The Pith Helmet and The Sombrero

Hello fellow Scouters,

As a district trainer, I am accumulating a lot of training supplies (otherwise known as “Scouting clutter”). My training supplies include a pith helmet and a sombrero. Now I know that these are most definitely not official uniform pieces. But I have them to make a point: Cub Scouting should be an adventure, and it should be fun. (In fact, the last time I did Leader Specific training, I taught the Cubmaster portion and wore the sombrero the entire time).

The pith helmet represents adventure. We are not here to give the boys sit-down lectures – we are here to give them an adventure. We are here to take them and their families camping and hiking. God created a wonderful world and we get to help the boys get out and experience it. And we are here to teach them new skills and to start the process of teaching them to be leaders (which will be further developed in Boy Scouts).

And, of course, the sombrero is for fun. We absolutely have to make our program, whether at the den level or pack level, the most fun they boy will have in a week. If not, we will lose them to sports or other activities. And it is possible to compete with other activities, as I’ve blogged about before. At my spring den meetings, sometimes boys would come late, with their Scout uniform tops tucked into baseball pants, still wearing their cleats. If you have a fun program, the boys will be there, no matter how booked their schedule is.

So my challenge to all Cub leaders is have a program where you can wear a sombrero or pith helmet or any other crazy hat. (I know of Cubmasters that make a new hat for each pack meeting, based on the theme of the pack meeting, or just to have a crazy hat.) It’s hard to be serious or take yourself too serious when you are wearing a sombrero.

Here’s to an adventurous and fun Cub Scout program!

In Scouting,

 – Scouter Jeff <><