beavers

R E T N I W

TIPS

rs Scout Leade r e v a e B r ine fo The magauzgust/September 2010 A

Sail away

Build a boat

Party time

Be prepared for Beaver Scouting’s 25th birthday

L L A T G N I D N A T S un day f t s e n n u f in’s rita B t a s r e v a e B

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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: programme@scouts.org.uk Tel: 0845 300 1818 Published by: The Scout Association, Gilwell Park, Bury Road Chingford, London E4 7QW Contributions to: scouting.magazine@scouts.org.uk This issue’s contributors: Maggie Bleksley Ruth Hubbard Andy Melia Emma Wood ADVERTISING Richard Ellacott richard.ellacott@thinkpublishing.co.uk Tel: 020 8962 1258

What you’ve been up to over the last few months: Beavers and Cubs plus two Young erick Leaders from Richmond and Catt Garrison joined with Beavers and Cubs from Swaledale, Brompton g Northallerton and Houghton-le-Sprin ing to make up 50 young people sleep between the engines at the National June.

Railway Museum Locomotion in

INTRO

Anniversaries & adventures Jenny Winn introduces your latest issue of the Beaver suppplement

I hope that you and your Beaver Scouts have enjoyed taking part in different adventurous activities over the summer. Earlier in the summer the Gilwell Park Beaver and Cub Fundays were held. Over the two days some 8,000 young people enjoyed a variety of activities. Turn to page 12 for some great photos.

Did you take part in a Big Adventure event over the summer? If so, share your stories with us at www.scouts.org.uk/thebigadventure. We’d love to hear from parents who have joined Scouting following a Big Adventure event.

Being prepared for winter The nights are still long but don’t get caught out by the change in seasons.

Andy Melia has some suggestions for winter activities to help prepare your Beaver Scouts for next summer while still having fun.

Birthday Beavers Next year marks 25 years since Beaver Scouts became a formal section of The Scout Association. To help you prepare for this celebratory year, Maggie Bleksley has some programme ideas based around life in 1986. And our programme on a plate uses celebrations as a theme. And if that’s not enough, start thinking of programme ideas around the number 25 or the colour silver.

New Occasional Helper forms We have made it easier for you to record helpers and parents. A new Occasional Helper form can be used to record your helpers on the membership database on www.scouts.org.uk and apply for CRB applications.

The Occasional Helper (OH) Form is designed for those who help on an informal basis, such as on a parent rota or on a camp or fun day.

Contents 4 Let’s go building Construction time for your Colony

8 Sail away Create a simple sailboat

10 POP A celebration-themed programme on a plate

12 Young adventurers Fundays in photos

14 Back to 1986 Take your Colony back in time to the beginnings of Beaver Scouting

16 Daring after dark Winter activities to keep the adventure in Scouting

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Let’s go building We all know that Beavers build dams, but what else can they knock together? By Emma Wood

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f your local area is anything like mine, there are signs of building everywhere. Whether Beaver Scouts are coming across porches-inprogress, garage extensions, loft conversions or complete estates under construction, they will be well aware of the work going on around them. You can use the following activities to expand their knowledge, improve their skills, have some fun and (who knows?) maybe lay the foundations of some future careers. And if it’s bridges you fancy building, you could hold some of the activities below as joint events with the Cub Scouts, mixing the Beavers and Cubs up into small groups to help them get to know each other and work together.

Who lives here? you will need

• pictures of famous places. For example, Teletubby Hill, Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street or the Disney Palace.

The Beaver Scouts have to guess who lives in the pictured dwelling. Non-readers could have an answer sheet where they tick multiple choicestyle pictures of three possible residents.

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Observation book you will need

• a booklet you have made of your local area, containing photographs of a wide range of buildings.

Take the Beaver Scouts out for a walk around the neighbourhood in small groups with adults.

See if they can spot any of the buildings in their booklet and tick them off. Can they tell the difference between something built 100 years ago and something more recent? Do older buildings have more complex and fancy architecture than new buildings? Perhaps some houses used to be shops or pubs, or maybe a big old house is now lots of flats – chat about anything interesting you see along the way.

Beavers August/September 2010

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PROGRAMME IDEAS

Make your own bricks you will need

• modelling clay • chopped up hay or dried grass (from pet shops).

Bridge building you will need • straws • sticky tape.

In Lodges, Beaver Scouts have to build a self-supporting bridge, over a river you have drawn on lining paper, using the straws and the sticky tape.

1. Bricks are made using a mixture of clay and straw. Beaver Scouts can mix the above ingredients by hand to make miniature bricks.

