Our programme for the term can be found below, along with any badges that are linked with each night (please remember that some badges may take more than 1 night to complete, any linked badges mean we are ticking off at least some of the badge). These nights are subject to change at short notice if necessary, but this should be what we run this term!
April
26th - Welcome back and teamwork challenge activities
Badge Links: Teamwork Challenge
May
4th - Local Knowledge badge
Badge Links: Local Knowledge, World Challenge
12th - Giant Food cooking night
Badge Links: Chef
18th - Nature Walk
Badge Links: Naturalist
25th - Queen's Jubilee Party - Joint with Wheatley Cubs, held in Wheatley
June
1st - HALF TERM - NO MEETING
8th - Tent Pitching and Site Tour - held at Youlbury Scout Activity Centre (times tbc)
Badge Links: Outdoor Challenge
15th - Camp Preparation night and campfire songs
Badge Links - Outdoor Challenge
22nd - Athletes badge and fitness night
Badge Links - Athletes, Athletes Plus, Skills Challenge
29th - Backwoods Cooking - location tbc
Badge Links - Backwoods Cooking, Adventure Challenge, Outdoor Challenge
July
6th - Crystal Maze - Aztec Zone
Badge Links - Skills Challenge, Teamwork Challenge
13th - Water Games
20th - Summer games/party night
A great video from Scoutadelic here - using a toilet roll tube and a small piece of cardboard, you can make a template that, with the help of a torch, can project a constellation! Look up some of the constellations online, and see if you can make your own (or possibly more than 1 - if you make 3, you can tick off part of the astronomer badge!)
The 1st Digital Scout group are looking at map symbols and tracking signs - take some photos if you do try to make them, and let us know if you lay a successful trail!
digitalscouts.org.uk/cubs/session-4/
There is an excellent video here that goes over some of the basic first aid skills covered in stage 1 of the first aid badge. It is a bit long, so might be something to do at a weekend, but if you watch it, it will through all of the requirements for Stage 1 of the badge. You will then need to complete the questions/activities in the link, and send it to your leader (if you haven't got the badge yet, there will be a little more you have to do before getting your badge when we get back to Cubs!).
Video:
This week on 1st Digital Cubs, some activities that will need some parental supervision - have a go at ironing your necker, make a Chinese lantern decoration and make yourself (or someone else!) the perfect cup of tea. All the resources you need are on the page, let a leader know which activities you complete!
https://digitalscouts.org.uk/cubs/session-3/
We hope to get back to making fires over the summer! The video here from the Scout Adventures winter camp team shows 4 different types of firelighters that you can make out of household things (and leaves!). If these are stored away in a dry place (or in a sealed bag for the cotton wool ones), they can be used over the summer and brought to Cubs if we are able to light fires (or, if you are lucky enough to have a fire in your garden, have a go at lighting it). Watch the video to see how they are made!
To do this, you just need to find a shallow dish or bowl, and some natural materials e.g. leaves, berries, twigs, petals. Fill the bowl with water, then carefully add in the materials. You can also put in a loop of string. Leave it out overnight, then have a look at it the next morning - it should have frozen your design into the ice! If you can get it out, and you have added the loop of string, you could hang it from a branch and let it glisten in the sun (until it melts!). The image below shows what this looks like - give it a try!
A new resource courtesy of some volunteers from a Scout Active Support Unit - these videos are a mini-cub night you can do at home!
This week, they are giving you a classic puzzling challenge to complete that can be done on your own, or by roping in your family! Also, they talk about the meaning of the world scout badge, and challenge you to make a big version of it out of things you find around the house (would love to see some pictures if anyone does this!). The final activity talks you through the classic cake in a mug (there are many other examples of this already on this page!). Do check it out, we will hopefully be using more of their videos in the coming weeks!
https://digitalscouts.org.uk/cubs/session-2/
Back to Scoutadelic again this week, with a really cool looking bookmark that you can make from card/paper. Don't worry if you don't have coloured card, you can colour in some white card/paper to get the same effect. It certainly looks different to other bookmarks I've seen! Send a picutre if you give it a try!
A Scouts Own is a period of reflection and celebration, usual held at the end of large cub and scout camps. You need to take part in one of these for your Chief Scout Silver Award, however there won't have been the chance recently as we haven't been able to camp! So, have a look at this Virtual scouts own, provided by Forth Scout region in Scotland. It gives you some very cool optical illusions to look at, and a mindfulness activity that should give you 5 minutes of quiet thinking! To tick this off, please let your leader know what you chose for the items in the 2nd part, whether you got the optical illusions to work, and whether you felt a bit happier/calmer from taking 10 minutes out to try the activities!
