If you are a boy or girl in first grade through fifth grade—or you're 7 to 10 years old—then Cub Scouting is for you. It's for your family, too. This is the first and the biggest of the three Scouting programs (Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, and Venturing) from the Boy Scouts of America.

Cub Scouts Belong to Pack and Den

Every Cub Scout is a member of a Cub Scout pack. A pack is a large group of boys.

The pack is divided into smaller groups called dens. Each den has about six to eight Scouts. All of the Cub Scouts in a den are about the same age and live in the same neighborhood.

The Cub Scout pack belongs to a church, a school, or some other group of people in your community or neighborhood. This group makes sure your pack has good adult leaders, a place to meet, and exciting things to do. The group gets help from the Boy Scouts of America, which is part of Scouting around the world.

Cub Scouts Do Things and Go Places

Cub Scouting means "doing." You have lots to do as a Cub Scout—crafts, games, sports, songs, stories, and puzzles, to name a few things. Much of the fun happens right in the den and pack. The den usually meets every week, and the pack meets once a month all year long. At den meetings and pack meetings, Cub Scouts do different things for fun and learning.

Cub Scouts also go to events like the annual blue and gold banquet, field contests, and derbies such as the pinewood derby. They go on field trips. They go camping and have other kinds of outdoor adventures. They take part in community events. Cub Scouts do all sorts of exciting stuff! Whatever it is that you enjoy, you'll have a chance to do it in Cub Scouting.

Cub Scouts Earn Awards

While you're having fun, you'll also be earning badges and awards. You'll work on projects with your parents or other adults in your family, and all of you will feel good about the things you accomplish. When you have earned a badge, you and an adult member of your family take part in a ceremony. The badge is given to the adult, and he or she then gives it to you in front of the whole pack. This is a way of saying "thank you" to your family for their help in earning your award.

The most popular awards for Cub Scouts are the advancement awards. Scouts do requirements to advance and earn their badges of rank: Tiger Cub, Bobcat, Wolf, Bear, Webelos, and the Arrow of Light Award. The Arrow of Light is the highest award in Cub Scouting. Webelos Scouts also earn activity badges.

The Cub Scout Academics and Sports program is popular, too. Cub Scouts get to learn about favorite subjects such as art, math, science, and citizenship. Or they play individual and team sports such as archery, gymnastics, skating, or soccer. You don't need to be a star athlete to play Cub Scout Sports. You're a winner when you do your best.

Cub Scouts can earn many other awards and medals too, sometimes by themselves and sometimes as members of their pack. They can earn or help their pack earn Quality Unit awards, religious emblems, the Emergency Preparedness Award, the Outdoor Activity Award, or the World Conservation Award.

When you earn an award in Cub Scouting, you learn new skills. You also get to use your new skills and your new knowledge in projects and demonstrations. You show what you know. People get to see what you've learned as a Cub Scout.

Cub Scouting Has a Purpose

There is a reason for everything boys and girls do in Cub Scouting. Apart from the fun and excitement, the aim of Cub Scouting is to help boys and girls grow into good citizens who are strong in character and personally fit. This is why we say that Cub Scouting is fun with a purpose

As a worldwide brotherhood, Scouting is unique. It is based on the principles of loving and serving God, of human dignity and the rights of individuals, and of recognizing the obligation of members to develop and use their potential. It is a movement dedicated to bringing out the best in people. Cub Scouting doesn't emphasize winning as an end result, but rather the far more demanding task of doing one's best.

When Scouting can help nurture courage and kindness and allow boys to play, to laugh, to develop their imaginations, and to express their feelings, then we will have helped them grow. We want boys to become useful and stable individuals who are aware of their own potential. Helping a boy to learn the value of his own worth is the greatest gift we can give him.

Cub Scouting Is Fun

Boys join Cub Scouting because they want to have fun. For boys, however, fun means a lot more than just having a good time. "Fun" is a boy's code word for the satisfaction he gets from meeting challenges, having friends, feeling good about himself, and feeling he is important to other people. While the boys are having fun and doing things they like to do, they also learn new things, discover and master new skills, gain self-confidence, and develop strong friendships.

