Pearls of Wisdom—Quotes from Baden-Powell

“When you want a thing done, ‘Don’t do it yourself’ is a good motto for Scoutmasters.”

Indians, 23/02/07

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.

Three Brick Masons

Three brothers were all equally skilled at a craft taught to them by their father, that of a brick and stone mason. The work was hard, as it required lifting heavy bricks and cement, and they were exposed to the elements of severe weather on a daily basis. However, they viewed their work very differently: When asked what he was doing, the first brother said, “I’m making a living for my family” as he toiled. The second brother replied, when asked the same question, “Can’t you see? I’m laying brick.” But the third brother, working next to the other brothers, replied, “I’m building a beautiful cathedral.” As you go about your daily tasks, don’t lose sight of what you are really doing with your life. Build cathedrals.

Jewels, 09/02/07

Game - Scavenger hunt – Beavers have to find objects of the same colour as the name of the jewel called out

Game: Jewel Memory game

About 10 small items of jewellery - covered by tubs or placed on a tray.

Ask the Beavers to find an item under the tubs or to remember all items on the tray.

Craft: Necklaces

Let the Beavers make a necklace out of polos, pasta tubes and other bits. If they think this is a bit sissy - add some feather and it can be an Indian chiefs necklace.

Badges (brooches may again be thought sissy)

Let the Beavers draw around a template of a beaver shape. Then cut it out colour it and add their name. The stick a safety pin on the back.

Game: Colour corners

Coloured sheet of paper in each corner of room with the name of a gem on.

Leader or helper to have the gems written on small piece of paper. At a given command Beavers to stand in their chosen corner. If this corresponds with the paper drawn by the leader then all in the corner are out.

Game: Sammy Smartie

Best played in-groups of six to eight.

Paper plate and smarties required.

Place six different coloured smarties (in place of gems) on plate. One of the group must go out of the room whilst the others choose one of the colours. On returning the Beaver must try to guess which has been chosen. Any that he guesses which are not correct, he may have, but if he guesses correctly the rest of the group must say "Oh no, don't eat Sammy Smartie"

Pearls of Wisdom—Quotes from Baden-Powell

“Loyalty is a feature in a boy’s character that inspires boundless hope.”

Jelly, 26/01/07

Musical Wobblers

Like musical statues - when the music is playing the Beavers should wobble like jellies - when it stops they 'freeze'

Jelly on a plate

In relay the Beavers race to the end of the hall with jelly on a plate - bit messy? - so try ping-pong balls instead ! Can they do it with 2 plates?

Jelly Survey

Have blindfold tasting session where the Beavers have to try to identify 4 or 5 different sorts of jelly

Pip, squeak and Wilfred - a very silly messy game!

You need:

A pip - from an orange or grapefruit

A squeak - babies squeaky toy

Wilfred - a bucket containing a gooey mess (surplus jelly, poster paints, water flour - anything you can think of!)

Plastic sheeting or newspapers to cover the floor!

The colony sits in a large circle and is numbered off in threes

The leader calls out a number and 'pip', 'squeak' or 'Wilfred'

All the Beavers with that number jump up and run around the circle (in same direction!) and enter the circle in their own place and make for the middle.

If 'pip' is called they try to be the first to pick up the pip

If 'squeak' is called they try to be the first to pick up the toy and give it a good squeeze

If 'Wilfred' is called the winner then gets the chance to plunge their hand into the gooey mess!!!

Aspens

If you have ever seen a grove of aspens wave in a breeze, you have witnessed the strength and beauty of the trees. A grove of aspens can withstand the mighty forces of nature because they are tightly bound together, both in their trunks and limbs, and in their root systems, and each tree draws strength from the others. However, one aspen standing alone would soon split or break in the force of a big wind.

Your patrol is a lot like a grove of aspens. The strength and teamwork of a group of guys can accomplish tasks that would be impossible for individuals working independently. Each patrol member brings skills and talents that compliment the other members of the patrol.

Jubilee, 12/01/07

Game:  Queen’s Tag

1.Players pair up & stand in a circle. Each pair is arranged so that they are standing facing inwards, one of the pair behind the other. Space them out so that there is enough room to run between the pairs.

2. Choose a pair to be Chaser and Chased. Send one to opposite side of circle to start the game.

3. The Chaser then tries to catch the Chased. They must run in and out of the circle & not vanish off into the distance!

4. When the Chased is tired or nearly caught, he stands still in front of one of the pairs in the circle. When he does this, the one at the back of the pair now takes part in the chasing but becomes the CHASER, and the original Chaser becomes the Chased. It can become a quick, non-stop game if the Chased keep standing in front of the pairs in the circle.

5 If someone is caught, they just stand in front of a pair in the circle and the game goes on!

Watch out for:

- the circle getting smaller and smaller as the game goes on. When someone is caught, take the opportunity to move the pairs back out a pace or two.

- the Chased must stand right in front of a pair. If it is not clear which pair he is standing in front of then the game can go wrong with two Chasers!

