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Code of the Wolf

Cub Scouts · Adventure, Elective

Printable worksheet (PDF)

Code of the Wolf is about secret codes, patterns, and shapes. You'll send coded messages, play pattern games, and notice math all around you. It's like being a detective and a math wizard at once.

Why it's worth it

Code of the Wolf is math that feels like a game. You'll invent a secret code and swap messages with a friend, build a pattern game, go on a shape hunt, and count colors like a scientist. Codes and patterns are how computers talk to each other, how builders make bridges strong, and how people have sent secret messages for thousands of years.

Start this week

  1. Write the alphabet with numbers under it, A=1 through Z=26, and code your name.
  2. Ask your adult to leave you a coded note on the fridge or in your lunch.
  3. Pick a shape, like a circle, and count how many you see on the way to school.
  4. Save a small bag of mixed-color snacks or beads for the color count.

Requirements · 4

Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab).

  1. Requirement 1

    Make up a secret code and send a message in it to a den or family member, who then answers you in the same code

    Tip: Try a simple code where A=1, B=2, and so on. Send a secret message to someone in your den or family, and have them answer you in the same code.

    For example: Try a shift code: every letter moves one forward, so CAT becomes DBU. Trade messages with a den buddy or your adult and see who cracks theirs first.

  2. Requirement 2

    Build and play a game that uses codes or patterns

    Tip: Make a pattern game, like guess-the-next-color, and play it with your den.

    For example: Make cards that each show a pattern, like red-blue-red-blue, and have the other player pick the card that comes next. Or play a clap-and-stomp pattern game with your den.

  3. Requirement 3

    Pick one shape, look around you, and write down where you see it and how it is used

    Tip: Pick circles or triangles and take a walk to spot them. Write down where you found each one.

    For example: If you pick triangles, your list might include a yield sign, a slice of pizza, a roof, and the beams on a bridge. Talk about why a triangle works well in each place.

  4. Requirement 4

    Use a package of mixed-color items to find out which color is most common

    Tip: Open a bag of colorful candy or cereal, sort by color, and count which color has the most.

    For example: Pour out a bag of colored cereal, sort it into piles, and count each one. Make a bar graph so everyone can see which color won.

Talk about it together

  • What made your code easy or hard to crack?
  • Where did you find your shape that surprised you?
  • How close was your guess to the real color count, and why do you think that happened?
  • Where else do you think patterns are hiding?

Helpful reads

For leaders & parents

  • Have scouts trade coded messages at the start of a meeting to solve together.
  • Use a simple bar chart on poster paper for the color count.

People & places that can help

Pairs well with

Counts toward

More Wolf adventures

Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.