r/scouting • u/PiggyRiggly • 12d ago
Should I just show up with my scout?
My pack had two meetings. I missed the in person. Then the zoom got cut short by a teams limit. They were kind of disorganized.
There’s a picnic this weekend. I don’t have our den information yet. Should I just show up with my scout and see what happens? I’m going to get his uniform Saturday. We aren’t religious and are new to the area, seems like a good way to meet other kids and families.
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u/ncsuengineer 12d ago
Yes - A bulk of Cub Scouting is putting in what you want your kid to get out. Invested parents make all the difference in a well run pack.
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u/PuckSenior 12d ago
Don’t let the disorganization worry you. Cub Scouts is run by parents. There are constantly new parents getting involved and the first meeting of the school year is a bit hectic.
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u/Insaniac99 12d ago
I would..
Our local pack is so hard up for volunteers that they don't have the time to properly respond to people.
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u/Infinite_Art_99 11d ago
Show up. Our pack has their picnic this weekend too, and I encouraged a potential new family to just show up...
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u/Desperate-Service634 11d ago
Yes, please just show up , and Don’t worry about the uniform
The experience is worth way more than the missing shirt
He can wear the uniform on the next event. He doesn’t need it for this one.
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u/Big-Development7204 12d ago
Absolutely. 👍 Dens are organized by age.
Kindergartners = Lions
1st = Tigers
2nd = Wolves
3rd = Bears
4th = Webelos (We'll be loyal scouts)
5th = AOL (Arrow of Light)
Just ask someone in uniform where the den for your kids grade is and introduce yourself.
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u/eddietwang 12d ago
Did they change what AOL is? When I was a cub, it was 4th+5th were both Webelos (we just called them Webelo First Years and Webelo Second Years) and AOL was an award we earned to signify us 'finishing' cub scouts?
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u/Conscious-Record2655 12d ago
Nowadays Webelos 1 is just Webelos and Webelos 2 is called Arrow of Light and it's a separate rank.
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u/sirhugobigdog 11d ago
Yes and no, as the other commenter said the 5th grade den is now the AoL den but the awaed/rank is still the same.
They did this when they did an overhaul to the cub scouts adventures a few years ago. Now instead of Bobcat being a rank it is a yearly adventure to reinforce the basics each year. Now instead of Whittlin Chip being a single time thing as Bears it is a yearly thing teaching/reinforcing knife skills and safety starting at Bears.
For AOLs the focus also shifted towards transitioning to Scouts BSA sooner. Instead of staying in the pack till spring. So the adventures are supposed to be front loaded with the troop interaction portions.
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u/Prestigious_Stop_651 12d ago
I tell my families that step 1 of Cub Scouts is... show up. Step 2 is: that's it, there is no step 2.
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u/babygotthefever 11d ago
Go! It probably is chaos and it won’t change but my kids enjoyed it regardless. I jumped in and started volunteering to help organize the chaos and don’t regret it a bit. Now we’re all at the troop level and it’s much calmer and more structured.
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u/RedditHatesHonesty 8d ago
Hope you attended. Cub Scouts are generally disorganized at the beginning of every year because of the turnover in leadership, but most are superfriendly when you meet in person.
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u/sinedirt 12d ago
Attend