They can then form them into brick shapes, perhaps carving them with plastic knives – can they get the dimple in the top to look like real bricks?

2. If the Beaver Scouts can make all their bricks the same then when they have dried they could be made into a wall, using Plaster of Paris as mortar.

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Lego wall you will need • Lego blocks • tennis balls.

1. In their Lodges, Beaver Scouts build as strong a wall as they can out of Lego pieces.

They may need advice on the correct way to build by alternating the bricks, rather than sticking one directly on top of the other.

2. When all walls are complete, they can take it in turns to throw tennis balls at the wall – how many does it take to knock each one down?

Pipeline you will need • straws • water • buckets • sticky tape.

1. In Lodges, the Beaver Scouts need to work together to make a watertight pipeline using straws. The ends of the straws can be pushed inside another, then sealed with sticky tape.

2. Test the pipelines by pouring water through them using a small funnel or a water-filled balloon or just possibly a leader with a mouthful of water. Which Lodge’s pipeline is the longest and/or most watertight?

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Simple circuit you will need • bell wire • torch bulbs • batteries (1.5V) • sticky tape.

1. Using the above items (rescue from cheap, old torches if possible) , show the Beaver Scouts how a simple circuit works. Attaching the wires with tape (and/or modelling clay) to the respective terminals of the bulb and batteries will show them how a circuit must be complete before it can conduct the electricity from one end of the battery (‘+’) to the other (‘-‘).

2. If you’re confident, you could introduce a simple switch (perhaps using a paper clip), to make it all come to life.

Demolition you will need • cardboard boxes • tennis balls.

1. Divide the Colony into two teams and build two towers at one end of the Headquarters, using a selection of cardboard boxes (I’ve used old video cassettes in the past).

2. Beaver Scouts then take it in turns to roll their tennis balls to demolish their wall.

Beavers August/September 2010

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Partners

Animal friendly

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n store, all Beavers and Cub Scouts will receive advice from trained advisers on how to care for pets responsibly to achieve part of their Animal Friend Activity Badge.

To obtain it, Beaver Scouts will learn how to care for small animals, fish or insects and the correct types, varieties and quantities of food to feed them.

They will also find out the right habitats for small animals, where they sleep and how to ensure they get the appropriate level of exercise.

Dogs, cats, gerbils, fish, birds and rabbits are all great pets that the Beavers can care for to gain the badge.

be

Pets at Home stores are offering local Beaver and Cub Scouts free workshops to help towards their Animal Care Badges

more info Pets at Home offers great products, tips and advice to keep your pet happy and healthy. From specialist pet food to toys and training aids, there is everything a pet owner could wish for and more. There are over 260 Pets at Home stores across the UK. To find your local one visit www.petsathome.com/storelocator

Men’s Activity Shorts Women’s Activity Shorts Ref Men’s 1006973R Women’s 1006992R Mens 26” and 28” £13 all other sizes £15 while stocks last.

Youth’s Activity Shorts Ref Youth’s 1006966R Girl’s 1006986R

£14 £11.50 while stocks last.

Adult Beaver Hoodie Ref 1022089R

£18.50

01903 766 921 Dinner Badge Ref 1027391

£1.25

Sale

Campfire Badge Ref 1027066

Sale

£1.25

Great savings in time for summer camps.

Save £5 on men’s and women’s activity shorts.

Sizes: Men’s 26”-46” waist Women’s 8-26

Great savings in time for summer camp. Save £2.50 on youth’s and girl’s activity shorts.

Sizes: Youths Age 5/6-9/10, Girls Age 9/10

Beaver Baseball Cap Ref 1025889

Beaver 15 Litre Daysack Ref 1016484

The cap is a really fun design and very popular with Beavers.

Size: Youths (adjustable)

Great for putting all your bits and pieces in for a day at camp is the Beavers 15 litre daysack. With reflective safety trims.

£5 These are sure to get hungry so why not get them this dinner badge for the poncho or blanket.

Size: 12.5cm x 11.5cm

The campfire badge will go on your Beaver’s blanket or poncho.

Size: 12.5cm x 11.5cm

Ever popular with leaders, the unisex Beaver Hoodie will keep you warm on cool evenings or days.

Sizes: S -XXL

£7.50

All profits go back into Scouting. The Scout Association Registered Charity number 306101 (England and Wales) and SC038437 (Scotland). www.scouts.org.uk/shop

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Sail away

ple sailboat sim is th te ea cr ly si ea n ca s er av Be you will need • colour pencils • glue.

