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.