Tiger Cub Scouts Requirements to Earn in March Meetings

As spring begins and warmer weather moves in, March is a month when the fun of scouting generally picks up again. Our Tiger Cub Scouts love getting outside and searching for the hints of spring during March Tiger Cub Scouts meetings. Families are excited to get their kids back outside and using some of their energy.

March can be a little trickier to plan your Tiger Cub Scout meetings especially if you have scouts from multiple schools. March tends to be a month where schools elect to take off different holidays and spring break doesn’t always align for all the schools in an area. In addition, some schools host their parent-teacher conferences in March. Be sure to double check the school calendar for these extra days off of school as well as keep an eye on the weather.

Your Tiger Cub Scouts will be excited for the warmer weather, so you will need to plan for this excitement. Be sure to plan a few minutes at the beginning of your den meetings for the scouts to enjoy the signs of warmer weather and play. The warmer weather always brings out a more chatty side to kids as well.

Tiger Cub Scouts in March is usually the perfect time to focus on an elective adventure while finishing up any rank requirements for the scouts who still need to earn Bobcat rank or Tiger rank. Don’t worry if you still have a few stragglers, we always did too. In our March meeting, we are focusing on Floats and Boats with National Safety Day on the fourth.

As you begin to move into the more busy spring months for scouting and families in general, it’s important to help your straggling Tigers earn their Tiger rank soon. Check out our first and second Tiger Scout meetings for earning some required Tiger adventures. Tiger meetings and Tiger outings help you to outline your Tiger Scout year, as well as a done for you Tiger Cub Scout Camping Trip to earn Tiger rank. It’s never too late to begin cub scouts and you most definitely can make Bobcat rank and Tiger rank in the second half of the year.

March Special Events

We love scouting in March because with the start of spring, comes the warmer weather to help get our Tiger scouts outside. As much as possible, try to move your meetings and outings outdoors for March Tiger Cub Scouts so that the scouts can enjoy the fresh air and get out some much needed energy.

March is known as National Women’s History Month, Music in our Schools Month, National Reading Month, and National Craft Month. There are so many more, but we picked a few bigger ones that can relate to scouting. The second week of March is National Bubble week, would could bring some added fun for your scouts. Who doesn’t love bubbles?

March is packed full with special days, so many in fact that there are four or more special celebration days per day in March! We know, crazy right! The second Thursday of March is Popcorn Lover’s Days and the third Thursday of March is Absolutely Incredible Kid Day. Whenever possible, we try to include some holiday or special day fun with our scouting meetings and outings. Our Tiger Scouts love the little extras and it helps to keep scouting fun as we begin to wind down our Tiger Cub Scout year.

March 1st: World Compliment Day

March 2nd: Dr. Seuss’ Birthday

March 3th: I Want You to be Happy Day

March 4th: National Safety Day

March 6th: National Oreo Cookie Day

March 7th: National Cereal Day

March 10th: International Day of Aweseomeness

March 12th: Plant a Flower Days

March 14th: National Pi Day, National Potato Chip Day, and Learn About Butterflies Day

March 17th: St. Patrick’s Day

March 19th: Let’s Laugh Day

March 20th: International Day of Happiness and World Storytelling Day

March 22nd: National Goof Off Day

March 30th: Take a Walk in the Park Day

March Special Activities

With all the changes going on outside during March, this is the perfect month to take full advantage of the outdoor classroom as much as possible. Yes, March still has some cold days and some rainy weather days, so be sure to keep an eye on the weather and have a back up plan just in case.

With March, we focus on the Floats and Boats Tiger elective adventure for National Safety Day on March fourth. We also add in some fun with foods with National Oreo Cookie Day (6th), National Cereal Day (7th), Popcorn Lover’s Day (2nd Thursday), National Potato Chip Day (14th). and National Pi Day (14th). Additionally, March has quite a few days to celebrate silly and awesome people that our Tiger Scouts always find fun. Think about World Compliment Day (1st), I Want You to be Happy Day (3rd), International Day of Awesomeness (10th), Absolutely Incredible Kid Day (3rd Thursday), Let’s Laugh Day (19th), International Day of Happiness (20th), and National Goof Off Day (22nd).