Step 1

Go to www.scouts.org.uk/pol and download the Wind Boat template.

Produce a copy of this sheet for each Beaver Scout. If possible, produce the sheets on thin card.

Cut out the shape and crease the dotted lines.

Step 2

Design and colour the boat.

Cut line Fold line

Step 3

Add glue to the four tabs shown in the picture.

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Step 4

Fold along the crease lines and join the tabs to make the shape shown in the picture.

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MAKE AND DO

STEP 5 Fold along the crease lines to form the mast.

Add glue to the back of the three tabs shown in the picture.

STEP 6 Fix the mast onto the middle of the boat.

Place the boat on water and blow the sail to make the boat move.

Fun facts to share • Boats were first made over 9,000 years ago.

• The first boats are believed to be made from tree bark.

• Some boats have glass bottoms so that you can see fish and other sea life under the surface of the water.

• There are thousands of sunken boats at the bottom of the oceans and seas.

For more ideas and activity packs that come pre-cut and creased, complete with all the required accessories, go to www.clever-craft.com. You’ll be amazed what you can do! To receive a free sample pack, become a member on our website. Clever Craft was set by Andrew Harrold & Craig Bond, both Beaver Scout Leaders with 7th Sefton East (Melling).

Questions to ask • Can you name a type of boat?

• What would happen if there was a hole in the boat?

• What would happen if there was no sail on the boat?

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This issue’s theme is celebrations, compiled by Jenny Winn

POP

Activity/Game

Time

Z

Opening ceremony

5 mins

N

Activity: Make a personal carnival headdress

20 mins

C G

Game: Beaver tail

10 mins

F

Game: Bang on a drum

15 mins

C G

Game: Chocolate party

15 mins

C

Closing ceremony

5 mins

Programmes on a plate

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Zone

Method

Instructions

N/A

Follow themes

Introduce the theme for the evening. Talk about celebrations and Beaver Scouting’s 25th birthday.

Community/ Global

Make things

You will need: assorted scrap paper, clear sticky tape, felt-tipped pens, glitter, glue, paint, scissors, card, boxes, staplers, newspaper, junk modelling materials.

• Make a basic headdress from two sheets of card stapled together to fit onto each Beaver Scout’s head.

• Stick anything they like on to the headdress that shows off their personality.

• If some have heavier additions they might like to use a box rather than card for extra strength.

• Hold a carnival parade to show off their creations

Fitness

Play games

You will need: scarves.

• Beaver Scouts tuck their scarf into the back of their trousers (as though they have a long tail).

• They run around trying to grab the tails of the others whilst trying not to get their own tail grabbed.

• Those that get their tails caught tie their scarf around their heads in a pirate bandanna style and continue to try and catch the other tails until one or two are left as the winners.

Community/ Global

Act, sing, make music/ Make things

You will need: Items to make noise, such as lids, tins, screwdrivers, spoons, plastic dustbins, whistles and/or kazoos.

• Experiment with different kinds of materials to see what you can do.

• Get your carnival band to bang out a rhythm – clap it first with them and then try it on various ‘instruments’.

• Try a number of different variations before letting them ‘compose’ in teams.

• Now hold a grand carnival band session and if it’s still not noisy enough add some kazoos and whistles.

Community

Play games

You will need: large bar of chocolate, scarf, hat, gloves, knife and fork, plate, dice, table.

• Divide into two or more teams (teams could be named after chocolate bars or companies which sell chocolate).

• A member of the first team throws the dice, then one from the second team, and so on. The first person to throw a six rushes up to the chocolate table, gets dressed in all the kit and tries to cut up the chocolate and eat it before another person throws a six. It could be someone in his or her team or in another team.

• Once someone else has thrown a six, the first person must take off the clothes and return to their team.

• When they get a six, team members may give their go to a member of their team who has not yet thrown a six or has had fewer than the other team members.

• The game finishes when the chocolate is gone.

N/A

Follow themes

Hand out headdresses.