- make sure everyone gets a go. The Chased do tend to pick their friends so some will get lots of turns & some will get none.

Why do we call it Queens Tag? Film footage of the Queen as a child - shows her playing this game aboard Brittannia, with some sailors and her sister.

Craft Bases: Jubilee Tea Pot

Tea pot template

Card

Round Tea bag

Let the Beavers draw around the template and cut out their tea pot

Then they can decorate it - with a crown

Stick the tea bag and rhyme inside

Rhyme

This will make a cup of tea,

To celebrate the Queen’s jubilee

Game: Crown Jewels

Make a number of different coloured shapes jewels and hide around the room (enough for each Beavers to have one of each)

Give each Beavers a crown (drawn on A4 paper) with the spaces to fit the jewels.

See who can find all the jewels and stick them into the correct place on the crown.

Then colour in the rest of the crown.

Changing the Guard4 corners Marked with Buckinhgam Palace, Balmoral, Windsor Castle, Tower of London or use pictures

Beavers run to the corners called. When leader calls " changing the Guard" they all run to a circle in the middle of the hall. (Like the 4 corner Beaver Game) Last one to the circle is out

BIG CLOCK (Big Ben) Game
All the beavers stand in a large circle and are numbered around the circle in in fours. One boy stands in the centre of the circle and he is BIG BEN
He will say Big Ben strikes ......... And will pick a number from one to four. All the beavers who are that number race around the outside of the circle in an anticlickwise direction.

Back through the place they came from in the circle to reach BIG BEN in the centre. The first beaver into the centre becomes Big Ben for the next go - with the old clock taking the number and place in the circle of the new Big Ben.

BUILD A CASTLE WALL (Buckingham Palace)Divide the colony into two teams - one half building the castle and the other half are trying to knock it down. The builders have a large selection of cardboard boxes and they race to build up a wall. The other half has a supply of soft balls and they have to knock down the wall as it is being built.
This quickly degenerates into absolute chaos but its lots of fun. Change over halfway through so that the builders get a chance to knock the others wall down.

BUS STOPS -(London Bus)

Beavers run around and atop at the labelled bus stops - the leader calls out : -

Bus no 1 - no room for last 2
Bus no 2 - first has forgotten fare
Bus no 3 - broken down
Bus no 4 - 1st beaver in front only on Bus
Bus no 5 - 3rd boy has forgotten lunch
Bus no 6 - school on holiday
Bus no 7 - last boy misses Bus
Bus no 8 - first 2 boys fighting
Bus no 9 - left early missed Bus
Bus no 10 - room for 1 only
Bus no 11 - 3rd boy at wrong Bus stop
Bus no 12 - Bus late walk home
Bus no 13 - driver taken ill
Bus no 14 - last Beavers fallen asleep misses Bus.
Bus stops around room beavers run to Bus stops etc. Etc.

Party Tables Cover tables with red, white and blue crepe paper - weighted at the corners to stop them flying away.

Flower Power Staying with your red, white and blue theme, place small
displays of fabric flowers in the centre of tables.  Add small Union Jack
sandwich flags - for extra decoration.

Guards of Honour Make colourful red, white and blue streamers from strips
of crepe paper or tissue paper, attached to a dowel stick. 'Plant' along driveways and
pathways to create 'guards of honour' to welcome your guests.

Regal Ribbon Drape it around the home and garden and make colourful bows to add a splash of regal colour inside and out.

Balloon Bonanza Festoon the house and garden with balloons hung with
ribbon and crepe paper chains in red, white and blue.

Crowning Glory Make regal crowns and tiaras for your guests - and issue
everyone who stays until the end with a Fimo Jubilee medal

Frame It Don't forget to capture your special moments on camera and frame
the prints for posterity

Memory Box You can also make a Golden Jubilee Memory Box to collect all those little mementoes that never fit into a photograph album!

Medal of Honour If you have a pet, award it with a Jubilee Medal for its
loyalty

Face Painting Red, white and blue faces for Jubilee fun

Jubilee colony scrap book with all the Beavers collecting ideas and info from magazines,
newspapers etc.

Rosettes to wear - in red, white and blue

Craft Ideas

Make some Union Jacks

Make a red rose for your button hole

Make a Crown or Tiara

Make a Jubilee Coaster

Get some MDF circles (appx 10cm in diameter)

Let the Beavers decorate with an enlarged Jubilee logo (or crown etc)

Then varnish.

Make a Family Tree - make a royal family tree using pictures from magazines

Make some royal family finger puppets

Make a big colony jubilee card and send to queen. The palace will reply.

Scouting in 50 words

Scouting offers challenge and adventure to 400,000 young people and 100,000 adults across the UK. We believe in helping our Members fulfil their potential by working in teams, learning by doing and thinking for themselves. We give people of every background the chance to stretch themselves, learn new skills and make life long friends.

Pearls of Wisdom—Quotes from Baden-Powell

“See things from the boy’s point of view.”