Our Tiger Cub Scouts love going on a nature scavenger hunt. We send them out to discover special signs of spring and search for 4-leaf clovers. A few of our favorite items to look for include: buds on trees, birds or nests, early flowers like daffodils, bees, butterflies, ducklings, other insect, animal tracks, green leaf, sun, and grass. We send out scouts out with a list of items to find and a camera so they can record their findings. When they complete the list, we send them into a clover field on a 4-leaf clover hunt to pair with St. Patrick’s Day.

With Popcorn Lover’s Day being the second Thursday of February, we love to plan a popcorn craft or too. This is especially fun for the scouts if you have leftover popcorn from their fall popcorn sales. Our Tigers have loved making popcorn birdfeeders. Simply mix popcorn, bird seed, and dried fruit (we love cranberries) in a large bowl. Pour warm honey with a bit of peanut butter over the popcorn mix to coat everything together. We use 1/2 c of honey and 1/4 c peanut butter. Once the mixture cools, let the scouts form popcorn balls with their hands. Wrap some yarn around the balls for easy hanging outside for the birds.

With National Bubble Week the second week of March, you could add in some bubble fun to your Tiger Cub Scout den meetings. Our scouts love to make bubble solution with a little water and soap, blow bubbles using bubble wands made from pipe cleaners, and making giant bubbles to surround the scouts. Bubble art is a favorite as well. Just add a little food coloring to the bubbles and blow bubbles onto paper to create beautiful designs.

Paint a pet rock. Our Tiger Scouts love making pet rocks and we love decorating the rocks together. We provide the paints and brushes and ask each scout to bring in their own rock. These pet rocks become reading buddies for our Tigers. To add to the fun, ask each scout to bring in their favorite book to share with their den and hopefully encourage others to give it a read.

Most of these activities can be tied into one of the adventures or done just for fun. Below we will explore a Tiger Scout specific adventures that we love for the month of March.

Floats and Boats Adventure Requirements

Floats and Boats may feel a little early for March, but we love to pair this Tiger elective adventure with National Safety Day on March 4th. Our Tiger Cub Scouts always prefer to earn Floats and Boats in a pool anyways, so matching this adventure for colder weather works for us. Another great part of March is that many boat owners are just starting to lower their boats into the lakes, rivers and oceans, so you can take a walk at a local pier or dock.

1. With your den, say the SCOUT water safety chant.
2. With your den, talk about why it’s important to have a buddy and then play a buddy game.
3. Show how to safely help someone who needs assistance in the water, without having to enter the water yourself.
4. Show how to enter the water safely, blow your breath out under the water, and do a prone glide.
5. Identify five different types of boats.
6. Build a boat from recycled materials, and float it on the water.
7. Show that you can put on and fasten a life jacket correctly.

Floats and Boats Meeting Agenda for Tiger Cub Scouts

We plan to host this meeting at a local indoor pool. You could also choose a local outdoor swimming area if the water will be warm enough for the scouts. We find an indoor pool to work nicely because the water is temperature controlled so we don’t have to worry too much about weather. The indoor pool also helps with scouts who might be scared of plant life and animals. Additionally, indoor pools allow our scouts to see the bottom of the pool and focus on swimming without any water currents.

To open this meeting, we suggest you set up two stations. Have a visit first station where each scout practices putting on a life jacket to check off requirement 7. The second station is our boat creation station. We set out recyclable materials (or ask the scouts to bring some), tape, glue, and tin foil. Once the scouts have passed the life jacket station, they can work with their adult partner to build a boat to later test on the water.

Next, we bring all the Tigers together to learn the SCOUT water safety chant.

S is Someone’s watching. Never swim alone.

C is Check the rules. Know where you can roam.

