MANUAL

CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 12
Beaver Scout Promise
I promise to love God and help take
care of the world.
Beaver Scout Law
A Beaver has fun, works hard and
helps family and friends.
Beaver Scout Motto
Sharing, Sharing, Sharing
1
Check out the “How can your Colony
have successful Lodges?” Scouters' Tip
at Canadianpath.ca.
Beaver Scout Basics
LODGES 1
Beaver Scouts gather in Lodges, which are small groups of six to eight Beaver Scouts
of various ages. It is important that each Lodge is made up of a mixture of White Tails,
Blue Tails and Brown Tails (first, second and third-year Beaver Scouts), as well as a
mixture of those who are experienced Beaver Scouts and those who are new to Beaver
Scouting. Each Lodge decides its own name and symbol.
FORMING LODGES
When forming new Lodges, engage the whole Colony in making some of the
decisions. Talk about the need for balancing the numbers of White Tails, Blue Tails
and Brown Tails in each Lodge. Talk about things that are important to keep in mind:
friends need to have the opportunity to be in the same Lodge if they wish; siblings
may or may not want to be in the same Lodge. Talk about the idea that the Lodge
members will need to be able to work well together on the Plan-Do-Review for
adventures. Scouters need to keep in mind other needs that may influence good
matches of youth in Lodges. If your practice is to change Lodges each year, these are
important considerations. If you maintain the Lodges from year to year, the Colony
Leadership Team could work with a Scouter to place the new Beaver Scouts in Lodges.
The considerations are still the same. Lodges, once assigned, should still be flexible.
During the year, some Beaver Scouts may need or appreciate a change in Lodge.
• Several Lodges come together to form a Colony.
• The place where the Colony meets is called a Pond.
• Children who participate in the Colony are known as Beaver Scouts. Volunteers
and older youth mentors are known as Scouters and are given Friends of the
Forest names.
• Sometimes the Colony divides into Tail Groups. A Tail Group is made up of youth
from the same age or grade.
• Kindergarten Beaver Scouts are Brown Tails (age 5 by Dec. 31st).
• Grade One Beaver Scouts are Blue Tails.
• Grade Two Beaver Scouts are White Tails.
Idea #1
Invite the Beaver Scouts to help in forming the Lodges. Let them know that the
Scouters will work with their ideas to finalize the Lodges by next week. Have the
White Tails gather in one spot, the Blue Tails in another and the Brown Tails in
another. Invite them to find one or two other youth who they think they would get
along with. If there is a youth who is not included, a Scouter can help introduce him
or her to the other Beaver Scouts of the Tail Group, or ask if he or she has a friend
in another Tail Group who he or she would like to join. Next, invite each of these
partners to find two more sets of partners who they think they’d work well with on
adventures. Tell them that they need to find these other two sets of partners from
each of the Tail Groups, so that in the end there is a White Tail set, a Blue Tail set and
a Brown Tail set. Write down the names of those who have formed each of these
groups. Thank the Beaver Scouts for being part of this. Take seriously these groups
that were formed, and modify them only if absolutely necessary to address individual
needs of the Beaver Scouts.
Idea #2
Invite the Beaver Scouts to share the names of one or two friends they have in the
Colony when they register or on the first night. Scouters use this information (as well
as the information they have about individual needs) to create the Lodges. The first
time the Lodges are gathered, Beaver Scouts have the option of talking to a Scouter if
they would prefer to be in a different Lodge. This should be handled respectfully.
106 SCOUTER MANUAL—A SCOUTER’S GUIDE TO THE CANADIAN PATH SCOUTER MANUAL—A SCOUTER’S GUIDE TO THE CANADIAN PATH 107