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This sounds exactly like the membership organization I chose many years ago when GS wasn't really "my thing". We called it 4-H. It's still around, isn't it? Suited us very well, my older sister the book-worm, and my younger brother who is a professional stunt man included! Any family who wants a club that morphs to fit small groups and even individuals would do well to start or join a like-minded club. I'm not being sarcastic, I'm pointing out an organization that already does this and no one seems to be mentioning. I even went to 4-H camp and loved it...cabin camping - boys on one side and

Is there an existing event you could move to this time & location? Make it easy on the adults...? My older son was in a huge year of cubs throughout - we had three dens in our school since his Tiger year (more than half the boys in the grade!). When it came time for the 28-30 Bears to do their traditional Rain Gutter Regatta, we could see it would be tough to invite all the boys to one backyard (traditional location). So, we moved it to the front of the school on a Friday in the spring when the PTO (our CO) sold ice cream. We knew others would be sticking around for the ice cream and t

Ooops, I'm sorry - I was replying to the replies and missed the point of the original post! We didn't have the Lions perform a skit, but if they choose to do one they can (Dens all do skits at our B&G). Without a patch or scarf, they didn't "move up" as the Cubs did but we did have leaders call their names just as the other dens so they could cross the stage. We incorporate the Lions into pack meetings just as we always did with younger siblings & sisters who attend. They don't participate in the flag ceremonies like cubs but the rest of the program they do. They get PWD kits to

Scouting is fun and social, which is why we joined in the first place and part of why we're in it still...and increasingly "in" with larger roles as adult leaders. This "Fun with a Purpose" is work for leaders and work for scouts, as they grow from boys into not just men but the men we wish them to become. No one in K is ready for the responsibilities that an older Cub can shoulder, let alone that of teens. Same can be said for the activities, but it's not hard to include the littlest ones. Before we had the Lions pilot, we created our own K scouts group - we had to name it "Seekers" and c

You sound accomplished and dynamic! Like someone who will give back as much as or more than he's received - Best wishes to you as you do so!

Welcome!

How sad and terrible but also how touching. My condolences.

If the patrol method is working in cubs, then that's a good work-around. We tried something similar but Tiger year for my little guy was a bust. Tiger year for my older son was our start in scouting and we had lots of recruits that year so the Committee Chair sat the leaders down together and we went through the list and carved out two dens. It was a little painful but necessary - we soon became three dens of up to 11 boys each! (Cubs took on a life of its own in that grade, over half the boys my son's grade were in the pack) Through attrition we still had 25 boys get AOL at the end and most w

That's a real thing, isn't it?!? I grew up in the NY suburbs and didn't hear this until college in MD. When I married, I moved to NJ (still NYC area) and much closer to the GSP than the Turnpike. I guess I'd say I'm exit 11. Nice to meet you!

The den I lead was the last year to use the old books. I led the den with two other moms & we'd meet to go over both books and plan the meetings from there. We read more as the boys matured and learned to do the reading parts over snack time. Generally it was an adult reading and it wasn't the highlight of the meetings, but it worked. Another leader would sit the boys on the floor in a circle and read with them. It may depend on the "personality" of your den. The religious and youth protection information was always assigned reading for parents to do at home until our Webelos year, when we

Thank you!

To quote Continental Congressman John Dickenson in 1776, "It's somewhere between New York and Pennsylvania" (but only because I like that line, clearly you know exactly where to find NJ!)

We sold just over $4,000 in popcorn (in a pack that could once run all events on popcorn money - it's dwindled greatly over the past five years). We added Fun Pasta company fundraiser this year and that took in $1,000 for our pack. We raised dues to $110 (from $100 for the past decade or more), and we charge as little as we can for events - $20/family for B&G (hot buffet dinner), $5 Raingutter Regatta (Bear year only), Camp out/Cook out is free. We ask families to bring food to certain events (desserts for B&G, PWD and Holiday meeting) and used to ask for water but now only bring a few

I'm not new to Scouts, but just finding this great site and forums! I'm a Pack CC in NJ (yes! NJ!), a former den leader and a mom of both a Scout-rank Scout and a Webelos. No Lions when we started so we created Seekers for Kindergarten boys (based on the Scouting for Life program) and now we're trying out the Lions Not getting boys involved from K was holding us back a bit...everything else starts in K! I wish I were a talented graphic artist - I wanted to create an eye-catching page to summarize our pack's great year and couldn't find a decent template, let alone one for infograp