A few of you tried the knots shown in the videos that we posted over the summer (they are still here, further down the page, if you want to start with them!). Today, 2 more videos courtesy of Blackpool Scouts that show 2 more complex knots to practice. You will need a rope (a shoe lace or string would also do the job!), and some sort of bar to tie the knots around (an upside down stool or chair will do nicely!)
Knot 1: The constrictor hitch
Knot 2: The Bowline
For these, your leader will need to see some photos of your knots - makes sure you ask someone to take some, and ask your parents to email them to your leader! These might take a little bit of practice, but hopefully you will be able to do them!
Mk
An easy little activity to make some sweet peppermint creams - ideal as a quick activity that doesn't require any cooking!
You will need:
250g icing sugar
1 Egg white
Peppermint extract
This handy video from Yorkshire Scouts will take you through how to do it!
The rather brilliant people at the Scoutadelic Youtube page have created a virtual tour of the home of Scouting, Gilwell Park in Essex. The Great Gilwell Getaway sees you watching videos to gain clues to find the missing mascot of Scoutadelic, Oggy the Hedgehog, by navigating around an aerial view of Gilwell Park (from Google maps). Along the way, you will see lots of symbols to click on that show some of the things you can see at Gilwell Park - have a look at as many as you can, and you will see just how big it is! You will need to find hedgehog symbols to progress through the challenge - each one opens a new video to watch that contains a clue to where the next one is. It's a tricky challenge to finish, as you might not know all of the names of the locations, so I've also left a link to a page with a site map of Gilwell Park that might be useful!
Ask an adult to let your leader know if you manage to finish (sending a screenshot would be good!), and a piece of your creative challenge will be ticked off.
Take the challenge - play.scoutadelic.com/reunion/
Map of Gilwell Park (near the bottom of the page) - https://www.scoutadventures.org.uk/centre/gilwell-park/facilities
We hope to visit Gilwell Park at some point in the future - they host different events each year, including a chilly Winter Camp in January, as well as being a campsite a bit like Youlbury!
A quick idea to try and re-create a campfire favourite at home! With an adults help, have a look at the video below from the Scout Adventures Wintercamp team for how to re-create the famous 'camp doughnut' at home!
You will need:
Some pancake mix
Bread
Jam (can be swapped for other spreads, including chocolate spread or marmalade)
Oil
Sugar to sprinkle on top (optional!)
(Utensils: knife, frying pan, spatula)
This is a great opportunity to complete an important part of your badgework - the personal challenge is split into 2 parts: Akela will set you a challenge at some point, which could be at Cubs or at home. But the 2nd part can be done easily at the moment - you need to set yourself a challenge that you will complete over a set amount of time. Some examples of this could be:
Helping around the house - cleaning, tidying (or keeping your room/other rooms clean and tidy), helping with washing/cooking/mealtimes, or doing other household chores.
Keeping yourself healthy - cutting out some unhealthy foods, eating a healthier diet, exercising more often, trying new sports/activities
Learning new skills - this could be things like: learning to draw/paint, starting to learn a language, learning to cook, or learning crafts like origami
It could even be simple things around your routines - making sure any online school work is done, sticking to a good routine, or getting enough sleep
Whatever you choose, it has to be a challenge for you (so, something you can't do or find hard at the moment), and it has to happen over a few weeks (to show commitment).
Thought of your challenge? Ask your parents to email Akela (or Tracey if you are a Wheatley cub), and you will be told if your challenge is ok. Then comes the tricky bit - getting it done! Keep a note of what you do for your challenge and when, as your parents will need to show proof that you have been doing it.
You have to get the personal challenge to try and earn your Chief Scout Silver Award, so give it a go!
An important part of the Our World challenge is to think about times that you have kept your Cub Scout promise and law, and done your best. For this, what we'd like you to do is take a piece of paper and write on it as many times you have 'done your best' as you can think of. This could be through doing challenging things at school, being particularly helpful/kind to someone, being well behaved and helpful at home, doing something for a charity - anything where you can say those words: 'I did my best;. Decorate your piece of paper too - colourful writing and some pictures would make it look great, and make it something a bit more special that you can keep to remind yourself of what being a member of Cub Scouts means.
