I will say this about the Cub Scouts, the requirements they present you with suck (for a lack of a better word). They are very much arts and craft oriented. However, I use the requirements and electives as a base suggested guide. I by no means follow them to the letter. I will go back to what I said in a previous post, you get out what you put in. My boys, which are Cub Scouts went camping, and I mean camping without any electricity, plumbing, etc. as Tigers (six year olds). On the trips we went hiking, fishing and every archery. The same is on the agenda for an upcoming trip. Another example, one of the requirements this year was about emergency preparedness, the book suggest discussing what to do in case of a fire, stranger scenarios, power outages, etc. I took it a step further. We dicussed this chapter, with hands on tutorial right after Hurricane Sandy. Us living in one of the hardest hit areas we had plenty of first hand knowledge of what went on and how to deal with it. We went through emergency supplies, first aid, modified "Go Bags", and how to use all of the items contained. They loved every minute of it.
I personally see no reason why Cub Scouts cannot handle more than what is presented to them in the handbooks. I know I teach my boys more than whats in there and they rrespond to it extremely well. Not to beat a dead horse, but the Scouts, especially Cub Scouts, are what the leaders put into it.
