Our Tiger program is probably quite different than most others.
In nearly all cases, these boys have finished their second year of little league baseball, Y basketball, and of course, youth soccer. Their springs and summers have been action-packed often with multiple practices and games in the same week. We felt they were losing interest with monthly meetings and merely observing during the pack meetings.........hence our program has evolved into the following:
For starters, the Tigers meet weekly, using the program helps and the scheduled theme for the month as their guide.
There is no advancement to work on during the meetings, it runs the same as any den with one major exception.....
The parents rotate amongst themselves as den leaders for an entire monthly theme. With support from the Tiger den coach, each parent must first view the fast start tape.
Two weeks prior to the particular parents' tour as den leader, the Tiger group coach meets with the Tiger parent/den leader and plan the upcoming month's meetings. The program helps is used as a guideline and steps are recorded on a form depicting the routine parts of each meeting.
With a copy of the weekly meeting in hand, the parent observes the Tiger group coach and marks each segment off the sheet as it is completed during the first meeting. A short review follows the meeting.
The next meeting, the Tiger parent will share approx. half of the duties of the meeting with the Tiger Den Coach.
The goal is to have the parents self-sufficient by the third meeting.
This is our third year with this program and we feel it lends to parent support in several ways. Namely, it not only prepares the den for adult leadership, but perhaps more importantly, it makes the non-leaders intimately aware of the ensuing leaders' concerns regarding the den.
The tigers wear the same blue shirt as the rest of the pack. No patches yet, they are earned during the coming year. (Tigers like earning awards too)
Tigers and the parents perform duties during the pack meetings.
In complete agreement to a comment heard from a concerned den leader at a roundtable meeting, yes, we are trying to make cubscouts out of our Tigers.
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Please leave us any comments you may have.
Ron Morrison.
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