Since 1930, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has helped younger boys through Cub Scouting.  Cub Scouting is a year-round family-oriented part of the BSA program designed for boys who are in first through fifth grades (or are 7-10 years of age). Parents, leaders, and organizations work together to plan activities the boys will enjoy, but the activities are also designed to promote the 10 purposes of Cub Scouting:

• Character Development
• Spiritual Growth
• Good Citizenship
• Sportsmanship and Fitness
• Family Understanding
• Respectful Relationships
• Personal Achievement
• Friendly Service
• Fun and Adventure
• Preparation for Boy Scouts

These purposes help us achieve the overall aims of the Boy Scouts of America: character development, citizenship training, and personal fitness.

Character Connections asks the Cub Scout to:

Know
Character development includes moral knowledge—both awareness and reasoning. For example, children must understand what honesty means and they must be able to reason about and interpret each situation, and then decide how to apply the principles of honesty.

What do I think or know about the core value? How does the context of this situation affect this core value? What are some historical, literary, or religious examples representing the core value?

Commit
Character development includes attention to moral motivation. Children must be committed to doing what they know is right. They must be able to understand the perspectives of others, to consider how others feel, and to develop an active moral conscience.

Why is this core value important? What makes living out this core value different? What will it take to live out this core value?

Practice
Character development includes the development of moral habits through guided practice. Children need opportunities to practice the social and emotional skills necessary for doing what is right but difficult, and to experience the core values in their lives.

How can I act according to this core value? How do I live out this core value? How can I practice this value at school, at home, and with my friends?

                                                                                                       Cub Scout Motto                                                                                                          

                                                                                                             "Do Your Best"


As a Cub Scout, you do your best and you help others. You learn the Cub Scout Promise and the Law of the Pack. You also learn what they mean.

The Cub Scout Promise

I promise to do my best
To do my duty to God and my country,
To help other people, and
To obey the Law of the Pack.

It's important not just to say the Promise, but to know what it means.

I promise

When you say "I promise," it means you will do your best to keep your word. It is very important to keep your promises and to stand by the things you say. This shows people that they can trust you and rely on you.

To do my best

Giving your best effort is right and honest. Always remember that your best is not the same as someone else's best. Doing the best you can is more important than trying to be better than someone else.

To do my duty to God

Doing what is right and not doing things we know are wrong is one way to do our duty to God. Another way is to practice our religion at home and at our place of worship. We should respect other people's religious beliefs even if they are different from our own.

And my country

Duty to country starts with being a good citizen. This means caring about the people in your community and helping people. Good citizenship also means obeying the law. It means standing up for the rights of all Americans. Good citizens also take care of America's land, water, and natural places.

To help other people

Helping other people means doing things to help those around you—your family, friends, classmates, neighbors, and others in your community—without having to be told.

And to obey the Law of the Pack

Besides obeying the Law of the Pack (below), you should obey the laws in your community and state, the rules in your school, the rules at home, and the code of conduct in your den.

The Law of the Pack

The Cub Scout follows Akela.
The Cub Scout helps the pack go.
The pack helps the Cub Scout grow.
The Cub Scout gives goodwill.

Just as the parts of the Cub Scout Promise have a meaning, each part of the Law of the Pack has a meaning.

The Cub Scout follows Akela

Akela means "good leader." To a Cub Scout, Akela may be a parent, a teacher, a religious leader, a Cub Scout leader, or another guide. A Cub Scout should choose a good leader to follow.

The Cub Scout helps the pack go

Your pack needs you to be a good member. A good member goes to all meetings, follows the leaders, and pitches in to make the pack better. Being a good member of the pack means doing your share, and sometimes a little more, to help the pack.

The pack helps the Cub Scout grow

With the leaders and Cub Scouts all working together, the pack helps you grow into a better person. You will learn new things and new skills. You'll learn the right way to do the right things. And along the way, you will help others.

The Cub Scout gives goodwill

Doing good things for others doesn't just make them happy. It also gives them the desire (or the "will") to do good things for others in turn. In this way, the good things you do for others make ripples that pass the goodwill from person to person. The spirit of helpfulness and good cheer spreads from you to others in your neighborhood.

1. Citizenship: Contributing service and showing responsibility to local, state, and national communities.
2. Compassion: Being kind and considerate, and showing concern for the well-being of others.
3. Cooperation: Being helpful and working together with others toward a common goal.
4. Courage: Being brave and doing what is right regardless of our fears, the difficulties, or the consequences.
5. Faith: Having inner strength and confidence based on our trust in God.
6. Health and Fitness: Being personally committed to keeping our minds and bodies clean and fit.
7. Honesty: Telling the truth and being worthy of trust.
8. Perseverance: Sticking with something and not giving up, even if it is difficult.
9. Positive Attitude: Being cheerful and setting our minds to look for and find the best in all situations.
10. Resourcefulness: Using human and other resources to their fullest.
11. Respect: Showing regard for the worth of something or someone.
12. Responsibility: Fulfilling our duty to God, country, other people, and ourselves.