The Carnival

I must have been only 5 or 6 when my grandfather took me to see the carnival that had come to town. It was really great. First we went to see the parade. It came right down the middle of

Main Street

. Then we went into the big top tent to see the acrobats and the lions.

Afterward, as we were leaving, I saw where the elephants were tied and I just had to go over and see them. I was very surprised when I noticed that the smallest elephant, just a baby really, was tied up with a very heavy chain, but its mother was tied with what seemed to be only a piece of old clothesline. I asked my grandfather why the elephants were tied so differently. He replied, “The older elephant has learned that she can’t break free and run away. Her baby hasn’t learned that yet, so the people in the circus have to chain her to one place. Learn from this. The older elephant could easily break free from that old rope and run away, but she has long since stopped trying. Don’t you ever be like that and stop trying.”

Pearls of Wisdom—Quotes from Baden-Powell

“We are not a club or a Sunday school class, but a school of the woods.”

Hands, 11/12/09

Feeling Game

Make some fabric bags, number them and put a small object in each.

 Tie them to a rope and stretch between chairs. 

Beavers have to guess what is in them

Head & hands catch 

Beavers in circle, leader in centre. 

Throw the ball and shout hands – the Beavers have to head the ball. 

Shout head the Beavers have to catch the ball. 

If they do it wrong they sit down for 4 throws

Repeat as often as you want.

Hand Tree

Beavers draw round their hands and colour, put on their name and cut out. 

Then stick them on a tree shape and you have made a helping hand tree

Pass the woggle game

Beavers sit in circle, close together, with one Beavers in centre. 

They pass a woggle in closed hands. 

Beavers in centre has to guess where the woggle is.

Hand Collage

Let the Beavers draw around their hands and cut them out - save them for later

Hand catch

Try any ball games that use your hands. then try with just one hand - see how hard it is

Hand Collage

Using the hands from the coming in game - let the Beavers make:

Hedgehogs, peacocks, doves or red Indians to decorate your hall

Helping Hands

Everyone draws around their hand and to a piece of paper

Then they take it home and write a good turn that they have done each day onto a finger (Monday to Friday). They write the good turns for Saturday and Sunday in the palm of the hand.

Hand paints

Very messy but fun!!!!!

Make a fist - use the space between finger and thumb to make a mouth - paint on lips, eyes, nose and have some fun!!!

Hand Signs

Show the Beavers some Deaf Sign Language

Hot and Cold, 04/12/09

Leave food / drink that should be hot, cold in a dish. Some that should be cold make hot etc - ready for the Beaver Scouts to try as they come in. Create a simple questionnaire for them to complete - did they like cold custard, hot lemonade etc?

Dress up relay

Have a pile of clothes per team (woolly hat, coat, sunglasses, beach towel, gloves etc). On the command (eg: it is very hot today) the first Beaver Scout runs to their team's pile of clothes and put on the appropriate piece of clothing.

Hot and Cold collage

Pile of magazines, old catalogues etc.

Draw a line down the middle of either individual pieces of A4 or one large piece per lodge. The Beaver Scouts have to create a collage of pictures of things that are hot on one side, and cold on the other.

True and False

Make a list of questions to which the answer is true or false - to do with hot & cold things:
We get snow in winter - true
Snow is hot - false
We get cold in the sunshine - false

Tell the Beaver Scouts that one wall is the true wall, the other the false wall. They have to run to the correct wall when the question is asked. Last one there is out!

What is hot, what is cold

How can we tell without touching?

Do hot things look different?

What different foods can we have hot and cold?

Spicy ones are hot to taste but not to touch - try some.

Winter Craft Ideas, December 2009

45 things to help programme planning in the winter

1. Gather several pairs of mittens. Let the Beavers sort them by size, colour, design, left hand, right hand, etc. Make it a game.

2. Make a 'tent' using blankets draped over a table or chairs. Pretend it is a bear cave and the Beavers are a bear getting ready to hibernate. Try singing the Bear Hunt song

3. Use white clay to make tiny snow people. Embellish with small twigs, pebbles, chenille stems, scrap material, etc.

4. Make a pin the nose on the snowman game. Play by seeing who, blindfolded, can pin a paper carrot nose closest to where it belongs.