Send a picture when it is finished, and tick off another part of an important challenge badge!
Get cooking! Everyone knows about the 'cake in a mug' idea, but this weeks Cubs at Home will show you some other ideas for a quick, easy mug based snacks that also earn a part of your skills challenge. Remember, if you do try any of these, take a picture and send it you your leader (and make sure to say how much you enjoyed eating it!)
There are 2 great ways to do this: First, Scoutadelic takes us through his method:
If you don't have any self-raising flour, you can also use this method, which using baking powder instead:
You can mix and match the toppings as you want - extra cheese, vegetables, different types of meat (just be careful that what you use as toppings are pre-cooked), and you can use normal tomato sauce if you don't have the type used in the videos.
Another nice savoury option! The fillings can be whatever you want, added to the egg and milk mixture.
Scoutadelic shows us a fun alternative to a cake in a mug - this one is a doughnut (don't forget the jam!)
A little creative activity to try - we raise the Union Flag at the start of every Cub session, but what would your flag be if you had one? Flags have all sorts of designs that often have meanings behind them. So, try drawing/creating your own personal flag to 'fly' somewhere in your house! Choose the design, think about the colours, and decide what symbols you will have on it. It could just represent you, or your family. (If you want more of a challenge - can you work out a way to make it fly, rather than just sticking it to a wall)
If you want to find out more, there are some good sites to visit:
https://britishcountyflags.com/english-county-flags/ - shows the flags of the English counties, which all have stories behind the symbols and colours used (can you spot Oxfordshire's?)
https://www.worldometers.info/geography/flags-of-the-world/ - have a look here for the flags of all the countries in the world!
Don't forget to send a picture if you do this!
Another part of My Skills that can be tricky is trying different sports or physical activities - we managed to do some of this with out fitness at Cubs last year, but if you are at home (and it's cold outside!) why not try some yoga as a way of relaxing? It's over to Scoutadelic and his special guest for some simple yoga, themed around a story, that you can try at home. Watch the video and follow along - if you do this, ask your parents to let a leader know - what did you think about it? Did you enjoy it? Would you do it again?
We won't be putting anything extra up this week, as this weekend, the Scout Association are very much doing the job for us! The Great Indoors Weekender features a stack of activities featuring some very special guests across Saturday and Sunday. You will need to visit the website and click the link to sign up. Also on the site is a timetable of activities for the day, and lists of equipment you'll need to do them. Let a leader know what you do, and we will check to see if we can tick off any badges!
Click the link below to see the main page, sign up and view the activities:
As we head towards the summer holidays, what better time to start enjoying some books? The book reader badge is ideal for any of you that like a good read. Another badge where most of it needs to be done at home, you will need to put together some bits to show to a leader to prove you have done these things:
Make a list of 6 books you have read or used recently, including the authors name
Choose 3 books to give a short 'introduction' to - a few lines to give someone an idea about what happens in the book, or what it might be used for. At least 1 books should be fiction, and at least 1 book should be non-fiction
Write a few lines about how to care for books, and how libraries can be useful to help people find new things to read
Show that you can use a dictionary and thesaurus - you could write a bit about how to use them, or take some pictures
Write a book review of your favourite book. If it's fiction, you could tell us about what happens, some of the characters and give your opinion (did you like it or not? Why?). If it is non fiction, say what the book is used for, how it is laid out, and what you thought of it (was it useful, did you learn a lot?)
A quick activity to test your drawing skills and your scouting knowledge - do you know the meaning of the world scout membership badge? That's the purple badge that every scout has on their uniform. The different parts of it have different meanings - to tick off a part of the international badge, try re-creating the the badge yourself (you could draw it, paint it, collage it - this would go nicely towards your artist badge too!), noting what the different parts of the badge mean. Would be great to see some creative efforts for this!
From 6.00pm - 7.00pm this Saturday, the 3rd Macclesfield Scouts are hosting a virtual campfire, and we are all invited! Use the link below to watch, check the event page here to download a song book if you feel like singing along, or buy an event badge. It should be a fun event, do have a watch if you are able to - let a leader know if you do, and we can log this as having attended a campfire in the adventure challenge for those who haven't already been to one!
