A frequent question for new Cub Scout den leaders is "How do I do this leading thing?" This page is here to help make your cub scout leader's life easier. Spending a little time with these ideas and links can make your scouting experience much less stressful, and make your boys' experiences much more enjoyable.
BASIC TRAINING Our chartering organization is the Starkville First United Methodist Church, and FUMC requires each cub scout adult leader to be trained within six months of joining Pack 27. Training is offered several times each year (usually five or six times), and is paid for by our pack. Training is at Camp Seminole, and includes lunch. Training is usually over by early afternoon. To see the next training session dates, visit our pack calendar.
ROUNDTABLE Roundtable is held the first Thursday night of each month at 7:00 PM, in the dining hall at Camp Seminole. It generally lasts an hour, and it's expected that leaders will show up in uniform. Roundtable is an hour of education, good ideas, a program, and a chance to visit with leaders in other packs. To earn a leader's square knot, a leader must attend at least four roundtables each year.
GET A LEADER'S GUIDE BOOK This seems so obvious that it shouldn't have to be mentioned, but there's actually a leader's guide book for each rank. It's full of good programs, den meeting ideas, games, and things that will help you help your boys make their advancements. Ask your Cubmaster to get you the appropriate guide book from the council office in Columbus.
BE ABLE TO CONTACT PARENTS EFFICIENTLY Pack 27 maintains email lists for each den. The list name for your group will be "Rank@CubPack27.Org", where "Rank" is substituted by Tiger, Wolf, Bear, Webelos1, or Webelos2. If a parent doesn't have email, or checks it infrequently, make sure you know their phone number. Send out emails to your parents a few days before each meeting telling them what's up next. Parental involvement and knowledge is the key to a good scouting program. 
WEAR THE UNIFORM  The best leaders lead by example, and the Cub Scouts are a uniformed organization.  Except in unusual circumstances, leaders should always be in Class A uniform, especially for den meetings and Pack meetings. Class B t-shirts are great for camp, but not for meetings. 
PLAN AHEAD You can't pull off a good meeting without some planning. Even if it's just planning one month at a time, picking one game, cheer, and topic for each meeting will make things run smooth.
SHARE THE LOAD Each den leader has at least one assistant den leader. Rely on your assistant(s) to help run the den meeting. Ask them to bring a game, or find a skit to learn for the next pack meeting. You're in this together, so keep everyone involved.
RECOGNIZE YOUR BOYS ASAP Know what their advancements are. Pass out beads and Progress Toward Ranks badges. Strive to have each boy make his rank, and encourage them to work on arrow points. Track their progress on paper or on your computer. Remind the parents that they are the key to their scout being successful and gaining recognition. Boys who make advancements have more interest in scouting, and are more likely to stay in the pack.
USE THE SMART PDF FORMS  Cubmaster Mike has modified BSA forms so they are now "smart", and can be filled out directly online or on your home PC, and the completed form emailed or printed. To see the list of smart pdf forms, see Smart PDF Forms. 
VISIT THE LINKS BELOW AND READ We've compiled a list of web links that have helpful information on how to have a healthy and happy scout den. A healthy den is one that has boys earning their ranks, and a happy den is one that combines advancements with fun.
Cubmaster.Org This is a US Scouting Service Project website, and has tons of helpful info for all Cub Scout leaders, not just cubmasters. Program ideas, fun awards, online roundtables, etc make this a valuable site. Site is searchable.
Cub Leader's Online Handbook Can't stress this one enough. It's all here.
Where Do I Put This Patch? You'll hear this question more times than you can count. This page answers all those questions.
Program Ideas (Downloadable) Baloo's Bugle is a monthly issue webzine with cub scout program ideas. The last six years' worth are online and downloadable. Reading the webzine requires an Adobe reader, which can also be downloaded from the site. 
US Scouts USScouting.Org is the best starting place for finding great scouting ideas. Keep your meetings fresh, and when you run short on ideas, come here.
If there's a link you've found that's been helpful, we'd like to add it here. Please forward it to Webmaster@CubPack27.Org.