Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion scouting and levels

Hello - I had a strange question and was wondering how others have handled it or if it was even an issue for others. We just signed DS6 up for Cub Scouts tonight. He seemed very interested in the whole concept and I honestly think it will be good for him in building self-confidence and how to work with others in a team atmosphere. The local den seems very much into parental involvement with both myself and my husband being part of everything (I always thought it was a daddy thing so I was glad to hear that moms can join in too) :-)

My only concern was that at the meeting tonight, there were 5 other children who were also signing up...4 of them would be in my son's "tiger" den since they are all 1st graders and the other was in 4th grade. I saw immediately that my son gravitated to the 4th grader (and they were both the same size) and the two of them started having a great conversation about rocketry and camping. The person there that was telling info about cub scouting said that Tigers start out with a lot of arts and crafts since they are so young and then the next year when they become Wolves they move onto things like astronomy, science, first aid. My husband and I are both concerned that intellectually our son is a 2nd-3rd grade kid and he rarely gravitates towards arts and crafts when he has the choice and he is the same size as a 2nd-3rd grader. The den leader was shocked that DS was just in First Grade and he pegged him as a 3rd grader due to his size...we are worried that he will be bored and not make a personal friendship connection with the others in the 1st grade group since whenever he is in a group of kids his age and older kids, he always without hestitation gravitates to the older children since he tends to have more in common with them.

Has anyone else dealt with this issue? We homeschool and he prefers to be with the 8-10 year olds instead of the 6 year olds. His best friend is several years older than him. When we go do his various science museum classes each center has placed him in the 2-4th grade groups because he is too advanced for the K-1 groupings. Would love to hear any comments/suggestions. It might not be a problem at all but DS6 showed some disappointment when the den leader said that the astronomy, weather, geology.... activities aren't usually done in the Tiger group since they were usually too advanced for 1st graders - but those are my son's favorite past times. Thanks!

Have him try the tigers. He may really like it especially if he is with other kids in his class. If you give it a try and still feel he needs to be switched they will probably be more flexible. He might actually miss something really fun.

Thanks Genosnickers - we did just go ahead and sign him up for Tigers but since he is homeschooled, he doesn't know any of the other kids in the program since all of them go to the local school. I edited my original post and put in that with homeschooling he really gravitates to the older children and we have had many places he goes for lessons/classes place him in the higher groups because he is advanced. If our school accelerated children, he would be placed in a 2nd or 3rd grade classroom. With my little guy, if he is not excited and kept interested out of the gate, he tends to loose interest pretty quickly and we really want this to be a positive experience for him. It might not be a problem at all, I was just curious if anyone else has gone through the same thing and would love to hear any comments :-)

Thanks guys for the comments - my husband filled out the paperwork to possibly be a den leader...they said with the kids that showed up tonight that they have a very large tiger group and may look at splitting the group into 2 and that the other den leader is brand new and could use lots of support. In that we have never gone through cub scouts before, we didn't know if he could take things to his normal "insane" level :-) or if it was very simplified. It's good to hear that he could maybe take it as deep as he would like. We really, really like what cub scouts instills in children and I think it could be just what DS6 needs to help him gain that confidence and learn about leadership skills. Thanks!

I'd push to move him up. There should be some tests he has to pass and I'd have him take them to prove he can move up.

We put our son in his "age appropriate" group for a few different reasons. First, he wasn't a big kid, or very athletic,(though he played a lot of sports, and knew the rules better than anyone,he was not physically gifted) and a lot of scouting is very physical. They have tug of wars, "wrestling" contests, a bike rally, sit up contests, etc. We did not want him to be way at the bottom of the group there. Secondly, this way he played baseball, soccer, etc with the same boys that were in his den. This was great socially, and it worked well for several years. I will say that at the very end of cubs, when ds dropped the team sports and had less and less in common with most of his den mates, it was not as good a fit. I think that last year would have been a wash if it hadn't been for one other very gifted boy in his den.

We started out the same as Lorel, but I think we're ending on a different note. GS10 is becoming more social with his age group, he can now find things in common with other 10 year olds. Most, or many, 10 year olds like Pokemon, Harry Potter, baseball cards, video games, movies, etc. GS is younger than the others in his den, but still within the range for that grade.
There's always the opportunity to go deeper with the projects the kids do. For example, study aerodynamics, friction, & wood finishing techniques while building a car for the pine car derby.
The major reason not to skip, is there's no place to go after WEBELOS II except Boy Scouts. There is a minimum age of 10 before they can cross over.

Hi, Belle!

I'm not sure, but I think that Cub Scouts has firm rules about being either a certain age or a certain grade level for each level of scouts. So, Tigers might be the right group to join from that perspective.

However, besides the arts and crafts part, each month or so the boys are supposed to go on a "Go See It." This is often hiking in a nature area, visiting a fire station, visiting a local factory, etc. So, he could really delve more deeply into these things if they interested him. And don't forget that each scout participates in both the Pinewood Derby, where they get to design their own car, and the Raingutter Regatta, where they get to design their own boat to race. Those end up being anywhere from simple projects to as advanced as your scout wants to take them. They're fun and, at least where we live, the younger boys can compete against the older boys. It's a fun, safe way to learn to handle competition, and victory and defeat besides.

Also, once a month, the entire Pack (all-grade-level Cub Scouts) gets together at the Pack meeting to get awards and play games and sing songs.

Oh, and also, in the Tiger Scout Handbook you'll find all kinds of optional indoor and outdoor activities that are fun to do, and once your son gets his Tiger badge, most of those activities will earn him belt loops. And since you do them at home with your son, you can adjust them to his level of learning and fun.

HTH!

I agree with OHGrandma. I'd have him start as a Tiger. He wouldn't be able to bridge to Boy Scouts with his den if you put him in a den with older boys now.

Here's the age info from the BSA site.

"Cub Scouting is for boys in the first through fifth grades, or 7 to 10 years of age. Boys who are older than 10, or who have completed the fifth grade, can no longer join Cub Scouting, but they may be eligible to join the Boy Scouting or Venturing program.

Boy Scouting is for boys 11 to 17 years of age. Boys also may become Boy Scouts if they have earned the Cub Scouting Arrow of Light Award and are at least 10 years old or have completed the fifth grade and are at least 10 years old."

DS started as a Tiger when he was in 2nd grade (and his den buddies were in first.) He has a great time with them and really enjoys den meetings. This year, he is a Wolf.

DS was not too excited about many of the activities in the Tiger handbook, but there is a supplemental handbook for cubscouts of all levels to do more in-depth activities to earn pins and belt loops. You son may enjoy working on those.