So what has been happening with the Group in March?
Our Squirrels have been working towards the “Let’s Celebrate” Activity Badge – we celebrated St David’s Day – when we planted leeks, and made wobbly daffodils – and prepared for Easter with a very Sticky Rabbit Activity – decorating biscuits – and of course had an Easter Egg hunt. During the month we had a visit from a Paramedic (Dave, Cinnamon’s Dad) who managed to get all 21 Squirrels in the back of an ambulance, and to get them all quiet. Our last meeting of the term was a Backwoods Cooking evening, where the Squirrels cooked fish – and for many it was the first time they tried this!
The Beavers started the term working on our Space Badge talking about the solar system, and the Sun making pompom planets with lots of different colours of wool. A little abstract as art, but there was a real feel of the outer galaxy to them. Mothering Sunday chocolates was a super cool evening and I hope no mum was poisoned with an overdose of coco powder or peppermint essence. We looked at making our own avatars, and logical pathways for moving our robot around a map to find his tent in the dark, and also played stop-go animation tag all for our Digital Makers badge. Then not to be too inside focused we also worked on our Gardening badge, talking about the tools we use in the garden, the seasons of the year and did some lovely drawings of an apple tree all through the year, and after all that we all got Beaver homework to look after our own Sunflower seed for the Easter Holidays.
An addition note from Yvonne who we were delighted to welcome at during our March meetings:
“Well, I only went along to Beavers to see what was going on…. and Wow.
Once you get past the volume of the Hello & Goodbye at each end of the meeting, we had nonstop fun. And in no particular order…..
We have played loads of great games, with lots of shouting, jumping, running, listening and dodging as well as some really quiet games, I am almost sure eight beavers went to sleep in dead lions.
But games aside, what did we really do?
We have talked about the Beaver code, and the Promise, and we got to invest some new Beavers. (3 I think but I might not have been paying too much attention at that point.) We reorganised our lodges, and so some Beavers got to make some new friends and some to be with their old friends too.
We started out the term working on our Space badge talking about the solar system, and the Sun making pompom planets with lots of different colours of wool. A little abstract as art, but there was a real feel of the outer galaxy to them.
Mothering Sunday chocolates was a super cool evening and I hope no mother was poisoned with an overdose of coco powder or peppermint essence.
We looked at making our own avatars, and logical pathways for moving our robot around a map to find his tent in the dark, and also played stop-go animation tag all for our Digital Makers badge.
Then not to be too inside focused we also worked on our Gardening badge, talking about the tools we use in the garden, the seasons of the year and did some lovely drawings of an apple tree all through the year, and after all that we all got Beaver homework to look after our own Sunflower seed for the Easter Holidays.
I’m exhausted, and I may not have remembered everything so sorry to any leader young or older, if I have missed your bit out, and a very big thank you to Rachel for letting me join in the fun and for making it all happen. Bring on next term.”
The Cub Pack started this month by mopping up some outstanding challenge badge work, before the Cubs talked about their collections. A very important day in the middle of the month allowed us to bring out our crafty side, making Mother’s Day cards. As the end of the month approached we had to “demonstrate our ability to flex the programme to respond to circumstances” (or – our programme disintegrated) – a road safety night planned but the weather so atrocious it wouldn’t have been a safe to be out so a fun games night / pioneering was had. The final meeting of term involved an extended meeting at the Kettering Fire Station, and just as all of the Cubs were present our evening disappeared behind blue flashing lights and sirens as the firemen raced towards a care home… another quick rethink, and the Cubs hiked to a chip shop, before returning an hour later to the fire station to a waiting fire engine and our evening able to resume…. Our term was shaken rather with the news that after 5 years Akela and Raksha announced that at the end of July they will be stepping down from leading the pack due to the struggle with work, family and Scouting taking its toll. If you want more information about taking on the Pack Leader role, please let us know!
The Scouts spent an evening preparing for the Night Hike – running through mapping and equipment, then spending an evening thinking about living with Disabilities – another step towards completing the World Challenge, the hardest challenge we run in the troop. On a wonderfully peaceful Saturday, we started 13 off towards their Foresters Badge, planting at the County’s Scout Centre 420 saplings given to us by the Woodlands Trust, laying a hedge, coppicing hazel and learning from a member of the 59 Club (a professional tree surgeon) how to maintain trees – a double whammy, as it also counted towards the World Challenge! We finished the term making chocolate Easter Eggs before investing three new Scouts, welcoming them with sticky handshakes ….
