boy scouts-type group

my2monkeyboys wrote: Does anyone know of a boy scouts-type group that takes 4-yr-olds? From what I know the Cub Scouts only takes them 7 and up. I'd love for Will to be a part of something like that now, but am having a hard time finding anything. Any ideas?

redchief replied: I don't know of any paramilitary youth organizations for under 7's. Sorry.

my2monkeyboys replied:
That sounds funny, the way you put that. LOL I'm assuming you're not a big fan of the boy scouts, huh!?
Thanks anyway!

redchief replied: No, actually I'm a great fan of the scouts... We help out our local troop any way we can at the firehouse... Scouting gives young boys a sense of right and wrong in the real world, the value of hard work and an understanding of leadership... many things sorely missing in today's youth. I do think that four is a little young for such concepts though.

my2monkeyboys replied: I was hoping they'd have something more basic, just learning to get along with others, teamwork, maybe outdoorsy-crafts, those types of things, not anything too heavy. Sorry if I offended... I could just hear an anti-war-type person wording it like that. Like it's brainwashing our kids or something. LOL

C&K*s Mommie replied: Off the subject slightly, Chris (my DH) mentioned getting the girls involved in the Brownies (if that is still around). Do they even have such a thing like Jr. Boy Scouts, similiar to Brownies being like a junior Girls Scouts?

MyBrownEyedBoy replied: Boy Scouts used to have a younger group called Tiger Cubs. My brother was a tiger cub when he was about 5, I think. Check into that.

Here's a website.
http://usscouts.org/advance/cubscout/cstiger.html

redchief replied:
Wow... that's great. I'm sure there's no Tiger Cub dens in my area, but I think that's kind of what willsmama was looking for.

First grade is 5 -6 year olds right? Geez I'm getting old.

my2monkeyboys replied: Thanks for the link! I'll look into that now.

amymom replied: Hi I am a big scouter. I am chairperson of our local troop and we just had an Eagle scout, and have two other boys close to Eagle. Which is pretty hard to do. And in a troop of 14 boys we are pretty proud that so many are advancing.

HOWEVER, like Ed, I do think 4 is young for scouting. Tiger Scouts are first graders (6-7 yr olds). Younger than that I think (JMO) needs more free kind of things. Less rigid. After Tiger Scouts they become Different levels of Cub Scouts, of which Tigers are just one level. Then after 5th grade they become Boy Scouts.


For girls, Girl Scouts has Brownies. Brownies begin in first grade as well. In my opinion, Girl Scouts is not as well organized and run as Boy Scouts, on a National level. Many local troops in Girls Scouts are done well, But Boy Scouts do have some national rules that keep them focused. Again, jmo. (if girl scouts are not an option for someone, then girls can join a cub scout troop and then as they get older they can become venture scouts).

my2monkeyboys replied: Yep, I see where Will is too young for the Cub Scouts too. I just wish they had something for the younger ones. Thanks for the help y'all!

holley79 replied: Is there anything going on at the local Y that he could become involved in and interact with other children his own age?

my2monkeyboys replied: Unfortunately the "local" y is a good 45 minute drive from here, one-way. He is involved in a homeschool group (yep, I'm one of "those" people! LOL) and he played soccer in the spring and will this fall too. Just looking for something more constant, I guess. Like a weekly or bi-weekly thing all year round, where he could really bond with some friends, particularly something outdoorsy. I know, I'm only a little too picky, right!?! LOL I was hoping to go on our first camping trip this year, but since my DH has been out of work for almost 2 months now, it's going to take us the rest of the year to get caught back up. Anyway, thanks for all the advice and ideas. I may check into the Y programs, just to see what they have. It may be worth the extra time and gas money.

3_call_me_mama replied: Some churches have youth organizations that focus exactally on exactally what you are lookign for as well as mission work (serving others)
Our church has a Royal Rangers group and it starts at 4 years old. They do camping activities, crafts, teamwork activities. Community service activities (like food drives, toy collections at holidays, etc) Not sure if somethign like this is available in your area, but here even if you arent' a member of the church your child can go with a friend from teh church. (We're homeschoolers too adn are actually going to opt out on Cub Scouts/boyscouts adn Girl Scouts. As the meeting are held according to the school calendar here, and start in Kindergarten (age 5) and are held in teh school clasrooms. Kind of hard to explain to your child why they are going to these other kids classrooms for an activity that isn't really a school activity. Plus it turns into a HUGH clique as teh homeschooled kids are kind of singled out and treated differently (In our experience anyway~ as a former brownie volunteer). Good luck on your venture!

my2monkeyboys replied: Yeah, we don't go to church right now... my dad was a pastor of a church for almost 8 years. For those who have experienced that, I'm sure you know why we haven't gotten back into church anywhere. I have been wanting to try one near us though, if I could ever talk my husband into it. I think the Royal Rangers is just what I'm thinking about. Not that I'd let him go alone (with someone else, without one of us)... I don't trust even preachers anymore. You just never know, unfortunately. But, that is exactly what I'm wanting. May have to push a little harder to get my DH to go !

amymom replied: Hey maybe get something started with other homeschooling families. There is a big organization of homeschooled families near me. And they meet every Friday, they handle the arts, the music and some sports. I am not aware if they do outdoor activities or not. If you want me to find out more about it I will. I think they have well over 150 families. (and this is a small community)

ashtonsmama replied: I would say maybe try to get him more involved with the homeschooling group, are there any boys his age in it that you could do playdate type of things with? That's about all I can think of. And never underestimate the imagination of a child, they are usually perfectly happy with alone time, probably more than you think!

my2monkeyboys replied: You're probably right. He isn't asking "why don't I do other things with other people?" It's just me wanting to make sure he's having fun and stretching his mind/body as much as possible. We have a homeschool group we meet with once a week, but there is only 1 boy his age and he's a bit mean, so Will tends to steer clear of him. Then there are a few about year or so younger, so they don't seem to have much in common. The rest are all well into school-age, so they also don't want to play with a 3 1/2-yr-old, kwim? I think he's just at a hard age... he's old enough to do alot, but not old enough to do it all. I think they call this the "tweenies" age. Hopefully he'll be ok until he's old enough to want/be able to do other activities. I guess too that I'm projecting onto him. Growing up my mom seemed to want us NOT to do want to do things... she was always and still is afraid something would "happen", so I want to make double-sure that he has the opportunities to do the things he wants. Make sense?
Anyways, thanks for letting me ramble on... and thanks for all the help...