Cub Scouting Has Ideals

Cub Scouting has ideals of spiritual and character growth, citizenship training, and personal fitness. The Cub Scout Promise is a pledge of duty to God and family. The Law of the Pack is a simple formula for good Cub Scouting and good citizenship. The Cub Scout motto, "Do Your Best," is a code of excellence. The Tiger Cub motto, "Search, Discover, Share," encourages personal growth and fitness. Symbols, such as the Cub Scout sign, Cub Scout salute, and the Living Circle, help boys feel a part of a distinct group and add to the appeal of belonging to a widely respected organization.

Cub Scouting Strengthens Families

The family is an important influence on our nation's youth. There are many different types of family structures in today's world. Scouting is a support to all types of families as well as to organizations to which families belong. We believe in involving families in the training of youth, and we are sensitive to the needs of present-day families. Cub Scouting provides opportunities for family members to work and play together, to have fun together, and to get to know each other a little better.

Cub Scouting Helps Boys Develop Interests and Skills

In Cub Scouting, boys participate in a broad array of activities. Cub Scouts develop ability and dexterity, and they learn to use tools and to follow directions. Recognition and awards encourage them to learn about a variety of subjects, such as conservation, safety, physical fitness, community awareness, academic subjects, sports, and religious activities. These interests might become a hobby or even a career later in life.

Cub Scouting Provides Adventure

Cub Scouting helps fulfill a boy's desire for adventure and allows him to use his vivid imagination while taking part in skits, games, field trips, service projects, outdoor activities, and more. The use of a monthly theme lets a boy play the role of an astronaut, clown, explorer, scientist, or other exciting character. Boys find adventure in exploring the outdoors, learning about nature, and gaining a greater appreciation for our beautiful world.

Cub Scouting Has an Advancement Plan

The advancement plan recognizes a boy's efforts and achievements. It provides fun for the boys, teaches them to do their best, and helps strengthen understanding as family members work with boys on advancement requirements. Badges are awarded to recognize advancement, and boys like to receive and wear these badges. The real benefit comes from the worthwhile things the boy learns while he is earning the badges, as his self-confidence and self-esteem grow.

Cub Scouting Creates Fellowship

Boys like to be accepted as part of a group. In Cub Scouting, boys belong to a small group called a den where they take part in interesting and meaningful activities with their friends. The Cub Scout den and pack are positive places where boys can feel emotionally secure and find support. Each boy gains status and recognition and has a sense of belonging to this group.

Cub Scouting Promotes Diversity

In Cub Scouting, boys may learn to interact in a group that may include boys of various ethnicities, income levels, religions, and levels of physical ability. By having fun together and working as a group toward common goals, Cub Scouts learn the importance of not only getting along, but also of working side by side with other boys of different races, classes, religions, cultures, etc.

Cub Scouting Teaches Duty to God and Country

The BSA believes that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God, and encourages both youth and adult leaders to be faithful in their religious duties. The Scouting movement has long been known for service to others. Scouting believes that patriotism plays a significant role in preparing our nation's youth to become useful and participating citizens. A Cub Scout learns his duty to God, country, others, and self.

Cub Scouting Provides a Year-Round Program

Cub Scouting has no specific "season"—it's a year-round program. While spring and summer pack activities are informal and there are many activities that Cub Scouts do outdoors, there's still plenty of fun to be had in the fall and winter: the pinewood derby, blue and gold banquet, skits, stunts, craft projects, and indoor games help to round out an entire year of fun and activities.

Cub Scouting Is a Positive Place

With all the negative influences in today's society, Scouting provides your son with a positive peer group who can encourage him in all the right ways. Carefully selected leaders provide good role models and a group setting where values are taught and help to reinforce positive qualities of character.

Family involvement is essential to Cub Scouting's success. When we talk about "family" in Cub Scouting, we're sensitive to the realities of present-day families. Many Cub Scouts do not come from traditional two-parent homes. Some boys live with a single parent or with other relatives or guardians. Cub Scouting considers a boy's family to be the people with whom he lives.

Family Activities

Cub Scouting aims to develop youth into participating citizens of good character who are physically, spiritually, and mentally fit. The organization recognizes that it is the responsibility of parents and family to raise their children. The Cub Scout program is a resource that can help families teach their children a wholesome system of values and beliefs while building and strengthening relationships among family members.

