Cub Scout den flag

My third grader has been in cub scouts since kindergarten, and that is also how long I've been his den leader. For anyone that is unfamiliar with the lingo, the Pack includes all the cub scouts in a given group, usually at a school or church. The Pack consists of several dens, each a different grade. Each den is represented by a different animal, and all the activities that are completed by the den, called Adventures, are animal-themed. Each Adventure has several required activities that must be completed before the Adventure's belt loop can be earned. At the end of the year, each scout has actual belt with several metal belt loops representing the Adventures they completed.

This year, we are the Bears. There are 4 kiddos in our den, plus one bonus Bear that tags along (one scout's little sister). The first Adventure is about learning about cub scouts and creating a cohesive group. At our last meeting, we started with Serious Business: learning the scout oath and scout law and what they both mean, and creating our den's code of conduct. We talked about how we expect each other to act and how we will treat each other. Our den's new code of conduct includes things like being kind & nice, being patient with each other, playing fairly.

I wanted to do a fun activity to get the kids to work together, think about their new code of conduct, and start to create some cohesion among them as a den. There are a million ideas online, but I was inspired by this post by Scouter Mom to make a den flag. Time to get crafty!

I bought a yard of light blue broadcloth and some sheets and shapes of felt. After discussing what kinds of shapes and colors could represent our den and our den's code of conduct, I set the kids loose. Parents were available to help with cutting, but the kids did a great job of being careful and deliberate with the scissors. I encouraged the kids to talk together about how they want their flag to look. At one point, my kid exclaimed that the flag should have a train! I said that would be fine, as long as the train represents something meaningful to the den and the rest of the den agreed to it.

The kids decided to each make a bear and put a bear in each corner. Our bonus Bear made a dog and they decided to allow it on the flag. The 7 stripes represent the seven points of the den's code of conduct. The pac-mac in the middle represents playing fairly. The pizza represents sharing, because of course it does! Unfortunately, I can't remember exactly what the two asterisks and the yellow thing at the bottom represent. Honestly, I'm not worried about it. Ultimately, the kids worked together to create something meaningful to them.

Initially, I was going to sew each piece onto the broadcloth, but I quickly realized that wasn't going to happen. There are too many tiny pieces! I ended up gluing all the felt pieces together using glue meant for felt, then sewing felt onto the broadcloth. So far, I'm about halfway done sewing. When it's all done, the scouts will take turns being responsible for their flag and bringing it to meetings.