O is Only buddies should go from the shore.

U is know what “U” can do. Don’t do any more.

T is Tell a grown-up if someone’s in need.

SCOUT shows safety. Now you take the lead.

Then we discuss the importance of a buddy in scouting, but especially when going into the water. Afterwards, play a buddy game. We like to play buddy tag where you always run with your buddy, find my buddy my sound, or buddy balloon toss. Any game where you need to work with a partner works well for this activity. This meets Floats and Boats requirement 2.

Now it’s time to venture to the pool. We like to begin with Floats and Boats requirement 4, so we have everyone enter the water safely. Then we ask our scouts to form two groups. One group will work with one leader on blowing breath out under water while the other group demonstrates a prone glide.

Finally, our scouts will take turns showing how to help someone in the water for requirement 3 of Floats and Boats. A leader will demonstrate this by helping one scout out of the water. Then this scout will help another scout. The last scout helps the second leader out of the water. Your scout should call for help, then find a long pole to reach out to the swimmer from the shore.

If possible, end the meeting by allowing your scouts to float their boats in the pool. If this is not possible, plan a special trip where the scouts can float boats outside during your next meeting.

Floats and Boats Crafts

For the Floats and Boats Tiger elective adventure, you can create a few different crafts with your scouts.

Our scouts love making boats from recyclable materials. Either ask your scouts to bring in some recyclable materials to share for boat building or save up a few common boat making materials. Our scouts love to use plastic containers such as yogurt, cottage cheese, or sour cream containers. Clean plastic or Styrofoam meat trays work well too. Milk jugs or containers, Gatorade or water bottles, egg cartons, and corks are great as well. Then bring some tape, glue, and tin foil for the scouts to use when building their boats.

Another option is to make a life preserver. Use a paper plate and cut out the middle to create the life preserver shape. Then paint or color alternating sections red and white so the life preserver looks more real. Have your scouts label each section with one of the SCOUT water safety chant lines. We put the last line on the back because we can usually only fit 4 on the front, but you could design your life preserver differently to fit all 5 on the front as well.

March Service Projects for Tiger Cub Scouts

March is a great time to work in a service project for your Tiger Cub Scouts. With World Compliment Day on the first, I Want You to be Happy Day on the third, and International Day of Happiness on the 20th, service is a great way to help others.

Compliment Others

As March 1st is World Compliment Day, you can encourage your scouts to make someone’s day by giving out as many compliments as they can. These can be simple compliments such as I love your shoes or your shirt looks nice. You can also work with your scouts to give more complex compliments like you have the best laugh, you bring out the best in others, you are so brave, or you’re a great listener.

Plant a Flower or Tree

Plant a Flower Day is March 12th. While it might be too cold to go outside and plant a flower, you could plant a flower in a pot. Then scouts could transfer the flower outdoors when it is warmer or give the flower to someone as a special gift. Planting trees and flowers outdoors can be a great service project to beautify an area or even create a butterfly or bee garden. You could even pair this with March 14th, Learn about Butterflies Day. Planting a flower to brighten someone’s day with a gift can make a powerful impact as well.

Send a Note of Hope

With I Want You to be Happy Day on March 3rd, International Day of Awesomeness on March 10th, and International Day of Happiness on March 20th, this is the perfect service project to pair for March. You scouts can create a note of hope for a friend, family member, or trusted adult who is going through a tough time. If your scouts need help, they could also create their note of hope for a family or children who is in the hospital.

Book Drive

With March being National Reading Month and March 2nd is Dr. Seuss’ Birthday, this is the perfect time to host a book drive to help young readers find the perfect book to enjoy. Your scouts could host a book drive to donate to children in need. If you happen to have a literacy project near you, they could also help package books for children in need. Your scouts could also put together lists of their favorite books and authors to share with others to ignite a passion for reading with other children their age.

