Give It Your All!

(You will need one baking potato and two plastic drinking straws.)

(Hold up the potato.) Scouts, think of this potato as your obstacle to a desired goal, whether it’s your advancement to Patrol Leader or earning money for that new mountain bike you want. (Hold up the first plastic straw in your other hand.)

Now think of this straw as your desire to reach your goal on the other side of the obstacle—in this case, the potato. (Push the straw against the potato. The straw will bend over.) Notice that if you go at your obstacle half-heartedly, your will to reach your goal is easily bent. You are easily kept from your goal. (Now take the second straw and hold it in your fist, placing your thumb over the open end of the straw.)

But, if you are willing to give it your all, you can easily reach your goal on the other side! (Thrust the straw at the potato, keeping your thumb over the open end of the straw. The trapped air in the straw makes it rigid and the straw is easily thrust cleanly into the potato. Hold up the potato and straw to show the Scouts that indeed you have reached your goal.) This demonstration was meant to show you the value of not giving up, even if an obstacle seems too great to surpass!

St Patrick, 17/03/08

Chat about St Patrick - Story of St Patrick - Emblem = Shamrock - Flag design

Game: Captain's Aboard - Irish theme Name walls - north, south, east and west. Actions - Shamrock (in 3s) Leprechaun (jump about) Flag (in 4s) Kiss the blarney stone (lie on floor) St Patrick (line up in front of person saying this) Freeze

Craft Bases:

1. Lucky Shamrock - cut shamrock shape as template - colour green. Cut "plant pot", colour, stick strip of card to back to push shamrock through. 2. Irish Flag - using template Beavers draw cross onto a piece of paper (appx 15cm x 20cm) -as template, colour in. Attach to garden cane or straw.

Game: St Patrick and the Pirates Mark a ship shape onto floor. 3 Beavers are pirates, one is St Patrick, every one else are slaves. The slaves run around and pirates catch them and take them in to ship. St Patrick tags the slaves within the ship - he is not allowed to enter - to free them. After a short time swap the roles.

Pearls of Wisdom—Quotes from Baden-Powell

“When a boy finds someone who takes an interest in him, he responds and follows.”

Mothers Day, 02/03/08

GAME – MUMMY  (A different sort of mummy)

Egyptian mummies – Divide the Beavers into teams at one end of the hall. Choose one beaver from each team to be the ‘mummy’, and stand them at the far end of the hall. Provide each team with a couple of toilet rolls. The beavers take it in turns to run up and wrap their mummy in paper, keeping clear of the nose and eyes. At the end of a given time (five minutes or so), the Leaders decide which mummy looks the best. Clearing away can also be made into a game – the Beaver Scout with the most rubbish wins.

MOTHERS DAY PRESENT- POT POURRIE  (friendship award – caring)

 

Equipment -  Pot Pourrie, lace curtain net by the metre or old lace curtain nets from a charity shop, coloured net, thin paper curling ribbon, card, 9 inch dinner plate. Marker. Small flowers.

 

Lay out curtain lace use the dinner plate as a template, mark around the outside of the plate. Cut out 1 circle per Beaver Scout.

Do the same with the coloured netting. Cut out 2 per Beaver Scout.

 

Cut out 1 cardboard circle per Beaver Scout (the size of the top of an eggcup.                   

 

Cut to length 1 white and one same colour as netting the curling ribbon. Enough to tie around the favour and tie in a bow. Curl the two ends by running across scissors.

 

Each Beaver Scout lays 1 circle of netting, 1 circle of lace curtain, 1 circle of netting on top of each other. Place the cardboard circle in the middle of the 3 layers.

Fill with a small amount of pot pourrie.

Gather up in the hand and tie the ribbon just about the pot pourrie.

Place a small flower in the middle.

Beavers can make a small label to fasten on.

 

GAME – CLOTHES PEG ON A LINE   (jobs mums do)      

Equipment – One clothes peg per beaver, a clothes line, two chairs and 1 sock per Beavers

 

Divide beavers into four teams. Tie a clothesline across two chairs approximately 2 ft high by 12 ft wide. Place enough pegs and socks in front of each team, one for each Beavers.  A beaver from each team runs up to the line kneels down and picks up a sock and fixes with the peg to the line as quickly as possible. When Beavers has done then he/she runs back to the team and the next Beavers has a turn, when all the pegs/socks are on the line the team sit down.

