FAQs about Cub Scouting and Pack 6

All children, boys and girls, who are in grades K - 5 (or an equivalent home-schooling program) for the current school year (June-May) may join Cub Scouts.

Cub Scouting is for children in Kindergarten through 5th grade. Your child will "cross over" into a Scouts BSA Troop (formerly known as "Boy Scouts"), when any ONE of the below statements is true:

• The child is 11 years old (but not yet 18) OR

• The child is 10 years old AND has earned the Cub Scout Arrow of Light award OR

• The child is 10 years old AND currently in the 5th grade AND registers for Scouts BSA after March 1st

Cub Scouts is built around "Dens", grouped by ages or school grades. While there is some flexibility, we normally recommend your child join the den based on their school grade, so that they're with friends and peers. Cub Scouts move up in ranks each year regardless if they "earn" the badge for their rank or not (this changes in later/older scouting programs).

• Lions are children aged 5 or in Kindergarten

• Tigers are children aged 6 or in 1st grade

• Wolves are children aged 7 or in 2nd grade

• Bears are children aged 8 or in 3rd grade

• Webelos is a two-year program, beginning when children are aged 9 or in 4th grade

• Arrow of Light is the second part of the Webelos program, for children aged 10 or in the 5th grade

Generally, YES! We highly encourage you to contact us an inquire about our next meeting if you're interested in joining! Almost all Cub Scout events are open to visitors/guests (with the exception of overnight events, due to safety and insurance considerations).

Most pack and den events take place at our very own local Scout Hut (183 Grays Trail, Van Alstyne). Many camping, district, and council events take place at one of Circle 10's beautiful camps around Dallas, located in Dallas (Camp Wisdom), outside Pottsboro (Camp James Ray), or near Athens (Camp Trevor Reese-Jones). Some events take place at other locations, usually within an hour drive of Van Alstyne.

Like anything fun, scouting isn't sustainable as a free model. Please visit the COST page by clicking HERE for more details on the various costs associated with Cub Scouting.

Pack 6 makes it a point to NOT let any Scouts' financial situation be a barrier to participating in Scouting.

We offer multiple fundraising opportunities every year to help the scouts learn to be thrifty and pay their own way, and financial assistance options are available in many cases. Just ask!

We're excited to have you! There are two options to join; you can contact a local leader to complete a paper application and submit the fees (use the Contact page in the menu above), or you can join (and pay) directly online using the JOIN link at the bottom of this site!

Firstly, THANK YOU for being willing to volunteer. Our Pack is 100% volunteer run. Please reach out to any of the Pack's leadership on the Contact page in the menu above and we'll be happy to discuss volunteer opportunities with you.

Uniforms are not -required-, but are highly encouraged as a method of scouting. They serve a dual purpose, demonstrating that a Scout is part of a team and showing individual achievement (Scouts wear the badges they’ve earned). Wearing the uniform to meetings and activities also encourages a neat appearance,  and good behavior.

Pack 6 is a "Belt Up" unit, meaning we don't particularly care about the 'official' pants or socks, but we highly encourage the 'official' belts, shirts, neckerchiefs, and hats. These items are sometimes available as donations at our local Scout Hut, can often be found at thrift shops or on Facebook groups for a low cost, or are available to purchase new (but not cheap) at our local Scout Shop.

These are the recommended uniform items (pardon us during website construction, we'll add some flash graphics here soon!)

• Hat: Each rank has a corresponding hat with the rank logo on it

• Neckerchief (and Slide): Each rank has a different color neckerchief and official neckerchief slide

• Scout Shirt:

  • Lions where a blue t-shirt with the Lion logo on the front

  • Tigers, Wolves, and Bears wear the BLUE Cub Scout BSA Official shirt

  • Webelos and AOL cubs wear the TAN Scout BSA Official shirt

• Belt: 

  • Lions, Tigers, Wolves, and Bears wear an official blue webbed belt with a rank-specific buckle

  • Webelos and AOL cubs wear the green webbed belt with the Webelos buckle

• Pants: 

  • Lions, Tigers, Wolves, and Bears wear the official BLUE Cub Scout BSA shorts/pants

  • Webelos and AOL cubs wear the official GREEN Scout BSA shorts/pants

• Socks: Official BSA socks exist but are rarely worn in our unit

Patches, badges and awards have special placement on the uniform. None are required, but we encourage our scouts to display what they've worked hard to earn! More details/guides are in development for our page. In the meantime, ask your Den Leader for guidance, or check out the official BSA Guide to Insignia document.