Begin Vegetable Gardens

Our Tiger scouts love making a vegetable garden and watching the seeds grow into the foods they eat. Work with your scouts to create some starter vegetable gardens or vegetable garden kits. Your scouts could use egg cartons to plant different vegetable seeds to create a starter garden for others. They could also make vegetable garden kits by putting together a few seeds of a variety of different vegetables with instructions for growing the vegetables for other families to begin their own vegetable gardens.

Local Park Clean Up

As March 30th is Take a Walk in the Park Day, this is the perfect service project for March. Invite your scouts to meet at a local park with gloves and a garbage bag. Then put your Tiger Cub Scouts to work cleaning up the litter that has accumulated in the park all winter. Not only are you helping your community to have a safe and litter free park, but you are helping all the local animals too.

Make Reusable Water Bottles

Now that the weather is warming up and people will be venturing outside more and more, they will need plenty of water. To encourage others to use reusable water bottles instead of buying bottled water, purchase some water bottler and ask the scouts to decorate the water bottles for others. They can create one for each member of their family or give away the water bottles to members of their pack or community or even sell the water bottles and give the proceeds to a local charity of their choosing.

Tiger Cub Scouts March Outings

March outings can be such a joy for Tiger Cub Scouts. It’s the perfect time for the weather to start warming up and get your scouts back into the outdoors. Be sure to keep that emergency plan in place just in case the weather takes a turn or you need to cancel the trip at the last minute. We also suggest having a back up plan for the times when the weather changes but you might still want to meet with your scouts.

Go For a Hike

March is the perfect time to try out some hiking. As the weather begins to warm, enjoy the sights of spring arriving. We have found that hikes around 1 – 2 miles are perfect for our Tiger Scouts. If you can plan the hike to end near a park, the scouts always love this. Be sure to practice the Outdoor Code and Leave No Trace Principles again.

Park Play Date

Plan a time to meet at a local park. Your Tiger scouts will enjoy just being able to play outside together at a park. Pair this with a park clean up for some extra service and Take a Walk in the Park Day on March 30th for even more fun. We usually try to plan a few games for the scouts just in case problems arise or the scouts need some direction, but for the most part, your Tigers will enjoy the unstructured play time. If you are meeting near lunch or right after school, adding in a snack or pot luck can be a lot of fun for your families too.

Reading Outdoors

As March is National Reading Month, plan a time to get together with your favorite book outside. Our Tiger Scouts have loved reading at the local park or in a forest preserve. Finding a quiet spot outside can really transform reading for some of your Tiger Scouts and bring a sense of peace that they struggle to find inside with all the electronics and toys available.

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Bring your scouts to a local park or hiking trail to search for signs of spring and 4-leaf clovers. A few of our favorite items to look for include: buds on trees, birds or nests, early flowers like daffodils, bees, butterflies, ducklings, other insect, animal tracks, green leaf, sun, and grass. We send out scouts out with a list of items to find and a camera so they can record their findings. When they complete the list, we send them into a clover field on a 4-leaf clover hunt to pair with St. Patrick’s Day.

Fishing

Our Tiger Scouts are definitely very interested in fishing and learning how to fish. Any time that you can, plan a fishing trip for the scouts and allow them to cast their fishing lines into the pond, lake or river. Be prepared to help them with taking fish off of the line, putting bait on, casting, and reeling in. You may also need some fun “waiting” activities for the kids and maybe even support with taking turtles off of fishing hooks.

We’d Love to Connect with You!

Tiger Cub Scouts meetings in March are amazing times to get your scouts back out in nature and enjoying all the changes that come when winter becomes springs. We usually only plan for one meeting and one outing in March due to spring break and possible parent-teacher conferences, musicals, art exhibits, etc. If you have extra time, we suggest throwing in two outings so that you scouts can get their energy out and enjoy the outdoors again.

Leave a comment below and let us know if you’ve earned your Floats and Boats elective adventures. What worked well for you? What would you have tried differently? Did your scouts love the adventures as much as ours? If you are looking for more Cub Scout leader tips, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter below.

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.