he would have been in 2nd grade. I don't understand why scouts would go by what a district says is the cut-off since it varies so greatly throughout the US? But we went along with it and he did OK. I found the material to be a bit advanced for him. He was a first grader still learning to read and many of the boys were already fluent. We had one instance where the den leader asked him to read aloud. He cried because he couldn't do it. And there should be a big leap in reading ability between 1st and 2nd grade! We have seen other instances throughout the past couple years to indicate he might be in the wrong level.

 

He did not earn his bear badge this year because we did not complete enough activities to make it happen with a move and then lacking any sort of leadership.

 

The current pack leader approved the request for him to re-do Bears. Or, maybe he doesn't care if it is a policy? It's the right thing to do!!! He is in 3rd grade this year. Honestly, he fits in better with the younger boys because he is younger! I think this is really best for him.

 

I'm not sure that I understand what you are saying about the other part of it. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. We honestly can't be the only parent that has dealt with a red shirt in scouts.

 

 

 

Thank you everyone for your feedback. We are going to pray about this one. We are soooooo busy and I think my DH is going to be twitchy about this one. But I want us to have a Bear Den this year!!!

Edited September 1, 2011 by jannylynn

[mrs.m]

I would say stick with whatever rank his AGE group peers are in. If he's close the age cut offs, then that leaves you more wiggle room :)

 

 

for the district we were living in at the time he made the cut-off by 3 days. So a child born in Aug. that had to wait to go to school is almost a full year older than him. I'm not sure what it is for the area we moved to...

[mom2scouts]

I will be my son's Bear den leader this year. If you and your dh can work together, I think it will be a great opportunity. I like being the den leader so I can make sure that my son has a good experience. Our Pack was very small and didn't have much leadership when we started. I now have the largest, most active den. I need to spend about an hour or two a week planning and getting supplies together for the den meetings. I spent much more time than that for the Pack because I also help my dh who is the Cubmaster.

 

BTW, I think the previous Pack was wrong to insist on having your son be a Bear. It should be strictly grade based and, for homeschooled students, I allow the parent to choose whatever grade they consider appropriate for their child.

[chiguirre]

I was assistant Bear leader last year. We had each family sign up for one of the achievements and organize that week. This worked really well and we didn't have any trouble getting all the commited scouts their rank by Blue and Gold (the only one who didn't earn his rank missed half the meetings). Our biggest project was building a push mobile. It took a whole day, but we did it and it was awesome!

 

For Bear, there are a lot of achievements that boys need to do with their family, so they don't take up den time. We managed to get the World Conservation Award done in the extra time we had after B&G.

 

Enjoy your year in Bears!

[Maus]

Anyway, our pack leader has asked DH and I to lead the Bear Den this year. How much time is needed for planning and preperation should we take this on? I would be doing administrative work and DH would lead the meetings. He's good with kids!

I have a two part answer.

 

1) Before you even start, there is some preparation. The application is fairly detailed, and due to all the problems they've had, they need to run a background check before you start. There are several required training classes (one on safety), most of which can be done online and are pretty quick, but I'm remembering one longer one where we had to go to the local scout office...I think that one just had to be completed in the first six months or something, because we'd already been holding den meetings for a while when they finally had one scheduled.

 

2)

I am a Webelos 1 leader. I was an assistant last year but did 95% of the work. The new Cub Scout 2010 planning guide is AWESOME. If you aren't a big planner/idea person - it has everything laid out for you. I found in immensely helpful. (And, as others have said, I had minimal parental help.)

DH and I were Bear Leaders right before they came out with the new planning guide, but I bought it for myself when my son entered cubs the next year. (Our cub scout career ended when I was put on bedrest with my last pregnancy.) It's a great guide! Even if you have no parental involvement, as long as your cubs are showing up most of the time, they should be able to advance on time.

