Frequently Asked Questions

When and where do we meet?

We meet weekly on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. at Cross of Christ Lutheran Church in Bellevue, WA. Make your way to the lower parking lot and introduce yourself to the crowd.)

1. • Typically, dens meet three times per month

• Kindergarten – Lion

• 1st grade – Tiger

• 2nd grade – Wolves

• 3rd grade – Bears

• 4th grade – Webelos 

• 5th grade – Arrow of Light

• The pack (all dens) meets together on the last Monday of each month. These start at 6pm. 

• We meet year-round except for holidays.

What do you do?

• We have weekly pack meetings when school is in session.
  A typical den meeting usually starts with the Pledge of Allegiance, the Scout Law, the Scout Oath and our Pack Motto ("Do Your Best"), before we break out into den groups (grade levels) and work on earning achievements in the cub scouting adventure program for your scout's rank: https://www.scouting.org/programs/cub-scouts/adventures/ 

• We go on outdoor activities locally: hiking, bike rides, ...

• We go on regular campouts, usually 4 times a year. Some are hosted by camp counselors who provide activities (e.g. rock climbing, archery, boating, cooking skills, bonfires, skits, outdoor skills and crafts ...). Others are self-hosted - we bring food, cook and entertain ourselves (e.g. fishing, camp fires, skits, group games, hikes, ...). 

• We work on civics projects: cleaning up the park after a storm, working on a community garden ...

• We work on STEM activities.

• We work on age-appropriate safety skills (what to bring hiking, how to use a pocket knife, a chef's knife, ...)

• We have the scouts raise money (eg. holiday greenery sales) and later spend it on an annual banquet with entertainment. Previously we have had a falconer and a magician.

• We have an amazing summer program, and meet weekly for fun activities.

• We have pot-lucks and ice-cream socials.

• We have fun, make friends and make a community of families working for their kids.

Do I need to buy the handbook?

If you like, or if your kid loves to read. However, all of the Cub Scout Adventures program materials are now available online, and many come with videos.
https://www.scouting.org/programs/cub-scouts/adventures/

Consider the Lion and Tiger workbooks which contain a lot of material similar to an activity book.

Can we start at any time?

Absolutely - and we'd love you to join as soon as you can. The adventures program does run on a more-or-less annual basis in line with the school year. Based on the child's grade level, that's the school grade "rank" and set of achievements they will be working on. Obtaining their rank award (e.g. "Wolf" or "Tiger") late in the year is more difficult - ranks have a set of 6 required achievements to complete, which may be difficult to accomplish at the end of the scouting year. Don't worry though, the program is still fun and individual adventures can be completed at any time. At the start of the following year, the scout will begin working on the next grade's rank, the same as their peers. We'd even recommend joining over the summer. Our summer program is outstanding.

Important: parents must complete the "Safeguarding Youth" training. In particular, this is mandatory when attending camp site meetings. If you are a new member hoping to attend a campout, don't skip this step!

Do we need to come every week? 

No, but we love it if you can. Some weeks, scouts work on particular awards in the program at the meeting. If you miss that week, your scout can usually complete it at home or by completing requirements with your den leader. 

Are the adult leaders trained? 

Yes. And so can you! "Scouts deserve trained leaders," is the parent motto. Scouting America provides courses for many pack positions - den leader, cub-master, president, treasurer and so on. Additionally, parents can also attend BALOO (outdoor leadership for leaders on campouts), Woodbadge (a 5 day course covering excellent practices in leadership, recommended for all and far beyond scouting), our local annual PTC (Program Training Conference) which has tracks to learn about and learn how-to all things scouting. Want to volunteer to help? You are supported!

Want to find ways to entertain a group of kids? Want to learn and teach fishing? ... Scouting America has an extensive training archive (over 430 courses) for its membership to use.  https://www.scouting.org/programs/cub-scouts/adult-leader-training/