5. Trace your winter boots, gloves, mittens, hats, etc and colour them.

6. Paint a snow scene on light blue paper using glue. Sprinkle the glue with white glitter or salt and let dry.

7. Make a mini ice castle using coloured ice cubes (use salt to 'glue' them together). May be a bit hard !

8. Make miniature igloos using marshmallows and frosting.

9. Draw out snowflake designs on wax paper using glue, sprinkle on glitter if desired. Once the glue is dry, peel off your snowflake and it should stick to the window.

10. Draw a winter scene on black construction paper using white chalk.

11. Make a snow gauge by marking inch lines on a coffee can and setting it outside to catch snow in.

12. Have snowballs for a snack (the ones from the supermarket)!

13. Place an ice cube or snowball in a large bowl. Set it in the middle of a table and observe how it melts. Let the Beavers write down their findings

14. Have an indoor snowball fight using wadded up pieces of paper or marshmallows!

15. Make a winter clothing collage by cutting pictures of clothes you where in the winter and gluing them on paper.

16. Pretend it is summer and have a beach party! Everyone can where their bathing suits and sunglasses inside. Sit on lawn chairs and sip lemonade.

17. Design your own snowflakes using white play dough and with silver glitter mixed into it.

18. Make a snowstorm inside by tearing up several pieces of white paper. Place them on a sheet or towel, have everyone grab around the edge, and toss the snow into the air.

19. Cut snowflakes out of coffee filters and hang them around the room.

20. Blow bubbles outside when it is very cold and see what happens!

21. Make large snowmen indoors by stuffing large, white rubbish bags with newspaper.

22. Experiments with the effects sand and salt have on ice on ice.

23. Make a winter picture by gluing Honeycomb cereal on construction paper to look like snow.

24. Place small Styrofoam balls on spoons and try to carry this mini "snowballs" across the room without dropping them.

25. Make ice cube lollies by freezing juice in ice cube trays and inserting cocktail sticks or lolly sticks cut in half.

26. Make hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows.

27. Give everyone an ice cube and see who can find ways to melt them the fastest.

28. Make snowman prints using a marshmallow dipped into white paint.

29. Put on some music and pretend to be snowflakes gently flying around.

30. Make round bean bags out of white material to look like snowballs. Have a snowball toss competition!

31. Collect different pairs of gloves. Mix them up and set them in a pile. Take turns finding the matching gloves.

32. Fingerpaint snowflakes on the windows using white tempera paint mixed with a bit of dish soap!

33. Learn about different kinds of snowflakes.

34. Cut snowflakes out of paper. Experiment with different folding techniques and cuts.

35. Have a scavenger hunt and look for objects that are white.

36. Make your own puffy, snow paint by mixing equal parts of glue and shaving cream.

37. Build an igloo inside using empty milk jugs taped or glued together.

38. Pretend to be a snowman melting on a warm day.

39. Make a snowman snack using marshmallows, pretzel sticks, chocolate chips, and peanut butter (to hold them all together).

40. Make a winter white collage by cutting white objects out of magazines and gluing them on paper.

41. Hide a mitten in the room somewhere and let others try to find it. Give them clues by telling them whether they are 'hot' (near the mitten) or 'cold' (far from the mitten).

42. Write a poem or story about snow.

43. Blow up several white balloons and pretend they are snowballs! Toss them around, or try to build something with them (using tape).

44. Make snowflakes on cookies by placing a small doily on top of a cookie and sprinkling on some powdered sugar. This well for cakes also.

45. If you have slippery hardwood or tiled floors, pretend to ice skate in your stocking feet.

Hibernation, 27/11/09

Where do they live?

Matching game - putting animals in their homes

Chat about animals that hibernate

Blanket game

Beavers run round being animal - when ‘hibernate’ is shouted they all ‘go to sleep’. One is covered by a blanket and the others have to guess who it is

Cold Cookery - hedgehogs

Use either small Swiss roles or chocolate fairy cakes.

