Updated in 2019
Do you have a daughter or son in elementary school? Have you thought of signing them up for a Scouting program? If you've never been involved in Girl Scouts or Cub Scouts, they may not be on your radar screen but these organizations provide wonderful programs for kids age 5 and up and are definitely worth exploring.
One of the most important things to understand about Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts is that they are both completely volunteer-led. This means that, if you would like your son or daughter to become a Scout, you should expect to volunteer your time to coordinate activities or an outing, or even to manage a small group of boys or girls on their journey through Scouting. Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts learn practical life skills with a team approach but none of it happens without the parents' involvement. Please don't expect or assume that you can drop your child off or that all of the good things about Scouting can happen without your help. In fact, one of the best parts of Scouting is meeting and working together with the other parents to create a wonderful experience for your children.
Girl Scouts
Girls in kindergarten and above can join Girl Scouts at any time. The traditional Girl Scout path is to join a troop in the town where you live. A Girl Scout troop typically has 8-10 girls, all the same age, who will stay together with the same leaders throughout elementary school. The leaders are parents of one or more of the girls (sometimes moms will co-lead) who are volunteering to help run the troop. To find a troop in your town, attend the registration night or ask around among your friends and the parents of the girls in your child's class. You may find that some of the mothers in class are already talking about Girl Scouts and pulling together a group of girls; this is the perfect time to ask to join them and volunteer to help. Or you can even start your own troop if you're unable to find one for your daughter and you meet other families at the registration night who are looking for a troop. Girl Scouts of Eastern MA will provide training and all the information you need. One of the benefits of volunteering as the troop leader is that you have control over the meeting schedule. Most troops meet every other week but you are welcome to meet more or less frequently as you see fit.
It costs $25 per year (as of 2015) to be a member of Girl Scouts, plus your troop will have dues to cover the cost of snacks, meeting supplies, etc. These days, the uniform is very minimal and only costs a few dollars for a vest or sash and identification badges. Your troop can participate in both the fall product and cookie sales to help cover the troop's costs.
Girls in kindergarten and first grade begin Girl Scouts as Daisies. They will typically meet once or twice a month during the school year to talk about different aspects of Girl Scout Law, such as honesty, respect, caring and helpfulness. They will make a craft, have snacks, and may visit local community resources such as the library or police station. Girls in 2nd and 3rd grade are Brownies. They can earn badges by learning in depth about a particular topic. They participate in community improvement projects and learn more about being self-sufficient. They may go on overnight stays at a camp or at a museum. Girl Scout Juniors (Grades 4-5) and Cadettes (Grades 6-8) continue to learn self-sufficient skills and participate in community service. Girl Scout Seniors (Grades 9-10) and Ambassadors (Grades 11-12) travel, help younger troops, organize significant community service projects, and meet more advanced challenges. Older Girl Scouts can work on earning the Gold Award, the highest achievement in Girl Scouts.
To learn more about Girl Scouts, visit their website at www.girlscoutseasternmass.org.
Cub Scouts
Boys and girls can join Cub Scouts beginning in Kindergarten and may join a pack anytime up to fifth grade. In 2018, Boy Scouts of America began accepting girls as Cub Scouts and in 2019 as Scouts (formerly known as Boy Scouts). Girls are now welcomed at all packs in Greater Lowell.
Unlike Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts are organized into large packs with 20 to 60 or more Scouts aged 5-11. Typically, most towns have one to four separate Cub Scout packs. Since all Cub Scout packs follow the exact same national BSA program, the only differences between the packs are how much the pack charges to be a member, the fundraising and volunteering expectations, and the meeting schedule.
Within a pack, the children will be organized into dens by age or grade. Kindergarten Cub Scouts are in the Lion den, First grade Cub Scouts are in the Tiger Den, 2nd grade Scouts are in the Wolf den, 3rd grade Scouts are in the Bear den, 4th graders are in the Webelos I den, and 5th graders are Webelos II. Most dens have 3-10 children; very large packs will have multiple dens at each level or may split dens by gender.
During the school year, the pack will have a monthly Pack meeting with all families for activities, presentations, and team-building activities. Each den will also meet once or twice a month separately and work on den-level projects, such as simple cooking skills, fire safety, bicycle safety, etc. The entire pack and each den are managed by volunteer parents. Usually the den leaders will manage and progress with a den for the entire 5-year Cub Scout journey, assisted by the parents of the other children in the den. If they choose, Webelos II Scouts in 5th grade who have completed certain requirements may cross over to Scouts and join a Scout troop and eventually become an Eagle Scout. Boy Scouts of America provides lots of very detailed information to the Cub Scout pack and den leaders to help with rank requirements and meeting topics.
Cub Scouts is typically $50-$80 per year to join (depending on the pack), and packs will participate in several activities throughout the year, including museum visits, overnights, and camping trips, which cost extra. The packs can raise funds by participating in Cub Scout popcorn fundraisers, which will help cover the expenses for these special trips. Some packs will choose to do other kinds of fundraisers or will not ask their members to fundraise at all and just pay higher dues. Although all Cub Scout packs must follow the requirements laid out by Boy Scouts of America, each pack will have a different feel depending on the number of children and how the leaders coordinate activities. You can visit different pack meetings with your child until you find the right pack for you.
To learn more about Cub Scouts, visit www.beascout.org. Below is a list of all the local Cub Scout packs and links to their websites. Not all packs have websites or their websites may be somewhat outdated, since they're managed by volunteers:
Pack 28 Dunstable No website
Pack 3 Lowell No website
Pack 49 Tewksbury No website
