Jamaica, 27/04/07

Game -  Bean Bag Toss

Popular game played by children in Jamaica.  For the colony can be played in teams.  Each team is given a bean bag. First Beaver in each team faces backwards and sees who can throw their beanbag the furthest. Each Beaver has a turn, points awarded and added up.

Alternatively if your HQ are too small play team style with a bucket in front of each team. Each Beaver in the team and 3 throws to see you gets the most beanbags in the bucket. Points awarded.

Craft  - Fruit Monsters / Animals

A selection of cut up fruit and cocktails sticks given to each lodge. This is the chance for Beavers to be creative and make weird and wonderful creations.

The craft can be made of cheaper fruits such as apples, bananas, oranges. But worth having a small selection of tropical fruits from Jamaica of which there are many for the Beavers to taste.

Limbo Dancing

Lots of fun – Play Reggae Music with 2 leaders holding the cane as the beavers dance threw. Lowering as they go.

Language – The official language of Jamaica is English, spoken in proper fashi Jamaican accent. But the language of everyday is Patois (Pat-wa) a combination of English, Spanish, Portuguese.

Patois                                                                        English

Ello dere                                                                     Hello there

Ketch yuh layta                                                          Catch you later

Whey yuh a sey                                                         How is it going

Ow ole yuh is                                                 How old are you

Mi Fren                                                                       My Friend

Mada                                                              Mother

Fada                                                               Father

Nyam                                                              Eat

Likkle                                                              Little

Ax                                                                    Ask

Bwoy                                                               Boy

Gal                                                                  Girl

Food Tasting – Jerk Chicken, Dumplings, Rice with peas & Beans

Determination

Troop 3 in Youngstown, Ohio, recently had its first Eagle Scouts after being in existence for over 25 years. Troop 3 is a troop for Scouts who have mental and physical disabilities, and most of the Scouts are in their 30s and 40s. At the Eagle ceremony, five men received their coveted Eagle, after most of them had worked for the better part of 25 years earning the award, one small step at a time.

As you work on your advancement—I know you all get impatient and want to move along faster at times—remember Troop 3 and the Scouts who spent 25 years working toward their goal of becoming Eagles.

Greenland, 13/04/07

Game: Flying to Greenland – using the oceans around Greenland as the ‘corners’:

Arctic Ocean in the north; the Greenland Sea in the east; the Denmark Strait in the southeast; the Atlantic Ocean in the south.

Game:

The beavers stand in a circle. The leader goes round the circle giving each beaver a name - walrus, whale, seal, polar bear etc. When the name is called, each beaver with that name runs out of his/her space, clockwise, round the circle. The leader then calls ‘ Greenland ’ and the beavers have to change direction and go the other way round. You can make the ‘ Greenland ’ as often as you like with each set of beavers.

Game: Greenland is the largest island in the world – so play Shrinking Island

Spread out a large groundsheet and stand the Beaver Scouts some distance away

On the word ‘go’ the players try to stand on the island

When the leader calls ‘stop’ any player not on the island is out

All players leave the island, which is folded to make it smaller

The game is repeated until only 2 players are left

Pearls of Wisdom—Quotes from Baden-Powell

“The Good Turn will educate the boy out of the groove of selfishness.”

Malaysia, 23/03/07

Game: Escape amongst the Trees

Place a chair in the centre of the circle. Beaver Scouts form large circle with hands just touching. ‘Forester’ sits on the chair in centre guarding his ‘trees’. Leader walks round the ‘trees’, when he touches a ‘tree’ the ‘tree’ runs round clockwise and back to his place whilst trying to avoid capture by the ‘Forester’.

Game: Trailing Tendrils

The Beaver Scouts run around the room as if they are seeds blowing in the wind

At random points, 2 or 3 leaders or Beaver Scouts stand rooted to the stop with arms outstretched and moving from side-to-side, like tendrils of a plant.

They are plants and they are anchored to an area – either a square marked on the floor or a hoop that they must not step outside

Any Beaver Scouts they touch are ‘stuck’ to them and they join hands with the ‘plant’ to make the tendrils longer

The winner is the last Beaver Scout to stay unstuck

Activity – Sailing Origami boats

Might be a little difficult and wet indoors - but if you can fill a child’s paddling pool you can have some fun

Game: Tide Turn

The beavers stand in a circle. The leader goes round the circle giving each beaver a name of a fish that is found in the South China sea i.e. Black marlin, Barramundi, Grouper, SailFish – the repeat.

 When the name is called, each beaver with that name runs out of his/her space, clockwise, round the circle. The leader then calls ‘Tide Turn’ and the beavers have to change direction and go the other way round. You can make the ‘Tide Turn’ as often as you like with each set of beavers. When the leader calls ‘Tide Out’ the beavers continue running in the same direction and back to their own space.

Bull’s-Eye

Many years ago a young man travelling through the countryside noticed that on many of the barns was a large bull’s-eye painted on it with an arrow squarely in the centre of the target. He thought he would like to meet the great archer, and asked around until he found out the name of the man, who lived in a nearby village.

He introduced himself, and asked the archer for a demonstration of his great skills. “Sure,” said the archer, and they walked to the outskirts of town to a barn. He carried his bow and a quiver of arrows and several buckets of paint and some brushes. He selected a barn site, and carefully took aim at the barn, and hit it squarely in the middle. Then he walked up to the arrow, and carefully painted the bull’s-eye around the arrow. He then proudly stood back and admired his work. The moral of the story is to not be misled by things as they sometimes appear. Often, things are not as they seem.

Blackpool Illuminations, 09/03/07

Colour pictures

Let the Beavers colour some pictures of things in the Illuminations

Game: Put up the lights

Have washing lines stretched between chairs (one per lodge) + (say) 20 card light bulbs per lodge

The Beavers have to peg to the line card ‘light bulbs’ - first to finish wins

Craft:

Colony Lights

Let the Beavers cut shapes out of dark card and then cover the holes with coloured cellophane. Shine a torch at the back of the pictures and see how the light changes colour.

Game:

Repair the illuminations

Start by explaining that the wind has blown down the lights - the Beavers have to run to the centre of the room and collect pictures of things they would need to repair the lights (have pages taken out of catalogues showing hammers, screw drivers, light bulbs etc) - give them say 2 minutes. Then they have to say why they selected those items.

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.