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.”

Kwanzaa, 30/12/08

Game: Back to back

Players stand about in pairs. One Beaver is ‘It’

When the leaders calls, "Back to back!" the players must back up to a partner.  When the leader calls "Face to Face!" these partners must face each other and shake hands. 

On the next call "Back to back!" and each time here after, all players must change partners. 

‘It’ tries to get a partner during the change. 

The player left out becomes it.

Fried BananasThe holiday is based on traditional "first fruits" or harvest.
A snack idea for this would be Fried Bananas -
Material -
6 med to large bananas; plastic knives; lemon juice; brown sugar; cinnamon;
butter; frying pan; spatula; paper towels
Ask the children to peel the bananas and cut into 1/2" slices (you may want to
do the cutting). Place banana slice on a plate and sprinkle a little lemon
juice, brown sugar and cinnamon onto the slices. Put butter in the frying pan
over med heat. Place a layer of slices in the frying pan. Fry both sides of
the slices until golden. Drain on paper towels and serve.

Game: Banana

Equipment: A rag or sock or a real banana     

Form a circle with all players sitting on the floor.  It is important for the players to sit close together with their knees up and their hands tucked under their legs.  The person in the middle has to figure out where the banana is as the people in the circle are passing the "banana" under their legs secretly.     

The Twins

One day a set of twins decided to move to a new town because they felt like they’d seen everything there was to see in their hometown. They started out together, but somehow along the way one twin had gotten ahead of the other one.

This first twin came to an old man sitting by the road just outside a nearby town.  The twin stopped and asked the old man what the people were like in this town. The old man replied by asking the same question of him, “What were the people like in the town you came from?” The first twin said they were very unkind and harsh, not very friendly at all. The old man said, “I think you’ll find that the people who live here are very much the same.”

Not long after the first twin left, the second twin came across the same old man sitting by the same road. This twin stopped and asked the same question of the old man. The old man again replied by asking what the people were like in the town the twin had come from. The second twin said the people were all great. “I had a lot of friends and the people always tried to help others.” The old man replied, “I think you’ll find that the people who live here are very much the same.”

The point here isn’t about the people who lived in those towns, it is about how a person treats the people around him. If you treat others with kindness and understanding, they will treat you the same way.

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.