1st Swallowfield Beavers Blog

Magic by Moonlight

2010-02-01T20:36:00.003Z

This evening's Beaver Hike through The Coombes woods, near Bearwood, was fantastic fun. Supported by plenty of parent helpers, our Beavers made their way through the dark forest by torchlight, climbing over fallen trees, crossing wooden bridges and splashing through puddles.

Turning all the torches off to see what we could see in the darkness was an enchanting experience. The Beavers spotted lots of stars through the delicate tracery of branches overhead, as well as a passing aircraft on its way to Heathrow.

When we reached our finishing point in the field, each group made their way to a handy log to sit on as they studied the night sky to see how many of the constellations on their sky map they could spot. Warmed by hot chocolate (which miraculously stayed hot for two hours!!), it was the perfect end to our adventure.

Water fights - what Summer evenings were made for!

2009-06-23T20:07:00.002+01:00

Yesterday's Beavers session was mostly spent outdoors, squirting water pistols at our 'skittles' in a game of 'water pistol bowling', and at each other, in a game of 'every Beaver for him/herself!'

Most wonderful fun. We also managed to make some fab paper boats, which floated beautifully - once I'd figured out how to follow the instructions, with some help from Joseph, Jack and Ed.

Here we are in all our watery glory...

Wild in the Woods!

2009-05-11T21:37:00.003+01:00

What a glorious afternoon! Thanks so much to all of the parents who came with us on our hike this afternoon, and who participated in the lift-share. We couldn't have done it without you!

The Beavers had a great time, walking through the woods, identifying wild flowers and plants and spotting the 'clues' that showed them which path to take. All of the groups missed the lower-key clues towards the end, and had to trot back to the place we'd arranged for our break, but otherwise they found all the clues beautifully.

Re-energised with a biscuit and a drink, the Beavers had a great game in the woods before heading home. A few suffered war-wounds, thanks to the chestnut-cases buried among the dead leaves - tweezers were the only items missing from my first-aid kit, and would have been really handy to pull out the tiny spikes! Hopefully we found them all.

Then a short walk back to the cars, livened up with a peek at the steam-tractor at the Wysipig farm, and a quick splash in the stream, and the first Beavers Hike of 2009 was officially over.

Nettle Soup

2009-04-27T21:34:00.002+01:00

This evening the project was nettle soup making. Surprisingly few Beavers got stung collecting the nettles thanks to a large supply of Marigolds and of course a pile of dock leaves to hand. All the Beavers joined in enthusiastically and when it was time to go in we had more than enough nettles to go around. After chopping some potato and onion, the nettles were boiled up and mixed with the other ingredients before being handed out to the boys and girls. We were suprised at how many actually tasted the results of their labours. Nice to see some extra vitamins being absorbed the Beaver colony! See you all next week.

Easter Eggs

2009-03-30T20:30:00.002+01:00

It was great to get outside this evening at Beavers, in our first meeting since the clocks have gone back and Spring has officially sprung! Our improvised game, comprising a cross between football (because you had to score goals, and it was played on the footie pitch!) and netball (because you couldn't run with the ball, and had to throw it to other team members to move it closer to the goal) was great fun. Somehow, despite the no-tackling rules, we still managed a few collisions - hence the 'Easter Eggs'. I think the Beavers will sleep well tonight!

Our more peaceful activity this evening was making Easter cards - or Spring cards for those Beavers who had had their fill of Easter activities or did not celebrate Christian festivals. The Beavers were very creative, with some excellent pop-up cards, woolly lambs and feathery chicks.

It was also my pleasure this evening to distribute a number of badges that had been earned by the Beavers during the last term. These included their Fitness Challenge badge, and their Healthy Eating badge. Well done all! The Beavers who joined half-way through the term, and only completed some of these activities, missed out on the badges this time - but there will be plenty of opportunity to earn more badges next term.

Have a great Easter holiday all. We'll be back again on Monday 20th April.

Sandwich Fun

2009-03-02T19:17:00.002Z

This evening was a celebration of healthy eating and Beaver creativity! As part of our work towards the Healthy Eating badge, the Beavers discussed what sort of things they like to eat in their sandwiches, and which fillings were healthy and unhealthy. They then each buttered their own bread, and chose a selection of fillings.

The sandwiches varied from simple (ham) to massive (ham, chicken, cheese, cucumber, tomato and lettuce!). Some were eaten on the spot, while others were saved to take home and displayed with pride.

Unfortunately I missed last week's session during which we were visited by some local cheesemakers. The feedback from the Beavers was that they really enjoyed the tasting! Surprisingly, the blue cheese received a thumbs-up from many Beavers. As it was Barkham Blue, the award-winning blue from the Two Hoots dairy, I was most envious of the Beavers for their free taster.

Next week we'll be making animal dens - so please remember to bring newspaper, cardboard boxes, twigs, straw and any other things that could be used to make dens or nests! Thanks.

Lost a jacket?

2009-01-29T10:40:00.002Z

At the last Beavers meeting on Monday 26th January a jacket was left behind - if it's yours, call Tiffany or Simon on 0118 9885050 :)

Cracking Christmas Cookies!

