The Webelos program was designed to be a transitional one between Cub
Scouting and Boy Scouting. This page will give you some tips to make this
transition an easy one. Please click on the subtitles below to go to your
area of interest. When you are done, click on a
beetle to return to the top of the page.
Document from the Boy Scouts of America Heart of Virginia Arrohattoc
District (28) on Transition
How is the Webelos program
different from Cub Scouting.
- The monthly theme is different from the Cub Scouting Theme.
- Webelos work on Activity Badges not Achievements and Electives.
- Webelos parents do not pass on requirements. The Webelos Den Leader or
another designated adult passes the boy on activity work.
- Webelos are encouraged to do more overnight adult/son camping.
- Their uniform is significantly different from the Cub Scout uniform.
How the Webelos program and
Boy Scout program compare.
- The most significant similiarity is in the Webelos Activity Badges and
the Boy Scout Merit Badge program. Both programs provide the boy with an
opportunity to explore and learn more about specific topics. There are 22
Webelos Activity Badges grouped in the catagories of mental , physical
,community awareness, technology, and outdoors. Merit badges cover all of
these areas as well but there are well over 100 merit badges. Many merit
badges could be classified as hobby interest.
- The Webelos "den" is replaced by a Boy Scout "patrol." The Boy Scout
patrol works together as a unit on some advancement and on camping trips.
The denner and assistant Denner of cub scouting is replaced by the patrol
leader and assistant patrol leader.
- The Webelos program encourages more camping. Boy Scout troops camp
regularly. In Troop 806 there is a monthly activity and this activity is
often a camping trip.
- Webelos are passed on activity work by adults other than their
parents. Parents may not sign their son off on a merit badge unless it is
taught to a large group (at summer camp for example). Adults do not have
to be registered Webelos or scout leaders to sign Webelos activities but,
Merit Badge Counselors are registered with the Boy Scout Council Office.
- Webelos are called upon more often to act in a leadership position in
the den. Boy leaders are the leaders of a Boy Scout Troop. The Boy Scout
adult leaders act in an advisory role and the Webelos leaders in many
cases are still acting in a supervisory role.
- Webelos tend to work on rank activities and activity badges as a den
instead of progressing individually. Boy scouts do not move through the
ranks as a group. Advancement is very individualized. It is not unusual to
see a group of second year scouts in a troop where a few have completed
five ranks and some scouts are only on their second or third.
- Both groups wear the khaki uniform although there are differences in
how activity badges and merit badges are displayed.
Webelos
scouts need to interact with Boy Scouts.
If you do not have a Den Chief now is the time to have one. A Den
Chief is a Boy Scout who acts as a Boy Leader in the Webelos den. The second
year Boy Scout would be far enough removed from the boys in the Webelos den
to be looked up to and in most cases mature enough to offer leadership, yet
young enough to be able to participate and enjoy the younger activities. He
can not be expected to take over the entire Den meeting but he can teach
games, and skills. The major importance of having a Den Chief is that the
Webelos learn to take direction and listen to a boy leader, not only an
adult leader.
Even if you do not obtain a Den Chief, it is important to develop a
relationship with a neighborhood troop. Boys need to know that there is a
place from them to go after Cub Scouting. Check with the Scoutmasters of
area troops and see which camping trips are available for Troop and Pack
camping. Take your den to visit local Troops and try to develop a
relationship between the Troop and Pack. Our District holds two Camporees a
year, one in the Spring and one in the Fall. Almost all troops take Webelos
dens with them to Camporees.
Another possiblity for Boy Scout - Webelos interaction would be to invite a
boy scout patrol to your den meeting to teach knot tying, outdoor cooking,
campsite sit up, or plant identification. This interaction will acquaint the
Webelos with the boys from the troop and as with the other suggestions show
boy leadership in action.
Why Webelos
choose to become Boy Scouts.
There are at least eight factors that might convince a Cub Scout to
join a Boy Scout Troop, including:
- He has friends in the Troop.
- He knows or has a relationship with the Troop adult leaders.
- His friends are planning to join the Troop.
- The Troop's outdoor program looks exciting and fun.
- He likes the idea of Boy Scout advancement.
- With the tan/khaki uniform for the Webelos Scout, he's well on his way
toward a complete Boy Scout uniform.
- He's already been told that Troop membership is the next step beyond
Webelos Scout and he is ready for that step.
