Badge support Beaver My Skills Challenge Award

For requirement two, Beavers take part in three activities to learn about how they can keep their bodies fit and healthy. You could start by discussing the basics of keeping teeth clean with your Beavers. To bring the idea to life, why not adapt this flossing activity, creating your very own dental model to experiment with? You could also explore the effects of fizzy drinks on teeth by trying this experiment with coins.

To teach Beavers about the importance of exercise and healthy eating, check out these activity resources from Jaffa, who are sponsoring the badge. You could also adapt these mindfulness activities to teach Beavers about mental wellbeing and how it relates to physical wellbeing.

When completing this part of the award, a visit from an expert can be really valuable. It not only brings the topic to life, but also allows Beavers to ask their own questions and understand the broader context of any activities they have already tried. Why not see if any parents/guardians of your Colony are working within health and fitness? Are any of them doctors or dentists? Are any of them involved in sports or nutrition? Encouraging parents to take an active role will strengthen your Colony, and could potentially help you to recruit more adult volunteers.

For requirement three, Beavers take part in two creative activities of their choosing. Making a musical instrument from recycled materials is a fantastic way to fulfil this, and can also count towards the Creative Activity Badge. The week before the session, ask your Beavers if they can name some musical instruments. What do these instruments look like? What kind of sounds do they make? 

Next, explain that next week they’ll be making their own musical instruments, and see if they can think of any everyday materials or objects that could be used to make a noise. Encourage them to bring in things to use, and make sure you have some spares at hand. 

If they’re stuck, YouTube is full of tutorials, with everything from straw flutes to tin can drums and cereal box guitars. Even a bag of rice can be shaken like a maraca, and they’ll be delighted and surprised by the range of noises they can create.

Whichever creative activities they choose to do, the key is to let your Beavers run with their imaginations where possible. The badge is a great opportunity to encourage independent thought, rather than relying too heavily on instructions, and it may even unveil some hidden talents within the section.

Looking for some team problem-solving activities to fulfil requirement seven? You could challenge Beavers to build a protective structure for an egg. Can they build something so strong that the egg does not break when it is dropped? Alternatively, you could challenge them to build a paper bridge out of newspaper, or to build the tallest tower they possibly can, using only spaghetti and marshmallows. A classic game of jungle crossing could also work splendidly, as Beavers will need to use their logic skills to cross the room successfully, without landing on any imaginary hazards.