Let the Beavers cover with chocolate butter cream and add chocolate buttons as the spines.

Make 2 each

Musical animals

Each Beavers has a chair - all have an animals name stuck under the seat (some that hibernate + some that don’t). When the music stops the Beavers looks under his seat - if the animal there hibernates they are out.

The Golden Windows

It was getting toward the end of summer and I was about to enter the second grade. Each morning all summer long I had noticed a particular house up on a hill about a mile away. This house, I thought, must be spectacular because every morning when I got up, it looked like it had golden windows. On this particular morning, I decided to go see the house with golden windows. I packed a lunch and started out on my big journey. Not long after I started, I came to a fence and couldn’t resist the temptation to see how far I could walk along the top rail. Then, I continued on my way until I came to a stream, where I stopped for a long while to catch crayfish and minnows.

By that time I was hungry and I ate my lunch. Starting up the hill to the house with the golden windows, I happened to see a porcupine. We stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity. Finally, I gave up and returned to my quest. When I did reach the house with the golden windows, I was very disappointed. There was the house, but instead of being majestic, it was a deserted, rundown shambles. The railings were falling off the porch, the screen door was off its hinges, the yard needed mowing, and the flower garden was overgrown with weeds. I was crushed. Sadly, I sat down on the front steps and just happened to gaze back toward my own home. There, in the late afternoon sun, was my house with golden windows!

Often in life we think that someone else has it far better than we do, or maybe that we should have a position much better than the one we have. But, we really should stop and think about all that we have and be thankful.

Scotland, 20/11/09

Game
Toss the caber
Using rolls of newspaper see who can toss the caber the furthest

Craft
Curling Stones
Curling Disks
1. Curling Stones - paint stones with thistle patterns
2. Curling Disks - the Beavers cannot really play curling with stones within a building so make paper plate wizzers for them to throw around. Use small paper plate, colour and cut the edges from outside towards centre (appx 3cm). Bend "cuts" up and down.

Game:  Scotch Broth
Played in teams
Give each person name of an item in the broth:
Potato Carrot Meat Gravy Peas Onion
When leader calls out name of an item, that person runs to end of room round obstacle and back.
If ‘broth’ is mentioned, whole team to run

Craft: Make a tartan
The Beaver Scouts can all design their own tartan on a piece of A4 paper

Game: Golf
Played in teams - with each team having a golf club and a ball
The Beaver Scouts have to knock the ball down the hall and into a box (pretend hole).
Then run back again and pass the ball and club to the next player.

Game: Queenie, Queenie, who's got the ball (traditional Scottish game)
A person is picked to be the "queenie," and that person turns her back to everyone else. The "queenie" then throws the ball over her shoulder and one of the other players needs to catch it or pick it up. Everyone, except the "queenie", puts their hands behind their backs so that the "queenie" doesn't know who has the ball. The "queenie" then turns around and everyone shouts: because you don't have the ball!"
The "queenie" has to guess who has the ball through a process of elimination. If the person with the ball is the last one to be picked, that person becomes the new "queenie."

Game
Throw the Curling Disks
Beavers stand on each side of a roped off area. Beavers throw the wizzers across the "divide". When whistle blows see who's wizzer is in the area

Skill
Tasting
Provide a selection of Scottish dishes for the Beaver Scouts to taste:
Haggis
Scottish shortbread
Edinburgh rock
Scotch pancakes
We has shortbread and oat cakes with Scottish cheese and highland spring water

Identifying Fish
Label one end of the room ‘lake’ and the other ‘sea’
Prepare the pictures or names of fish – printed onto large cards
The Beaver Scouts stand in the middle of the hall and the leader holds up a card
The Beaver Scouts have to chose where the fish would live and run to that end of the hall
You could make up some bogus cards – with made up fish or non-fish on.
When these are held up the Beaver Scouts have to stay in the middle of the hall
Try using this game to fit another theme – eg: animals with forest / fields

Hot Air Balloons, 13/11/09

Let the Beaver Scouts blow up the balloons for use during the evening (watch for allergies).