This is a section a few people are missing from the My Skills challenge - you need to show you understand what is meant by a healthy diet, and that you are aware of how to make changes to what you eat can be good for you! Here are some suggestions for things you could do to tick off a part of this challenge badge:
Keep a 'food diary', and show how you are trying to eat more healthily
Keep a note of what you eat for a week, and judge how healthy you think your diet is. You could then repeat this for another week, but showing how you have made changes to be more healthy.
Design a healthy menu for a week
It isn't always possible to be completely healthy for every meal! So, you could show you understand healthy eating by designing a menu for a week that someone could cook and eat at home. Plan for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and see if you can find some fun meals that would be good to eat and good for you! This could be tied in with the artist badge by drawing, colouring or painting some plates showing some of your meals
Design a healthy weekend camp menu
This could be tricky, but would be a fun challenge! At camp, we have less facilities than at home - we don't have an oven, and we have limited storage space for fresh and frozen food. How could you create a healthy, balanced menu for Friday supper, all meals Saturday, and breakfast and lunch on Sunday?
Remember, if you ask your parents, you could try cooking one of your healthy meals, which also counts towards My Skills, and ticks off a part of the Great Indoors badge!
A part of the adventure challenge is to 'go for a hike or follow a trail for 1-2 hours'. As we are able to get out a bit more, why not take the chance to go for a proper walk somewhere? A lot of you will have visited Shotover Country park, but have you ever followed the trails? Have a look at the map on the leaftlet that you can download here. The 'boundary patrol' path should last around 90 mins, and would be a good way to tick off this section of the badge. Alternatively, have a look at the map and plan your own walk around. Why not have a look at the naturalist badge requirements from a few weeks ago and try and complete part of that while you are there?
Lots of Cubs will have access to a camera, whether on a phone, as a digital camera or even a traditional film camera. The photography badge needs a bit of knowledge about how the camera works, but nothing too serious! The challenge this week is to choose one of the activities below to show you are confident using your camera. You will need to know how to change the settings, including zoom, and be able to transfer the pictures to another device (if using digital). These will all be things you can do at home if you are still not going out regularly:
Create two photos of the same thing, one in colour and one in black and white. Compare how the effects change the way the final picture looks.
Make a short film on a subject of your choice.
Using a series of photos, make a short animation sequence.
Edit a photo using a smartphone or editing software. Explain what you have changed and why.
Send the photos/video along to show what you have done!
The final 2 sections this week! If you manage to complete something from all of the sections, and spend your 1 night in a tent or indoor fort, you will gain stage 1 of the great indoors badge. Here are the final 2 sections:
Section 7: Creative
You simply need to try 1 creative activity that you may not have tried before. In terms of craft, this could be some painting, learning a new drawing skill, collage, chalk drawing - any sort of craft activity will be fine! This can be something you have previously done if you want! Send a picture of your crafty thing to tick this one off!
Section 8: Spiritual
The requirements for this are to try one craft, type of food, song or game related to a faith or belief that’s not your own and learn about why it’s important to that faith or belief. A good idea for this one is to design a Hindu henna pattern - this could be teamed with your craft activity to do this in a creative way! Have a look at the link for some ideas for patterns.
Click here for some ideas (pdf document)
Section 9: Night Away
Take part in a night away at home, sleeping in a den or tent, indoors or in the garden. Remember, for 37th cubs, if you do this you will also earn a rather nice 'camp@home' badge. If you spend a night outside, you will get an extra night away on your total!
Next week, we will look at Stage 2!
To link in with section 8 of the Scouts at Home badge, you can also tick off a part of the World Challenge by finding out about a faith or culture other than your own. When doing your research, think about their place of worship, how they worship, important Gods/figures, different festivals, countries where the religion is most common - find out as much as you can, and present it, either written, as a poster or a presentation.
Last week we mentioned the digital Fundays event - the activities for this are all up on the Facebook page still, and are well worth a look! As always, let a leader know if any activities are completed.
We also have these great digital events coming up, which offer more activities for Cubs online.
4th July - Embers 2020 Virtual Campfire
At 6.00pm, the biggest virtual campfire yet will be taking place! The Fundays one was great fun to listen to, but this event, streamed live on youtube, has got hundreds of groups signed up for updates. Some of the best campfire leaders from around the country will be leading songs. Well worth watching!
11th-12th July - The Great Indoors Weekender
The official scouts digital camp - activities to follow along will be posted online all weekend, with Cubs encouraged to try and camp out or sleep in their sleeping bags to join in.
