The Cub Scout theme for October is Jungle Safari. One of the interesting things I learned a few years ago during the Cub Scout 75th Birthday was the relationship between Lord Baden-Powell and Rudyard Kipling. The ranks of Cub Scouting were determined largely by the Jungle Books of Kipling. Yes, you read that right - the Jungle Books. What we see in Disney's movie leads us to believe that there was just one book which followed the life of young Mowgli as he was raised by Akela and the wolf pack. But Kipling wrote a series of books and I highly recommend you read them if you can find them. Help your Cub Scouts make the connections between Kipling's stories and the Cub Scout Program.
Most often when we think of Jungle Safari, we think of Africa. Help your Cub Scouts explore why Africa was important to Baden-Powell. Learn some of the history of Baden-Powell's experiences there and tie them in to the explorations Cub Scouts can embark upon. Speaking of explorations, what bits of Africa are available in your own neighborhood? Most large communities have a zoo, wildlife center, or refuge. Plan ahead and you might find a group who will bring out some animals for your pack meeting. Maybe no lions or rhinos, but the jungles are full of birds, reptiles, and insects.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Recruiting Cub Scouts
'Tis the season for recruiting. School is back in session or soon will be. While the majority of new recruits will be Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts is for the majority of boys in the elementary schools. Try to have your recruiting efforts target all boys in the 1st through 5th grades.
School Recruiting
The most effective way to recruit Cub Scouts is to be visible in their community. Traditionally, this involves having a table display at local elementary schools during "meet-the-teacher" days or on curriculum nights. Plan well enough in advance that you can work out a place to have your display table that will ensure the most amount of traffic. This may be in the gym or lunchroom, the main hallway of the school, or outside the main entrance.
Keep your display table simple. Use a tri-fold or similar display board that prominently announces your pack number and shows pictures of the various events in which your pack participates. Display items should be able to be picked up and played with such as past Pinewood Derby cars, Raingutter boats, leather crafts, and tie slides. Consider having some items to give away such as pencils with your pack number on it or mugs. Check with your District Executive to see if he or she has access to any items no longer in use by your council.
Have plenty of flyers. You should have a new parent orientation meeting or pack meeting within two weeks of your recruiting events. Your council will print standard flyers for your pack with the date, time, and location of this meeting. Hand out flyers to every parent who walks by. They may have a son, grandson, nephew, or neighbor who is old enough to be in Cub Scouts but isn't with them at the event.
Include current cub scouts in your recruiting efforts. Leaders telling parents what a great program cub scouts is for their sons is nowhere near as effective as a current Cub Scout encouraging friends and classmates to join.
Community Events
While recruiting from schools is the usual route, it is not the only way to recruit. Talk to local business owners about setting up a display table in front of their store. Reserve a site at your local park and have a pack BBQ or ice cream party. Coordinate with local churches to recruit after church services. Again, make sure you have plenty of flyers and your Cub Scouts should be in uniform.
Target Everyone
Some packs may become territorial about the schools from which they recruit. This is a disservice to the Cub Scout program. It would be nice if everyone from the school had a schedule that worked with one pack's meeting nights, but the reality is that one pack will not meet every boy's availability. Coordinate with your District Executive to identify which schools you want to target and determine if other packs are already recruiting from those schools. If the school is already "taken," talk to the other pack about your desire to recruit from there as well. Coordinate your new parent meetings so they do not fall on the same night and allow parents to shop around for the pack that fits their schedules best. It is better for the boy if he has options to choose from than to choose not to participate in Cub Scouts simply because he only knew about one pack.
School Recruiting
The most effective way to recruit Cub Scouts is to be visible in their community. Traditionally, this involves having a table display at local elementary schools during "meet-the-teacher" days or on curriculum nights. Plan well enough in advance that you can work out a place to have your display table that will ensure the most amount of traffic. This may be in the gym or lunchroom, the main hallway of the school, or outside the main entrance.
Keep your display table simple. Use a tri-fold or similar display board that prominently announces your pack number and shows pictures of the various events in which your pack participates. Display items should be able to be picked up and played with such as past Pinewood Derby cars, Raingutter boats, leather crafts, and tie slides. Consider having some items to give away such as pencils with your pack number on it or mugs. Check with your District Executive to see if he or she has access to any items no longer in use by your council.