Chat about Hot Air Balloons and how they work.

This can be used as part of the Discovery Challenge or Experiment badge.

Game:   TimeBomb

A Beanbag or other suitable bomb (use a small balloon)

This is basically a game of tag with a simulated time-bomb. The player tries to touch someone with the bomb, that player then has to take the bomb.

Every 30~60 seconds a Leader blows a whistle and whoever has the 'bomb' is out.

Craft: Hot Air Balloon

Balloon

Paper cup

4 straws

Decorate the paper cup

Tape the straws to the paper cup (on opposite sides)

Then tape the balloon into the centre of the straws and a piece of string to hang the hot air balloon in the Beaver Scouts bedroom

Game:    Balloon Tag

Balloons and string

Each player blows up a balloon, ties a knot in the end, then ties a length of string to the end of the balloon and ties to other end to their ankle.

The players have to try to burst everyone else's balloons by stamping on them, while at the same time protecting their own balloon (they are not allowed to pick up the balloons). When a player’s balloon is burst, they sit at the side. The winner is the last player who has a balloon and then all the players who were out are allowed back in to try and burst the winners’ balloon.

NOTES:

A balloon that is only half inflated will be more difficult to burst.

Also a prize could be given if a player has happened to get a balloon which has already had a chocolate penny put in it.

Game:    Flapping game

The lodges line up in relay formation. Give one player a rolled up newspaper. On the word ‘go’ they use the newspaper to flap their balloon up to the far end of the hall. They then pick up their balloon and run back - giving it to the next person. The game continues until everyone has had a turn.

Pearls of Wisdom—Quotes from Baden-Powell

“Fun, fighting, and feeding! These are the three indispensable elements of the boy’s world.”

Healthy Eating, 06/11/09

Talk about the healthy eating and the badge work we are doing

Game: Sweeties

Beavers are split into teams, each team in a different corner of the room, and the teams are named after sweets e.g. smarties, gobstoppers etc.

The leaders stand in the middle of the room and the beavers run round in a clockwise direction. One leader blows a whistle and shouts the name of one of the sweets then all the beavers have to try to get back to their corners while the leaders catch the beavers from the named team. When a beaver is caught before he/she manages to reach Home he sits in the middle with the catchers.

Game: Baked beans

Pre-designate one wall/corner as the ‘tin’. Leader calls at random:

String Beans                           All Beavers to link hands

Runner beans                         all the beavers run round

Broad beans                           all the beavers to stand still with arms and legs in a broad stretch.

Jumping beans        all the beavers to jump round the hall

French beans                          all beavers wave hand and say oh la la

On the command ‘baked beans’ all the beavers to run to the ‘tin’.

Game continues until all the Beavers are exhausted.

Game: Fruit Salad

Beaver Scout sit in a circle on chairs or on the floor.

They are named as per pieces of fruit – apple / orange / banana / pear

One beaver is in the centre (don’t forget to give him a name). When their name is called they have to swap seats with the beaver in the centre trying to get a seat.

When ‘fruit salad’ is called everyone swap seats.

Game: True and false on healthy / unhealthy foods

Have a list of  different foods and let the Beaver Scout guess which are healthy and which are not. Label one wall true and the other false. Ask a question and the beavers have to run to the wall they think is correct.

List of healthy / unhealthy food

Good

Apple

Orange

Grapes

Bread

Baked potato

Juice

Chop

Bananas

Melon

Strawberries

Fruit

Fish

Bad

Chips

Cream cakes

Burger

Pop

Ice cream

Cakes

Sweets

Pie

Hot dog

Pizza

Wine

Chocolate

Activity: Making a sandwich

Beavers make up 2 sandwiches of their choice

Activity: Fruit Kebabs

Using a variety of seasonal fruits - the beavers can make up their own fruit kebabs

Italy, 30/10/09

Make a Pizza

Using small pizza bases and clean hands let the Beavers create their own pizzas

Have a variety of toppings for them to put on

Then cook them for later

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Using paper cups - who can build the tallest tower?

