How Do I Sign My Son Up?

Signing your son up for cub scouts is easy. You can stop by one of our Recruiting Events or download a Youth Application and Health Form online. The cost for Tiger scouts is $45 (pro-rated for a partial year membership) through March, when registration for the following scout year is due. Checks can be made payable to Cub Scout Pack 144. There is no fee for signing up as an Adult Leader (Adult Leader Application). Applications and Health Forms can be dropped off in the mailbox of the committee chair. For an address or if you have any additional questions, please contact us via the "Pack 144" link in the "Contact Us" box on the right side of this page.

What is Cub Scouting?

If you are a boy in first grade through fifth grade—or you’re 7 to 10 years old—then Cub Scouting is for you. It’s for your family, too. This is the first and the biggest of the three Scouting programs (Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, and Venturing) from the Boy Scouts of America.

Cub Scouts Belong to Pack and Den
Every Cub Scout is a member of a Cub Scout pack. A pack is a large group of boys.  The pack is divided into smaller groups called dens. Each den has about six to eight boys. All of the Cub Scouts in a den are about the same age.  

Cub Scouts Do Things and Go Places
Cub Scouting means “doing.” You have lots to do as a Cub Scout—crafts, games, sports, songs, stories, and puzzles, to name a few things. Much of the fun happens right in the den and pack. The den usually meets 2 times per month, and the pack meets once a month.  Cub Scouts also go to events like the annual Blue and Gold Banquet and derbies such as the Pinewood Derby. They go on field trips. They go camping and have other kinds of outdoor adventures. They take part in community events. Cub Scouts do all sorts of exciting stuff! 

Cub Scouts Earn Awards
While you’re having fun, you’ll also be earning badges and awards. You’ll work on projects with your parents or other adults in your family, and all of you will feel good about the things you accomplish. When you have earned a badge, you and an adult member of your family take part in a ceremony during a Pack meeting. The most popular awards for Cub Scouts are the advancement awards. Boys complete requirements from the program to advance and earn their badges of rank: Tiger Cub, Bobcat, Wolf, Bear, Webelos, and the Arrow of Light Award. The Cub Scout Academics and Sports program is popular, too. Cub Scouts get to learn about favorite subjects such as art, math, science, and citizenship. Or they play individual and team sports such as archery, gymnastics, skating, or soccer. You don’t need to be a star athlete to play Cub Scout Sports. You’re a winner when you do your best.

Cub Scouting Has a Purpose
There is a reason for everything boys do in Cub Scouting. Apart from the fun and excitement, the aim of Cub Scouting is to help boys grow into good citizens who are strong in character and personally fit. This is why we say that Cub Scouting is fun with a purpose.

Scout Participation: Scouts are expected to:

• Participate in pack and den activities
  
• Be honest and always tell the truth
  
• Use good manners
  
• Be positive
  
• Be kind and considerate to others
  
• Take care of the environment
  
• Listen when others are talking
  
• Wait their turn
  
• Keep their turn
  
• Always offer to help, particularly with clean up
  
• Be a team member
  
• Do their best and be a scout wherever they are.

Den and Pack Meetings

Den Meetings

Dens usually meet twice per month. Den meeting places and times can be decided by the Den leader, with input from parents. Many dens meet right after school in their local elementary school. Depending on the schedules of the scouts and their families, meetings can be held later in the afternoon, or evenings. Some dens also meet at the den leader's home, local church buildings, or an American Legion hall. Most meeting places ask for proof of insurance. Contact the Pack Committee Chair to provide you with the proper insurance certificate.

Field Trips

Dens often go on field trips to meet their advancement achievements. A local tour permit should be processed with the Patriots' Path Council (our local BSA council) two weeks in advance. The tour permits can be processed online. Leaders need to set up an account on the My Scouting website in order to do so.

Pack Meetings

Once per month, we gather together at dens for Pack Meetings. Pack meetings consist of outdoor activities, awards ceremonies, or special activities and events.  The scout's parents and siblings are encouraged to join in the fun.

A typical year of the Pack Program includes:

Hike-o-ree (October) - Dens agree on a time and meet at our local Mountainside Park. There, cubs (along with their leader and a parent or another adult) can enjoy the scenery and also work on a few achievements or electives, if desired.  Our local Boy Scout Troop will provide some learning activities for the cubs to participate in.