Faith and awareness events October/November October Black History Month World Blindness Awareness Month 1 Simchat Torah (Jewish) 4 World Animal Day 10 World Mental Health Day 16 Child Poverty Day 20 Birth of the Bab (Baha’i)

22 Pavarana/Sangha Day (Buddhist) 31 Hallowe’en

November 1 All Saints Day (Christian) 5 Kathina Day (Buddhist) 12 Birth of Baha’u’llah (Baha’i) 14 Remembrance Sunday (UK) 14 World Diabetes Day 15 Anti-bullying week begins

16 Eid Al-Addha/The festival of Sacrifice (Muslim) 20 Universal Children’s Day 16 International Day for Tolerance 21 Birthday of GuruNanak (Sikh) 24 M artyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur (Sikh) 25 Thanksgiving Day (USA) 28 First Sunday of Advent (Christian)

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

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Young adventurers d lots of skills and crafts With over 20 different activities an lived up to its name. to try, Fundays was an event that le and leaders for a It attracted over 8,000 young peop way at Gilwell Park weekend of non-stop fun all the

Can’t stop now, I’m having such a good time. One of the aerial runways in action.

Playing table football has a whole new meaning when played on grass, and it’s just as competitive.

12 Beavers August/September 2010

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FUNDAYS

Teamwork comes into force when building and floating your own rafts. Even more fun and excitement when you race them.

Skills of all kinds are encouraged and there’s never a shortage of volunteers to try something new. Just turn up and give it a go.

These Beavers thought it was an ‘owling success as they got close to a real barn owl.

Excess energy doesn’t go to waste with a variety of activities for all to join in.

Book Fundays 2011 Start planning your visit to Fundays 2011 to make sure Getting to know you in the spirit of Fundays.

A great way for Beavers and Cubs to meet and make friends in a great atmosphere.

your Colony doesn’t miss out on the best weekend in the calendar. www.scouts.org.uk/fundays

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Back to 1986 ant st di e th in d de un fo as w ts ou Sc Beaver a trip days of 1986. Take your Colony on y back in time with Maggie Bleksle

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ere there really no laptops or Playstations, no pocket-sized mobile phones and only four channels on the telly? How on earth did we communicate – and what was there for children to do?

These big-hair days may seem civilised enough if you were there, but for a seven year-old Beaver Scout, it might all appear pretty primitive.

Fun dial you will need • white and coloured card • paper fasteners • punches • templates of a phone shape and a dial • scissors • pencils.

Snail mail When did you last receive a handwritten letter in the post?

1. Why not get together with another Beaver Colony, either in your District or further afield, and exchange newsletters by Royal Mail? These could include drawings and photos of your activities, so all Beavers can contribute something.

2. These days we rarely see those interesting and brightly-coloured stamps from all over the world. Find out if anybody in your Colony has any interesting stamps they could bring in. Can the Beavers guess which countries they come from? Ask the Beavers to design a stamp of their own for an activity.

See Programmes Online (in the member section of scouts.org.uk) for more about using the post. (Type in ‘post’ in the activity box.)

1. Photocopy and enlarge the template. Cut out the phone shape using coloured card, and the circle from white card.

2. Help the Beavers to punch ten holes around the edge of the circle, then attach with a paper fastener through the centre onto the phone.

3. Let the Beavers stick a pen into one of the holes and whizz the dial around. What happens to the circle of holes? If you have an extra large punch, they can make holes big enough to write numbers inside and dial with their fingers. Can they dial their home phone numbers?

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back to 1986

Negative pictures Before digital cameras, most of us had to take our negative films to the chemist to be developed. Try this to give the Beavers a taste of how the negatives might have looked.

you will need • black and white paper • crayons or coloured pencils (including several white ones) • an illustration of the colour spectrum. A simple wheel with the six basic colours is best.

1. Show the Beavers a picture of the colour spectrum, explaining how complementary colours are placed opposite one another. They may already be aware that black and white are opposites.

2. Ask them to do a simple, colourful drawing on the white paper.

3. Now let them try copying the drawing onto black paper, using the reverse colours on the spectrum.

Transformers Transformers were a craze the first time round in the mid-eighties. A few skilful twists could turn a plastic truck into a robot man and back again.

The leader calls out ‘robot’, ‘car’ or any other object you can think of and the Beavers imitate it until another instruction is called, whereupon they must change shape. As robots, they might walk stiffly around the room; for a car, they can get down on their hands and knees and make car noises. Other shapes could be a ball, a kangaroo, a giraffe or a plane.

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Daring after dark

ean the end of Autumn evenings don’t have to m Scouts. By Andy Melia er av Be r fo es iti tiv ac s ou ur nt ve ad

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wınter actıvıtıes

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t’s amazing how many people in Scouting tend to sink into a deep gloom of seasonal depression as winter draws near. The colder months can seem like a sort of prison sentence, restricting Beaver Scout Leaders and their Colony to their meeting place, where they are limited to games and crafts and a feeling that adventurous activities are off the menu now until spring.