Which tower leans the most without falling over?

Gondola Relay

Using a piece of cardboard per lodge as the Gondola 

The Beavers have to transport all the Beavers in their lodge from one end of the hall to the other - only 2 Beavers in the Gondola at one time

Eat the Pizzas with a drink

Janus, 23/10/09

Opening and chat about the theme for tonight – tell the Beaver Scouts about the Roman god Janus and how the 6^th satellite of Saturn is also called Janus.

 

FACTS

Janus is the sixth satellite of Saturn.

It was discovered by Audouin Dollfus in 1966 and was named after the god of gates and doorways. Janus has an irregular shape with a size of 196x192x150 kilometres (122x119x93 miles) in diameter. It is heavily cratered with several craters 30 kilometres (19 miles) in diameter. The pervasive cratering indicates that its surface must be several billion years old.

Game: Catch Janus

The Beaver Scouts stand in a circle with their hands joined.  The player who is ‘it’ runs around the outside of the circle and slaps any two joining hands, the owners of which become Janus.  They run in opposite directions around the outside of the circle.  The player who was it steps into the circle.  The last player back to the place in the circle is it.

Craft: 1. Two-sided Faces

Short description: Using different materials, the Beaver Scouts make Janus faces.

Equipment: Paper plates; coloured paper; ;felt tip pens; Glitter; Glue; Pencils; Scissors; Wool; Elastic

Instructions:           

Before the meeting prepare the paper plates by cutting out the eye, nose and mouth holes
Give each Beaver Scout a plate with the pre cut holes and spread all the materials on the table and let them make a face on the plate. They can use their imagination to create as weird a face as possible.

When one side is completed ask them to decorate the other side in a different way.
When they have finished their faces attach elastic to the plates so that the faces can be worn
You could have a parade of the faces so that everyone can see what has been done

2. Whose face? (this is a Craft but also a game!)

Short description: Create a face using the parts cut out of a magazine.

Equipment: Colouring pencils; Felt tip pens; Glue; Scissors; Paper plates; Pictures of parts of faces from magazines; Wool (for hair); one dice per group

Resources: List of the following for each group:

1 Eyebrows

2 Eyes

3 Nose

4 Hair

5 Ears

6 Mouth

Instructions:

Before the meeting gather pictures from magazines of people’s faces, you will need to cut out the individual parts out: eyes, eyebrows, noses, ears, mouth. If time prevents this you could use the attached pictures
At the meeting divide the Colony into even groups with about 5 – 6 in each
Give each group a paper plate, different face parts, glue, wool and a dice
Each member of the groups takes it in turns to throw the dice, they will need a 6 to start
Using the list above the groups construct the face by throw the dice and sticking on the appropriate part
The groups can either decide to construct a normal face or a face which looks more like modern art
When all the faces have been constructed you could have an art show to see the creations of all the groups

Game: Through the doorways

The group needs to be split into 2 groups. 

One group is the ‘door’ and the other are ‘soldiers’.  (Remind the Beaver Scouts of the Janus story)

The ‘door’ stands in a circle holding hands in the air.  The leader should not be facing the group.  The ‘soldiers’ have to run through the door.  When the leader yells, "DOORWAYS", the ‘door’ lowers their arms.  Whoever is inside the ‘door’ at this point is caught and becomes a part of the ‘door’. 

The last ‘soldier’ left is the winner.

At this point the 2 groups should switch roles.

The Scout Salute and Handshake

Our Scout salute and handshake are ancient signs of bravery and respect. Back in the days when George Washington was general of the Continental Army, men carried weapons for their protection. When they met one another there was an uneasy moment as each watched the other’s right hand. If it went toward his sword or gun, there was a battle, but if it went to his hat it was a salute of friendship or respect. The left-handed shake comes to us from the Ashanti warriors whom Baden-Powell knew over a hundred years ago in South Africa. He saluted them with his right hand, but the Ashanti chieftains offered their left hands and said: “In our land only the bravest of the brave shake hands with the left hand, because to do so we must drop our shields and protection.” The Ashanti knew of General Baden-Powell’s bravery, for they had fought both against him and with him, and they were proud to offer him the left-handed shake of bravery.

