First Tiger Scout Meeting

Getting reading to begin your Tiger Scout year? You can feel the excitement! The first Tiger Scout meeting can set the tone for the whole year. It is important to remember that young scouts need concrete rules and expectations. These will also help the families to assist their scout with keeping on track and promoting good scouting behavior.

We found that starting with some of the Good Knights elective adventure helped us get off on a good note. This adventure gave us a great gathering activity for introducing each other, a nice team building activity, and an activity to set the rules for the year. We did add in an activity from another adventure to add some movement into our first meeting. But that’s the nice thing about scouts: you can pair up adventures, complete some of one and some of another, or mix and match throughout the year.

Who Are Tiger Scouts?

Tiger Scouts are first graders in their first or second year of Cub Scouts. They will also earn their Bobcat rank during Tiger Scout year as this is most scouts first year in Cub scouts (not counting Lion Scouts). During Bobcat, they will need to memorize the basics of Cub Scouting. This includes the scout sign, scout oath and scout law. So these are great activities to embed into all Tiger Scout meetings.

Communication and Literacy Skills

Tiger Scouts tend to need shorter talk times and more movement and creating times. So plan on limiting discussions to about 5 – 10 minutes before you get the scouts moving again. Break up your meeting with discussion spread throughout your meeting if you have longer talk times needed for a specific adventure.

They love to tell jokes, play with friends, and try new experiences. They can be extremely chatty and don’t know the different between a question and a statement. So do expect to get lots of comments when you ask for questions. They have so much to share and just want to tell you everything, including things that have nothing to do with scouting.

Most first graders are still learning to read. This means that you will need to have adults do much of the reading this year or keep reading activities more brief with simpler text. Directions should include picture support not just words so the scouts can become more independent.

Emotional Development

They still crave attention and approval and tend to have their feelings hurt easily. Tiger scouts are learning to look at the world through other’s viewpoints. So do expect them to relate everything to their own lives and struggle with empathy for others. They will also be eager to please, so use this to your advantage. Positive comments and praise go a long way with Tiger scouts.

They love to win and haven’t quite master good sportsmanship. So do expect sore feelings if you play a game and some of your Tiger scouts lose. They love to be first or finish first. So do expect them to race with activities you may give them and take the time to show them that first isn’t always better.

What Tiger Scouts Do?

Tiger Scout year is a year filled with learning all about scouting. You will play lots of games, begin to explore the outdoors, and learn about being healthy. This year depends a lot on teamwork and getting to know your fellow scouts. We will learn about each other’s strengths, areas for improvement, and come to depend on one another. This initial bonding is so important as you move through the scouting ranks.

Throughout the Tiger Scout year you will need to work on earning 6 required adventures and 1 elective adventure to earn your Tiger Scout rank. There are many more elective adventures that you can work on once you earn rank and even a few awards to work towards as well. It’s time to decorate your scouting vest and adorn the hardware that can be earned through scouts.

First Tiger Scout Meeting Agenda

As you begin your Tiger Scout year, keep in mind the importance of creating an agenda for each meeting. We used the same format for each meeting, just changed the activities on our agenda. The meeting agenda helped to keep us on track and ensured that we completed the activities we set out for the evening. Plus we could give a copy of the agenda to each leader so everyone knew what we were working on and how to support the adventures we were earning.

If you are still trying to decide how to organize your scout meeting place, be sure to read our guide for some great tips.

First Tiger Scout Gathering Activity

A gathering activity is an activity that scouts can complete on their own or with just their adult partner. We set up a table on the opposite side of the room from the door with all the gathering activity supplies and directions. Remember – picture supports when possible.

As the scouts arrived, one leader greeted them at the door. Scouts could sign-in on the attendance sheet so we know which scouts attended and if any new scouts are joining our den. The leader could take a moment to learn the parents names and names of any guests of the scout. Plus the leader had a moment to explain the gathering activity to the scout before sending them into the meeting.

To begin the meeting, ask the scouts to create their personal shield. We brought in paper copies of a shield and colored pencils, but markers or crayons would work as well. Ask the scouts to decorate their shield with things that describe themselves. They could add favorite color, favorite sport, favorite TV show, favorite animal, their family, etc. It’s a good idea to have a few samples on the table for scouts to get some ideas as they work. Part of Good Knights 3

Wrapping Up the Gathering Activity

Once your group has arrived and most scouts have finished, bring them over to your meeting area. It’s okay if scouts didn’t finish yet or were still working to pause and join the group. Allow the scouts to share their personal shields as a way to get to know each other. If a few scouts haven’t finished, they could always share what they would like to include on their shields later.