 

I had a big bin in the trunk of my car, and we had a rough idea what the activity for the next several dens meetings would be. We didn't take old material out unless it was totally in the way. We found it almost inevitable that if we had a week in which only one or two boys showed up, they had already passed off at home the requirement scheduled for that meeting. Having past and future stuff in the car let us drop the planned activity for something the boys needed to make up, or at least otherwise hadn't done yet. (We winged it a lot.! :D)

 

We otherwise didn't spend a long time in prep. We received monthly theme suggestions and I'd read that and match up a requirement or two and read the corresponding pages in the Bear book. Most of the time, we had the required materials around the house somewhere (either in our homeschool stuff or in our camping gear), so I'd drop them in the bin. An hour a week, maybe. Once in a while we didn't have everything, so I'd pick it up during weekly errands. Small things, like an intact ball of string. (My daughter had cut up the one I thought I had.) Once we needed a half dozen bars of soap to do the carving requirement. The hardest thing I ever had to track down was a whet stone, for knife sharpening. It only took one stop, but I couldn't think where such a thing would be located and had to find an employee to show me.

 

We usually looked for the simplest way to meet the requirement. Most of them don't take fancy equipment or kits or Martha Stewart creativity to get the job done.

 

It was really fun to do, and I'd say, "Yes!!" if asked to do it again. We did have a minor bully amongst our cubs that got under DH's skin a few times.

[angela in ohio]

For Bear, there are a lot of achievements that boys need to do with their family, so they don't take up den time. We managed to get the World Conservation Award done in the extra time we had after B&G.

 

This is our plan this year. I'm glad to hear it worked our well!

[FriedClams]

I'll chime in on the age thing....

 

My son is 8 and will turn 9 in October. Depending on the school district he would be in either 3rd or 4th grade. He is extremely bright and we consider him a 4th grader.

 

When we started scouts a dear friend suggested we put him with his grade. She explained that we didn't want him lingering with younger boys as he got older (and sorry if this is offensive .-she works with PS kids) she though the boys were extremely immature. She thought that your average HS kid, who can sit and listen, and Participate in something like Sunday School would be fine a grade ahead in scouts.

 

We took her advice, and for Cubs, I am glad we did. My son fits in fine. All the boys are bunch of wiggly monkeys - HS and PS. They are all about the same maturity wise! I have a great group if wonderful boys and they all get along well.

 

Now, as we turn the corner toward Scouts I wonder if we did DS disservice. I'm NOT sending a 10 year old to a week long overnight camp without an adult around (which is why I lead). Most people around here would have a boy his age in 3rd grade, so he really is pretty young for the group. At camp and BS events I've seen some great older scouts and some who need mentoring, and I want to make sure in the next two years that DS is ready to handle them. We may hold him back in Webelos 2. He may be just fine to move up, and I suspect he will. This is my second year in scouts, and honestly, the boys seems to clump together socially a lot more easily than girls.

 

So, after my incredibly long story, I'd say it depends on how mature your son is. I'm not talking discussing Plato - I mean is he "young" for his age or does he age up in a group? Are most of his playmates younger or older? How does he do in group with boys of various ages? I'd determine his placement on those questions more than age or grade. I will add that a HS friend had her son in cubs and he skipped Webelos 2 (and still made arrow of light). He wasn't ready when he was younger, but did 4th and 5 th grade in one year. It's worked out great for them.

[mrs.m]

We decided to take on the task! Thank you for all your replies. :)

[Tammy (TX)]

We decided to take on the task! Thank you for all your replies. :)

 

Have fun! I am the Bear Den Leader this year - it will be my first time. Someone may have mentioned it already, but I found the Den Meeting Plans very helpful: http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/CubScouts/Leaders/DenLeaderResources/DenandPackMeetingResourceGuide/BearDenPlans.aspx

 

I just used them as a guide, and cut out any extra stuff we didn't want to do.

 

Have a good year!

[Maus]

 

It was really fun to do, and I'd say, "Yes!!" if asked to do it again. We did have a minor bully amongst our cubs that got under DH's skin a few times.

Man, I totally jinxed us with that one! Guess what we were just asked to do?