Have plenty of flyers. You should have a new parent orientation meeting or pack meeting within two weeks of your recruiting events. Your council will print standard flyers for your pack with the date, time, and location of this meeting. Hand out flyers to every parent who walks by. They may have a son, grandson, nephew, or neighbor who is old enough to be in Cub Scouts but isn't with them at the event.
Include current cub scouts in your recruiting efforts. Leaders telling parents what a great program cub scouts is for their sons is nowhere near as effective as a current Cub Scout encouraging friends and classmates to join.
Community Events
While recruiting from schools is the usual route, it is not the only way to recruit. Talk to local business owners about setting up a display table in front of their store. Reserve a site at your local park and have a pack BBQ or ice cream party. Coordinate with local churches to recruit after church services. Again, make sure you have plenty of flyers and your Cub Scouts should be in uniform.
Target Everyone
Some packs may become territorial about the schools from which they recruit. This is a disservice to the Cub Scout program. It would be nice if everyone from the school had a schedule that worked with one pack's meeting nights, but the reality is that one pack will not meet every boy's availability. Coordinate with your District Executive to identify which schools you want to target and determine if other packs are already recruiting from those schools. If the school is already "taken," talk to the other pack about your desire to recruit from there as well. Coordinate your new parent meetings so they do not fall on the same night and allow parents to shop around for the pack that fits their schedules best. It is better for the boy if he has options to choose from than to choose not to participate in Cub Scouts simply because he only knew about one pack.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Welcome to Cub Scouts
Most people who know me, understand that my blood runs blue and gold. I am LDS and so became involved as a Cub Scout Leader before I my own boys were old enough to be scouts. Although I was skeptical of the program at first, I found that I actually love scouts. In fact, I have a nasty illness which we refer to as "Helium Hand" - you got it, if there is something that needs to be done, my hand quickly finds itself in the air despite my best efforts to keep it down.
Because of this illness, I have become entrenched in all aspects of Scouting. At the unit level I have been a den leader, assistant cubmaster, committee chair, fundraising chair, and am now starting a new year as my youngest son's Tiger Den Leader. At the district level I served as the Cub Scout Roundtable Commissioner, and now am a unit commissioner, newsletter editor, popcorn colonel, and on the Cub Scout Training Team. At the council level I have worked on the Pow Wow committee, spent a month on staff with the Cub Scout Day Camp, and will be MCing the Wood Badge Reunion Dinner tomorrow night.
The purpose of this blog is to help you help your cub scouts. Each month I will focus on the next month's theme, just as we do at Roundtable. I will include skits, songs, cheers, and other fun stuff that you can use in den and pack meetings. You will also find tips on how to have productive den meetings, where to look for more training, and how to best contribute to a committee meeting. You may also find my humorous life come to light as I share personal scouting moments. These may not be helpful, but hopefully you will get some entertainment value if nothing else.
As I mentioned, I am LDS but I will be with a traditional unit until my son is old enough to transfer to our LDS unit. I will say upfront that I do not understand all of the reasons the LDS church does things a little bit differently than traditional units, but the purpose of this blog is not to bash either the LDS or traditional ways of scouting. I hope that you will find something of value for your scouting experience here regardless of your religious affiliation.
Because of this illness, I have become entrenched in all aspects of Scouting. At the unit level I have been a den leader, assistant cubmaster, committee chair, fundraising chair, and am now starting a new year as my youngest son's Tiger Den Leader. At the district level I served as the Cub Scout Roundtable Commissioner, and now am a unit commissioner, newsletter editor, popcorn colonel, and on the Cub Scout Training Team. At the council level I have worked on the Pow Wow committee, spent a month on staff with the Cub Scout Day Camp, and will be MCing the Wood Badge Reunion Dinner tomorrow night.
The purpose of this blog is to help you help your cub scouts. Each month I will focus on the next month's theme, just as we do at Roundtable. I will include skits, songs, cheers, and other fun stuff that you can use in den and pack meetings. You will also find tips on how to have productive den meetings, where to look for more training, and how to best contribute to a committee meeting. You may also find my humorous life come to light as I share personal scouting moments. These may not be helpful, but hopefully you will get some entertainment value if nothing else.
As I mentioned, I am LDS but I will be with a traditional unit until my son is old enough to transfer to our LDS unit. I will say upfront that I do not understand all of the reasons the LDS church does things a little bit differently than traditional units, but the purpose of this blog is not to bash either the LDS or traditional ways of scouting. I hope that you will find something of value for your scouting experience here regardless of your religious affiliation.
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