Very Wet, 30/01/09

As the Beavers come in let them change into their old clothes - then they can go outside and the fun can begin!

Water Relay

You need 2 buckets per lodge and paper cup per Beavers

The Beavers have to transfer as much water as possible from one bucket to another - make it harder by putting holes into the paper cups

Target practice

Ask the Beavers to bring a washing up bottle each (or water pistol)

See who can fill paper cup the quickest

or

Score the highest amount by firing at a paper target

Get Akela

See if Akela will become a target in some stocks

Let the Beavers throw wet sponges at him!

Water painting

You need buckets of water and large paint brushes.

The Beavers paint pictures on the paving slabs - how long do they take to dry?

What floats

Fill a paddling pool with water and let the Beavers try to float various items (some that will, some that won't)

Chat about the results

Philmont

I remember my first Boy Scout meeting. One of the older Scouts gave us a slide presentation on his recent trip to Philmont. I went home so excited. I really wanted to go there. So I told Mom and Dad that when I was 14 I was going to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. Dad asked how much it would cost. I told him only £150, plus maybe another £50 for expenses on the trip. (Things were a lot cheaper back when I was a kid.)

Dad asked who was going to pay for the trip. I told him that I thought he would.  Well, Dad set me straight right then. He reminded me that I had an allowance and I could save to go to Philmont. I went up to my room and started figuring out how long it would take to save that much. Every week, Dad gave me 10p for each grade level I’d reached in school. In sixth grade I got 60p a week. In seventh grade I would get 70p, and so on. That night I figured out that if I tithed my 10 percent to the church and spent nothing else I could afford to go to Philmont after my senior year in high school. I was crushed. I didn’t think that I could go five years without spending anything. What was I going to do? The next day Dad took me aside and suggested that I open a bank savings account and keep my money there so I wouldn’t spend it. He added that Aunt Rae had heard about Philmont and she thought it would be a good idea if I started saving my money for a chance to go there. Well, Dad and I went to the bank and opened a savings account with the £25 Aunt Rae had given me and the £1.10 I had already saved. I got a job delivering newspapers and saved half of everything I earned. Then I found something out that I didn’t know. The bank paid me to keep my money there. They called it interest, but to me, it was free money! That encouraged me to save even more. Our neighbour, Mrs. Finney, asked if I could cut her grass during the summer, and I said, Sure! I put all of that money in the account. It wasn’t easy. I still remember having to deliver those newspapers in the pouring rain and the freezing snow. And then, cutting Mrs. Finney’s grass when I wanted to be playing baseball. But by the time I turned 14 and was an Explorer Scout I had enough money for my trip to Philmont. I had earned the money—no one else. I could pay my own way. That trip was all mine and it felt good going there. To this day, I’m still saving for things I want. Going to Philmont taught me how and it turned out to be a lifelong lesson.

Visit to the Park, 16/01/09

Game: Catch the ball

Equipment: 1 ball

The Beavers stand in a circle with the leader in the centre. The leader throws the ball to each Beavers in turn giving instructions:

Catch - Beavers has to catch the ball

Head - Beavers has to head the ball

Clap - Beavers has to clap before catching the ball

Slap - Beavers has to slap their thighs before catching the ball

Scavenger Hunt 

Equipment: pencil and carrier bag for each team

Divide into team of 4 with an adult with each team

Scavenger Sheet

Find something: prickly, smooth, rough, soft, hard, smelly, tiny, flat, round, long, tickly, squishy, flaky, crackly, something somebody else has dropped

See who can find the most

Game: I spy

Usual rules - make sure each of the Beavers have a turn

Time in the play area

Uganda, 16/01/09

UGANDA

Animal Jigsaw

Beaver Scouts (in teams) have to make up the jigsaw of animals in Uganda

Lion Plate Mask

Beaver Scouts have to create a lion mask using a paper plate and trimmings

Friendship sticks

Beaver Scouts colour in the sticks using preset colours that all have a meaning

Head and Tail

Beaver Scouts have to match the head and tail - in a relay

Toys, 09/01/09

Opening and chat about this evenings programme and what their best ever gift was. Ask them to think about what gift they would give to the world if they had the power.

Game: Skittles

Chair at each end of playing area and 3 skittles in the centre.

Beavers in 2 teams – each Beaver is numbered.

When their number is called they have to run to their teams chair and throw the bean bag to try and knock the skittles down. First to knock 2 down is the winner.

Activity: Toy time line

In teams the Beavers are given a timeline of when toys were invented and 20 pictures of toys with the dates they were invented. They have to put them in order and talk about them with the leader.

Time line from here

Game: Teddy in the Middle

Every one sits in a circle except for one Beaver Scout who sits in the middle with their teddy in front of them. Blindfold the Beaver Scout.

Choose a player from the circle

This player must creep round the outside of the circle, back to their place and pick up the teddy without the person in the middle pointing to them.

If the person points directly at them, they sit down where they are and someone else is chosen. If they reach the teddy then they change places with the person in the middle.

Scouting in 250 words

Scouting offers challenge and adventure to 400,000 young people aged 6-25 in the UK. We believe in helping our Members fulfil their potential by working in teams, learning by doing and thinking for themselves. We're working to make Scouting available to all and we're passionate about what we do.

Through the adventure of Scouting, young people get to take risks in a safe environment, and have their first taste of responsibility. We give young people experiences they’ll never forget.

The sort of adventure Scouting offers is the chance to experience something different and the opportunity to challenge yourself. When a Beaver Scout wakes up the morning after a sleepover, or Cub Scout has just got over her fear of heights by completing her first abseil - that’s adventure.

In Scouting, we provide over 200 activities from abseiling to zorbing (that’s falling out of the sky in a foam ball in case you were wondering). If we don’t have an instructor who can help we can normally find someone who can. But Scouting isn’t just about activities for their own sake. We encourage our young people to feel the buzz of the challenge and then reflect on what that means. Did they have fun? Do they feel more confident? Would they do it again?

All this is made possible by the efforts of 100,000 voluntary adult leaders. With award winning training and one-to-one support, we make sure that each one of our volunteers gets to make best use of their skills and talents. It’s something different from the norm, and that why a lot of people like it.  In fact, it’s what’s made us the largest co-educational youth Movement in the country.

Pearls of Wisdom—Quotes from Baden-Powell

“It is only when you know a boy’s environment that you can know what influences to bring to bear.”