ACTION STORY – (Families)

 

THE BEAVER FAMILY

Mummy Beaver, Ben Beaver, Grandpa Beaver, Grandma Beaver, Bobby Beaver, Daddy Beaver, Whole Beaver Family.

 

Sit the Beavers’s in a circle and name of in turn the underlined words of the story as they hear their name called the run around the outside of the circle and back to their place, when ‘whole beaver family is mentioned they all stand up and run around the circle.

 

One day Mummy Beaver was going shopping to buy some apples for Bobby and Ben Beaver. When she reached the end of the road she met Grandpa Beaver who had been to the post office to buy some stamps so that Grandma Beaver could post a birthday card to Daddy Beaver.

After Mummy Beaver and Grandpa Beaver had finished chatting they went on their way, Grandpa Beaver walked home to take the stamps to Grandma Beaver for Daddy Beavers card and Mummy Beaver continued walking to the shops for some apples for Bobby and Ben Beaver.

At the shops there were some lovely juicy red apples which were just the sort that Bobby and Ben Beaver loved. So she bought them two each. She also bought some crisp green pears for Grandma Beaver, some big juicy oranges for Grandpa Beaver and some bananas for Daddy Beaver.

She walked very quickly home with the apples for Bobby and Ben Beaver, the pears for Grandma Beaver, the oranges for Grandpa Beaver and the lovely yellow bananas for Daddy Beaver. As she walked she thought to herself ‘what a lovely tea I can make for everyone’. But when she got home she found that the whole Beaver family had made tea for her.

St David, 01/03/08

Game

See who can pin the tail on the dragon. Large drawing of a welsh dragon (as flag) on piece of thick cardboard (or chipboard) drawing pins with names attached, and some blindfolds.

Chat about St David - Story of St David - Emblem = Daffodil & leek - Flag design

Game: Welly Throw Beavers line up in teams. Each one has a cardboard "welly". See who can throw the welly into a large hoop on the floor. Usual relay rules.

Craft Bases:

1. Daffodil craft - cut the petal shape as template. Fold a length of yellow crepe paper (appx 45cm by 5cm) in half and the roll to form "trumpet", glue into centre of petals. Cover straw in green crepe paper and attach to flower head. Add a leaf or two.

2. Welsh Flag - using template Beavers dragon onto a piece of paper (appx 15cm x 20cm) - as template, colour in. Attach to garden cane or straw.

Game: Penning Sheep Make horse-shoe shape of chairs. Beavers stand behind their own chair - they "are in the field". On command " run round the field" the Beavers run around the outside of the horse-shoe in clockwise direction. On command "sheep in the pen" Beavers run into the horse-shoe and sit on ANY chair. They are not allowed to climb over the chairs or run anti-clockwise into the horse-shoe. As game progresses remove 2 chairs. The Beavers who are "out" can then make the calls. Continue until 2 Beavers remain.

Leap Year, 29/02/08

Turk’s Head

(Make a large Turk’s head knot about 4 to 6 inches around. Before your Minute begins, pass the Turk’s head around for all of the boys to see.) Who knows what this is? See how the strands of rope go in and around each other, and seem to never end? Working as a patrol, you boys are like the strands of this Turk’s head knot, in that you must learn to work in and around other people to reach a common goal.

(Next, pull two opposite strands apart so that the shape of the Turk’s head is distorted.) This is what happens when the patrol members do not work together:

The patrol becomes all bent out of shape. (Begin rolling the knot around your fingers or hands; this should put the shape back into the Turk’s head.) This external “working” could be the senior patrol leader or his assistant or even the Scoutmaster working with the patrol to set the example on working together.

Baden-Powells Birthday, 22/02/08

Coming in Game: Otters and Beavers

As the Beaver Scouts come in divide them into 2 teams and stand them in lines opposite each other. The players in one line are otters, the others are beavers. One otter approaches the beaver line and taps 3 outstretched palms. The last person tapped chases the otter back to their line. If the otter makes it back the beaver is captured and sits behind the otter they were chasing, but if the beaver catches the otter they both return to the beaver line and the otter sits behind the beaver.

Then a beaver does the same with the otters. Should a player capture a player who has captives of their own the new winner captures all of them too!

