ScrappinJazz

Thank you so much to everyone for your suggestions! I am putting them all together so I can come up with a game plan.

Currently my plan is this:

I'm going to try to avoid being the den leader at this point. There is one mom that I really refuse to have to deal with in that capacity. Being a GS leader, I know what it will be like and I'm not willing to put myself through that. However, if her son doesn't continue next year, I will definitely consider it.

I am going to be part of the pack committee. I will attend parent/leader meetings and the roundtables whenever possible. I am going to take training (I actually like training.) but I can't find one that fits into my schedule this spring. I might have to wait until fall. I already took the available online ones.

When I complained to council, they contacted all of the people who are in between the council membership person and my Cub Master. So, they all know who I am. I think that is a good thing.

One thing to know about me, once I invest in a project, it will get done. haha I think our Cub Master could tell and he is hopefully ready for it. I'm determined to get this turned around. Luckily, two of my GS moms have boys who are currently in this pack so I do have a couple resources to draw on.

Look out, here I come!

Christy

You asked for details.. Here they come...

At registration, the person working with the Tigers told us "You don't really have to meet or anything. The boys just want to go to camp in the summer so you could meet once a month or something." I insisted on twice a month, we picked a day, someone volunteered to be the leader and we were off and running. Of course, our leader never showed up at a den meeting. Ever. In January he told us he (and his son) were quitting. We had 4 other boys quit - 2 due to schedules.

That leaves 3 boys. We have one mom who really wants to be in charge but she won't actually take that responsibility. So she tells us what to do anyway. We have been rotating meetings and most of our meetings are more like play dates. The boys might do one quick activity. One parent/boy never come to pack meetings and neither of the other two families ever go to pack events. Neither of them are participating in the Pinewood Derby ("so please don't mention it.") The whole group does seem to want to earn the Tiger award (sorry for terminology issues).

The final straw on the den came for me regarding a field trip. I was told by the bossy mom that they had decided we would make valentines and deliver them to the local nursing home. They were each planning a couple cards to make and I was supposed to call the nursing home. I found the number and called. I went back to the other mom with dates and she picked a Friday night. I scheduled that. The nursing home was providing snack, the boys would help with Bingo and deliver their valentines. Our den meeting to make valentines came. The "other" boy didn't show up - mom was out of town and it would just be too much to expect Dad to bring him. I offered to do pick him up but that would just be too much for Dad to do. So the bossy mom tells me that she has planned to go out of town on the day we are delivering valentines. She is going to have her son make valentines and give them out at school. So not only do I not have anyone going, but I don't even have enough valentines to deliver. I was so angry. I called and cancelled the next day and apologized profusely.

Now on to my pack. They try really hard but they just don't have the good programming that they need. A couple years ago they had a Cub Master who assigned all the positions to parents in his Den. When they moved to Boy Scouts, they took all of the parent volunteers with them.

We have a couple volunteers who don't seem to put forth the effort. The information I received for popcorn was "Here is your form. It is due on XXXX." That's it! Do they pay in advance? Who do the checks go to? Who benefits from the sales? When is delivery? That's just one example.

For our Polar Cub Camp, there were about 6 families who went. My husband said they were the smallest pack there. Any pack activities are assigned to a den to plan. But, there isn't any information for that den to go off of. FOr instance, the Tigers are supposed to plan the Scouting for Food event for spring. But that is all we know. I think there should be a folder and summary/suggestions for each event that can be given to the assigned den.

The Cub Master, person who handles sales (popcorn, etc.), and one other committee member are all stepping down next year. There are some other people on the committee but I've never seen them and they don't attend pack meetings or committee meetings.

Our Cub Master is really awesome. But, he can't do it all himself. He said he'd stay until someone else volunteers. So, I'll volunteer (not as Cub Master!) and see what I can do to help turn things around. I'm at a disadvantage, though because I really don't know anything about Cub Scouts. I'm from a family of girls and I am heavily involved in Girl Scouts. I know the basic idea but not the logistics. It all perplexes me.

Your suggestions are very helpful and I am making a file of them! Any other suggestions, please let me know!

Christy

My son is a Tiger Cub and quite frankly, both our den and our pack stink. I have spoken with the Cub Master (awesome guy) and he suggested that I forget (put up with might be a better phrase) the den. However, he also suggested that I become more involved with the pack and get my son's programming that way. Then the pack will be stronger and we will be able to increase the number of boys (and therefore quality volunteers) in the pack.

So my questions are this:

When you have pack activities/events, is a particular den responsible for each activity/event? How do you give that den the necessary information to plan adequately?

Do you have "parent meetings" and who is required to attend?

What kinds of activities/events does your pack offer on a yearly basis?

What has made your pack a great success?

Any help would be appreciated!

Christy

I have a couple questions about overnights.

Are Tiger cubs allowed to go on overnights with their Den? Do Boy Scout camps have buildings that can be used for overnights? (I live in a very cold state and 70% of the year is too cold for camping - at least for me.) If Tigers aren't allowed to go on overnights, at what age is this allowed?

Christy

Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry you have had to deal with this. There is definitely discipline in Girl Scouts. We had a couple who didn't follow our rules last Friday (our meeting day) while we were on a field trip. They had to sit out for the rest of the field trip and we talked to their parents when we got back. This was after my co-leader gave them a long speech about how disappointed she was in their behavior.

I think you should check your local council's policies as well as Safety-Wise. I don't recall reading much about discipline in Safety-Wise but I think we have guidelines in our council policies.

Christy

Thank you for the balloon idea! I knew there must be a way to make those boring requirements fun - I just hadn't come up with it yet. I love that idea! What would boys enjoy more - breaking things and making loud noises at the same time.

ScoutNut, thank you for the clarification. I go to our first pack meeting tomorrow and I'm hoping that will help clear a few things up. Thank you also for the encouragment about moving from Girl Scouts to Cub Scouts. I'm trying to go in with an open mind.

I figure if I can handle 18 screaming 1st grade girls, then 5 sweet little boys should be a piece of cake!

Hi! I'm new to this site as well. I'm a Junior Girl Scout leader and my son just became a Tiger Cub Scout.

Welcome!

Christy

Good morning everyone! I am was searching for a Cub Scout forum and came across this one.

My name is Christy and I have 3 kids - 11 yr old girl, 7 yr old boy, and 2 yr old girl. I grew up in a family with 4 girls. Needless to say, I know all there is to know about Girl Scouts. I'm a leader, mentor, staff member, etc.

My son started Cub Scouts this year and I feel like I am in another world with a whole new language. We have an awesome guy who runs the Pack (I'm sure he has a title that I have forgotten) that suggested I not be a leader (smart man!) but he would find something else short-term for me to volunteer to do.

I will probably have a lot of questions and I hope to find a lot of answers on this forum. I'll drop into the Girl Scout area as well and see what is up there!

Christy

This is my first post so let me give you a quick introduction. My name is Christy and I have a new Tiger Cub Scout. I also have an 11 year old daughter and am heavily involved in Girl Scouts. Having grown up in a family of girls, Cub/Boy Scouts is all new to me and seems very much like a foreign language.

My question is this: I have the Tiger book and read through all of the requirements. In our Den we are taking turns running meetings - I have the first couple. Since it will take a little bit to memorize the items for Bobcat, is it allowed to begin working on the Tiger requirements before they earn Bobcat? Or do they need to complete one badge before working on another?

Christy