More information:Click Here
The next 2 sections of the badge are these:
Section 5: Social Action
All you need to do for this section is to show that you have helped some of your family members at home. Very conveniently, there is another badge that can be completed that does this nicely. The link below takes you to the requirement for the Home Help badge. Any Cubs that complete this badge will also complete this section of the great indoors badge. If you aren't able to do all of the requirements for home help, completing at least 4 of them will be enough for the great indoors badge (sewing on a button is the one that could be tricky, but now is a good time to learn!) For cubs that already have home help, doing a selection of the activities for the badge again will count - parents will need to email a leader to say they have been helping out enough at home, feel free to send some pictures as proof too (especially if they have cooked you dinner!)
Home Help badge requirements: Click Here
Section 6: International
For this we will accept any international themed activity - cubs could try some food from another country, research the country of their choice and present their findings appropriately (e.g poster, presentation), or complete an international themed craft activity. We're quite open on this one, so ask a leader if you are not sure!
Another useful skill to learn (though hopefully you won't ever need to use it!) - have a look at the video below to learn how tyo use your necker as an arm sling. It ticks a little bit off of the Emergency Aid badge if you can do it well - it is possible to do this on yourself, but Cubs may well need a willing volunteer to try this!
Fundays is an activity day run by the Scout Adventures campsites at Gilwell Park and Woodhouse Park. As it had been cancelled this year, the team behind it are going to be posting a selection of international-themed activities this weekend (13-14 June). The highlight will be a live digital campfire courtesy of the team from Great Tower activity centre at 7.30pm on Saturday! All the activities will be appearing on the Fundays Facebook page (they should be visible even if you do not have a Facebook account). It should be worth a look to see what activities they have planned! If your cub does try anything, please let a leader know!
Fundays Facebook page: Click Here
The next 2 sections of the badge this week!
Section 3: Physical Activity
To complete this section, you need to try a new physical activity. While it's tricky to play sport at the moment, this can include anything you can do on your own! A great idea for this would be keeping a fitness diary over a period of time - design your own workout (think Joe Wicks style!) with different fitness activities (things like star jumps, press ups, jogging on the spot, squats could be included!). You could even try making your own video! Other things could include simple sports that you might have the equipment for at home - try a keepy-uppy football challenge, improve your tennis strokes or try some new skipping rope moves.
Section 4: Community engagement
In this section, you need to learn about a local service or charity that is helping people affected by the spread of COVID-19. This might be finding out about a local food bank, volunteers delivering supplies to those who cannot go out or learning about an existing charity that has launched a special appeal to do with the virus. For this, you would just need to write up what you have found out about (make sure you add a bit of detail about where you got your information e.g. a website address).
A chance to get creative! A part of the our world challenge is to draw a map of community facilities near where you live. We have done something like this for the area around the scout hut, but this challenge needs to you to draw a map of where you live. Community facilities could include shops, schools, parks, fire/police stations, doctors, bus stops, takeaways/restaurants - anything that would be useful to the community! Make it as colourful as you want, but make sure the facilities are clearly labelled. You could use google maps to help with drawing the roads in your area.
Another escape room, with a bit of a twist - this one needs tests what you know about survival skills. This is a badge that you can earn in scouts, but it is good to get a head start on what the 7 principles of survival are - have a look on this site if you are not sure. To progress through the game, you need to answer the questions correctly - if you 'die', you will need to go back and change your choices. This is a great resource designed by an Oxfordshire leader, and the story is based at Youlbury! Click here to give it a go - let Akela know if you manage to finish!
Released today, the Scout Association have released a staged badge especially for the current 'scouting indoors' period. These will be rather special, as they will only be available during this period of online scouting. The badge has 9 different parts, with Cubs needing to complete one activity in each section. There are no set activities that must be done, it needs to be be something that fits in with the section and is suitably challenging! On here, we will be posting 2 sections each week with a suggested activity for each (the final section is to camp indoors or outdoors for a night in a den or tent - see last weeks update!).
Section 1: Practical Skills - try a new practical skill at home
A suggested activity for this is some shoelace knotting - practice some of the simple scouting knots with a shoelace! (Re-threading the shoe afterwards is a skill in itself!). Obviously, any sort of rope will also do if you have it!
