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rs Scout Leade r e v a e B r ine fo The magazebruary/March 2009 F

I promise to be kind and helpful...

Help your Beaver Scouts fulfil their Promise

N U F Y L I FAM amily f e l o h w e h Get t etings me r u o y n i d e involv

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Going bananas

Why Beavers are choosing carrots over cake

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Beaver Scout Team: Karen Jameson (UK Adviser for Beaver Scouts) Jenny Winn (Programme and Development Adviser for Beaver Scouts) Contact them at: beaver.scout@scout.org.uk Tel: 0845 300 1818 Published by: The Scout Association, Gilwell House, Gilwell Park, Chingford, London E4 7QW Contributions to: scouting.magazine@scout.org.uk This issue’s contributors: Maggie Bleksley Alison Chapman Charlie Dale Karen Jameson Emma Wood ADVERTISING Tom Fountain tom@thinkpublishing.co.uk Tel: 020 8962 1258

What you’ve been up to over the last few months: ded 1st Westhill Redwood Beavers deci s stma Chri l usua r thei out to go with gifts from the Colony and use the to money to help others. They voted and a send two taps, some school books n. goat to Africa through World Visio

INTRO

It’s all about teamwork This issue we focus on working with others. For Beaver Scouts, this is a part of their Scouting life, and it should be for leaders as well, writes Karen Jameson Beaver Scout Leaders work closely with other adults and the Young Leaders in the section, Group and District to plan and deliver the Balanced Programme.

We also depend on the co-operation with parents/guardians to assist in the support and running of the Colony. From delivery and collection of their children to the meeting place, to being part of the parent rota or helping out at camp, they are a big part of the smooth running of Scouting.

Whatever the reason you have for working with others, it’s important to remember to be considerate of other people’s needs; after all, we can’t be right all of the time.

The Big Adventure This year, we want you to take part in The Big Adventure. It’s a chance to turn your summer camp or fun day into an opportunity to recruit more parents and help us grow Cub Scouting. See page 18 of the main magazine.

field Beaver Colonies from Sutton Cold an had t Wes field Cold on Sutt and East a had they n whe exciting sleepover ’ at ‘night at the Think Tank Museum am. ingh Birm in t Poin m Milleniu

Chief Scout’s Award certificate templates

1st Arlesey Scout Group recruited eleven new adult volunteers in one s evening. They set up a brilliant serie er Beav the for nts rime expe of science part.

Scouts and invited parents to take . easy that It was

In March, our youth sites will be retired in their current form. In the meantime, consultation and review with volunteers, parents and of course young people is taking place to determine the best sort of provision for our youth members online. Email your thoughts and ideas to web.team@scout.org.uk Basic badge requirements and programme descriptions will still be available at www.scouts.org.uk/beavers

You can now download a template to print names and date in the right place. www.scoutbase.org.uk/6to25/beaver/resources/certs.htm

Youth sites review

Contents 4 Happy families How to get parents onboard

8 Make and do Create a Roman feast

10 POP A bookish programme on a plate

12 A helping hand

14 Behind the hot wheels On your marks for the Creative Challenge

15 Beavers go bananas for healthy eating Why Beavers are choosing carrots over cakes

17 Eco-Beavers A new activity to save Planet Earth

18 The back burner Get up and go with our meeting sparklers

19 Space invaders A new pack for young explorers

Activities with a good turn

scouts.org.uk/pol

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s e i l i m a f y p p Ha r Beaver Scouts discover families This issue, Emma Wood helps you

M

any Colonies use a parent rota system to complement the leadership team.

However, what’s the betting that the parents are never introduced to the Beavers at the start of the meeting? This can make the Beaver Scouts wonder who those strange people are and why they are there.

Spend a few minutes at the start of the meeting welcoming the parent (or granddad, elder brother etc) and ask them to say a little bit about themselves: who they are related to in the Colony; what their hobbies are; what they do at work or at home; what their favourite films are, and so on. Pre-warn the visitors so they aren’t taken by surprise. By simply doing this you will be surprised at how much more a part of your team the parents will feel and who knows – they may be a new leader-in-waiting!

