Since its beginning, the Cub Scout program has been a fun and educational experience concerned with values. Besides providing a positive place where boys and girls can enjoy safe, wholesome activities, Cub Scouting focuses on building character, improving physical fitness, teaching practical skills, and developing a spirit of community service.
Geared for boys and girls in first through fifth grades — or ages 7 to 10 — Cub Scout activities teach positive citizenship lessons and help establish young boys’ and girls' sense of belonging. These Cub Scout activities include learning the Cub Scout Promise, the Law of the Pack, and the Cub Scout sign, handshake, and motto — in addition to engaging indoor and outdoor learning adventures.
And while it is designed for boys and girls in the first through fifth grades, this program really involves the whole family as parents pitch in to plan and deliver activities. Cub Scouting is affirmative and fun focused. There are currently 1.3 million Cub Scouts and 395,000 adult volunteers in the United States.
Each pack has dedicated leaders and volunteers who are tasked with teaching Cub Scouts both fun and valuable lessons that will help them progress in the program and in life. But what makes Cub Scouts truly unique is the opportunity it gives the entire family to be involved in each child’s development. From volunteering with the pack to leading activities at home, parents can take full advantage of the extra time they’ll have participating in their Cub Scout's life.
PURPOSES AND METHODS OF CUB SCOUTING
The Cub Scouting program has 10 purposes related to the overall mission of the Boy Scouts of America – to build character, learn citizenship, and develop personal fitness:
Every Cub Scouting activity should help fulfill one of these purposes. When considering a new activity, ask which purpose or purposes it supports. Not everything in Cub Scouting has to be serious – far from it! Silly songs, energetic games, and yummy snacks all have their place in the program./p>
THE BENEFITS OF CUB SCOUTING
As a worldwide brotherhood, Scouting is unique. It is based on the principles of loving and serving God, of human dignity and the rights of individuals, and of recognizing the obligation of members to develop and use their potential. It is a movement dedicated to bringing out the best in people. Cub Scouting doesn't emphasize winning as an end result, but rather the far more demanding task of doing one's best.
When Scouting can help nurture courage and kindness and allow boys and girls to play, to laugh, to develop their imaginations, and to express their feelings, then we will have helped them grow. We want boys and girls to become useful and stable individuals who are aware of their own potential. Helping a boy or girl to learn the value of his own worth is the greatest gift we can give him.