To earn the Bear Badge, a Cub Scout must complete 12 achievements out of a possible 24. The achievements are grouped in 4 major areas, GOD, COUNTRY, FAMILY, and SELF. Within each group, a required number of achievements must be completed. Red beads mark the Bear Trail on a Cub Scout's Progress Towards Rank totem. Also, any achievements that a Cub Scout does not use to earn the Bear Badge may be used to continue to earn a Gold and more Silver Arrow Points. There are 25 electives available to these 3rd graders.
http://www.usscouts.org/advance/cubscout/bear.asp