Scoutbook Plus

A Parent’s Guide to Following Your Scout’s Adventure

Presented by Tyler Malone
Assistant Cubmaster, Pack 3116

What You Can Do as a Parent

Follow Progress

See your Scout’s rank, adventures, and requirements in real time.

Mark Completed

Record family and at-home requirements so your den leader can sign them off.

Explore Adventures

Look up every required and elective adventure, with requirements and activity ideas.

Stay on Schedule

See the den and pack calendar, sync it to your phone, and RSVP if your den uses it.

What you can’t doParents can mark items Completed, but only a registered unit leader can mark them Approved (signed off). That’s by design.

Getting In

Logging in and finding your Scout

Logging In

advancements.scouting.org

Sign in with your my.Scouting account — the one you used to register your Scout.
If you have more than one role, use the Currently viewing pulldown (top right) to pick Parent / Guardian.
Click your child’s name to open their Scoutbook page.

Currently viewing pulldown listing a Parent / Guardian connection

Parent / Guardian appears as one of your connections

Don’t see your Scout?Parents should already be connected to their Scouts. If yours is missing, contact your local council registrar (your den leader can help you reach them).

Your Scout’s Page

Every rank with a progress bar.
Current adventures and their status.
Edit Profile: check contact info, add a nickname or photo.

Please don’tchange your Scout’s name or Member ID. They must match the official application.

The arrow marks View More on the current rank

Following Progress

What the statuses mean and where to look

Who Does What

Started

Work is in progress.

You, your Scout, or a leader

›

Completed

Someone thinks the Scout is done. Not a sign-off yet.

You, your Scout, or a leader

›

Approved

A leader verified it. Officially earned.

Unit leaders only

›

Awarded

Optional. The badge or loop was presented to your Scout.

Unit leaders

Completed is like your Scout raising their hand: “I did it!” Approved is the leader’s initials in the handbook.
You can enter Completed items on the website or in the Scouting mobile app.

Inside a Rank

Bear rank page showing six required adventures and elective adventures with their status

Click View More on a rank: required adventures on top, electives below

Each adventure shows whether it’s not started, started, or completed.
For example, the Bear rank takes six required adventures plus any two electives.

Marking Completed

Recording what your Scout did at home

Before You Mark Anything

Before marking anything as complete, discuss with your unit leaders to make sure you are aligned with your unit’s advancement practices.

Scoutbook Plus Tutorial for Parents

Your den leader records

Requirements done at den meetings and pack events.
The Approval for everything.

You record

Family requirements.
Anything assigned as homework.
Make-ups and electives you agreed on with your den leader.

This is the Knowledge Base's own advice, in capital letters on the parent tutorial. Every pack handles this a little differently. In some packs the den leader enters everything; in others parents are expected to record home work. Ask your den leader how ours works. The split on this slide comes from the tutorial: your Scout's den leader records requirements completed; you record completion of family requirements or those assigned as homework. The third bullet on the right (make-ups and electives) is my suggestion, as long as it's agreed with the den leader first. Source: "Scoutbook Plus Tutorial for Parents" — Viewing Advancements and Marking Requirements Complete.

Marking a Requirement Completed

On your Scout’s page, click View More on the rank.
Click the adventure.
Find the requirement and enter the completion date. Add a comment if helpful.
Click Save.

Adventure page listing each requirement with a completion date field, comment button, and Save

Leader view shown: the Approved checkbox is leaders only

Several at Once: Quick Entry

On the adventure page, click Quick Entry (top right).
Check each finished requirement in the Complete column.
Enter the date and click Save.

Leave Approve aloneThe Approve column is for leaders. Marking Completed sends it to your den leader’s Pending Items list to sign off.

Quick Entry dialog with Complete and Approve checkbox columns for each requirement

Exploring Adventures

Every rank, adventure, and requirement on scouting.org

Find Your Scout’s Rank

scouting.org/programs/cub-scouts/adventures

Cub Scout Ranks page with cards for Lion, Tiger, Wolf, Bear, Webelos, and Arrow of Light

Pick a rank: Lion through Arrow of Light

Bear Adventures page listing required adventures, starting with Bobcat

Each rank lists required, elective, and special elective adventures

Inside an Adventure Page

Snapshot: what the adventure is about.
Safety Moment: what to check before you start.
Requirements: the full list, numbered.
Activities: choose one activity for each requirement; See Details gives step-by-step instructions.

Activity card for Backpack Packing Challenge with See Details button

Bear Habitat requirements one through nine

Bear Habitat: all nine requirements at a glance

TipIn Scoutbook, the resource page link at the top of an adventure takes you straight to its page.

Every adventure has a page like this. Bear Habitat is the example. Snapshot, Safety Moment, the requirements, and then for each requirement a set of activities to choose from. The page says to choose one activity for each requirement. See Details opens the full activity plan with supplies and steps. Inside Scoutbook, each adventure has a "Check out this resource page" line near the top. Clicking it takes you to that adventure's resource page. Good uses for parents: preview what's coming up at den meetings, plan a make-up for a missed meeting, or pick an elective your Scout is excited about. Check with your den leader first. Sources: scouting.org Bear Habitat adventure page; "Introduction to Scoutbook Plus for Cub Scout Packs" — Entering Advancements.