When we speak of the "family" in Cub Scouting, we are sensitive to the needs and structures of present-day families. Many Cub Scouts do not come from traditional two-parent homes. Some boys live with a single parent or with other relatives or guardians. Cub Scouting considers a boy's family to be the people with whom he lives.

The family is probably the most effective mutual-help organization to be found. Family life has its good times and bad times, but, above all, it is people giving strength to one another when needed, people caring and letting it show, people leaning on one another, and people feeling loyal to one another. It's worth the effort to keep a family strong. For this reason, Cub Scouting seeks not only to help the boy, but to unite and support the entire family.

In turn, family involvement is vital to the success of the Cub Scout program. At this age, boys are only beginning to discover their individuality—and as much as they seem to want to take on tasks and responsibilities on their own, they still look to their family for help and support. Family involvement provides that help and support for boys, and it is positive reinforcement for the lessons learned in Cub Scouting.

Your Role as a Parent

Cub Scouting encourages closeness to family. The program will give you opportunities to take part in activities with your son that you normally couldn't do. It provides a positive way for parent and son to grow closer together, and encourages you to spend quality time together. In this way, Cub Scouting is a program for the entire family, and your involvement is vital to the program's success.

Some specific things you can do to help your son in Cub Scouting are

1. Work with your son on projects
2. Help your Cub Scout along the advancement trail
3. Participate in monthly pack meetings
4. Attend parent-leader conferences
5. Go on family campouts with your son
6. Provide support for your son's den and pack

The Cub Scout years are developing years for young boys, falling between the dependence of early childhood and the relative independence of early adolescence. As he grows, your son will gain the ability to do more things "on his own," but at this stage of his development, your help is critical.

Becoming a Leader

Cub Scouting relies on volunteers to be pack leaders. Volunteers come from all backgrounds and experiences. Plumbers, lawyers, homemakers, teachers, doctors, janitors, and scientists—people from just about every occupation imaginable—are involved in leading youth to become responsible, caring, and competent citizens. They also quickly discover that Scout volunteering lets them learn new skills and build lifelong friendships while having fun.

Leadership Roles

Some of the roles you might fill to support a Cub Scout pack are these:

• Cubmaster. The Cubmaster's most visible duty is to emcee the monthly pack meeting. Behind the scenes, the Cubmaster works with the pack committee to plan and carry out the pack program and helps coordinate the efforts of the den leaders. A Cubmaster may be assisted by one or more assistant Cubmasters.
• Den Leader. The den leader conducts weekly meetings for a smaller group of boys and helps coordinate the den's contribution to the monthly pack meeting. A den leader is typically assisted by at least one assistant den leader.
• Pack Committee. The pack committee works with the Cubmaster to plan and carry out the pack program. The committee also coordinates major events and secures support for the pack. The committee consists of a chairperson and other members who may have particular functions, such as finance, marketing, advancement, or outdoor program.
• Function Committees. Some pack events have special-purpose committees. Holding a Scouting for Food drive, pinewood derby, blue and gold banquet, pack graduation, or field day requires more planning and coordination than a typical pack meeting.
• Parent Helpers. Some events need extra adults to help the pack leaders. A parent can pitch in by driving a vehicle for a field trip, helping prepare lunch at a day camp, supervising an event at a field day, or supporting unit leaders on an as-needed basis.

The BSA Family Award

The BSA Family Award program offers activities to help strengthen all families—whether two-parent, single-parent, or nontraditional. This program helps families accomplish worthy goals while building and strengthening relationships among family members. All family members are encouraged to participate and may earn the award.

Some packs, through a volunteer family program chair, actively encourage and support families pursuing this award. If your pack does not promote and support the family program, your family may still participate on its own. The BSA Family Activity Book (available at your local council service center) gives all the requirements as well as step-by-step instructions for earning the BSA Family Award.

To earn the award, a family must complete 10 activities within a 12-month period. The family chooses one activity in two topics in each of the following categories:

1. Learning Through Fun and Adventure
2. Strengthening Family Relationships
3. Developing Personal Strengths
4. Teaching Responsibility
5. Handling Difficult Situations

When a family has completed the requirements, all family members are eligible to receive an award certificate, patches for uniform wear, and/or pins for non-uniform wear.