|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
|
||||||||||||
 The focus of these pages is Beavers, the junior section of Scouts Canada. |
 |
Compiled by Kevin Jacomb, DBSL Fylde District Beavers, Lancashire, UK
Beaver under the Blanket Equipment: Blanket, whistle Beavers run round the room. Leader blows the whistle and all Beavers crouch down on the floor and close their eyes and tuck themselves into as small a bundle as they can. Leader covers one Beaver up with the blanket. Leader blows whistle. Beavers have to guess who is under the blanket. Point for the correct guesser.
Variations Bingo Equipment: 20 large pieces of square card, bag, small pieces of paper numbered & folded and placed in the bag Cut out 20 large pieces of square card and number them 1 to 20 (or however many Beavers you have). Lay them out randomly on the floor. Beavers walk round. Leader shouts "BINGO". Beavers each run and stand on a card - only one allowed per card. Someone else pulls out of the bag a number. Whatever number is called, that Beaver standing on the number is "out". Proceed until everyone is out.
Brown Stew Equipment: 1 chair per Beaver Form a circle with the chairs facing outwards. Each Beaver sits on a chair. The Leader gives each boy one of four names e.g., potato, carrot, onion or turnip. The Leader then tells a story. "It was a cold winter's night and I wanted to cook a nice hot meal ....." Each time the Leader says the hidden word for example, "potato", all the Beavers who are potatoes get up and run anti-clockwise round the circle and back to their own seat. If the Leaders says "Brown Stew", all the Beavers get up and run round.
Cat and Mouse Equipment: none Game layout:  The Beavers are positioned in lines, arm distance apart. (Position 1) Arms are outstretched. A Cat and Mouse are chosen. The Mouse sets off running up and down the lines, the Cat in hot pursuit. The Leader shouts "TURN SIDE" and the Beavers all turn, keeping arms outstretched. This alters the position and direction of the lines. (Position 2) The Cat and Mouse now have to alter course. The chase continues until the Mouse is caught. The Beavers in the maze are told to "TURN FRONT" or "TURN SIDE" at frequent intervals.
The Beavers initially find it confusing to position themselves in the lines as required. Some Beavers tend to run around the edges of the maze and have to be encouraged to run up and down. Instructions need to be precise and simple. Dragon's Tails Equipment: Strips of material for tails Strips of material are tucked in the back of the Beavers' waistband, hanging down like a tail. Two Beavers are appointed to chase the "dragons" and catch their tails. When the tails are taken, the "dragon" is "out". The game carries on until all "dragons" are caught. Guess a Minute Equipment: Watch, whistle Beavers run round the room. Leader blows the whistle and all Beavers crouch down on the floor and close their eyes and tuck themselves into as small a bundle as they can. They must not look at their own, or anyone else's, watch. When they think that a minute has passed since the Leader blew the whistle, they stand up quietly. When everyone has stood up (or when the Leader asks the remainder to stand) the Leader announces the name of the Beaver who correctly guessed the minute, or came closest to it.
Hit below the Knee Equipment: Sponge ball Chalk a circle on the floor. Beavers have to stay within the circle and avoid being hit below the knee by the Leaders who throw the sponge ball at their legs. When they are hit, or they step outside the circle, they are out. The last Beaver in wins. Variation Hunt the Woggle Equipment: Woggle threaded on a very large circle of string (large enough for all the Beavers to hold it side-by-side in a large circle) The Beavers stand in a circle facing inwards, holding the circle of string in each hand. One Beaver is chosen by the Leader and goes and stands in the middle of the circle, and is told to close his eyes. The woggle is then moved around the string from Beaver to Beaver. As each Beaver gets the woggle passed to him, he hides it under one of his hands, passes it to under his other hand, then to the next Beaver. After a few seconds, the Beaver in the middle is told to start looking and he has to try and identify who has the woggle as it is continuously passed around the circle. Each Beaver tries to make out he has it by clenching his fists and seeming to be passing it. When the Beaver in the middle has guessed correctly - or has guessed enough times - he changes places with the Beaver who has the woggle. In the Pond / Riverbanks A large circle is chalked on the floor. The inside is the Pond, the outside the Bank. If the Leader calls out "In the Pond", the Beavers have to jump into the middle, provided they are outside the circle. If they are already inside and they move, they are ‘out’. If he shouts "On the Bank", they have to jump outside the circle, provided they are already inside. If they are already outside and they move, they are ‘out’. The Leader will try to catch them out by calling "On the Pond" or "In the Bank", in which case any Beaver who moves is ‘out’. The last Beaver wins. The last 1 (or 2) Beavers to do the correct action is ‘out’, as is anyone taking too long to move.
