Themes / Core Values
2000
2001
2002
- Our Native People
- Dollars and Sense
- Forces or Nature
- Abracadabra
- Critters, Cubs, and Campfires
- Inside Out and Backwards
- Sports Extravaganza
- Blast Off
- It's A Jungle Of Fun
- Kids Against Crime
- Winter Wonderland
- Strike Up The Band
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
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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.
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.
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.
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".
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 around the campfire.
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.
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.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.... Blast Off into another exciting year of Cub Scouting with a voyage into the frontiers of space! Build model rockets that zoom into the next millennium. Explore the possibility of life on other planets and imagine how these civilizations might communicate with other life forms. Boys learn about and make models of constellations and hear the myths behind the names. Dens might form their own crew to build an imaginary base or outpost on another planet. Give the base a name, tell what the crew will eat, what they will do, and what creatures or life forms they may encounter. Cub Scouts can describe their space base to prospective members at the pack meeting and encourage visitors to launch into the new frontier of Cub Scouting.
Help boys discover fun and adventure in the wilds of Scouting. Take them on a month-long safari, being sure all the boys remember the Cub Scout Promise, Law, and Motto. Use stories of Akela, Baloo, Bagheera, and Kaa to highlight den meeting games, crafts, and making costumes for the pack meeting. Take a den trip to a local zoo, animal rescue facility, or wildlife refuge. Encourage every boy to receive an achievement or elective award at the pack meeting. Finding shelter, food, and co-existing in the jungle with wild beasts could all be incorporated into ceremonies.
Crime Prevention is everyone's job. Cub Scouts will spend the month learning how to keep themselves, their families, and their homes safe. Plan to visit your local police department, or have an officer or McGruff attend your den or pack meeting. Pass out home safety checklists for Cub Scouts to check how safe their home is. Prepare a skit or demonstration for the pack meeting about what your den has learned. Dens or packs can plan a service project for the BSA Crime Prevention Award. Ethics in Action modules, "Saying No" and "Shoplifting is Just Plain Wrong" provide meaningful activities for Cub Scouts. This would also be a good month for your pack to view the Youth Protection video for Cub Scouts, "It Happened to Me."
The excitement of the holiday season brings magic to the eyes of Cub Scouts as they prepare decorations, make gifts, and sing songs of the season. Den or pack activities may include a Good Turn field trip to bring some holiday magic into the lives of others. Cub Scouts will enjoy winter games in the snow and might work on the Cub Scout Sports belt loop or pin for ice skating or skiing. Southern Scouters might play games with paper snowballs or take to the beach for a Klondike Derby in the sand!
Everyone loves music, so this month Cub Scouts design their own instruments and become part of a den band. The boys can play games like "Name That Tune" during den meetings. They can learn about songs and instruments from other countries, including some songs that we sing in the USA that had origins in other countries. The month culminates in a mini-concert at the pack meeting, with each den playing a song or two on their homemade instruments. The boys that play a real instrument could share their talents with others, either at a den or pack meeting. During the month, the history of certain musical instruments, or music in general, could be discussed. Dens or individuals could work on the Music academics belt loop or pin.
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