What about those earlier finishers? You’ll need to have something for them to do otherwise they will be running around your meeting place thus distracting the other scouts. They can always turn their paper over and add more ideas to the back, get another copy to draw some more, or even work on memorizing the scout law or scout oath with their adult partner. Be sure to have a plan to keep scouts engaged until everyone has arrived and you can start the meeting.

Talk Time for First Tiger Scout Meeting

This is a great time to set up a Code of Conduct for your year. Use this time to brainstorm with the scouts about the rules and expectations for the year. Try to keep it simple, but use the scouts’ ideas as much as possible. Good rules involve: Respect Each Other, Be Responsible for Yourself and Your Things, and Have Reasonable Behavior. The scouts always seem to want a Have Fun expectation too! Good Knights 2

Be sure to have a large piece of paper and markers to write. As the scouts brainstorm their Code of Conduct, write down their rules or help them rephrase their rules before writing them down. We try to rewrite rules so they are in the positive to remind scouts of the behavior we want them to do. So if a scout suggests no running, try to write Scouts walk instead. This teaches scouts the behaviors we want them to remember.

Once you have a nice list, have all the scouts sign their Code of Conduct. Try to keep the list of rules short, whenever possible combine rules together or include ideas under other rules. About 5 or 6 rules is plenty for Tiger Scouts. It’s also fun to have the adult partners sign too. This is a great way to have scouts take ownership of their Code of Conduct and hold each other accountable.

We also practice the Scout Oath and Scout Law with the scouts using a call and repeat fashion. This is a great way to work on the Bobcat rank that all scouts must earn before earning Tiger rank.

Activities at First Tiger Scout Meeting

Den Shield

Have the scouts work to design and decorate their Den Shield. This is a shield that represents their den as Tiger Scouts. It can include pictures, drawings, words, and even cut outs of magazines.

It is a great time to brainstorm together, encourage the scouts to work together and share their materials. What a great team building exercise while making something that your Tigers can proudly display at their pack meetings. You may need to assign each scout a job so that everyone can help in the creation. Other part of Good Knights 3

Den Shields are a great way for families to find the new Tiger Scout den at pack meetings and events. You can also bring this shield to council wide meetings and campouts.

You can have the scouts design this on the back of their Code of Conduct or even write the Code of Conduct on the back of their den shield. This is a great way to keep the rules and expectations close at hand. There are many options for materials for this craft too. Of course, large butcher block or chart paper is easy. You could also use cloth, felt, wood, or even an old shower curtain.

Relay Races

We paired this with running 2 different relay races. We planned the first race and then let the scouts plan the second race. Not only did they all need to work together for the relay race, but they were active and moving. It was a nice break from the rules setting and crafts for the evening. I would even suggest having the scouts try out the relay races after making the Code of Conduct and before the Den Shield. Tiger Tag 3

Moving the relay races up gives the scouts the necessary movement that Tiger Scouts need before they need to sit down again to draw and color. Plus the Den Shield involves working with others and giving the scouts a little time to get some energy out will help with their desire to cooperate with their new friends.

Ending the First Tiger Scout Meeting

We used this time to talk with the families about pack news, upcoming events, sales, and any other important business. Most of this time was directed at the families to help keep them informed of all the ongoing events of our den and pack. However, be sure to include the scouts and keep this time short. This was also the time to hand out advancements (not that we had any yet) and assign any at home projects.

We ended each meeting with a scout brought snack. Most Tiger Scouts love snacks and they especially love being the one to bring the snack. We had all the scouts practice good handwashing and then share a snack with their friends. The scouts could have a few minutes to socialize with their new den and learn a little more about the scouts they are embarking on a journey with this year. It was also a great time to discuss clean up with the scouts too. Tiger Bites 2 and 6

With meeting one in the books, be sure to check out our Planning Tiger Year guides for Outings and future Meetings to help you get organized. You will also want to visit our post on the Beginning of the Year Tiger Scout Campout to learn how to earn rank in just one campout! Don’t miss the conclusion to Good Knights on our Tiger Scout Second Meeting Agenda and Tiger Safe and Smart in our October meeting plan. Our November Tiger meeting plans include Tiger Tales and Family Stories. Drop us a comment below if you tried our Tiger Scout first meeting to let us know how it went. If you have a different Tiger Scout agenda you love for the first meeting, we’d love to hear about that too.

Hi, I’m Nicole.

Here at Creatingbutterflies we provide families with practical solutions to real life problems for everything parenting, scouting, dual language, and enjoying time outdoors. We are a family of 6 with 4 wonderful becoming bilingual children who loves scouting, camping, and hiking with their family. Mom is an educator and dad is a firefighter/paramedic.