With your new Cub Scouts on board the "Cub Scout Express", you are on the right track for fun. Fun activities can be a den trip to your local train station, a model railroader sharing his working display, or boys investigating some of the rich history of railroading in our country. Staying on track, Cub Scouts can work on achievements and electives this month, riding the rails to adventure! Celebrate their achievements at the pack meeting by having a cardboard version of the "Cub Scout Express" stop at each "Den Depot" to deliver awards or watch a den demonstration. Welcome new families aboard with an induction ceremony. Be sure to also recognize your new leaders who have completed training!
OCTOBER 2001 - "DOWN ON THE FARM"
It's harvest time in farming country. Cub Scouts learn about growing crops this month while they live the life of a hard-working farmer. Dens might visit a farm, local dairy, or petting zoo to learn first-hand about farm animals. Boys can build a miniature green house to start their own vegetables for spring planting in the family garden or patio pots. Dens could take a field trip to a pumpkin patch and pick their own for the pumpkin decorating contest at the pack meeting "Harvest Fair". Fair activities might include contest booths, a rubber-glove cow for milking, and a good old-fashioned hayride.
NOVEMBER 2001 - "HOMETOWN HEROES"
Can only adults be heroes? Of course not! Heroes are often ordinary kids who did something out of the ordinary! As a den decide what makes a hero and who the heroes of tomorrow might be by looking at the people they know today. Learn about heroes in your own community, as well as Scouting heroes who have earned BSA heroism awards. Have your Cub Scouts invite their hometown hero to a den meeting. Take a den or pack field trip to an historic site commemorating a local hero. Boys can investigate who settled the town they live in and when was it done. Who is their school named for? Veteran's Day offers many opportunities to remember and honor hometown heroes.
DECEMBER 2001 -- "WORKS OF ART"
December is a time of celebration and giving. Cub Scouts use their artistic abilities to create holiday decorations, gifts, or cards. This artwork might be put on display at the pack meeting or at a meeting of the chartered organization. Boys can take cards and ornaments they have made and share them with residents of a local nursing home. Other "works of art" can become gifts for family members. The academic belt loop or pin in Art could be worked on in conjunction with these projects.
JANUARY 2002 - "DID YOU GET MY MESSAGE?"
How will we communicate with others in the future? This month Cub Scouts explore ways of communication that are currently used and those that the boys think may be used in the future. Cub Scouts can become pen pals with other Scouts, in the USA or around the world. Use of and safety on the Internet can be included. Use secret codes to develop den or pack games and activities. Boys create communication devices during den meetings, to be shared at the pack meeting. An introduction to American Sign Language can have boys signing the Cub Scout promise or a Cub Scout song at the pack meeting.
FEBRUARY 2002 - "OUR NATIVE PEOPLES"
Every part of our great nation was once home to a group of Native Peoples. Dens will learn about tribes that lived in their part of the country, sampling their foods and learning to play their games. Boys will focus on how native Americans show respect to Mother Earth, as well as learn the art of storytelling and how it was used to pass along the legends and traditions of the old ways. Invite a local tribe or an Order of the Arrow dance team to give a demonstration of native American dance at your Blue and Gold Banquet.
MARCH 2002 - "DOLLARS AND SENSE"
Boys learn personal finance concepts like saving, donating to charity, or shopping around for the best bargain. Take a den trip to a local bank or federal mint to learn where money comes from and where it goes. Have boys set up their own monthly budget, for both themselves and their den dues. Scouts can work on advancement in all ranks while learning to be responsible with money. Make piggy banks in which to hold savings. Discuss the history and the art of money. This is a good month to work on the Ethics in Action module, "Consumer Alert." Have a "flea market" at the pack meeting, with boys spending "Cub Money" they have earned for attendance, uniforming, and participation in their monthly den meetings.
APRIL 2002 - "FORCES OF NATURE"
Behold the awesome forces of nature. Discover how wind, rain, fires, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes, and even avalanches and glaciers can alter and shape the earth. Cub Scouts learn how to prepare themselves and their families to meet the challenges associated with these forces. Explore a different force of nature at each den meeting, creating models of these natural powers or their results. Take a den or pack field trip to an area that has been affected by one of these forces, and discover how nature renews itself. This is a good month to work on the World Conservation Award, the Conservation Good Turn Award, or the Ethics in Action module, "Fire! Fire!". At the pack meeting, dens can present skits or demonstrations on emergency preparedness or the forces they explored. Awards can be pulled from a giant volcano.
MAY 2002 - "ABRACADABRA"
Cub Scouts love to amaze and be amazed! Boys discover secrets of the magician's art this month as they read their friends' minds and learn new tricks with cards, coins, and other everyday objects. The Cub Scout Magic Book is a great resource for age-appropriate tricks and puzzles. Visit a magic shop, or have a magician come to your den meeting to teach the boys a few tricks of the trade. Prepare to watch in wonder at the pack meeting as Cub Scouts intrigue their audience with skits, stunts, and sparklers they have practiced at den meetings. The Cubmaster uses the magic of ceremonies to pull awards from his hat at the mystifying pack meeting "Magic Show".
JUNE 2002 - "CRITTERS, CUBS, AND CAMPFIRES"
What could go better with boys than birds, bugs, and the great outdoors? Take a field guide with you as you explore a local park, nature center, or even back yard to identify what flies, creeps, and crawls in your area. Scouts will love building bird houses and bug houses. An outdoor pack meeting might include a nature observation hunt, followed by an evening >round the campfire.
JULY 2002 - "INSIDE OUT AND BACKWARDS"
Summer is time to try new things, to do things like never before. This month, everything is backwards! Cub Scouts will love dressing, walking, singing songs backwards, and saying good-bye instead of hello. Devise your own den code as you write notes backward. Prepare a backwards skit for the pack meeting. At the pack meeting everything is backwards, too -- open with the closing and close with the opening! Check out the Ethics in Action module "Hard Lessons" for activities to make Cub Scouts aware of dyslexia and other common learning disabilities.
AUGUST 2002 - "SPORTS EXTRAVAGANZA"
Warm weather is a perfect time for outdoor games. Cub Scouts can join in the fun by practicing their skills in their favorite sports and by working on Sports Program belt loops and pins. A Bike Rodeo would be a fun pack activity, with boys working toward earning the sports belt loop or pin in Bicycling. Organize an ultimate tournament or a badminton tournament or any of the other Cub Scout sports.
Please send me your comments, suggestions, additions, and requests.
Please send me your comments, suggestions, additions, and requests.
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