During February, we will honour the birthday of two brave men: General Washington, founder of America, and General Baden-Powell, founder of our Scouting movement. As you use the Scout salute and handshake, remember these two great men.

Knights, 16/10/09

Chat about jousting and ‘knightly’ sports.

Game:  Statues and dragons

Same as normal statues - but the dragon is ‘on’.

Craft Bases:

Make a sword and shield

Game: Sword fight game

Guess what these rules are!

Craft Bases:

Make a helmet and Armour

Game: Jousting

Guess what these rules are!

Finger Food

Eat like they did in times of old - with your fingers!

Pearls of Wisdom—Quotes from Baden-Powell

“Scoutmasters need to enter into boys’ ambitions.”

Leprechaun, 09/10/09

Leprechaun Golden Treasure Tag

Paint lots of stones gold and scatter them around the room.

Divide the Beavers into 2 teams - one are the greedy Leprechauns, the others the humans trying to catch them.

The greedy Leprechauns have to run around and collect the heavy, gold rocks, and the other team has to sneak up on them and catch them.

Leprechaun Puppet

Materials Needed

Paper bag

Crayons

Scissors

Glue

Construction paper - various colours but including green

Wiggly eyes

Instructions:

Decorate the paper bag as the picture - or anyway the Beavers wish!

Then have a puppet show

Leprechaun Hats

Materials Needed:

·         Small Paper Plate

·         Paper Cup

·         Paint

·         Glue

·         Construction Paper

Instructions:
Paint the paper plate and the outside of the cup green. Once the paint is dry, glue the cup upside down in the centre of the bottom of the paper plate.

Cut a piece of black construction paper to approximately 1 inch thick and long enough to wrap around the cup where it is glued onto the paper plate. This will be the band on the hat. Glue it into place. You can also cut out a small yellow buckle for the hat band if you like.

Leprechaun Footsteps (Fairy Footsteps under another name!)

One Beavers sits on a chair and it blindfolded, under the chair is the pot of gold (a large bunch of keys or other items that will rattle when picked up)

The other Beavers have to creep upto the chair and steal the pot of gold and return it to there 'home' without the blindfolded Beavers hearing and pointing to them.

It is very difficult to catch a tricky Leprechaun, but you can sure have fun trying! The first thing you need to do is build a trap. There is no right or wrong way to build a Leprechaun trap.

You can make a contraption with a net, boxes, a clean can, or anything else you can think of (paper towel rolls, empty containers, tin foil, paper, string or yarn, sandwich bags, etc); or, how about using an old shoe since they are said to be cobblers. You have to be very creative to catch a Leprechaun.

Once you build your trap, don't forget to add bait to help lure the Leprechaun. Since Leprechauns are very greedy, one of the best things you can use for bait are coins! If you don't want to use real coins, you can easily substitute candy coins or make your own gold coins by cutting circles out of cardboard and painting them gold.

Here are a few more tips and suggestions to help you get started:

·         Rainbows are good to use on or around your trap.

·         Colour your trap green and decorate it with green items (stickers, glitter, etc)

·         Leprechauns are also attracted to four leaf clovers.

·         Leprechauns like Lucky Charms cereal!

·         Make sure your trap is disguised well - make it blend into its surroundings.

·         No two traps should be alike or the Leprechaun will get suspicious and leave.

·         A Leprechaun will leave a trail of gold and/or green glitter, so watch for it!

Now, you should be ready to build your trap. I can't guarantee you will catch one of these little creatures, but you will sure have fun trying!

Like I mentioned before, the best way to be successful in catching a Leprechaun is by being creative!

Leaves, 02/10/09

Leaf Rubbing

Each Beaver Scouts has a leaf / paper / wax crayon – see who can make the best picture

Chat – about leaves and trees

Game: Leaf Islands

Usual rules but the islands are leaf shaped with the name on the reverse

Craft base: Ice a leaf shaped biscuit

Game: Leaf ‘Fish’

Usual rules but on the theme of fish

Senses, 25/09/09

Craft

Scented hanger for Mum

Each Beaver Scouts has a circle of material which they can decorate with fabric pens.