2008-12-08T20:05:00.003Z

What fun! This evening our Beavers made Christmas Cookies. They carefully rolled out their dough, liberally sprinkled with icing sugar (sorry about the state of their uniforms, parents!). Our glorious selection of cutters was employed to good effect, and the Beavers amazed me with their ability to squeeze so many cookies from a single block of dough.

Then, a quick game of Duck, Duck, Goose while the cookies cook (ahem), followed by some delectable decoration with icing and sweets. And some very sugary Beavers trundled home with (most of) their Christmas Cookies, ready to go on the tree or share with their siblings/parents/selves at a later date!

I'd like to say a huge THANK YOU to all of the lovely Mums (and big and little sisters and brothers!) who helped out this evening. You were all absolutely fabulous and we couldn't have done it without you.

Next week is our Christmas Party, and the last Beavers meeting of term. We'll be celebrating in style, with the investiture of Liam, Nile, Euan and Thomas, and the awarding of prizes to our Star Beavers. Who will they be? You'll have to wait until next week to find out!

For those being invested next week, a quick reminder of the Beaver Promise:
I promise
To do my best
To be kind and helpful
And to love God

If parents would like to see their children being invested, they should come about ten to fifteen minutes early before the end of the meeting - bring a camera!

T-Shirts at last!

2008-12-01T21:30:00.002Z

After a very, very long wait, our new Beavers t-shirts arrived over the weekend. It was great to be able to dispense them this week to the children who've been asking after them for weeks and weeks... And they looked very smart!

We made Christmas Cards this evening, and the children worked hard to decorate their cards creatively. There are some very lucky parents out there, who will receive splendid masterpieces from their young Beavers.

I realised this evening that I need some football lessons - not in terms of ball control and dribbling, but more along the lines of when you should have a corner, when you have a throw-in, and what are the rules about free kicks! I was grateful to a Beaver's elder brother, whose mum was helping, for his help in spotting whether goals were legitimately scored. If any dads (or mums!) would like to offer some simple guidance to a football-ignorant Beaver leader, it would be much appreciated.

Next week we'll be making Christmas Cookies, so any extra parent helpers would be welcome - as would any extra rolling pins and cutters. Expect plenty of lurid icing and ginger-spiciness next week (if any of them make it home, that is!).

Just a quick P.S. on the behaviour front... this evening, the Beavers were an absolute delight. We have several gold and silver stars on our chart, and no yellow or red cards have been dispensed.

Creepy Crawlies

2008-11-24T21:22:00.000Z

A portion of this week's session took place outside, in the dark. The children arrived well wrapped up, armed with torches and jam jars, ready for their much-anticipated Bug Hunt!

Many thanks to our extra parent helpers, who accompanied small groups in their quest for bugs, searching the undergrowth and woodland behind the village hall for anything wriggling, crawling or walking on many legs. It was freezing cold, so while the Beavers were hunting for wildlife Becca and Tasha, our teenage helpers, set to work making hot chocolate for their return.

Having divested themselves of their (very!) muddy shoes and boots at the door, the children had great fun investigating the contents of their jam jars. We found lots of ants and woodlice, surprisingly few worms and spiders, a couple of earwigs and even some millipedes and centipedes! Once the hot chocolate was drunk and the insects thoroughly examined, you'll be relieved to hear that the insects were released back into the wild. And the Beavers were released back to their parents...

A new leaf

2008-11-17T21:13:00.000Z

Last week, after their sterling behaviour on Remembrance Sunday, our Beavers had a rather disastrous session. As a consequence, we postponed today's planned bug hunt to next week, to give us the chance to work on better behaviour.

Part of our 'new leaf' involved a '1st Swallowfield Pledge', in which each child made a commitment to good behaviour during our sessions. We established some ground rules through which the Beavers learned that good behaviour would result in gold or silver stars, while bad behaviour resulted in yellow, and ultimately red, cards - with the sanction of missing the next session following a red card.

I was relieved that the Beavers seemed to respond well to this tighter structure, and we were able to agree to letting the bug hunt go ahead next week. Hopefully this will be a long-term positive change.

Beavers on Parade

2008-11-10T21:07:00.000Z

Yesterday's Remembrance Sunday parade and services were extremely moving, and I was so proud of 1st Swallowfield Beavers. They stood quietly and solemnly during the service at the War Memorial as we listened to the Last Post beautifully played by a young lady.

The march to Swallowfield Church was quiet and well-behaved, and the Beavers were patient listening to the service all over again. They had a good go at joining in with the new hymns, and sang along word-perfect to God Save the Queen.

Well done, Beavers.

Welcome to our new Beavers!

2008-11-03T20:00:00.002Z

This evening we welcomed Edward, George, Alex, Joseph and Ben to Beavers for the first time. They were all very well behaved and a delight - their fireworks were beautiful, and I hope their parents are all duly proud! I was particularly impressed because we had our last run through of God Save the Queen, in preparation for the Remembrance Sunday parade next weekend. Although none of our new boys had practiced with us before, they all had a really good go at joining in. Well done, boys!