Family trees Talk with the Beaver Scouts about family trees. Perhaps you could show them a simple family tree of your family or the royal family to illustrate what you are talking about.

Perhaps your Colony, or each Lodge, could use magazine pictures or internet-sourced pictures to create their own version of the royal family tree.

Visit www.britroyals.com/royalfamily.htm for a royal family tree

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Scouting family tree This is a great way to show how the family of Scouting fits together. Start with the Beaver Scout Colony, then the Cub Scout Pack, Scout Troop, Explorer Scout Unit, Leaders, Administrators, Scout Network, District, County/Area/Region and so on. Use pictures from the Group or from Scouting magazine to illustrate it. This will help the Beaver Scouts to plan their Scouting life and show the exciting things they can look forward to. Do they know anyone in any other sections? Are any of their relatives involved in Scouting?

Personal family tree Ask Beaver Scouts to bring in pictures of members of their family and stick them on their family tree. If they know the names, they could add them. For simplicity’s sake, they can restrict it to their siblings, parents/carers and grandparents. Be aware that some Beaver Scouts’ families may be more complex than you might assume. Also, be sensitive to any current family upheavals, separations or bereavements that you may be aware of.

Beavers February/March 2009

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programme 覺deas

Planting a tree Trees represent life. As a Colony, plant a Scouting family tree, either in the grounds of your meeting place or ask the local council for a suitable public location. Perhaps a local sheltered housing building has grounds in which you could plant it. Maybe your local school, university or hospital has somewhere you could plant your tree (or trees).

This is a great opportunity for publicity in the local media, especially if you can get the mayor to turn up and join in the planting.

Beaver family quiz night Hold a family quiz night for the families of your Beaver Scouts. It can be a low-key affair and appropriate for families of all ages and however tenuously related! You could organise a barbecue or chilli cookout, or send out for fish and chips, curry or similar. Have prizes for the first, second and third places. Make the questions suitable for all ages.

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Make a family photo frameet you will need

• two sheets of A5 card per Beaver Scout.

• camera or family photographs to be brought in by Beaver Scouts.

1. Provide each Beaver Scout with two sheets of A5 card. One sheet has the centre cut out so that a standard sized photograph can be placed under it.

2. Glue three sides of the frame to the back card.

3. Beaver Scouts decorate the border with felt-tipped pens, sequins etc, or for a rustic feel, dried twigs and leaves.

4. Take their photo and slot it into the frame, or ask them to bring a family picture in.

Colony family treelet you will need

• photograph of each Beaver Scout • card • PVA glue • multi-branched stick from a dead tree • string, hole punch, tub, water, spoon • plaster of paris or cement.

1. Before the meeting, the leader mixes up the plaster of paris in the tub and inserts the branch into it. Allow to dry.

2. Give each Beaver Scout their photograph and a piece of card. Beaver Scouts glue the photograph to the card and using the hole punch make a hole in the top. Attach a piece of string.

3. Hang the photographs onto the branches.

This could be put up on display in the meeting place.

4. If a real tree is not appropriate, draw a huge picture of a tree on poster paper and add their pictures and names to it.

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The Big Adventure Now’s the time to start planning for your Big Adventure event. Remember, if camping Beaver Scouts must camp in tents with their parents/ carers. You should also be prepared to loan out equipment as few would have their own tents or even sleeping bags. Leaders simply organise a range of simple activities to keep everyone occupied, and families can either cook for themselves or, if you have the facilities and support, you could arrange central cooking, possibly with a barbecue.

Each family can be asked to bring cakes and barbecue food, to help ease the burden and cost, and take a role in the cooking.

Here’s a selection of activity bases, suitable for all ages, which you could include and which families wander around and participate in as they wish: • Biscuit making • Backwoods cooking • Trail through the woods • Polystyrene gliders • Obstacle course • Driving course with radio controlled cars • T-shirt decorating • Water pistol/spud gun shooting • Coconut shy Other activities which go down well include: • Campfire • Medieval banquet • Treasure hunt • Scavenger hunt • Wide games • Four-goal soccer match • Barbecue • Fish and chip supper • Film show • Family quiz.

Turn to your free Big Adventure booklet, that came with this issue of the magazine for tips on turning your parents into volunteers.