Knock-Out Skittles Equipment: 2 chairs, 2 sponge footballs, 5 skittles (bought ones or pop bottles in different colours) Game layout:
Split the Colony into 2 teams. Put a team at each end of the room behind the chair. A ball is placed on the chair. When the game starts, a Beaver climbs onto the chair and throws the ball towards the skittles to try to knock one down. Whether they knock one down or not, they must jump down and retrieve the ball to pass to the next Beaver who should be waiting on the chair for their return. The Beaver who has just had his go then joins the back of his team. The Beavers get as many turns as it takes to complete the game. The game is completed when one team has knocked down 3 skittles. Variation Equipment: 2 chairs, 2 beanbags, 1 skittle Game layout:
2 lines of Beavers, each numbered off the same so that Number 1 in each team is opposite the last Number in the other team. Each team is told which chair belongs to them. The Leader calls out a number and the two Beavers with that number run to their chair, stand on it and throw a beanbag at the skittle to knock it down. They retrieve it if they miss and try again. Play for fun or for points. Ladders Equipment: none Game layout:  The Beavers sit in pairs on the floor facing each other with their feet touching. They form the rungs of a ladder. Each pair is numbered off from one end. The Leader calls a number and the Beavers with that number have to get up and carefully step over the rungs of the ladder (i.e., other Beavers’ legs), touch the wall, run down the outside of the ladder (on their own side) to the top and then down the ladder to their places. It is a race between the pair; the first one back in his place wins. Variations: Story Ladders Equipment: Story book Each pair is given a character / part in a story. The Leader reads out the story and every time a pair hears their part mentioned they race as outlined above.
Variation
Link-Up Tag Equipment: none As a Beaver is touched they join hands and chase the remainder until everyone is caught. Lucky Number Dice Game Equipment: Chalk, whistle, dice Number 6 bases around the room. Beavers run around - Leader has back to room. Leader blows whistle and the Beavers then have to choose which number (base) they want to stay at. When they have all decided, the Leader turns around and throws the dice. Whichever number the dice lands on - whoever is on that base is "out". The game continues until the last man is "out". Variations: Mr. Sit and Mr. Stand Equipment: Story sheet The Beavers do the actions - sit, stand, lie - when they hear those words mentioned. Ideal for a 2 minute gap-filler. It helps to improve their listening powers. ‘Mr. Sit and Mr. Stand were friends who could face almost any situation with complete understanding. Mr. Sit was invited to stand as parliamentary candidate for Sittingbourne and his friend Mr. Stand viewed the situation with considerable understanding. As Mr. Sit said, "If I stand for Sittingbourne, it is on the understanding that, if elected, I shall sit in the House". Mr. Stand said, "If you wish to sit in the House, I will not stand in your way in order that you can stand for Sittingbourne. I quite understand the situation and that is no lie" After the election, Mr. Sit and Mr. Stand went aboard Mr. Sit’s yacht which was lying in the harbour. The party was completed by Mrs. Stand and Mrs. Sit with their sons Standly and Sitney. When dinner was served in the saloon of the yacht, Mr. Stand sat with Mrs. Sit and Mrs. Stand sat with Mr. Sit. Altogether it was a very understanding situation and there perhaps we ought to let the matter lie.’ Murder in the Dark Equipment: none One Lodge is nominated as the team of Detectives and is sent out of the room. Everyone else stands anywhere in the room, perfectly still. The Detectives are then called in and look at where everyone is standing, and are then sent out of the room again. The Leader nominates one Beaver as the Murderer. The Murderer then stabs (pats) one Beaver that he chooses and this Beaver lies on the floor dead. The Murderer then stands wherever he likes. The Detectives are then called back in and, acting as a Team, have to identify one Beaver who they think is the Murderer. If they guess wrong, they leave the room, and the Murderer stabs another Beaver, then stands anywhere he likes. The Detectives are called back in .... etc. Once the Detectives have correctly identified the Murderer, another Lodge takes on the role of Detectives.