Silver Rush (November) - During this pack meeting, we hand out advancement awards and the local Boy Scout Troop conducts various scout-themed activities for the cubs and their siblings to enjoy.

Holiday Party (December) - A visit from Santa is a special treat for the boys. Advancement awards are received and the cubs and their families enjoy treats brought in by their own den. We typically find activities that stress the act of giving, such as making cards for U.S. military troops and collecting toy donations for Toys for Tots.

Pinewood Derby/Regatta (January) - A favorite with the boys! Boys (with guidance from their parents) create derby cars or boats from the official BSA kits and have a ball racing them. Boy Scouts from the local troop help run and judge the event. Trophies can be won for speed or creativity.

Blue and Gold Dinner (February) - The focus of the Blue and Gold dinner is to celebrate the achievement of the highest award in cub scouting-- the Arrow of Light award. Webelos II scouts "graduate" from cub scouts into Boy Scouts. Dinner and Entertainment makes this a great night for the scout families. All cubs can also receive advancement awards.

March Pack Meeting - In addition to awards, this meeting is centered around a pack activity or themed games. This year, we will be building model rockets under the instruction of a group of model rocket hobbyists. A rocket launch will be scheduled later in the year.

Family Camping (April) - We are planning a camp out and camp fire night at Greenview Park. Each cub must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Tiger Graduation (May) - During this pack meeting, we celebrate the advancement of all of the cubs to the next rank. Themed games and activities will also be part of this event.

Memorial Day Parade (May)- All dens are invited to march in the Memorial Day Parade. Dens can make their own banners to carry and the boys enjoy tossing candy to the crowd of spectators.

Adult Leadership

The Pack

The Pack is a group made up of several dens. The Pack includes not only the boys in those dens, but also their families, and their leaders. 
The Cubmaster is an adult volunteer who serves as master of ceremonies at all Pack meetings and leads Pack activities of all kinds. Pack leadership positions may be held by women or men. 

The Pack Committee is a group of adult volunteers who plan the Pack program and individual activities as well as managing such things as record keeping, finance, leadership recruitment, and registration. The Pack Committee meets monthly and meetings are open to any interested parent.

Den Leaders

Each den is lead by volunteer Den Leaders/Assistant Den Leaders. At the Tiger level, the Den Leader guides the cub parents in a "shared leadership" concept where each family participates in den meeting activities and planning.

Den leaders participate in monthly leader meetings and help contribute to ideas and planning of pack events.

Leaders can take online training to get them up and running right from the start. A good resource for new leaders can be found at MyScouting.org. In addition to online training, additional training is made available by the Patriots' Path Council (such as Youth Protection and Leader Specific classes). In addition, the council provides some amazing resources at the University of Scouting, held each October in Denville, NJ.

Den leaders can fill out an Adult Leader Application or pick one up from your Committee Chair or Annual Recruiting Event.

Advancement

The Cub Scout Program has two basic features, Rank Advancement, and the Academics and Sports Program.

The first badge all Cub Scouts earn, regardless of age, is the Bobcat Badge. After earning the Bobcat Badge, they proceed to work on advancement specific to their age level. As part of these requirements, they must learn the Cub Scout Promise, the Law of the Pack, and the Cub Scout Motto.

Cub Scouts joining as First Grade boys enter the Tiger Cub Program. Tiger Cubs, complete Achievements to earn the Tiger Cub Badge, and complete Electives to receive Tiger Track Beads to wear from a belt emblem.

In the Second Grade, Cub Scouts work toward the Wolf Badge, then toward a Gold Arrow Point and one or more Silver Arrow Points The requirements for these badges are found in the Wolf Cub Scout Book.

In the Third Grade, Cub Scouts work toward the Bear Badge, then they, too, work toward earning a Gold Arrow Point and Silver Arrow Points. The requirements for these badges are found in the Bear Cub Scout Book.

The Webelos Program is a two year program for Fourth and Fifth Grade Boys.  In both years, they work toward earning Webelos Activity Badges in twenty different areas, arranged in five groups. Fourth Grade Boys work toward the Webelos Badge. After earning the Webelos Badge. Fifth Graders, after earning the Webelos Badge, earn the Arrow of Light. In addition to the two rank badges, after earning the Webelos Badge, boys work toward the Compass Point Emblem and Metal Compass Points as they earn additional Activity Badges.