Craft – make Indian headdress (band & 3 card feathers)
Game – Medicine man’s bones
A number of items, at least two per beaver are spread over the floor. You can use plastic drinking straws cut in half. These are the bones of the animals and enemies of the Indians. The Beavers are the young braves being taught to hunt by the medicine man. The ideas is that the beavers should move stealthily and be able to ‘freeze’ as needed.
Starting at one end of the hall, the medicine man (a leader) moves slowly forward with the braves spread out behind him. Each brave must try to pick up the bones as they go without being seen by the medicine man who frequently turns around. As the leader turns, every beaver must freeze and anyone seen moving must go back and start again. The winners are the team with the most bones.
Craft – totem poles. Cut kitchen roll to size. Beavers colour and stick to kitchen roll.
Up river
The beavers stand in pairs in a circle, one behind the other and facing inwards. Those in the inner circle are rocks in the river and the others are indians in their canoes. On the command ‘up river’ the indians start to walk around the circle. On the command ‘down river’ they walk the other way. Other commands are
Swift river – beavers run
Shoot the rapids – run in and out of the rocks
Indians – everyone makes an indian war cry whoop noise
Take cover – continue in the same direction back to places.
The indians and the rocks then change places and the game starts again.
Medicine man’s bones
A number of items, at least two per beaver are spread over the floor. You can use plastic drinking strays cut in half. These are the bones of the animals and enemies of the indians. The beavers are the young braves being taught to hunt by the medicine man. The ideas is that the beavers should move stealthily and be able to ‘freeze’ as needed.
Starting at one end of the hall, the medicine man (a leader) moves slowly forward with the braves spread out behind him. Each brave must try to pick up the bones as they go without being seen by the medicine man who frequently turns around. As the leader turns, every brave must freeze and anyone seen moving must go back and start again. The winners are the team with the most bones.
Skunk tag
This is a game that was actually played by sioux indian children.
Explain what a skunk is. Two people are chosen to be skunks. The others run about but anyone touched by a skunk must stand still on one foot and hold their nose until freed by being touched by another player. Change the skunks frequently and if you end up with the leaders being the skunks it should be possible to catch everyone and have the whole colony standing on one foot and holding their noses.
Floating feather
Play in lodges or small groups
For this game you will need a few small fluffy feathers.
Players sit as close together as they can. A leader drops the feathers from above and the beavers’ blow or flaps their hands to keep the feathers floating. If the feather touches somebody then they must pay a forfeit, decided by the person on their right.
Indian tribes
Beavers scattered around hall when the leader says the name of a particular tribe the beavers have to behave like that tribe
Sioux – warriors apache – stealthy hunter s
Cherokee – farmers navaho – excellent with bow and arrow
War dance – go round in a circle doing a war dance.
Game
Spread dried peas over the floor, turn out the lights and see who can save the most ‘corn’ before it gets light.
Corn on the cob
Buy the mini-size cobs form your freezer centre, cook them at home and keep them hot by wrapping in foil and putting in a ‘cooler bag’ along with two hot water bottles. Spread corn with butter and beavers have a taste.
A feather in your cap (indian head-dress)
Children tend to imagine all indians wearing headdresses with many feathers in them. In actual fact, only a few tribes followed this custom and all those feathers had to be earned. A feather was awarded for a courageous act, usually in battle so indian braves wore their feathers with pride.
Devise ways of getting your beavers to earn their strip of card, which they can decorate suitably. Have a good supply of feathers ready, these could either be made of card or perhaps you could buy a feather duster to take to pieces and use the feathers.
Make sure you have a quick and effective way of attaching the feathers to the headbands. Staples, cellotape.
Organise various ‘trials of strength’. Award feathers for trials completed and watch the beavers’ headbands being filled.
Trials can be as simple as standing on one leg of 30 seconds, throwing a ball to hit a target, you can device anything that could be termed a skill.
Act & mime
In small groups make up a rain dance. Each group display in turn to the other beaver lodges.
Things to do
Face painting cardboard tomahawk indian head-dress
Collage horse make a totem pole
Tepee/tent learn to plait make a moccasin
Pasta necklace cork buffalo make a beaver
Passport sign language campfire sing song
Tracking friendship bracelet
Indian signs – the beavers have to decipher the coded message.