Rhubarb Equipment: none The Beavers sit in a circle with a Leader in the middle. The Leader approaches each Beaver, looking him in the eye, and asks him a personal question (examples below) to which he must reply every time "Rhubarb". If he smiles or gives the wrong answer he is ‘out’. Questions might include:
Relay Races Equipment: As required - beanbags, tables, chairs, hulahoops Beavers are placed into teams and each team sits in a line at the end of the room beside other teams. Leader blows the whistle and each member of the team runs (or whatever task is given by the Leader) to the opposite end of the room and returns to tig the next member who repeats the task. When the whole team has "been" they sit in a straight line with arms folded and perfectly quiet. First team to finish wins. Easy to get into a rut with the same relay tasks each week. Try a variety such as:
Rising Circle Equipment: ;none The Beavers sit in a circle, cross legged, with their hands around the shoulders of the two Beavers either side of them. When the Leader says so, they try to rise without breaking their hold. Squirrels Equipment: 4 chairs, 6-8 beanbags, whistle Chairs are placed at the corners of an imaginary square, facing towards the square's centre. Leader reads out the rules. Beavers are put into 4 teams. Each team is allocated a chair and stand in a line behind it. Each Beaver in the team is numbered off, starting with Number 1 nearest the chair. If teams are unequal, some Beavers have more than one number. The Leader throws 4 beanbags into the centre of the square and calls out a number. Beavers with that number place one hand behind their back, holding the top of their trousers, and run to get a beanbag and put it onto their team's chair. The winner is the first Beaver to get three beanbags on his chair. Beavers can only carry one beanbag at any time and can steal a beanbag from another team's chair. No one is allowed to touch the chair. If a beanbag is thrown to a chair and falls off, it is thrown into the middle. The Leader throws the 5th, 6th, ... beanbags into the middle whenever they want
Variations Story Corners Equipment: none The Leader sets an imaginary scene with each corner of the room being something different, then he tells a simple story which the Beavers have to act out as best they can. They have to listen very carefully, as the differences between some of the ‘corners’ can be very subtle. The corners might, for example, be ‘sleeping area’, ‘dining area’, ‘tent’, ‘under the stars’. "It’s a nice warm night" (Beavers lie in the ‘under the stars’ corner)..."It suddenly starts raining " (Beavers rush to the ‘tent’) ... etc.
Stuck in the Mud / Scarecrow Tig / Lamp Posts Equipment: none One or two Beavers are "it". They tig the others who then stand with their legs apart and arms stretched out to the side. Beavers can free them by running under their arm or by crawling under their legs. Super Stars Equipment: As required Set up a series of bases with a Leader at each, running a different sporting event. Allocate the Beavers into Teams, the same number as you have bases. Blow the whistle after a set time period. Teams then go on to the next base. Events might include:
Can be played inside if weather is poor. Suggested changes / additions include:
Witches Tig Equipment: none One Beavers is "on" or the "witch". All the Beavers run round the room with the witch tigging anyone he can catch. When caught the Beaver must stand with legs apart. He can then be freed by any Beaver (other than the witch) crawling through his legs.
Last updated: January 18, 1999
|
||||||||||