Game:  Happy Scouting Families

Make 5 sets of cards with each of these logos:

Beaver Scouts ; Cub Scouts ; Scouts ; Explorer Scouts ; Scout Network.

Print each one on to different coloured card

Shuffle the sets and hand them out so each player has a card

On the word ‘go’ the players try to find the other 4 members of the Scouting family

The complete family must then sit down in order with the Beaver Scout at the front and Scout Network at the end.

Blow up balloons - ready for the party games!

Chat -  Talk about the evening why we are having a party

Musical statues

Musical chairs

Pass the parcel (make sure there are sweets available for those who don’t unwrap one

Balloon games

- who can keep it in the air the longest

- who can burst it the easiest

Make a sandwich

Ice a bun (add a candle)

Games: (Shrinking) Brownsea 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

Valentines Day, 14/02/08

Broken Hearts

First make as many hearts as Beavers out of old birthday card fronts.

Cut each into 6 pieces and place the broken hearts around the hall.

As the Beavers come in give them a piece of card the hall,

Each Beavers has to ‘mend his heart’

Game: Heartbeat

With the Beavers in 2 teams.

Team A forms a circle around the leader.Team B Lines up at one end of the hall

On the word GO Team B take it in turns to run to the other side of the hall and back. When they have all run they shout STOP. Meanwhile Team A catch and return a ball to the leader counting as they do. See how high the count is - then swap teams over

Game:  Broken Hearts

First make as many hearts as Beavers out of old birthday card fronts.

Cut each into 6 pieces and place the broken hearts around the hall.

As the Beavers come in give them a piece of card the hall,

Each Beavers has to ‘mend his heart’

Post-box relay

You need 4 boxes painted red to look like post boxes and 4 sacks

In relay the Beavers have to take a valentines card from the sack and then post it through the post box

Craft: Sandwiches

Let the Beaver Scouts make jam sandwiches and use a heart shaped cutter to cut them

Heart Bingo

Equipment - bingo bag with numbers

Make as many hearts (out of A4 drawing paper) as Beavers and put a number on the back. Place the hearts number down on the floor.

Divide Beavers into 2 teams. The Beavers run around and when the whistle is blown they stand on a heart. A leader draws a number from the bingo bag - the Beavers look on the reverse of their heart - if it is their number they are out. First team to get 3 out wins.

Craft Bases: CD hearts

Materials Needed:

CD; Construction Paper or Felt ; Glue ; Photo
Cut two heart shapes out of construction paper. You want them big enough to cover the CD and have about 1 inch left on the sides (figure 1). It might be helpful to trace the CD onto the paper first so you know about what size to make it.

Glue the CD to the middle of one heart.

Cut a rectangle out of the centre of the other heart (figure 2).

Cut out the details of your photo; for example, if it is a picture of a dog, carefully cut the dog out and discard all the background.

Glue your photo in the centre of the CD (figure 3).

Glue the heart with the rectangle cut in it onto the top of the heart with the CD (figure 4).

This will look like a frame, and you should se the shiny part of the CD also! Trim any edges as necessary. You can decorate your heart with other things - Glitter, sequins, ribbon, etc. - be creative!

Valentine Jar

Give each Beaver Scouts an empty jar to paint with glass paint and decorate with sequins or felt shapes

Fill with pot pourie or bath salts. Add a circle of material as a lid.

Jam tarts

Make some heart shaped bases and part cook. Let the Beaver Scouts add red jam and then finish off the cooking

Photo Valentine Card

Materials Needed:

• Construction Paper
• Glue
• Photo
• Crayons or Markers

Instructions:
Fold a piece of construction paper in half to form a card. Write a message on the inside.

Make a sign on another piece of paper. Using large writing, make it a message to your valentine. Something as simple as "I love You" will work. Have someone take a picture of you holding the sign. Either make this soon enough before Valentine's Day that you have time to develop the film, or use a polaroid camera or digital camera and print out the photos on your PC.

Cut out a large heart for the front of your card. You will want it big enough to have room to cut out the centre of the heart and frame your picture with it. Glue your picture on the front of the card, and then glue the heart frame over that.

