From the Mouths of Tigers
What makes an active Tiger Cub Den? What brings the
Tigers back to the Pack as Cub Scouts the next year? One Den seems to have found the
answer in their use of the Internet for keeping everyone informed about activities.
A Tiger Cub
Den Coordinator
Steven McCurry is the Tiger Cub
Coordinator for the five Tiger Cubs of Den 3 in Bonham, Texas. He is a veteran of public
service, having been a police officer in his home town for seventeen years, but, this is his first year in Scouting.
Steven became active in Tiger
Cubs because he wanted his son, Logan, to be involved, and (as is so often the case) the
other Dens were full, so he was asked to start a new Den. He says the best thing about
Tiger Cubs is the activities with the kids. "They are so open to learning new things.
That makes it a new experience for the parents as well! Like learning it all over
again." He finds the worst part to be the politics involved in working within the
organization.
When asked to name some
successful Den activities, Steven said, "Outdoor activities have been our most
successful - camping, hiking, fishing and cooking. The children of today seem to be
completely familiar with the technology of today, but they have not been introduced to
nature. They love it!"
A Tiger Cub Dad
Tiger Cub parent, Chris, a former Scout
who became active in Tiger Cubs to have fun, is described by Steven as " my right arm
during most of this. He's a very good leader."
Chris says the best thing
about Tiger Cubs is camping and having fun. However, it can be difficult when the Pack
Leaders push you into events, like popcorn sales, that you don't want to do. The web site
is a very effective part of our program. It is our common means of communication. Chris
sees positive results from being part of Tiger Cubs. He says, "My child has fun with
his friends and gets to do new things. We are able to get together as a family and
actually do something. The motivation was not there before. I will register my four year
old in Tiger Cubs when he is old enough."
Chris' son, Blake, will be joining Cub
Scouts and Chris plans to be an active parent. "I hope we can keep the same Den
Leader and children, but I am thinking of considering other Packs in the area. I hope more
of the Tiger parents become active in the Den." When asked to name an enjoyable time
in the Den, Chris said, "A Tiger Cub activity that was especially successful was the
camping trip. I took no cell phone or pager, and was able go get away from it all and have
fun with other adults, while the children had fun learning and earning patches."
Tiger Cub Moms
Tiger Cub Stephen’s mom, Rebecca,
was also in Scouting as a youth. She was a Girl Scout for six years. She believes that the
best things about Tiger Cubs are the friendship, teamwork, and new adventures. When asked
to name the worst thing she stated, "Mom & me campouts (Stephen’s Mom HATES
camping :)!"
In Tiger Cubs, her son is
learning about the outdoors and how to work together with others as a team. She, too,
enjoys her time spent in the Den. She likes the fellowship with the other parents and
"watching my son have such a good time with the other boys." She says, "I
look forward to Stephen being a Tiger Cub, Cub Scout, Boy Scout, etc. for as long as he
wants to." When asked if she planned to be a Pack Leader Rebecca replied, "I
probably will not be very active because I am so busy with a large family, but I will be
trying to help out in every way I can without leading."
Rebecca also sees the den
camping trip as a Tiger Cub activity that was especially successful. "This really
helped pull our boys together. Watching the boys follow an armadillo around the campsite
was a lot of fun! They were amazed with this animal!" When asked if there was anything she would like to share
with other Parents to help make their time in Tiger Cubs successful Rebecca said, "In
this busy time, our leader has used modern technology to keep us all connected to each
other. The internet has been helpful and fun for us. "
Alex's mom, Jennifer, said the best thing about TC is
the interaction between the kids. She said, "I really have not found anything bad
about it. Maybe just finding a good time for all of us to meet has been the hardest
part!" In TC she sees Alex learning more responsibilities. and doing
things they would not do otherwise. For herself, she has enjoyed being able to do things
with other parents, learning that not every child is the same, and seeing how well the
kids can adjust to one another.
Jennifer will help her son join Cub
Scouts if he wants. If so, she plans to be as active in the Pack as possible. Commenting
on the Den activities she said, "I think the kids had a wonderful time with the
hayride and cook out we had for Halloween. The boys learn to overcome a problem together
that was set up for them during the hayride. They learned that working together had much
better results than trying to overcome the problem on their own. I think we have a great
group of kids and parents. We all get along well."
Tiger Cub Parents
Daley's parents, Jim and
Stephanie, were both in Scouts. Jim enjoyed it and wants his kids to enjoy and learn also.
Stephanie is active in both Tiger Cubs and in Cub Scouts with her older son, Rusty. They
said, "In Tiger Cubs our kids learn self- improvement, safety, and many other
positive things. And the kids enjoy the other scouts and all the activities. And the
self-motivation they develop is a real big plus for most. The kids feel important and
learn much from this program."
Not only do Jim and Stephanie
plan to help Daley join Cub Scouts next year, his brother Rusty will continue, too. Also,
they plan to help their 3 year old daughter join when she is old enough. Stephanie says,
"I plan to be a big part of Scouting until the last Scout meeting we can go to! To
see their faces when my children receive awards is the best experience I and my child
could have."
Some TC activities that Daley's
family enjoyed were a hay ride and weinie roast, craft activies to help earn badges, and
campouts where the kids feel important helping with tents and so forth, and the whole
family can be involved.
The Tiger's
Themselves
When asked what he does in Tiger Cubs,
Rebecca's son Stephen replied, "We do fun things, we got to go camping, we play
games, we got to have a Halloween and Christmas party, eat cake and cookies, sing to the
old people, and be with my friends." When asked what he had learned in Tigers he
responded, "I don’t know… don’t run around in the woods by
yourself… stay with a buddy… don't call on person your BEST friend because you
might hurt other boys' feelings...I don’t know."
Daley said, "I get
to be with my friends and I learn really neat things because my leader and his wife can
think of cool things for us to do that have to do with scouting things. I can learn
everything that my big brother does. I have learned to be helpful; and I have learned how
to be safe when we go camping; and mostly,
I have learned to be happy and nice to everyone."
Logan, Alex, and Blake said, "We love Tiger Cubs. We have
fun!"
McCurry asked his Tiger Cubs to name the best thing about being a Tiger. They all
agreed that it's the time spent with their friends and parents. When he asked them what
they have learned, any TC Leader can easily envision what he tells us he got as an answer
- five little faces, sticking out of orange shirts, responding in unison with the
words that are so special to them - they recited the Tiger Cub Motto: "To
Search, Discover, Share" and the Tiger Cub Promise: "I promise
to love God, my family, and my country, and to learn about the world."
What more can we ask?
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You can visit the web site of the Den
3 Tiger Cubs. When you do, check out their Bulletin
Board. Good communication seems to be the key to keeping this Den active.
To find many more Tiger Cub Den sites and Tiger Cub Information sites browse the links
on SCOUTER's TC Compass Points: Tiger Cub Program
and Tiger Cubs
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