Wolf Footsteps Adventure
Adventure Type: Required
Number of Requirements: 4
Typical Time to Complete: 1–2 meetings, plus family activity
Parent Involvement: High
Preparation Needed: Low to moderate
Activity Level: Low
Indoor or Outdoor: Mostly indoor, some travel
Special Requirements: Family faith discussion, service or gathering, kindness activity
Supplies Snapshot: Craft supplies, Wolf handbook or fable
The Wolf Footsteps Adventure helps Wolf Cub Scouts explore how their family shows faith and reverence. Scouts talk with a parent or guardian about family traditions, holidays, and celebrations, then create a craft connected to one of those traditions.
Scouts also attend a religious service or another gathering that shows how their family expresses reverence. Along the way, they practice putting important values into action by completing an act of kindness.
The adventure ends with a simple lesson about honesty. After reading or listening to “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” Scouts talk with their den or family about why telling the truth matters and how honesty helps build trust.
Requirements for the Wolf Footsteps Adventure
Wolf Footsteps Adventure Requirements
This Adventure may be earned by completing the requirements below OR by completing a Religious Emblem of the Cub Scouts family’s choosing.
- With your parent or legal guardian talk about your family’s faith traditions. Identify three holidays or celebrations that are part of your family’s faith traditions. Make a craft or work of art of your favorite family’s faith tradition holiday or celebration.
- With your family, attend a religious service OR other gathering that shows how your family expresses reverence.
- Carry out an act of kindness.
- Listen to or read Aesop’s fable “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” With your den or family discuss why being truthful is important.
Printable requirements for the Wolf Footsteps Adventure
Check off sheet to keep track of your den's progress on the Wolf Footsteps Adventure
Printable checkoff sheet for the Wolf Badge (for den or individual use)
Resources for the Wolf Footsteps Adventure
Wolf Footsteps Den Meeting Plan
This den meeting plan for the Wolf Footsteps Adventure helps Scouts explore their family’s faith traditions, practice kindness, and learn about honesty. They will decorate kindness jars, create a sun catcher craft, and discuss how people show reverence. They will also read “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” and talk about why telling the truth is important. A simple snack ties into the theme of traditions and celebrations.
Scouts will leave with a kindness jar filled with good deeds to complete during the week. This meeting is a great way to help them understand respect, kindness, and honesty in a fun and meaningful way.
More Ways to Complete the Requirements
Requirement 1: Explore Family Traditions
With your parent or legal guardian talk about your family’s faith traditions. Identify three holidays or celebrations that are part of your family’s faith traditions. Make a craft or work of art of your favorite family’s faith tradition holiday or celebration.
Help Scouts learn more about the faith traditions their family follows. Keep the discussion simple and let families decide which holidays or celebrations are meaningful to them. For the art project, focus on making something connected to one favorite tradition rather than creating a complicated craft.
Easy Option: Have each Scout make a simple drawing or paper craft showing a symbol from a favorite family faith celebration.
More options:
- Holiday Mosaic: Make a construction paper mosaic using your family’s favorite holiday tradition symbol.
- Sun Catcher: Make a sun catcher of a holiday symbol that can be hung in your home.
Requirement 2: Experience Reverence
With your family, attend a religious service OR other gathering that shows how your family expresses reverence.
Families can choose a religious service or another gathering that reflects how they express reverence. Leaders should give families flexibility, since beliefs and traditions will vary from one household to another. This requirement works well as a family activity outside the den meeting.
Easy Option: Ask families to attend a religious service or faith-based gathering they already normally attend.
More resources:
- Faith Requirements for Cub Scouts Who Are Agnostic or Atheist: Open and honest communication is key
- Attend a Religious Service: Attend a religious service based on your family’s choosing.
- Let’s Celebrate Together: Attend a celebration at your chartered partner based on a faith tradition.
Requirement 3: Practice Kindness
Carry out an act of kindness.
This requirement is a good chance to show Scouts that kindness does not need to be a big project. Encourage them to choose a small action they can complete themselves, such as helping someone, sharing, or doing an extra chore. Afterward, you can briefly ask how their action helped another person.
Easy Option: Have each Scout choose one helpful task to do for a family member, neighbor, or friend.
Some resources:
- Compliment Cards Coloring Pages: Color and distribute kind words to family and friends.
- Kindness Jar: Create an act of kindness jar and complete at least two tasks in the jar.
- Sing with the Elderly: Sing a song at a retirement community.
Requirement 4: Talk About Honesty
Listen to or read Aesop’s fable “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” With your den or family discuss why being truthful is important.
Read or listen to “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” then keep the discussion focused on trust. Ask Scouts what happened when people stopped believing the boy and how telling the truth helps others trust us. A few simple questions are enough for this age group.
Easy Option: Read the story from the Wolf handbook during the den meeting, then ask Scouts why the villagers stopped trusting the boy.
More resources:
- The Boy Who Cried Wolf (book)
Frequently Asked Questions for the Wolf Footsteps Adventure
What should we talk about regarding our family’s faith traditions?
Discuss what special holidays or celebrations your family observes and what they mean to you.
What can we do if we can’t attend a religious service?
You can participate in any gathering that shows reverence and respect for your family’s faith, such as watching a service online or participating in a family prayer.
What are some examples of acts of kindness we can do?
Simple acts like helping a neighbor, writing thank-you cards, or donating supplies to those in need are great ways to show kindness.
Why is the story “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” important?
It teaches us the importance of being truthful and the consequences of lying.
Steps to Reverence
The Wolf Footsteps Adventure guides Wolf Cub Scouts through activities that foster a deep respect for their own and others’ faith traditions. This journey not only reinforces the values shared across various cultures and religions but also promotes understanding and appreciation of diverse spiritual expressions.
The adventure begins with Scouts discussing their family’s faith traditions, identifying important holidays, and creating related crafts. This opens a window into personal heritage and the significance of family beliefs. Next, Scouts experience reverence firsthand by attending a religious service or gathering, enhancing their understanding of communal faith expressions and the importance of respect.
Scouts then engage in acts of kindness, learning that small, thoughtful actions can have a big impact on their community. This teaches them about the practical aspects of kindness and generosity. Additionally, by reading and discussing “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” Scouts explore the importance of honesty and trust, crucial values in every faith tradition.
The Wolf Footsteps Adventure helps Scouts develop a respectful awareness of the role that faith plays in their lives and in the lives of those around them. It builds a foundation for lifelong reverence and moral integrity.
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