Place some lavender or pot pourie into the centre and tie with ribbon - leaving a loop

Skill bases

Can you find your way through touch

(feely bags)

Smell

Have some pungent aromas for the beaver scouts to smell

Sounds

In separate room if possible - have a variety of sounds for the Beaver Scouts to guess

Try a group of sounds that tell a story (eg a journey to the sea side)

Taste

Let the Beaver Scouts try some foods / spices etc and guess what they are and where they came from

Everybody’s Canoe

A young Indian brave was busy at work carving a canoe out of a log. As he worked, members of his tribe passed by. They all had a piece of advice to offer the young man. “I think you are making your canoe too wide,” one of them said. The young brave, wishing to show respect for the advice of an elder, narrowed the canoe.

A little later, another warrior stopped and said, “I’m afraid that you are cutting your stern too full,” he said. Again the young brave listened to the advice of the elder and cut down the stern.

Very soon, yet another member of the tribe stopped, watched for a while, then commented, “The bow is too sheer.” The young brave accepted this advice as well and changed the line of the bow.

Finally, the canoe was complete and the young brave launched it. As soon as it hit the water, it capsized. Laboriously he hauled it back onto the beach. Then he found another log and began his work anew. Very soon, a member of his tribe stopped by to offer some advice, but this time the young brave was ready. “See that canoe over there?” he asked, pointing to the useless craft on the beach. “That is everybody’s canoe.” Then he nodded at his work in progress. “This one,” he said, “is my canoe.”

Road Safety, 11/09/09

Green Cross Code

Enlarge and copy the Green Cross Code (a number of times) and cut out the words, put them onto card. The Beavers have to put the words into the correct places.

Game

Traffic Lights – Mark two lines down the centre of the hall appx 3 metres apart – this is the main road. A Leader stands at one end of the road holding two discs (one with a red man , the other with a green man). The Beavers walk up and down the road’s edge. When the Leader holds up a disc they must either walk across (green) or stay still (red). Any Beavers who runs is out for one turn.

Craft

Traffic Lights Biscuits – each Beavers has two Rich Tea Finger biscuits, a lolly stick, icing and three sweets (red, green, orange). Sandwich the biscuits together using icing with the lolly stick into the centre. Add the sweets – you have traffic lights.

Egg Box Traffic Lights – each Beavers has ½ an egg box (cut down the middle so they have 3 indentations each). Give each Beavers a piece of modelling clay in red, green and amber. They have to colour the egg box and pace the clay into the correct indentation.

Traffic Light Rhyme and Visual Aid.

As the poem is said the Beavers should place the coloured clay into the correct place using craft mad as above.

Red, amber and green

The traffic lights are seen.

Red glows at the top

It means you must stop.

Green glows down below

It means you can go.

The amber light glows in between

Saying, wait for red or green.

Pearls of Wisdom—Quotes from Baden-Powell

“A boy is supremely confident of his own power, and dislikes being treated as a child.”

Fire Safety, 04/09/09

Using red, orange, yellow paper let the Beavers draw around their hands and cut them out – for use later.

Game

Fire ! – Label some cards with the word SAFE, and leave some blank. Turn them face down onto the floor. Divide the Beavers into 2 teams. The Beavers run around being fire engines (or the like) and when FIRE is called they must run to safety – stand on a piece of card on the floor. On the word LOOK the Beavers look at the reverse of the card – if they are on a SAFE card they are still in the game, if not they are out. The first team to have 3 Beavers out are the losers.

Craft

Fire Engine or Fireman’s Hat

Build Camp Fire – using the hands cut out in the coming in game, let the Beavers stick them onto a large sheet of dark paper to make a Camp Fire picture.

Game

Fire Circle – All but one Beavers sit on chairs in a circle facing inwards. They are labelled ENGINE, WATER, HOSE, FIREMAN – don’t forget the one standing in the centre. When their name is called they must change places. The Beavers in the centre must try to sit down. On the word FIRE they all must change places.

