Den Basics The boys have fun, do exciting new things and feel good about themselves. The leaders achieve the aims of Scouting, the boys are safe and they all get through the meetings with a minimum of damage and tears.
Here are some ideas on how to reach this state of grace. Thought this is written primarilly for Dens, it applies to Pack meetings and Outings just the same. Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail The first, and most critical, step toward controlling the behavior of the boys is to plan a good program. Boys, who are having a good time, rarely cause trouble. Your meetings need to be filled with short, fun-filled activities each lasting no more than 10 minutes. Lean heavily on activities recommended in Cub Scout Program Helps or The How-To Book ( available from King County Library). Switch between sitting, standing and running or jumping; between slow and fast, even indoors and outside. Games with rules tend to foster good behavior because children generally like them. Craft projects complicate things. Boys often require a lot of individual attention and may be easily bored or confused. In any case, keep it short. Good planning will also ensure that you have all the equipment, material and snacks ready and on hand for the action. Plan more than you think you will need. Have extra stuff ready in case something doesn’t work out. You can always use the leftovers at another meeting.
Keep Their Attention Wearing a uniform gets attention and respect. If you wear it correctly and with pride you should see a difference on how boys react to you. Make sure that you as leader (male, female) have your uniforms correct before you work with your Scouts. Use the Cub Scout sign. The alert ears of the wolf are the signal that something important is about to happen. Wait until everyone responds and settles down before continuing. Start using the sign in Tigers with compliance of the parents and things will be great. Use ceremonies. The opening ceremony says: the meeting is starting and I am in charge. The closing says: the meeting is over and it’s time to go home (or snack). Ceremonies should be attention grabbers. Keep them dramatic, short and to the point. And don't forget the flag ceremony, either.
Boys often misbehave just because they are not sure how they are expected act. They are imaginative and invent their own standards of behavior. You don’t want that. You will need a Code of Conduct – a set of rules for all to follow at your meetings. They should be written out, posted, and both boys and parents made aware of them. Let the boys have input into setting these rules. Not only is this a learning experience for them but it also makes the rules more effective when the boys have some ownership. Follow the rules consistently, fairly and good naturedly. Everything should, of course, comply with the Cub Scout Ideals: the Promise, the Law of the Pack and the Cub Scout Motto.
Praise! Use each boy’s name a lot. Children crave attention and, even in this economy, attention is an inexpensive commodity. Give out lots off it at your meetings. Use positive statements like: “I’m so glad you’re here today.” “I'm glad you're in my den!" “That was the best ever!" “I thought of you during the week.” “You must have been practicing.” “You figured that out fast.”
My own rule of thumb is four positive remarks for each negative one like: “Stop!, That’s wrong, or Don’t do it that way.”
This is going to spread you around rather thin, so you will need the help of assistants and hopefully a Den Chief if you give boys the attention they need.
Build a Team Build pride in your den. Use lots of standard team building gimmicks like den flags, doodles, cheers, secret codes etc.
Uniform inspections instill pride in appearance and this spills over to pride in conduct. Boys just seem to act better when they are in uniform. It may be that the love to act out roles and their uniforms are their stage costumes.
Watch for signs of discrimination or exclusion. Counter these with our Ideals: Cub Scouts give good will, Cub Scouts help other people. Never allow any boy feel that he is not a welcomed member.
Empowerment Give each boy a chance to lead or star. There are opportunities in each of the boys’ books for leadership roles. Use them in your den programs. Skits and ceremonies at pack meetings give boys opportunities to stand out. Make sure that each of your boys gets these chances.
Use the denner , change denners regularly.
| New Den Leader Bits
Segments & Badges Ideal Emblem Company Other badges
Den Calendars It's crucial to have a calendar (which you keep updated) for the parents in your Den. You can work with an offline calendar, or you can set up a calendar via Google to build something easilly accessible to everyone in your Den (I'm sure MS has the same, but I'm waiting for Tyson to tell me).
Alpine District
Around the Internet 
Scout Trax You can't get more essential than the Trax spreadsheets. These sheets are the easiest way in which to keep track of your Den's progress throughout the years. These are all Excel sheets (OpenOffice format can be had at the main Trax site).
|