Anonymous wrote:Is girl scouts.like this too?

GS troops set their own meeting schedule, many are twice a month but some are monthly. GS and BS are completely unrelated organizations and GS doesn't have the den/pack structure.

OP, are you talking about the primary pack meeting, or all of the activities of the pack per month? The pack my DC was in had a monthly pack meeting, a monthly den meeting, a monthly outdoor activity, and a monthly additional activity (volunteer event, Pinewood Derby, etc). So typically four activities a month.

A once a month all-pack meeting is pretty typical. Some dens meet more than once a month. Ours decided that would be too much given the other pack activities. Scouting is flexible.

I signed DC up in elementary because I was looking for an activity, DC is outdoorsy, and I thought it would be a good way to make friends. DC loved it and has continued scouting into high school.

Anonymous wrote:Do you HAVE to join in the zip code where you live, or can you join any pack?

No you can join any pack...though for us it is really kids from our ES.

Do you HAVE to join in the zip code where you live, or can you join any pack?

Ours is twice a month, plus a monthly pack meeting/activity.

To PP, outdoorsy/sciencey is perfect for Scouts. The meetings have a set activity, typically with a learning section and then a hands-on section where the Scouts will create something, act out the lesson, or explore nature. Scouts is very inclusive, and the motto is "do your best," which we message as participate as much as you are able. We readily work around other commitments including sports, religion, vacations, etc. It is about as flexible and low-key an activity as you will find.

We are considering for our 4th grader. He's outdoorsy and sciencey and has struggled to find similar interested peers. But we don't want to overload on activities. It sounds like scouts is more like a group with activities than a programmed enrichment? Does anyone have any input on who is right for scouts?

Ours in 3 Tuesdays a month. I stay at all meetings and they are happy to have our 4 year old participate with his older brother. Love it 😊

Anonymous wrote:Cub scouts also requires all parents staying at all events and participating. Weekly is a lot of commitment. Once or twice a month plus occasional events feels right

Only Lions and Tigers, K and 1st, require parents attend all meetings. Some Packs might have different rules but BSA only requires it for the youngest Dens. Our Pack encouraged Parents to help lead one meeting a year to reduce the load on the Den Leaders but not every family did that.

Our Pack had a monthly Pack meeting and bi-weekly Den meetings, so 3 meetings in a month.

Is girl scouts.like this too?

It's also year round (or close if take summer off).

Cub scouts also requires all parents staying at all events and participating. Weekly is a lot of commitment. Once or twice a month plus occasional events feels right

Ours is once a month den meetings + occasional pack meetings + other activities (ex. Camping, Frisbee golf, hike, pinewood derby, fire station tour to name a few). Agree it's less of a time commitment (and less structured) than other activities but IMO that's a good things.

But our den is pretty close already (neighborhood/school) so I think it feels like community without a ton of scheduled meetings.

Cubs scouts by us meets once a month. Is this normal? I thought these things used things used to meet every week. Once a month feels like an after thought and not a real program.