How does your pack stay active in the summer?

Tuesday-TalkbackSummertime, and the livin’ is easy?

If you’re like a lot of Cub Scout leaders out there … not so much. Keeping active during the summer takes careful planning.

Summer brings schedules that shift and swirl like a warm July breeze. And finding activities to keep your den and pack active during those summer months can be a challenge.

Sure it’s only April, but for today’s Tuesday Talkback, let’s think ahead to summer.

Why a break’s a bad idea

Your pack could make like an NBA team and take summers off. But, according to the April 2016 CubCast, that’s not a good idea.

If you add some new Cub Scouts in the spring, as many packs do, you don’t want to lose momentum. And your existing members can lose steam in the summer if you stop meeting.

When everyone finally gets back together once school resumes, you’ll likely have lost some of your pack families if you took the summer off.

How to fill those summer months

Georgia Caulkins, an Illinois Cubmaster whose pack has grown from three to 45 Cub Scouts, likes to keep it local.

They’ll have cookouts, enjoy council-based events, camp overnight at a baseball game, go on a hike, have a picnic, rent out the local roller rink or ice rink, visit a water park, check out the zoo, and more.

And summertime Cub Scouting doesn’t have to be every week, either, she tells the CubCast hosts.

“The summer before, we tried to have a pack event and our regular pack meetings, and we noticed our regular pack meetings weren’t very well attended with baseball and summer vacations,” she says. “Last summer, our pack held one pack event each month, and our council is active, so we also promoted all of the events that they held. So, the summer went a lot better.”

Your thoughts, please

Does your pack stay active during the summer months? If so, how? Help other Scouters by leaving a comment below.

cubcast-logoFurther listening: The April 2016 CubCast

For more of this discussion, go here to listen to, download or read a transcript of the April 2106 CubCast.

Or do a search for “CubCast” on your favorite podcasting app.


Photo via Minor League Baseball’s West Michigan Whitecaps


About Bryan Wendell 3282 Articles
Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout, is the founder of Bryan on Scouting and a contributing writer.