Beaver Scouts are our second youngest members of the Scouting family. They learn those early life skills that put them on the road to becoming a skilled scout. Our Beavers are in "Lodges", a small team of young Beavers who learn to work together. Beavers make new friends, play fun games together and learn to love their community, respect their friends and their seniors, in and out of Scouting.
The Beavers from 3rd Waltham Abbey recently completed their first ever overnight camp, joined by members of the Explorer Scouts. After arriving in the morning, they wasted no time getting stuck into a packed programme of activities, including tent pitching, woodcraft using hand drills, catapult building, wide games, fire lighting, and even a spot of gardening, where they worked together to build a frog hotel for local wildlife. They also showed great independence by washing up their own plates and cutlery after dinner. Sleeping in tents was a new and exciting experience for many of the Beavers, and they all did a fantastic job of packing away their equipment the following morning before being collected by their parents. It was a fantastic weekend filled with adventure, teamwork, learning, and fun. Everyone who took part should be incredibly proud of their achievements, and the camp was a great success enjoyed by all.
At Beavers, we love giving the children the opportunity to try new skills, and baking is always a favourite activity! The Beavers made delicious chocolate rice crispy cakes, while those with allergies enjoyed making marshmallow rice crispy cakes. The children had great fun measuring, mixing, and creating their tasty treats. One of the best parts of the session is seeing how proud they are to show their parents what they have made at the end of the evening. It's wonderful to watch their confidence grow as they learn new skills and celebrate their achievements
We had the privilege of taking the Beavers on a guided tour of the beautiful Waltham Abbey Church. The children gained new historical insights about our local church and engaged enthusiastically with many thoughtful questions.
We love making the most of our wonderful outdoor space at Waltham Abbey Scout Hall, so on summer evenings we take the Beavers outside to enjoy the fresh air. We’ve gone on bug hunts, had fun with the parachute, made colourful fruit skewers, and talked about healthy eating.
During the hot weather, we treated the Beavers to a fun evening of water play! We set up a slip-and-slide, and everyone had a fantastic time cooling off and enjoying themselves
The Beavers have been working hard, exploring a variety of fun ways to earn their Experiment Badges.
During one of our sessions, we set up different activity stations focused on magnets. The Beavers tested various household materials to discover which were magnetic and which were not. They used magnets to move a paperclip to the top of a bottle, went “paperclip fishing” to collect as many fish as possible for points, and played an exciting magnet string game.
In another session earlier in the year, we played “What’s in the Box?” — a fun guessing game with five boxes, each containing a mystery item. The Beavers had to reach inside and guess what was hidden inside each box. That same evening, we also made lava lamps using oil, water, and effervescent tablets. To finish off the night, the Beavers used the same tablets in film canisters to create their own mini rockets, which was a big hit!
Our Beavers were very excited to receive a special visit from the local police. During the visit, the officers spent time talking to the children about a variety of important safety topics, including how to keep themselves and their friends safe at home, when out and about, and while using the internet. They explained the importance of being careful on the roads, understanding how to cross safely, and knowing what to do in different situations to stay out of danger.
The highlight of the visit was when the police officers showed the Beavers their patrol vehicle. The children had the opportunity to look inside, explore the equipment, and learn about how the police use their vehicles to help people in the community. To make the experience even more exciting, the officers brought along some of their protective clothing and allowed the Beavers to try it on. Everyone enjoyed the visit, learned something new, and left with a better understanding of how the police work to keep everyone safe.
Sounds dangerous, but young Beavers benefit from adult tuition. They learnt how a fire is started, the 3 elements that "fire" needs, the dangers and being a responsible Beaver, preventing accidents and what to do in an emergency. We were lucky to have an adult from another section join us for the evening, and explain all this to our Beavers.
