Welcome to the Beaver Scout Section

Beavers are our youngest members, and generally meet for an hour per week. They enjoy all that Scouting has to offer; being introduced to outdoor activities, having the opportunity to be creative, explore their local community and experience the excitement of a Beaver Scout Sleepover with their friends.

The Beaver Colony is the first and youngest section of the Scout Group. Beaver Scouts are young people aged between 6 and 8 years old.  There is core flexibility in the age range:  young people can join from age 5¾, and can move to Cubs between age 7½ and 8½.  It may sometimes be appropriate to extend this flexibility for young people with additional needs.

Structure

A Beaver Colony may be organised into smaller groups called Lodges. Lodges can be used in a number of ways to facilitate the organisation of the Beaver Scout Colony. They may provide a ‘home’ area for Beaver Scouts to gather at points at the start, during or at the end of the Colony meeting.

Activities

During their time in the Colony, Beaver Scouts will get a chance to try a wide range of different activities as well as going on trips, days out, and on sleepovers. Participation, rather than meeting set standards, is the key approach, and there are a range of badges and challenge awards that Beaver Scouts can gain to recognise their achievements.

District Beaver Spy Sleepover 2019

The Beavers descended on Thriftwood Scout camp for their District sleepover - this year’s theme was ‘Beavers in Black’ Spy 194659 2Academy.

7 groups Friday to Saturday and another 7 groups Saturday to Sunday.

The Beavers had supper and then went for a night walk, which led them to a camp fire where they sang songs.
On returning to base they all had a hot chocolate & snack, then off to their dorms for the night.

The following morning after breakfast, the Beavers were officially enrolled in to the spy academy where they received their spy kits, disguises and ID badges.

After this, they were put into their elite task forces, and given the main mission of the day to find my brief case that had been stolen, which contained top secret documents. The spy that had stolen the brief case was described to be dressed in orange and wearing a mask. The Beavers spent all day guessing who this could have been, it was great to see them all using their imaginations.

As part of the Beavers spy training, they tackled an assault course and had an archery session - the Beavers showed good team work throughout. The Beavers also had the opportunity to learn how to lift finger prints, use their skills to decode secret messages, including writing their own codes with invisible ink. They also had a chance to test their steady hands as they manoeuvred their way along a giant buzzer wire.

For each mission that the Beavers completed throughout the day, they would receive a clue which would help them find the missing brief case.
The Beavers showed great courage as they climbed a very high wall as part of these missions, to retrieve a clue from the very top.

Each team was also given map coordinates, which they used to lead them to Headquarters and even found some more clues along the way.

I think the favourite mission of the day for both the Beavers and leaders, was Mission Impossible. The Beavers had to make their way from one end of basecamp to the other, to retrieve gadgets, however the tent was covered in tape and laser beams which they had to duck and dodge to avoid getting caught.

By the end of the day, the Beavers had become fully fledged special agents, as they discovered all the clues and put them together to find the missing brief case.

We all look forward to seeing what the next District sleepover will bring!

Michelle Haddon
Assistant District Commissioner (Beavers)

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District Beavers Team Challenge 2019

The Team Challenge was attended by 10 Colonies.

Beavers worked in teams where their problem-solving, team-working and leadership skills were put to the test. There was a Photo 17 03 2018 15 02 51variety of tasks which included Building a free-standing flag pole, design a flag to put on the top, using string, bamboo canes, sticky tap, elastic bands and paper.

The beavers created amazing pieces of art using mosaic squares to make a picture of a beaver. Then build a house from puzzle pieces. Each team got to answer 2 quiz sheets, to test their general knowledge.

There was great team work to decode questions to find the next task, that took them outside to find the longest blade of grass, believe me, I was surprised how long the grass was. The teams showed fantastic team spirit and encouraged each other to do their best.

2nd Upminster Gridirons Beavers came first and 3rd Upminster Wesley Beavers came second. Well done to all of the Beavers taking part.

Another Fantastic Team challenge, thanks to Sue Cruse and her team.

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Beaver Badge Day 2018

On a very sunny day for October, at Thriftwood scout camp.
A 150 Beavers took part in our Badge day and worked on 3 badges:

Photography Badge: The beavers each made a scrap book with their photos they had taken, they had a lesson from a photographer and took lots of selfies using a camera.

Explore Badge: They went exploring the surrounding areas and worked together as a team to find a list of things.

Music stage 1: This badge has 4 elements. Skills, they repeated a tune or song on musical instruments and covered Knowledge and Interest as well. The beavers made a shaker and a drum to practice what they had learnt when they went home.
The beavers performed a new song that they had learnt around the camp fire, to finish of the fun filled day.
I’m sure we all went home signing the baby shark tune.

Michelle Haddon

ADC Beavers

 

District Beaver Sleepover 2018

This year 106 excited beavers and 40 leaders from 13 colonies across the District descended on Belchamps Scout Campsite for ourPhoto 12 05 2018 13 46 16 annual sleepover. The circus themed event was held over 2 nights in order to accommodate all the participants, 7 colonies attended on Friday night and 6 on Saturday night.

Friday evening’s activities began with costume designing and badge-making before heading off to the campfire circle for a good old sing-song. After a quick supper, the Beavers were eager to get to bed and prepare for an exciting day ahead.

After breakfast, the Beavers dressed in their circus inspired t-shirts and teamed up with their fellow circus performers. Faces were decorated, tattoos proudly displayed and muscles flexed, we were ready to show off our prowess in the ring!

Throughout the day the Beavers trained to be clowns, practiced their circus skills including plate spinning, juggling and stilt-walking. They mastered the art of tightrope-walking and demonstrated great teamwork, balance and acrobatics. The day was rounded off by a masterclass in balloon-modelling.

After a quick respite, we were ready for a repeat performance and the second batch of beavers arrived to do it all over again. On Sunday we were joined by a special guest who entertained both beavers and leaders throughout the day with magic and silly antics.

The Beavers had an excellent time and went home happy and exhausted!

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Teamwork Challenge 2018

This year’s Teamwork Challenge event took place on a freezing cold, snowy afternoon in March. It was attended by 9 colonies from Photo 17 03 2018 15 09 00across the District. 
Beavers worked in teams where their problem-solving, team-working and leadership skills were put to the test.They tackled a variety of tasks which included creating animal paper sculptures using small pieces of paper which had to be easily identifiable by  their leaders, building the tallest tower, present wrapping, quizzes and a scavenger hunt in the snow! The final task required them to work well as a team using their pioneering skills to create a gadget that would enable them to retrieve a bag of goodies from the other side of the hall using bamboo canes, sticky tape, elastic bands, string and garden wire!

A big thank you to Sue Cruse and her team for organising such a fantastic event. The beavers thoroughly enjoy themselves and are already looking forward to next year’s event.

Allyson

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