Visit www.scouts.org.uk/thebigadventure

Beavers February/March 2009

All profi

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PROGRAMME IDEAS

Family ramble

Happy familieset you will need

• sets of five cards with Beaver Scout, Cub Scout, Scout, Explorer Scout, or leader written on.

1. Shuffle the cards and hand them out, one per player (leaders and helpers can join in to make up the numbers).

2. On the word ‘go’, players must try to find the other five members of their Scouting Happy Family.

3. Complete families should sit on the floor in a straight line, in the correct order.

4. Repeat a few times after collecting the cards and redistributing them.

.

3

3#/54 3(/03

%15)00%$ &/2 !$6%.452%

scouts.org.uk/shop 01903 766 921 Beaver Baseball Cap Item code: 1025889

£5 A 100% cotton navy baseball cap for Beavers. Helps protect against exposure to direct sunlight.

- New multi coloured peak (not shown) - Sizes: available in children’s sizing

This could be for just the Beaver Scouts and their families, but you could include the whole Group. Find a good local route that is no more than about two miles. Walk the route in advance yourself to get your timings accurate and use this practice to set quiz questions along the way. You could also set challenges along the way, such as ‘first three people to bring me a horse chestnut each win a sweet’.

Like this?

Visit www.scouts.org.uk/pol and search ‘nature detectives’

New Scout Waterproof Jacket

Item codes: 1026568R (men’s) and 1026574R (ladies)

£38 (with branding) £35 (without branding) The new branded waterproof is an ideal garment for a range of Scouting activities.

Features: - Concealed hood with adjuster - Velcro adjustable cuffs - 2 zipped lower and 1 chest pocket - Internal mobile phone pocket - Adjustable shockcord hem, hood and waist.

- Interactive - Shaped fit - Durable Isotex coated taslan waterproof, breathable and windproof.

Colour: Navy/Seal Grey Sizes: Men’s: S-XXXL Women’s: 10-20

All profits go back into Scouting. The Scout Association Registered Charity Numbers 306101 (England and Wales) and SCO38437 (Scotland).

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A feast for February at Charlie Dale rustles up a timely tre

F

ebruary sees St Valentines Day. There are numerous stories relating to the origin of the day, but one thing that is agreed upon is that nearly one billion greetings cards are sent worldwide to mark this day. This makes St Valentines Day the second biggest card sending festival in the western world, next to Christmas. There are many different traditions associated with the day besides sending cards and buying overpriced roses: • In Norfolk a character called ‘Jack Valentine’ leaves gifts of sweets to children at their back door.

• In Finland the name translates as ‘friends day’ and is more associated with remembering all your friends, rather than one special person.

• In the middle ages young men and women ‘wore their heart on their sleeves’ by pinning the name of a person they had picked from a bowl onto their sleeves.

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Beavers February/March 2009

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make and do

Make a meal of it Greetings cardlet you will need

• Thick paper or thin card • Pens, colouring pencils or crayons • A pair of scissors • Sticky tape.

1. The simplest form of folded card is a heart shape. If you’re unsure about the shape you’re aiming for, try looking at a pack of playing cards!

2. Take a square of card or paper and fold it in half, then while keeping the two halves together cut half a heart shape remembering to start at the fold. When you open the folded paper or card out you should see a full heart shape open up before your eyes.

3. The card can then be decorated, inside and out, just make sure to leave room for a short message and a space to say who the card is to!

A different form of card can be made by folding in a different way.

1. Start with a square of card or paper and find the middle, mark this with a very light pencil mark which you can rub out later.

2. One at a time take each corner of you piece of card or paper and fold it into the middle. If you do it right you should end up with a slightly smaller square.

3. This square can then be folded again, either by folding the corners into the middle again, or just by folding it in half. This will largely be determined by how thick your card or paper is, and how large a square you started with.

4. Decorate the card – the idea with the folding is that as the recipient unfolds each corner they should get a nice surprise, be it a picture, a word or phrase, or even a line of poetry. The more folds you make, the more surprises there will be.