Home Safety, 28/08/09

Copy a number of the "What is wrong" sheets and the Beavers have to spot what is wrong!

Chat about the theme of Home Safety

Game

Label one end of the hall SAFE and the other DANGER. The Beavers stand in the centre of the hall. The leader calls out a statement eg: I am going to play on the stairs. The Beavers have to decide if this is SAFE or DANGEROUS and run to the correct wall. Keep the questions simple.

I am going to cut up an apple I am going to ask mum for a warm drink

I am going to play with matches I am going to look in the cupboard under the sink

I am going to play in the garage I will not climb on chairs

I will look after my brother / sister I will not torment the dog / cat

Craft – A safe house

Copy 2 sheets of paper per Beavers with an outline of a house with rooms inside, label one SAFE the other DANGEROUS. The Beavers have to cut pictures out of magazines (or catalogues) and stick them into the houses deciding which is safe and which is potentially dangerous

Games

Obstacle Course - In teams the Beavers have to negotiate an obstacle course.

Bandage game – Beavers have to bandage one member of their lodge using toilet paper. First to finish wins

Look At the Turtle

What can we learn from the turtle? First we see his shell, his armor, his means of defense. We are like the turtle in that we have many ways to protect ourselves—our instinct to draw away from danger, to shelter ourselves from it, for example.

Secondly, we see the turtle’s persistence. He’s slow, he’s plodding, but he always gets where he’s going. His persistence is memorialized in the age-old story of the tortoise and the hare. The persistent tortoise outlasted the showy, flashy, and very fast hare. We can learn from the turtle that our greatest accomplishments do not come from skill alone, but require our persistence in striving for the goal, such as in our journey to the rank of Patrol Leader.

Finally, we see that the turtle can go nowhere unless he first sticks out his neck. Again we are like the turtle in that we accomplish nothing until we dare to stick out our necks once in a while.

Resolutions, 21/08/09

Game: New Year corner game

Label each of the corners of the room (use some of these)–

Hogmanay – Scottish name for new year

Wu Zhi  - Chinese New Year (year of the rat) begins between January 21 and February 20

Rosh Ha-Shanah - Jewish name for new year but is celebrated in September

Muharram - is the first month of the Islamic calendar.

Diwali - is a New Year festival in the Vikrama calendar, where it falls on the night of the new moon in the month of Kartika.

Usual rules – the Beaver Scouts run to the wall they choose and the leader calls out a new year – any Beaver Scouts in that corner are out.

Game: Dice

Six squares are chalked on the floor and numbered from 1 - 6.

All the players take part. They run around the room until the leader blows a whistle and then they choose a square and sit in it.

The leader picks the quietest player to pick a card from his hand, held like a fan with the numbers turned away. All the players in the chosen numbered square are out!

Letter Game

Equipment: paper and pencils per team

Divide the beavers into four teams. Each team has pieces of paper and some pencils. The leader then gives a letter (e.g.B) and each team has to write or draw as many things as they can think of that begins with the letter B. The team with the most things beginning with the letter score a point.

Wild West, 14/08/09

Indian Headdress

The Beaver Scouts made these from a strip of card with a coloured feather. In stead of taping the card to the correct head size it was cut – like this – saves tape!!

 

Try out bow and arrows

Don’t panic – not real ones – they were made from string and garden canes. The Beaver Scouts had to try to burst water filled balloons – they loved it!

 

Make a Tee-Pee

Made from paper and decorated with Indian symbols. A good one to do in the colony. Cut a semi circle of paper. Let the Beaver Scouts decorate and then tape into a one shape. Add a piece of feathered paper to the top.

Look for Cree Indian signs

 Pan for Gold

Bit wet – but fun. The Beaver Scouts each had a Frisbee and had to scoop it into the water then drain off the water and see if they had found gold. The leaders said there was some in there but we did not find any!! Perhaps a bit wet for a colony evening – you could try it outdoor with lots of towels!

 

Face painting

Simple but fun – just watch out for allergies