 

Butterfly card

Materials Needed:

• Lolly Stick
• Glue
• Construction Paper
• Marker
• Pipe Cleaner
• Tape

Instructions:
Cut 2 hearts out or red paper, about as tall and wide as the lolly stick. Trim off the bottom of each heart as shown in figure 1. Lay the 2 hearts down so the bottom edges are slightly overlapping - figure 2. Glue the hearts together on the bottom edges, and then glue the lolly stick on the hearts as shown in figure 3.

  

Use the marker to make eyes and a mouth. You can also write a Valentine's day message on the wings of the butterfly. Cut two 2 inch pieces from a pipe cleaner. Tape them on the back of the lolly sticks to be the butterfly's antenna - figure 4.

Game

Hearts / spades / diamond / clubs

Place these shapes at the corners of the room. When it is called the Beaver Scouts must run to that corner.

Game: Heart Bingo

Equipment - bingo bag with numbers

Make as many hearts (out of A4 drawing paper) as Beavers and put a number on the back. Place the hearts number down on the floor.

Divide Beavers into 2 teams. The Beavers run around and when the whistle is blown they stand on a heart. A leader draws a number from the bingo bag - the Beavers look on the reverse of their heart - if it is their number they are out. First team to get 3 out wins.

Make Your Own Valentine's Day Cards

This year, give your Valentine a special, home-made card. You can get spectacular results using easy techniques.

The easiest way to make a Valentine's Day or any card is to fold a sheet of paper in half and decorate it. Sound boring? Well, it doesn't have to be

One of the simplest ways is to cut a variety of heart shapes out of paper and glue them to the front of the card. Make different designs, animals, people, etc.

1.       Take the heart idea one step further! Instead of cutting heart shapes out of paper, cut them out of fabric, wallpaper samples, tissue paper, wrapping paper, or anything else you can think of. Outline your hearts/designs using 3d fabric paint!

2.       Recycle last year's cards! Cut around the shape on the card. Glue it to a piece of construction paper, and trim around the picture leaving about a 1/4-inch border. Outline your hearts/designs using 3d fabric paint!

3.       Use collage techniques. Cut pictures out of magazines and glue them to your card. Try to find a collection of pictures that will tell a story! Cut words out of magazines to use - great for a secret admirer!

4.       Use stamping/printing techniques. You can get a wide variety of rubber stamps on the market today, along with custom ink pads. You can also make your own stamps by cutting a heart design out of a potato, apple, sponge, cookie cutter, or even a piece of styrofoam.

5.       Cut small squares and/or triangles out of different coloured paper, wallpaper samples, fabric, etc. Glue them onto the front of your card to form a mosaic/quilt like picture.

6.       Use stencils, either store-bought or home-made, to make nice pictures on the from of the card.

7.       Use clip art to make Valentine's Day cards! There are many fun sites that offer free clip art for personal use. Outline your hearts/designs using 3d fabric paint!

8.       Use a colouring book page on the front of your card! You can cut one put of a colouring book you have, or choose from several online colouring pages to print. Outline your hearts/designs using 3d fabric paint!

9.       Paint a design on your card! Use fingerpaint to make a personalized design. You can also use tempera or acrylic paint. While the paint is still wait, you might want to sprinkle a little bit of glitter on your card to add a special finishing touch.

Chinese New Year, 07/02/08

Dragon Boats

Collect a number of large boxes from the local supermarket. Let the Beavers colour the boxes - like Dragon boats - in red (for summer, heat and fire). Let them do their own thing.

Chat -  Talk about the evening

Talk about the animals that represent the years - what are the Beaver Scouts ?

Using the Dragon Boats from the coming in game have some relay races.

Craft: Dragon

Green card, 2 long strips of green paper, sticky tape, scissors, 2 drinking straws, crayons

Stick the 2 ends of the paper strips together at right angles to each other. Fold the other over the top of the first and keep folding alternatively until the paper is used up. Stick the 2 end together to fasten off the folds.

Fold the card in ½ and draw a dragons head on - cut out and stick to one end of the body. Attach a tail and stick on the 2 straws to the back and front of the dragon to work the puppet

Chopsticks

Cut up some chocolate or have some Polos (check for allergies before choosing the sweets)

Let the Beavers in relays try to pick up the sweets with chopsticks.

Shuttlecock

This game has been played for centuries in China  

You may not have enough rackets - so let the Beavers make some out of card and bat the shuttlecocks about!