How to get more Cub Scout participation?

Question

I plan and buy supplies for 14 scouts in my den, but regularly only 4 or 5 show up to the Den and Pack meetings. Any ideas how to get better attendance and parent participation?

Answer 1

Could you do a newsletter and ask parents for a head count? I don't think it is unreasonable for you to expect your scouts to show up to the meetings. That really is low attendance. Usually about 80% attendance is normal. Are they the same boys that don't show up? Could it be that you meet on the same night as a sport they are all involved in? Could you move your meeting night to help with attendance, if that is the problem? Just a few examples. Also, do you provide a snack? I know that food is a big draw at my meetings!

Answer 2

It ain't easy McGee!

Here is the bottom line: Are you doing things they find interesting? The Great Magic Secret to Cub Scouts is to find cool things for the Cubs to do and learn, then match it up with badges.

Hold a planning party for all the Cubs and their parents. Offer pizza, pop, and ice cream and have a BIG board or something to write on, as well as a giant calendar of the next several months. Have a bowl or hat full of idea starters, like secret agents, Star Wars, elephants, race cars, ice cream, candy, and other words that kids enjoy in some way.

Start asking them and the parents for ideas of things to do for the next few months. Show the calendar with den and pack meetings, holidays, known school or church events, special dates (like Fire Safety Week, etc.) etc. pre-marked on it.

If things start off slowly, use an idea starter- a word from the hat, an upcoming holiday, the theme of the month, or whatever to get things going.

Encourage them to think on serveral levels- somewhere to go, something to do, a related game, something to make, something to learn, a food item or meal, a related service project...

Some idea starters will take off like wildfire, others will fizzle. When an idea takes off, try to get enough ideas from it for 4 good meetings. Figure out something to show at the pack meeting for your work- a display, a skit, a presentation, etc.

As the ideas are flying, work at getting the parents equally interested. If someone suggests something ask if they will take that issue to work with. If someone seems to think that a certain idea is especially hot, see if they will at least help with it.

As this goes, discourage negative comments and encourage ideas to grow out of other ideas.

Here is the secret you SHOULD know, but most den leaders don't: Each of the hot ideas is a 'theme'. Once you have a few good themes (and you'll be amazed at how quickly you'll get 10-15 of them!), you use the themes to build meetings.

Take each theme, and the list of related activities and build meetings and trips out of them. Rig your meetings up to minimize down time and overplan them so there is always something else you can do if you don't like the current activity.

Vary the meetings as much as you can. It is really, really easy to start falling on old reliable things, like crafts. Get the Scouts cooking, drawing, building, moving, singing, etc. Make sure each activity has a reason- a goal or lesson for the Scouts and that it supports the theme.

Now- this is the hard part for you: advancement. Remember- most advancement is supposed to happen at home, but we all know that in real life, most happens in the meetings. Search the books for things to tie into your activities- too many people plan everything around advancement and it becomes a badge-earning game. Yuck.

Cubbing is about doing new things. Getting exposed to things, places, ideas, activities, hobbies, materials, etc. that they might otherwise never experience. A good den plays marbles, goes fishing, makes their own root beer and ice cream for floats, visits the local dentists office, gets to milk a cow, and plays homemade instruments in an all-den musical review.

This is what the Program helps and other Cub theme things are all about- and if you look them over, you'll see a million good ideas- but it is a lot more fun for your guys if they come up with their own ideas!



Oh, and make sure the meeting time is good for everyone! That is a huge issue with our mobile society!