I look forward to seeing a good turnout at the War Memorial on Sunday. The church will certainly know we're there, if our Beavers sing as beautifully as they did today.

Remembrance Sunday on 9th November

2008-10-30T16:03:00.003Z

I'm looking forward to seeing all of our Beavers on Monday, after a snowy half-term break. As well as making some fabulous fireworks (non-explosive, sadly!), we'll be using Monday's meeting to practice God Save the Queen one last time before Remembrance Sunday.

If your Beaver is still unsure of the words, perhaps you could print them out (see the link in the 'Pack up your Troubles' post below) and help them to learn them before Sunday 9th November.

I'm sending out a letter to parents regarding Remembrance Sunday - please print, sign and bring with you on Monday. I'll have some paper copies on Monday if you've not had the chance to do so before the meeting. I'd really like to have a good turnout from the Beavers. We've done lots of activities related to the war this term, and I'm sure the Beavers would like the opportunity to pay their respects to those who fought and died for their freedom.

Jammy Scouts!

2008-10-27T20:46:00.002Z

Just a quick update on the 1st Swallowfield Jam... we've raised more than £90 from sales of our blackberry nectar. Not bad! Thanks to all who bought the jam - I hope you've enjoyed eating it. Your contributions to the group's funds are gratefully appreciated.

Air Raids!

2008-10-14T09:22:00.002+01:00

Last night was a big adventure for our Beavers. As part of our WW2 programme, the Beavers brought in sleeping bags and torches, and we cleaned out some very dusty cupboards under the stage of the village hall to make air raid shelters. The children spent most of our meeting by torchlight, and wrote some excellent pieces about what it would have been like to be a child during an air raid.

We also listened to an account written by a chap who was eight years old when the war broke out, describing how he and his class mates would file out of school into the air raid shelter whenever the sirens went off. The general consensus was that air raids would have been quite scary, but boring after a while!

The Beavers were also fascinated to hear the tale of Jasper Maskelyne, a magician, who advised the British army during the war. Maskelyne pulled off the biggest con trick of the war, by hiding an entire city - he built a cardboard copy of the city of Alexandria a little further along the Egyptian coast than the real thing. Then, as night fell, the real city extinguished its lights and the 'fake' Alexandria was illuminated - complete with fake boats in its fake harbour.

The German bombers duly did their worst, and the cardboard city and harbour were blasted during the night. To complete the illusion, Maskelyne's team applied fake bomb-sites and craters to the real city, so that when the German reconnaissance planes flew over next day, they were able to report on the success of their mission and the destruction of Alexandria!

We also sold many jars of 1st Swallowfield jam, so thanks to all parents for their contributions to our funds. Enjoy your jam! Scout and Cub parents can buy jam at their meetings this week.

First Swallowfield Jam

2008-10-10T19:15:00.001+01:00

No, we're not talking thrash metal guitars - just locally-picked blackberries, apples from Sue Taylor's garden, and beautifully decorated labels courtesy of 1st Swallowfield Beavers!

Sue, Kate Mitchell and I have been beavering away (excuse the pun!) cooking delicious blackberry jam to raise some cash for the 1st Swallowfield Scout Group. It is, even though I say so myself, quite delicious - just the thing for dolloping onto warm scones on a chilly Autumn day.
Picture © Simon Kemp
If you'd like to purchase some of this heavenly nectar (and why wouldn't you?!), bring a minimum donation of £2.50 per jar to Beavers/Cubs/Scouts this week (w/c 13th Oct) and it shall be yours.

Yum.

Pack up your troubles!

2008-10-08T18:16:00.000+01:00

Because this is the term of Remembrance Sunday, we are looking at what it was like to fight in the First and Second World Wars, and to be a child in wartime London. I am particularly keen that the Beavers should have an appreciation of the sacrifice made by those we remember. In previous years, the Beavers have been poorly represented at the Remembrance Sunday Parade in Swallowfield - this year, I hope to have a good turnout!

Picture © Simon Kemp

Part of our programme for this term is learning some songs from the war years. Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag is very popular with our Beavers, who have demonstrated their ability to march and sing loudly at the same time! We're also learning God Save the Queen, in preparation for the Remembrance Sunday Service - I hope that this year the church will ring with the voices of our Beavers, rather than the usual muttering along with the tune from the grown-ups who dimly remember the words :0) If your Beaver is struggling to remember the words, you can download them here.

Please remember to send your Beaver with a sleeping bag, pillow and torch for Monday's meeting - we'll be holding our meeting in our 'air raid shelter' so some home comforts will be very welcome!

Welcome

2008-09-08T17:26:00.000+01:00

Welcome to the new 1st Swallowfield Beavers Blog! The Autumn meetings have now started at Swallowfield Parish Hall so please contact Tiffany if you wish to enroll your 6-8 year old.

A Beaver Outing

2008-09-01T21:08:00.000+01:00

Last year we staged a successful hike around Farley Hill followed by a barbeque. The children were given plant identification tasks to complete on the walk. Parents were pleased to see all Beavers were thoroughly tired out at the end of it all and we hope to organise a similar event soon.