Use the handy video guides courtesy of Blackpool Scouts to help you out:
Reef knot:
Sheet bend:
Clove Hitch
The Sheepshank
If you manage all of these, you also tick off a part of the pioneer activity badge! Send some pictures of your successful knots to prove you have completed this section
Other skills for this section could include cooking, gardening or sewing - ask a leader if you want to check your skill is ok!
Section 2: Outdoor Skills - Try one new skill that would help you to survive or explore the outdoors.
An example for this could be to learn some tracking signs - these are a classic scouting skill used to help lay a trail for people to follow. Have a look at the guide below, and try re-creating these signs in your garden or outside. You could also ask a parent or sibling to lay a trail for you to follow! Send some pictures along as proof you have completed this part.
Click here for the tracking signs
Those lucky enough to have a garden could try some fire lighting or cooking over a fire (Eggs in oranges, chocolate bananas and damper bread are classics). Or, if you are pitching a tent for your night camping, make sure you pitch it yourself! Again, ask a leader if you have an idea that you think might fit this section!
The countryside code is important to know and use whenever you are out walking in rural areas. With an adult, have a look at the countryside code leaflet (Click here) - then, take the quiz to see how much you know! An adult will need to enter their email address on the quiz, but make sure you put your name on so we know who took the quiz! All the answers can be found on the leaflet - look carefully! If you get a good enough score, we can tick off a part of the naturalist and our outdoors challenges!
Also, this short video is worth watching!
We have had some rather lovely weather recently, and it looks like the half term will be starting off quite nice as well! So, get out in your gardens or have a look around on your walk, and see if you can tick off the first part of the naturalist badge:
Identify 6 different things from 2 of these categories:
trees,
garden birds
water birds
minibeasts and insects
wild flowers
pond dwellers
fungi
butterflies and moths
Take a note of what you find, maybe draw it if you can, but you need to make it clear how you know what the 'thing' is - for insects/birds/butterflies/moths, you could talk about the size, markings, noises it makes, interesting features or where it lives. For plants, you can talk about whether it flowers (and what they look like), how big it gets, and where it grows. You should end up with 12 different things, 6 from each of your 2 chosen categories.
Serious about getting the badge? Make a start on the biggest part of it:
Over 3 months, visit the same natural area at least 4 times.
Take a note of the changes in the plants and wildlife that you see. You might visit a garden, hedgerow, canal, river lake or park. You could go somewhere as part of a walk, or just use your garden! Make a note of as many of the plants and wildlife as you can on each visit. When you come back, see if you can find the same things again, or whether there are different things there.
There are lots of things that people have been doing to keep active while we've been at home - you may have heard of the Joe Wicks PE series on youtube, but there are lots and lots of workout ideas if you look around. The My Skills badge has a section about keeping healthy - if you'd like to tick off a part of this section, try keeping an 'exercise diary' over half term. This should include what you did and how long you did it for. You might even want to try creating your own workout routine - things like star jumps, press ups, jogging on the spot and many more could be added together to create your own workout. Don't forget to put in some rest breaks! Send over your workout diary after half term - if you want to take it to the next level, you could send some pictures/videos too!
I sent an email last month about a camping challenge over April, but the challenge remains for as long as we are away from Cubs. Over Half Term, try spending a night indoor/outdoor camping! If you have a tent, try pitching in the garden and spending the night under the stars. No tent? Try making an indoor 'fort' to spend the night it. There is a special 'camp@home' badge available for any Cubs who give this a try (1 cub has already earned one!), and any Cubs that are able to spend a night outside in a tent will have 1 night added to their nights away total. Send some pictures of your indoor/outdoor camping to get the badge!
There are a lot of options that can be done at home for this badge - you need to complete 3 of the activities below, most of you will be able to do these without having to have lots of specialist equipment!
Here are your choices:
Imagine an event, character or scene. Now draw it using a pencil, brush, pen or crayon.
Design and make a greetings card.
Make a poster about an event, showing research you have done, or advertising scouting
Design and make a decorated book cover.
Draw or paint a picture of still life or a landscape.
Make a display of photographs on a subject that interests you.
Make a video on a subject that interests you.
Design and build a model.
Visit an art gallery.
Make a model out of clay.
Please take photos of anything you do and send them to Akela when you have finished them - we could put a gallery on this page of the best ones!
