Pearls of Wisdom—Quotes from Baden-Powell

“It’s the spirit within, not the veneer without, which makes a man.”

Our Spiritual Compass

For Scouts on a hike or a canoe trip, a compass is an important tool. Because it gives you a stable reference point (magnetic north), you can set a course and follow it. As long as your compass is accurate and you don’t damage it, it will serve you faithfully—if you trust it. Our faith or spirituality is something like that. We have a point of reference that does not change: God. And we have a compass, so to speak, in our relationship with God. It’s something we have learned and continue to learn about, just as we learn to use a compass properly. We use our spirituality and faith to get us through this grand journey we call life. If we are prepared to trust the things we have learned about God, our spirituality can guide us through the joys and the temptations of life. We can use it to show us what service we can give and what potential dangers to stay away from. We can use it to guide us in our friendships, in our work, in what we say to people and about people, and in how we treat our natural world.

Remembrance Day, 11/11/08

Chat about Remembrance Day and peace. Practice standing to attention and at ease.

Army, navy, air force game

In a circle each Beaver Scout is named army, navy, or airforce. The leader calls one name and the Beaver with that name run around the outside of the circle. First one back to his own place scores a point for his team.

Craft:

Poppy Wreath + Cross

Poppy Wreath

Draw and cut out poppy shapes from red tissue or crepe paper. Use black paper for the centre circle.

Cut the centre from a paper plate (this can be used for the cross craft).

Stick the poppies around the circle

Poppy Cross

Using centre from plate cut into a cross.

Stick one poppy to the centre of the cross

Attention game

The Beavers march around the room. The leader calls out:-

Attention – they all stand still & to attention

At ease - they all stand still & at ease

Salute - they all stand still & salute

Fall out - they all turn right and walk to the edge of the room

March - they all march around the room.

Pearls of Wisdom—Quotes from Baden-Powell

“It is risky to order a boy not to do something; it immediately opens to him the adventure of doing it.”

Pearls of Wisdom—Quotes from Baden-Powell

“It is risky to order a boy not to do something; it immediately opens to him the adventure of doing it.”

All Saints Day, 01/11/08

Coming in game: 5 Dots

Each Beavers has a piece of paper and a pencil. He/she puts 5 dots anywhere on the paper and passes the paper to another Beavers. The Beavers has to draw a person with head, both hands and both feet each touching a different dot.

Remember the halo – because we are doing Saints !

Game: Saints About

One piece of paper per Beaver – on which is written the name of a saint. These can be repeated so 3 or 4 pieces of paper have the same name. Place the paper on the floor. The Beavers run around and when ALL Saints is called they stand on a piece of paper. The leader calls out a saint’s name and if the Beavers in on that named paper he wins a sweet.

Craft Bases: Stained Glass Windows

If you are a sponsored group your Church may have stained glass windows depicting Saints – perhaps you could show the Beavers them?

Each Beavers need a square of sugar paper with a design in the centre cut out & some pieces of coloured tissue paper. The Beavers should cut the tissue paper to cover the hole in the paper. When completed they can be hung in the Beavers windows at home.

Game: Oranges & Lemons

2 Beavers stand in centre of room hands held up into an arch, one is an orange the other a lemon.. The other Beavers pass through. When the last line is said the 2 Beavers catch a Beavers within their arms. He then joins the arch as either an orange or a lemon, and so on.

Attitude

Words could never adequately convey how great the impact our attitude can have on our lives. The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it. I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude. It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my successes or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me or say about me, my circumstances, or my position. Attitude keeps me going or cripples my progress. It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope. When my attitude is right, there’s no barrier too wide, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me.

Pearls of Wisdom—Quotes from Baden-Powell

“You can only get discipline in the mass by discipline in the individual.”

We Make a Difference

It was just about midweek during our annual canoe trip. Just as dinner was being served, an argument erupted between two of the older Scouts. After separating them and counselling with each of them, I went down to the lake for a little solitude. Somehow the group just wasn’t coming together. I sat on a log with my feet propped up on two rocks resting in the water, trying to think of what I could do to make a difference. Just about when I’d decided that the trouble was all due to some failing on my part, I looked up and noticed some huge thunderheads that had formed. How beautiful they were. Then something caught my eye across the lake. It looked as if diamonds were dancing toward me on the water! Closer and closer they came until they finally reached me. Hail! The hail started coming down harder and harder until I had to put my head down. Still, the hail came down even harder. I pulled my jacket up over my head, but the hail was unrelenting in its force. There I was with my head between my legs, my eyes squeezed shut against the pain of the pounding hailstones, my nose only inches from the surface of the water, thinking, “Why me, God? Why me?” And the hail came down even harder. Finally, I opened my eyes and looked down below the surface of the lake. There, under the protection of my jacket, the underwater life continued as normal, while beyond the influence of my coat the lake churned with the fury of the hailstorm. It was only then that I realized what God was trying to tell me—I did make a difference. We all make a difference to a Scout in life’s storms. Just by being who we are, someone to come to with a problem, someone who can understand the differences of opinions, someone who stands for right and provides a good example. Just remember, we do make a difference.

Pearls of Wisdom—Quotes from Baden-Powell

“The Scoutmaster must be alert to check badge hunting as compared to badge earning.”