Staying on Schedule

The den calendar, RSVPs, and your phone

The Den & Pack Calendar

Pick your unit in the Currently viewing pulldown (top right).
Click Calendar in the left menu.
Choose which calendars to show: pack and den.

Put it on your phone

Click the link next to the calendar name at the bottom of the calendar page for its iCal URL. Add it to Google, Apple, or Outlook and new events show up automatically.

Scoutbook Plus month calendar with unit selector and My Calendars list

Unit selector up top · My Calendars at the right

The calendar is the same one leaders use. Switch to your unit at the top right, then Calendar on the left. Subscribing: at the bottom of the calendar page, next to each calendar name, there's a link that gives you an iCal URL. There's a separate one for the pack and each den. Add it to your phone's calendar app and Scoutbook events will flow in automatically. Google Calendar: Other calendars, Add by URL. It can take up to 24 hours for changes to show in Google. iPhone: add a Subscribed Calendar and paste the link. Mac: Calendar > File > New Calendar Subscription. Source: "Scoutbook Plus Tutorial for Parents" — Viewing Troop Information; Linking the Calendar With a Third Party Calendar.

RSVP for Your Scout

RSVP is optional. Your pack or den decides whether to use it, and leaders turn it on event by event. If an event has RSVP turned on:

Make sure you’re set as parent in the top-right pulldown.
Click the event on the calendar.
On the right, expand My Youth Connections with the chevron.
Select your Scout and set the RSVP.

Event page with My Youth Connections circled in the attendees panel

My Youth Connections, circled at right

Why it mattersIf your den uses RSVP and you don’t answer, you show up as Maybe. Your RSVP tells the den leader how many supplies to bring.

RSVP in Scoutbook is optional. Each pack or den chooses whether to use it, and leaders turn it on per event with the "Event with RSVP" box. Some dens collect RSVPs by text, a sign-up sheet, or another app instead, and that's fine. Follow whatever your den leader asks. When RSVP is on for an event, you can answer from the event page. Look for My Youth Connections on the right, expand it, and pick your Scout. Non-responders show as Maybe on the leader's RSVP report, so please answer even if it's a No. This screenshot happens to be from a troop event. Pack and den events look the same. Sources: "Scoutbook Plus Tutorial for Parents" — RSVPing to an Event as a Parent; "Using Scoutbook Plus Calendar" — Event RSVP.

Your Scout’s Own Account & the App

A login for your Scout

Scouts with their own my.Scouting account can review their advancement and see the unit calendar.
Get your Scout’s Member ID from your den leader, then create the account at my.Scouting.org.
Never share your login with your Scout. Every user needs their own account.

The Scouting app

Parents and Scouts can use the Scouting mobile app for advancement and the unit calendar instead of the website.
You can mark items Completed from the app too.

Optional, but nice as Scouts get older: they can log in and see their own progress. You no longer need to "invite" a Scout. They just need their own my.Scouting account, created with their Member ID. Never hand a Scout your own login. Every my.Scouting user needs a unique account. The Scouting mobile app is the phone-friendly option for parents and Scouts. The Knowledge Base notes that Completed items can be entered from the app as well as the website. Sources: "Scoutbook Plus Tutorial for Parents" — How to make a my.Scouting.org Account; notice at the top of the tutorial; "Introduction to Scoutbook Plus for Cub Scout Packs" — advancement statuses.

Parent Cheat Sheet

Do

Ask your den leader how the pack handles home advancement.
Mark family and homework requirements Completed, with a date.
Add a comment saying what your Scout did.
Browse adventures on scouting.org to preview what’s coming.
Subscribe to the den calendar, and RSVP if your den uses it.

Don’t

Change your Scout’s name or Member ID.
Expect Completed to mean earned. It still needs leader approval.
Plan special electives (archery, BB guns, slingshots) at home. Those need approved events.
Share your login with your Scout.

Resources

These slides as a PDF: Scoutbook-Plus-for-Parents.pdf
Scoutbook Plus login: advancements.scouting.org
Scoutbook Plus Tutorial for Parents: login, profile, marking complete, calendar, RSVP
Introduction to Scoutbook Plus for Cub Scout Packs: advancement statuses, Quick Entry
Why Do Parents Have Full Control?
Cub Scout adventures: scouting.org/programs/cub-scouts/adventures
Create a my.Scouting account: my.scouting.org
Questions? Start with your den leader. The Scouting Forums cover technical issues.

Screenshots courtesy of the Scoutbook Knowledge Base and scouting.org, Scouting America. Scoutbook Plus changes often; screens may differ from what you see today.

Questions & Discussion

Tyler Malone

Assistant Cubmaster, Pack 3116