Who can join Cub Scouts?
Boys and girls entering Kindergarten can join as “Lion” scouts. Kids entering 1st through the 5th grade can join Cub Scouts and join an established group, or “den”, of other kids their age. Boys and girls are required to be in separate dens with separate leaders but may run joint den meetings.
Kindergarten – Lion rank
1st Grade – Tiger rank
2nd Grade – Wolf rank
3rd Grade – Bear rank
4th Grade – Webelos rank
5th Grade – Arrow of Light (AOL) rank
Where are the meetings?
Regular pack meetings are usually held at the Lakeside Community Presbyterian Preschool. Other pack events sometimes occur in parks, at the Lakeside Historical Society, or in open areas around the county.
How often are the meetings?
Pack meetings are held about once a month, starting in September and ending in May. They are about 1 to 1 ½ hours long. Den meetings are typically held twice a month or more, and usually last 1 to 1 ½ hours.
Uniforms
Lion scouts just have a tee shirt to wear. Cub Scout uniforms (beginning with Tiger Scouts) cost about $65 and are available at the San Diego Scout Store and online at http://scoutstuff.org.
Activities
There are optional Overnight Trips costing approximately $10-100 per person depending on location. Families can defer this cost by selling popcorn which most Scouts take advantage of.
(Financial assistance is available for families in need. Please inquire.)
What is the parents’ time commitment?
One parent must stay with Lion/Tiger Scouts for each meeting. The follow-on years, it is strongly recommended but not required that a parent be present at each meeting.
There are tasks that my Scout needs to complete each year to advance to the next level?
These tasks are most often completed with a parent. Examples of these tasks include planning and cooking a meal for the family, learning about a mythical figure from American history, or learning the rules for a sport.
In addition, there will be projects that are designed for a Scout and a parent to do together: make a Pinewood derby car, go on the Breakfast hike, etc.
With the den, there are also times when you will go somewhere, for instance, the police or fire station, a local radio station or newspaper, or a high school sports event. Parents should plan to accompany their child on these trips.
The Pack also usually goes on overnight excursions throughout year. We have gone to SeaWorld, Lake Jennings Campground, Museums around San Diego. A parent needs to accompany the Scout on these excursions.
Our main fundraiser is the selling of popcorn. Cub Scouts and their families can participate at whatever level is right for them. There are opportunities to sell popcorn at shopping centers around the area and a parent needs to be present for that as well as if the Cub Scout sells popcorn in the neighborhood.
We ask that each family volunteer at least 2 hours per year, doing such things as helping set up or clean up for an event, etc. Remember that your child's Cub Scout experience is the direct result of volunteer hours from you and other parents!
Each Den has a volunteer leader and assistant. Consider volunteering for those posts if you can. Women and men can be volunteers and leaders.
What can you expect as benefits of joining Cub Scouts?
Here are some things that we, as parents, have found to be good about Cub Scouts:
It gives boys and girls a way to learn important lessons that schools don’t normally teach (for example, what to do if you are lost.)
It gives parents a structured way to talk to their sons and daughters about important lessons
It gives kids interaction with adult leaders who aren’t teachers or parents
It gives kids a chance to socialize outside of school and outside of their immediate age group
It gives kids and their parents a chance to develop some basic skills such as whittling, making a bird house, etc.
It gives kids and their parents fun and challenging activities that they can do together