Another commonly agreed thing is that the date of St Valentines Day originates in Roman times. Fourteenth February was the feast of Juno, Mother of the Roman Gods, and the following day was Lupercalia – a festival associated with fertility. Spring is not far away at this time of year, so the festival marked a time when people looked forward to the natural world coming back to life after the dark days of winter. So, this date would be marked with feasting, either using up the last of the winter supplies, or the first of the spring foods.

Some pointers on Roman dining: • The really posh Romans didn’t eat sitting at tables, they lay down on couches set around a lower table, about the height of a modern coffee table. Sometimes they lay on their sides, sometimes on their fronts.

• The most extravagant feasts had dozens of courses, and could last days.

• The Romans generally ate with their hands.

• There was often entertainment in the form of dancers, acrobats, musicians, singers, even conjurers or at the most expensive feasts, fighting gladiators!

Some things to decide: • Will everyone be posh Romans or will some be servants?

Even quite humble Romans often had a slave or two, who would cook and clean and serve the food and wine.

How about the leaders acting as servants?

• How will you dress? Again, the richest, most important male Romans wore a toga (the women wore a kind of tunic dress called a stola) The poorer people – male and female – just wore a kind of tunic dress often with a belt or chord.

• What food will you serve? Will you go for a Roman menu or something a little more modern? It’s best to serve food you can hold with your fingers, especially if you choose to lie down to eat.

• Will you have some entertainment during your meal?

All that is required would be a portable music system to play some appropriate music. Alternatively, each Lodge could take it in turns to entertain the other Beavers, perhaps with a campfire sketch? For campfire songs, visit www.scouts.org.uk/pol and search ‘campfire songs’.

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Red Nose Day ideas from Programmes Online

Ref

Activity name

39308

Red Nose Biscuits

39314

Chopstick Challenge

39038

Reflect

39021

Impersonate Leaders

This issue’s theme is books, written by Emma Wood

POP

Activity/Game

Time

Opening ceremony

5 mins

Activity: Story tellers

10 mins

Game: Match the character to the name

10 mins

Activity: Favourite books

20 mins

Game: Book balancing

10 mins

Activity: Draw a book cover for the Colony story

15 mins

Closing ceremony

5 mins

Programmes on a plate

Extras Visit a bookshop, after hours

Visit

Activity: Make a bookmark

15 mins

10 Beavers February/March 2009

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Z

Zone

Method

Instructions

N/A

Follow themes

Beaver Scouts should have been given plenty of time before the meeting to sort out their favourite book and come dressed as a book character.

Introduce the theme for the evening. Talk about books.

Creative

Follow themes

Think up an idea for a story, as a Colony. The leader could start (eg ‘Once upon a time there was a Beaver Scout called Chris who lived on the moon…’) and then the story continues around the circle.

Fitness

Play games

You will need: Pictures of book characters (eg Spot the Dog, Thomas the Tank Engine, Harry Potter, or Horrid Henry).

1. Beaver Scouts are in their Lodges, lined up. The character pictures are placed down the opposite end of the hall.

2. When the leader calls out the name of a character the first Beaver Scouts in each Lodge run and the first to collect the correct picture wins.

3. This continues until everyone has had at least one turn.

4. Try mixing it up with pictures of famous people.

Creative

Follow themes

You will need: Beaver Scouts to bring in their favourite book.

1. Taking it in turns, Beaver Scouts get to talk about their favourite book.

What characters do they like?

2. What type of book is it? Is it part of a series? Are there any pictures in it?

The Colony could have a vote for its favourite book.

3. What did they choose?

Fitness

Play games

You will need: A hard-backed book per Lodge.

1. Beaver Scouts line up down one end of the hall.

2. When the leader says ‘go’, the first Beaver Scout walks carefully to the other end the hall with the book balanced on their head. No hands allowed!

3. Once they have reached the opposite end, they take the book off their head and run back to their Lodge.

4. The next Beaver Scout does the same, until everyone has had a turn.

Creative

Follow themes

You will need: Paper, felt-tipped pens.

1. Each Beaver Scout designs a cover for the Colony story.

Beliefs and Attitudes

Follow themes

Hand out the covers.

Creative

Go on visits

The staff can talk about suitable books for Beaver Scout age children.

