Beaver Scouts : Programme Ideas

compass Choose one activity from the following list to complete the challenge.

My Friends
Purpose: Beaver Scouts learn to work together as a team.

Part 1: Find your Partner
Cut out two of the following shapes in four different colours: circles, rectangles, triangles and so on. Smaller Colonies/Teams should reduce the number of colours, making sure each Beaver Scout has a shape. Place the shapes on the floor and play some music (Why not play music associated with either your own tradition or different traditions within your community that Beaver Scouts would be familiar with?). When the music stops each person must find another person who has the same shape. Next time round try the following:

? Find a Beaver Scout with the same colour;
? Find a Beaver Scout with the same shape and colour;
? Find all the Beaver Scouts with the same colour;
? Find all the Beaver Scouts with the same shape.

Treasure Trail
Organise a Colony/Team Treasure Trail. This can be run either while the Colony/Team is out on a nature walk in the woods or somewhere around the den/Scout hall. Beaver Scouts work in lodges to find the hidden treasure.

Once the Beaver Scouts have found the treasure, sit them all down in a circle. Explain to them that they are not allowed to talk unless they are holding the magic object (a spoon, cup, book, stick or log). Each Beaver Scout should try and finish the sentence ?I liked playing this game because ...... Remember they are not allowed to talk unless they are holding the magic object.
Finish the activity by explaining that in the ?Shapes? game the Beaver Scouts were working by themselves, whereas in the Treasure Trail they were part of a team. It is good to be part of a team because Beaver Scouts can make friends through sharing in activities.

Neat And Tidy
Purpose: Beaver Scouts learn to take pride in their appearance and work together as a team.

Part 1:
Draw a chart with all the Beaver Scouts names on it. Set up a star award system, for example:
Gold star for the Beaver Scout who has made a personal effort to look well;
Silver star for the Beaver Scout who has made a good effort to look well;
Coloured star for the Beaver Scout who has made some effort but needs to improve.
Decide how long this activity should run. At the end, award all the Beaver Scouts with the ?Tidiest Beaver Scout? certificate. This is not a competition, it is to encourage young people to take an interest in their appearance and be clean and tidy. Leaders will appreciate that untidy uniforms will not necessarily be the fault of the child.

Part 2:
Group activity. Take part in a local Church service, for example the Beaver Scouts could sing a hymn, decorate the Church for a special occasion, or simply sit together for a children?s service. Before the service, explain to them that their uniforms and appearance should be clean and tidy. Other people at the event will notice Beaver Scouts wearing their uniform smartly as a group.

Trace the Past
Visit a local graveyard (the older the better). Give your Beaver Scouts a chunky crayon and some paper and ask them to trace some of the inscriptions from the old gravestones. Explain that people live longer today due to better medical care (doctors, hospitals etc.). Also many people died during wars and famines. Ask your Beaver Scouts to try and find a gravestone linked with some of these times in history (1700s or 1800s) and to try and find the oldest gravestone. Background work will need to be done by the leader, such as informing the Church that you intend to visit the graveyard. Remember to encourage the Beaver Scouts to show respect in the graveyard

Traditional Games
Purpose: Beaver Scouts explore the things they enjoy doing. Try to play some street games of yesteryear that you rarely see nowadays? Leaders may even remember some of them.

What?s the time Mr Wolf
Mr Wolf walks away and the rest of the Colony/Team follow him saying ?What?s the time Mr Wolf.? Mr Wolf answers with any time that he wishes. This continues until Mr Wolf says ?Dinner time?. At this, Mr Wolf chases everyone back to the start. The person he catches or the last one home is the next Mr Wolf.

Piggy in the Middle
A simple game for three. Two Beaver Scouts stand a few metres apart while the ?piggy? stands in the middle. The two players throw the ball to each other and the piggy tries to catch it. Once s/he catches it, s/he changes places with the thrower. If a thrower drops the ball, s/he becomes the piggy.

Red Rover all Over
The more players the better. Everyone lines up on one wall of the room with one player standing in the middle. When s/he shouts ?Red Rover all over?, everyone runs to the other side while s/he tries to ?tag? as many people as s/he can. Anyone who is tagged, joins the player in the middle. This continues until there is only one Beaver Scout left who is the winner.

Sticky Toffee
This is a simple tag game. Choose someone to be?on?. This person then chases everyone else trying to tag them. When someone is caught they hold hands and both try to catch the other players. The game continues until everyone is in one long chain. The last player caught is ?on? for the next game. Talk with your Beaver Scouts about the similarities and differences of games that they play at the Colony/ Team meeting or at home.

Beaver Scouts : Programme Ideas

In this Section