We probably won't be camping again any time soon, but this doesn't mean you can't keep your knowledge up to date! As part of the Our Adventure challenge badge, you need to know what kit to take to camp. It's no fun missing something important when you are away! To complete this part of the badge, we'd like you to make a camp kit list of everything you think you need for a weekend away. What things do you have to have to be comfortable and safe on camp? As you write it, imagine you are packing your bag - you don't want to miss anything! You could also do this visually, drawing pictures of the items and labelling them. Send a picture off to Akela when you finish, and as long as you haven't missed anything important, we can tick off a part of the badge!
Have a look at this video - it shows the correct way to roll your necker if it comes un-rolled, something that is worth practising! If you are feeling very confident, see if you can follow the instructions to tie a friendship knot - this is a way of tying the bottom of your necker together so you can wear it without a woggle, which is a good way of wearing them on camps if you are not in uniform! Give it a try!
As we are all spending more time doing things digitally, this a badge that is not too hard to get!
To complete, you will need to meet these requirements:
Create a graphic for a computer game, app or website
Can you design a logo for the cubs section of this website? You would need to create the image digitally using the program of your choice. We may choose one to put on this page if it is good enough! It could be a simple logo, a 'mascot' character, or some fancy writing - make sure it has the word 'cubs' in it somewhere!
2. Write clear instructions for a computer or human to complete a task
A computer follows instructions every time it does something - it can't think, so it will do everything you tell it to, exactly how you say to do it! So, if you were trying to teach a robot to do something, you would need to very clearly tell what it needs to do, in as much detail as possible!
For this section, we'd like you to try and write a set of instructions for a robot to make a jam sandwich. You can assume the robot has everything it needs to make it (bread, knife, butter, jam, plate). You need to write enough instructions for it to make the sandwich without making a big mess or getting stuck. Think about everything you would do if you made a sandwich - then make sure you tell the robot to do exactly that! The more instructions you give, the better it will be! You could write this down and take a photograph, or type it into a file digitally. I wonder if there might be a way of testing the instructions out...
We know how much you enjoy our Crystal Maze challenges, but creating all the games can be hard work! So, Raskha has challenged you to tick off a part of the My Skills challenge badge, get creative, and design a game that we could use as part of one our of Crystal Maze challenges!
Here's what you need to think about:
How long will it last? Our games usually take between 4-8 minutes
What equipment will you need? You can use anything that you know is in the scout hut, or other things that are simple to get hold of. To help you, our scout hut equipment includes: tennis balls, 2 bigger sponge balls, buckets, small marker cones, big traffic cones, hockey sticks, ping pong balls and bats, marker tape, chalk for marking lines on the floor, tarpaulins, bamboo canes and elastic bands, rope, thin guy ropes [from tents], push button lights, small paddling pools, bean bags and lots of paper. You can also use things like tables, benches, chair or the small white tables to mark off areas or as obstacles!
How will you play it? Will one person take turns to do something in the game, or can lots of people be working on it at once?
What type of game will it be? Which of the 4 famous game types will you choose? Physical games need people to move around, dodge obstacles, climb and crawl. Skill games often need things to be thrown, rolled or picked up and moved. Mental games need a puzzle (or more than 1 puzzle!) to be solved to win. Mystery games can be anything, especially if you don't think it fits as one of the other types of game
How will you get the crystal? Will it be hidden somewhere, or will a leader give it to you at the end?
Where will it be played? We can play games in the kitchen area, around the side of the hut, in the car park, in the stores or in the main hall.
What zone will it be in? We love theme-ing our games around different zones. Which one will your game fit into? Medieval, Aztec, Industrial, Futuristic, Ocean or Eastern are your choices.
So, get designing! You will need to give us a diagram of your game, along with a list of equipment and a description of how to play it. Try searching for the crystal maze on youtube to look at some classic episodes to get some ideas!
The coming bank holiday is a good chance to find out about VE day, the end of the second world war. Tick off part of your artist badge by making a world war 2 themed poster - you could re-create a classic campaign poster like the ones on on this website - click here! Or, you could design one celebrating the end of the war, or thanking those who fought for the country.
You might have heard about an escape room, or even taken part in one! An escape room is where you solve a series of clues to lead you around a room. Each clue will help you solve the next, and eventually you can escape the room! Another scout group has design a text based adventure room, which uses pictures, text and a mixture of codes and multiple choice questions. It's a bit tricky, so you might want to ask someone to help you with it, but it will be a good challenge to complete! Click the link below to try it, and remember to let Aklea know if you manage to finish - it counts as a problem solving activity for your My Skills challenge!