Bear Cub is the third step of Cub Scouting and is for boys in third grade. Those who join the Bear den without having been a Wolf Cub Scout must first earn the Bobcat badge. Then all the Scouts in the den work their way along the Bear trail to earn their Bear rank.

For these older Cub Scouts, the activities for advancement and achievement are more challenging. The Bear Handbook has 24 Bear achievements, 12 of which a boy must complete to earn his Bear Badge. The achievements are grouped in 4 major areas:

• God (must complete one of two achievements)
• Country (must complete three of five achievements)
• Family (must complete four of six achievements)
• Self (must complete four of eleven achievements)

Many of the achievements can only be done at home. Completing achievements is not difficult. Look for opportunities in your everyday life. For example, creating a cake for the pack's Cake Bake event earns part of the WHAT'S COOKING achievement, and going on a cleanup hike of Torrey Pines trail earns part of the TAKE CARE OF YOUR PLANET achievement.

Bear Scouts continue to earn beads for the Progress Towards Ranks totem that they started as Wolves. For completing the requirements of 3 of the Achievements, one red Progress Bead is awarded. This provides the Scout with a total of 4 beads, culminating in the award of his Bear badge, in addition to the gold beads earned as a Wolf.

 

 

The handbook also gives instructions for 25 electives, which a Bear Cub Scout may work on to earn Arrow Points. The Bear badge must be earned first before any arrow points are awarded. A gold arrow point is awarded for the first 10 achievement tasks over the Bear requirements. A silver arrow point is awarded for each additional 10 tasks completed.

It is traditional (but not required) for Scouts to earn their rank by February, so that they may receive it at the annual Blue & Gold banquet. This gives them the remainder of the year to work on their Arrow Points.

 

 

Come join the fun! Contact us for locations: pack393@aol.com