Creative

Follow themes

You will need: Card, felt-tipped pens and laminating machine (optional).

1. Beaver Scouts are given a thin piece of card to make into a bookmark.

2. Laminate these if possible.

For more great ideas visit www.scouts.org.uk/pol scouts.org.uk/pol 11

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A helping hand

y and the Promise With the advent of St George’s Da ind Beavers of ways in renewal, what better time to rem ul? which they can be kind and helpf

By Maggie Bleksley

Jigsaw relay you will need Helping those who are less able This could include the elderly, the very young, people with a disability or illness and so on.

Reminding young people about having a little consideration and showing that they care can make a lot of difference to these people’s lives.

Good turn mimes Each Beaver, in turn, mimes a way of helping a person who is less able and the others try to guess what it is. Beavers may need a few suggestions to start them off, but once pointed in the right direction, they will probably come up with more ideas. Examples could be: giving up your seat on the bus; picking up something an elderly person (or baby) has dropped; helping a blind person across the road and so on.

• three or four jigsaw puzzles with the same number of pieces, or make your own by cutting up large pictures. Old calendar pictures are ideal.

1. On each puzzle, mark the backs of the pieces with a different colour. Divide the Beavers into teams or Lodges with colours corresponding to the jigsaw pieces.

2. Place all the pieces, face down, in the centre of your meeting place.

3. On the word ‘go’, the first Beaver in each team runs up and grabs a piece with the correct colour and takes it back to their team.

4. Each Beaver does this in turn.

5. When they have collected all their team’s pieces, they turn them over and work together to make the picture.

6. The first team to finish is, of course, the winning one.

A similar game can be played using pieces of card with the words of the Beaver Promise, written in different coloured ink. The teams have to put the words in the correct order.

12 Beavers February/March 2009

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helpıng others

Helping at home This activity will help the Beavers on their way to achieving their Friendship Challenge (Caring for others).

Help this Beaver to find the way back to the Lodge. Each time you do a good turn, colour it in. If you do a different good turn, colour one of the blank sections.

Help wash up

Help to carry shop

r plants

Dusting

ut/bring

Hang o

dy

room

Wate

Ti

Give each Beaver a copy of the ‘trail’ to take home. Each time they complete a task, they colour in the appropriate section. A couple of sections have been left blank, to allow for each Beaver’s different circumstances, such as babies, pets, disabled family members.

pi

ng

Good turn Beaver trail

Lay

table or clear

Prepare

ing

in wash

y

r famil

ack fo

r sn drink o

Download the trail from www.scouts.org.uk/ pol Simply search ‘Beaver trail’

Fundraising Most Groups hold a fête or fair at least once a year to raise funds. Enlisting the Beavers’ help on your stall or sideshow is a great way of getting them involved. Half an hour each would give them plenty of time to enjoy the fun of the fair before or after. Children always enjoy doing this, as it makes them feel important. For best results, send home a form asking them to fill in what time they will be able to help. Of course, you don’t need to wait for the autumn fair. A lovely way of raising money for a good cause is to hold a bring-andbuy sale.

Special needs awareness How does it feel to be blind? Sometimes stepping into another person’s shoes can increase awareness of their need for help.

Blindfold maze First, chalk a simple, but fairly large maze on the floor, or outside the meeting place. If this is not permitted, use string or rope. Place a few cones or other obstacles at intervals. Beavers pair up and one Beaver in each pair is blindfolded. The sighted Beavers guide their blindfolded partners round the maze. To avoid a pile-up, leave a little time for each pair to get started! This is also a good exercise in communication. When they have finished, they swap positions and repeat the process.

Whom should we help?

As illustrated in the parable of the Good Samaritan, we should help anybody who needs assistance, regardless of who they are. Having said that, children should, of course, never try to help strangers without the guidance of an adult they know and trust.

Use towards Faith Activity Badge

Helping at meetings Last but not least, don’t forget that you deserve a little help when running your meetings. Instead of running around after a messy activity, Beavers can be kept occupied tidying up. With all hands on deck, you may even have time to squeeze in an extra game.

