What Cub Scouts Do, Grade by Grade
Every grade has its own den, its own rank, and its own adventures — the program grows up alongside your kid. Here's the whole arc, written for parents who never scouted (that's most of us).
Lion · K Tiger · 1st Wolf · 2nd Bear · 3rd Webelos · 4th Arrow of Light · 5th
How it works, once, for every rank
- Ranks follow grade, not skill. A scout who joins in 3rd grade starts right at Bear — there's never anything to catch up on.
- Same recipe every year: six required adventures plus any two electives, starting with that rank's Bobcat adventure (den bonding + a family child-safety conversation). Do extra electives just for fun — many scouts do.
- The standard is "Do Your Best." That's the official measure. No tryouts, no failing, no bench.
- Den leaders track everything in Scoutbook Plus, Scouting America's official system — parents can see progress anytime.
- Special adventures — archery, slingshot, and BB ranges (Tiger and up) — happen at approved events like day camp with qualified instructors.
Full current requirements for every rank live on the official Cub Scout adventures pages — that's the source of truth; this page is the parent translation. Uniform details by grade are on the Join page.
Lion — Kindergarten
Scouting with training wheels, and the training wheels are you: every Lion attends with a parent or caring adult, every time, and Lion families take turns helping lead. Meetings are short, playful, and built for five-year-old attention spans.
The year's flavor: build-and-race a Pinewood Derby® car together (grown-ups run the saws; Lions sand, paint, and cheer), go fishing, build towers and knock them down, and camp out with the pack — adult partner right there in the tent.
Tiger — 1st Grade
Still side by side with an adult partner for every adventure, but the world gets bigger — and the first real neckerchief appears.
The year's flavor: make a shield and build a castle, find constellations in the night sky, den bike rides, boats and what floats, and pack campouts together.
Wolf — 2nd Grade
The independence year begins: Wolves run with their den leader instead of an adult partner. Parents are always welcome — but the scouts notice the difference, and grow an inch the day they do.
The year's flavor: a real den hike done right, secret codes and patterns (math disguised as spycraft), dinosaurs and fossils, bike skills, and family campouts with the pack.
Bear — 3rd Grade
The year scouting hands kids real things: pocketknives (taught safely, earned properly), real tools, real responsibility. Third graders are ready, and the program knows exactly how much rope to give them.
The year's flavor: whittling and safe knife handling, woodworking projects, fingerprints-and-clues forensics, hands-on science, and campouts. Expect to admire a large number of whittled sticks.
Webelos — 4th Grade (say "WEE-buh-lows")
The outdoors gets serious, in the fun way: Webelos dens can camp on their own, scouts help plan the outings, and the famous plaid neckerchief signals they've been around.
The year's flavor: planning a real campout with weather prep and Leave No Trace, swimming and water-emergency skills, geology, and engineering builds. Adventures become pins instead of belt loops — the wardrobe upgrade matters to them.
Arrow of Light — 5th Grade
Cub Scouting's highest award and its graduation year. AOL scouts learn how real Scout patrols work, can camp with a troop they might join, and finish the year crossing over to Scouts BSA in a ceremony that involves actual Scouts welcoming them. Bring tissues.
The year's flavor: real first aid, knife skills that earn real privileges, GPS and modern gear outdoors, canoes and kayaks, and one last Pinewood Derby® — dynasties end here. Joining 5th graders are extra welcome; this is a starting line, not a finish.