Thankfully, that’s not the case at all. Being inside for a little while is the perfect opportunity to begin preparing your Beaver Scouts for all the fun that lies ahead next summer. It is often forgotten that taking part in activities requires preparation, and the winter months are the ideal time to give your Beavers a chance to prepare themselves and begin to experience outdoor activities in a scaled-down way.

That doesn’t necessarily mean asking them to crawl up a ladder in lieu of climbing, or trying to approximate kayaking by sticking a chair in a paddling pool, but you can start thinking about the adventurous activities that you are going to organise next summer, and how you might introduce your young people to them.

Head for heights Climbing is an ideal starting point. There are many aspects to this activity, from safety and equipment to the simple concept of height (and fear of it). Some Beavers will never have attempted to climb before, and others may be scared of heights. Exploring this through activities such as a competition within your Colony to build the highest tower out of various materials, or arranging to visit a local tall building like an office block or church tower, can help Beavers to become more comfortable with the idea of climbing.

At the same time, from a leader’s point of view, it can begin to inform you of the different reactions you might expect from different members of your Beaver Colony, which will help you to plan for activities in the future.

In a similar way, you can explore ‘traditional’

Scouting skills such as map-reading from the comfort of your meeting place. Many Beavers will be unfamiliar with the rudiments of map-reading, and learning about your local area is a good way to start.

Asking your Beavers to think about places and objects in the world around them, either at home or at your meeting place, and developing a large map of the locality, will begin to give Beavers an understanding of how maps work. Try taking a walk using the map you’ve made, either during your normal meeting time or at the weekend. You could also show the Colony a different map of the local area and compare the two.

Ask the experts For a little variation, you could ask around your District or County for people with experience and interest in outdoor activities to come and talk to your Beavers about what they do. These could be professionals or just keen amateurs. Taking this a step further, you could even look into arranging a visit from a local emergency service involved in some of these activities, such as lifeboat crews or mountain rescue teams. Combining the ‘exciting’ side of their work with learning about the service in general can be a good way of developing awareness of safety and community, and provide an interesting new aspect to adventurous activities.

Bite-sized adventure Taking outdoor activities and breaking them down into components you can work on in your meeting place is a key way of keeping your young people interested in the ‘wild’ aspects of Scouting throughout autumn and winter. At the same time, it can help to build anticipation for the days when the weather is warmer and you can get outside. So don’t let the winter months confine you. They can provide the perfect first step to introduce your Beaver Scouts to adventurous activities in bite-size form.

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Ruth Hubbard shares why winter means more adventure for everyone.

For many, summer is the time to be outside, but why? The summer is glorious, but the winter can be just as much fun: all the greatest campfires are in the dark; a wide game is best on a really dark night; a glow stick trail will not work in daylight; sitting under a tarp listening to the patter of rain is hugely exciting to any child; and, how can you look for animal tracks unless the ground is soft or covered in snow? If your meeting lasts an hour or so, does it really matter if they go home a little damp? All you need are the three w’s – wellies, waterproofs and a woolly hat.

Canvas in the cold If you are lucky, your meeting place will have an outdoor area so you will be able to pop in and out at will. Almost all Colonies, however, will have access to a wood, common, park or large garden.

Admittedly, if it is lashing down with rain it is handy to have somewhere dry-ish to go for a warm drink; it could be under a tarp or even a couple of open-fronted fishing shelters which fold up to almost nothing and take no know-how to erect. It

could even be golfing umbrellas or a stand of dense trees. The ultimate secret weapon for all-weather outdoor activity is, however, a lavvu.

A wigwam-style tent, lavvu are used by the Sami of Lapland. It is lightweight, can be pitched by one person in ten minutes, is designed to have a campfire burning in the middle and is the queen of group sleeping tents. Twenty-four Beavers and four leaders can sit round a campfire in a tent weighing under 8kgs. They are not easy to find but are imported by Truenorth Outdoor www.truenorthoutdoor.co.uk

Imagination and waterproofs In an age when many children spend much of their time at home indoors (watching telly, playing computer games or doing homework) and their playtimes at school closeted inside if it is wet or icy, putting the ‘Out in Scout’ is more important than ever. Bushcraft is not just for the older sections – Beavers can make fire with flints, cook on fires, follow trails, find animal tracks and sign, tie knots, play wide games - all it takes is imagination, a sense of humour and a decent set of waterproofs.

Programme ideas at your fingertips There are a whole host of activities to do throughout the winter months, both inside and out. A key place to look for them is Programmes Online, the database of activities and programme ideas www.scouts.org.uk/pol 18 Beavers

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