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creatıve badge

Behind the hot wheels and creative competitions Zoom into 2009 with super stunts

O

nce again it’s a busy year ahead for one of our key sponsors, Hot Wheels. Many thousands of you have already completed the Beaver Scout Creative Activity Badge and there are lots more exciting Hot Wheels competitions and activities for your Colony to get involved with this year.

The entries to the 2008 National Stunt Challenge competition were brilliant. We asked you to show us your Hot Wheels creations to be in with a chance to win a party packed with Hot Wheels excitement. Winners 1st Molesey Beaver Colony in East Molesey and the 1st Rodbourne Cheney Beaver Scout Colony in Swindon, received a visit from our team of experts. The two Colonies enjoyed an evening packed with fun and games and each of Beaver Scouts received a goody bag to remind them of the party.

This year’s activity will be themed around the excitement of motorsport and we’ll be setting up exclusive Beaver Scout events and competitions. Every Colony who is registered to participate in our 2009 activity programme will receive a goody bag, and be first to find out all the news on the Hot Wheels front!

To register your Colony please email ukpress.office@mattel.com Free activity packs Don’t forget to visit www.scouts.org.uk/hotwheels for your Beaver Scout Creative Activity Badge pack.

The pack brings to life the excitement of cars and every Colony that sends in a picture of their efforts to ukpress.office@mattel.com will receive a Hot Wheels certificate as well as the chance to win fantastic Hot Wheels toys.

14 Beavers February/March 2009

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HEALTHY EATING BADGE

Beavers go bananas for healthy eating

ower over e been choosing carrots and caulifl Beaver Scouts across the country hav Badge their Eat in Colour Healthy Eating g nin ear of ult res a as – es cak crisps and

T

he aim of the Healthy Eating Activity Badge is to keep kids happy and healthy by teaching them practical and fun ways to enjoy a balanced diet packed with lots of tasty fruit and veg. So far, over 30,000 Beaver Colonies have learnt how to make a fruit salad, healthy snacks, delicious sandwiches packed with healthy fillings and which unhealthy foods should be enjoyed in moderation.

Eat in Colour also gives great advice to Beaver Scouts on how to help out at home, like preparing simple things for tea or helping with the weekly shop. Eat in Colour Chairman Anthony Levy says: ‘The Eat in Colour Healthy Eating Badge gives us a chance to make a real difference to children across the UK. A lot of these kids don’t learn about a balanced diet until it’s too late and they’ve already developed bad eating habits. By helping these Beaver Scouts, we truly are changing lives.’

The Eat in Colour Campaign is looking for more Colonies who have earned (or are going to earn) their Eat in Colour Healthy Eating badge to take part in publicity. So if you’d like some help getting your Beaver Scouts into your local newspaper then email eatincolour@brayleino.co.uk or call Rachel on 0117 973 1173.

Publicity hungry The organisers of the Eat in Colour Campaign would especially like to thank those Colonies that have invited their local newspapers along, to write about and take photographs of them earning their badges. These include: • 2nd Nailsea Beavers (pictured) • 1st Woodford and 6th Bramhall (Methodist) Beaver Colony, Stockport • Purley Beaver Colony, Croydon • 1st Menai Bridge Beaver Colony, North West Wales • Peacehaven and Telscombe (Fox Colony) Beavers, East Sussex • Worthing Port Beaver Colony, West Sussex • 16th Epping Forest Beaver Colony, Loughton • Boston Beaver Colony, Lincolnshire • 1st Southgate Beaver Colony, West Sussex • 10th Bath Beaver Colony, Bath • 19th Plymouth Beaver Colony, Plymouth.

Free activity pack If you’d like to take part in the Eat in Colour Healthy Eating Activity Badge then log onto www.scouts.org. uk/healthyeating to get your free pack. scouts.org.uk/pol 15

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PROMOS AND RESOURCES

Eco-beavers y pack Brand new Imagination Badge activit d encourages Beavers to be eco-minde

K

ids TV channel Jetix, sponsor of the Beaver Scouts Imagination Activity Badge has recently launched a brand new activity pack which encourages Beavers to do their bit for Planet Earth in a fun and imaginative way.