What Troops
are available in the Cloverhill Area?
Here in the Clover Hill area of Chesterfield County the Webelos are
truly blessed to find so many strong Boy Scout Troops. Woodlake United
Methodist Church sponsors Troop 806 and Troop 860. Brandermill Church ,
Bethia United Methodist Church in Winterpock, and Mount Pisah United
Methodist Church in Midlothian have Boy Scout Troops.
Why do
Webelos drop out of Scouting just as they are about to graduate to the Boy
Scouts?
- Who likes change? Who fears change? We all have anxiety when faced
with the unfamiliar and unknown. The scout in his second year of Webelos
is undergoing tremendous changes. He is evolving from a child to an
adolescent, and moving from elementary school to middle school. He is also
moving from a familiar Cub Scout Pack to an unfamiliar Boy Scout Troop.
The more Webelos learn about Boy Scouting and the more interaction they
have with Boy Scouts and Leaders the lower their anxiety level will be.
- Boys may be anxious about suddenly being thrown into a world of older
boys....teenagers! They have been the big fish in a small pond for two
years and now they are moving into a larger pond with very large fish! He
is interacting with boys sometimes 6 to 7 years older than himself. He
wants to be one of the "big guys" but he feels very little.
- The boys may be anxious about leaving their adult leader. Many Webelos
Den Leaders did not start in Cub Scouting as Webelos Den Leaders but
started as Tiger Cub Coordinators or Wolf Den Leaders. This means that the
Webelos have been with the same adult leader for four to five years! It is
very important that the Webelos Den Leader become involved on some level
in the Boy Scout Troop after Crossover. The former Den Leader's presence
will provide continuity. Den Leaders would be wise to take the Webelos
Adult Leader Training prior to becoming Webelos Leaders and then as a
Webelos Den Leader take the Adult Leader Training for Boy Scouts. If you
know what to expect when the change comes then you better prepare your
Webelos.
- Competition! In our modern world children are involved in so many
programs that budgeting their time becomes difficult. If the Webelos den
has not evolved from the activities that were a part of Cub Scouting, boys
about to enter middle school may may lose interest. Variety is the spice
of life. It is so critical for the Webelos Den Leader to reach out to
other adults in the Den for help. Most parents are flattered to be asked
to share a special interest or talent and you can be sure if they are the
guestspeaker their son will be at the meeting.
- Peer Pressure! To a young boy about to enter middle school wearing a
uniform, singing songs and gluing macaroni on a paper plate may
appear....well..."dorky." Unfortunately that is the perception. That is
what they hear from peers unfamiliar with the scouting program. The
Webelos program must evolve to allow for more independence and include
more unusual or "grownup" activities. For example, a Webelos Den in my
former Pack had a guest speaker come to the den meeting and talk about
snakes. He brought with him a huge live snake that the boys were able to
handle. All 6 boys lined up and had their picture taken holding the snake
stretched out in front of them. At the Pack meeting the rest of the
Webelos in the Pack nearly climbed over chairs to get a glimpse of the
picture. They were surely the "cool cats" at the Pack meeting. There are
not too many programs out there where this type of activity can be the
norm not the exception.
- To many the graduation of Webelos is just that a graduation from the
program. Packs and Troops need to emphasize the Crossover. Webelos is a
bridge between Cub Scouting and Boy Scouting. Troops and Packs need to
work together to build a strong bridge and retain these young men in the
scouting program.
Why keep them
in Scouts?
I found this on the internet at a Sam Houston Council site and
thought it worthy of repetition:
A Thought . . .
...From the closing letter of Mike Castelberg, WoodBadge Scoutmaster of
SC-394
- Someone once said, "Boys will be boys." He forgot to add, "Boys will
be men."
And so they will. They will, most certainly, shape the world of the
future to meet their own desires. They will dictate a morality that
matches their moral codes. They will dispense justice according to their
ideas of right and wrong. They will wield power to achieve their own
ends. And we will be able to do nothing to prevent them, not then.
But today we have it in our power to define the world of the future.
By molding their desires, by helping them set their moral values. By
guiding them as they try to decide what is right and what is wrong. By
teaching them that the use of power carries with it a responsibility to
others.
It is much easier to build a
child than it is to repair a man.
- That is our obligation; as parents, as citizens and above all as
Scouters.