Joined by a raft of fresh and popular characters, the pack looks set to spark Colony creativity and imagination across the UK. The D-Team from Dinosaur King and the Monster Buster Club crew will be asking Beaver Scouts to use the power of their imagination to complete a series of eco-themed tasks including creating a dinosaur themed draft excluder. The activities are intended to demonstrate that small but simple actions could help reduce our impact on the planet and protect it for the future.

The shows featured on the Imagination Activity Badge pack are some of Jetix’s most popular on the channel which showcase loads of exciting adventures and madcap tales, making them firm family favourites among viewers.

About the badge The badge aims to inspire Beaver Scouts by encouraging them to think about the environment and the world

around them. Beavers can get plenty of inspiration by visiting www.jetix.co.uk In addition, all Colonies who work towards the Imagination Badge will be in with a chance of winning some exclusive prizes by logging on to the dedicated Beaver Scout site at www.jetix.co.uk/beavers

Free activity pack To receive your FREE Jetix Imagination Badge pack visit www.scouts.org.uk/jetix

Jetix characters Dinosaur King follows the story of a young boy Max and his two best-friends Rex and Zoe as they travel the world hunting dinosaurs.

Monster Buster Club features the top secret missions of five youngsters on their quest to protect their town from alien invasion. Perfectly suited to the Beaver Scout age group, Dinosaur King and Monster Buster Club are colourful and cheeky animations.

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meetıng sparklers

The back burner Bored of the same old activities?

Go wild, says Alison Chapman

Go wild

Go fly a kite

Let your imagination run wild. Think of an activity that could be done safely in your area, but in a bizarre or off the wall way: • Play parachute games in the middle of a shopping centre.

• Hold a Colony meeting in an empty enclosure at the local zoo!

• Make a cup of tea in a police cell.

Hold a kite workshop, where Beaver Scouts can design, make and then fly their own kites.

Try different designs and then compare. Which ones work best; which ones are easiest to fly?

There is a simple kite design on Programmes Online.

Visit www.scouts.org.uk/pol and search ‘kite’.

Remember to watch out for overhead power lines.

Go on safari You could go on ‘safari’ by hiding pictures of animals in shop windows or around your meeting place and follow a trail and see how many the Beaver Scouts spot. The safari trail could follow clues that are written in code with some sort of treasure at the end.

Remember the appropriate adult to Beaver ratio.

What wildlife can be found around your meeting place? Gardens and parks are full of creatures; pick up any stone and you will find something underneath.

Look at ‘backyard beasties’ on www.scouts.org.uk/pol or visit www.wildlifewatch.org.uk, which has a special section for children and links to local trusts.

Go large Cover a wall with lining paper and produce a giant piece of art. Alternatively, give the Beaver Scouts squares of hardboard and some chalks and they can produce pavement drawings.

Whatever activity you decide upon don’t forget these activities are an ideal opportunity for the promotion of your group, so take photographs and let the press know what you are up to.

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promos and resources

s r e d a v n i e c a Sp Jet into a world of space exploration with the Leapster2 from LeapFrog

L

eapFrog Toys have teamed up with to produce a fantastic Space Explorers’ pack aimed at helping Beaver Scouts achieve their Explore and Experiment Activity Badges.

The information and activities in the pack has been developed by the space experts at the National Space Centre in Leicester.

There is content appropriate for you to build into your weekly meetings as well as content for Beavers to undertake at home with the help of their parents.

Many of the activities have also been developed to count towards earning their Explore and Experiment Badges.

Further activities and resources are available online at the National Space Centre website, www.spacecentre.co.uk/beaverscouts For more information on Leapster2 and the LeapFrog Learning Path visit www.leapfrog. com/leapster2 in the activity pack Fantastic space facts • Planet, star and comet profiles • What it’s like to live in space • How rockets work Amazing activities • Exploring the night sky • How plants grow in space • Building a balloon rocket Competition • Draw an alien and their home planet • Win one of 20 Leapster2 Gaming Systems and games • Win one of 20 family passes for the National Space Centre Money-off voucher • Exclusive voucher for £5 off Leapster2 at Toys R Us stores The pack is available to order now from www.scouts.org.uk/leapfrog but hurry as the competition closing date is 30 April 2009.

The Toys R Us money off voucher is valid until 30 September 2009.

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