MANUAL

CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 12
Exploring the Pond
THE JOURNEY: PLAN-DO-REVIEW
Plan
In Lodges, the Beaver Scouts brainstorm ideas to engage each of the areas on their
Pond Maps. Beaver Scouts are encouraged to bring their interests and imagination to
program planning, and to make the program their own. Then, the Colony Leadership
Team (White Tail Council) decides on the Colony's adventures, with guidance from
their Scouters. Planning adventures should be shared (in turns) between the Colony's
Lodges, so that all of the Beavers can have the opportunity to experience some of the
preparation that goes into organizing adventures. The Scouters engage the Beaver
Scouts in planning for the activities in age-appropriate ways.
Trail Cards, online program resources, Personal Achievement badges and Outdoor
Adventure Skills will add to the range of ideas.
Planning Essentials
• When beginning brainstorming, look together with the Beaver Scouts at the Pond
Map. Ask what adventures could be shared.
• The Scouters' job is to help the Beaver Scouts remember to visit every area of the
map several times during the year.
• If Beaver Scouts need support in generating ideas, then use the Trail Cards to get
imaginations flowing.
• Do not limit the Beaver Scouts’ imaginations. Their ideas might include climbing
Mount Everest, flying to the moon, digging for fossils or parachuting. While
suggested adventures may not be age-appropriate or readily available, there are
many fun and fitting activities related to these themes.
Example 1: While you will not be able to climb Mount Everest, the Beaver Scouts
could find out how much the Sherpas carry in their packs and then challenge
themselves to see how much weight they could safely carry, try putting up a tent
together in the snow, taste dehydrated food that the climbers would use and try
balance-walking across an aluminum ladder laid on the floor (just like the climbers
do across crevices on Mount Everest).
Example 2: While Beaver Scouts cannot go parachuting, they could learn the
landing roll, listen to a skydiver talk about what it feels like to go parachuting, paint
pictures of what they would see if parachuting, play games with an old parachute
and experiment with creating small parachutes to drop a toy to a safe landing.
Do
Adventures can be undertaken in Lodges or as a Colony. All of the Beavers in a Lodge
or Colony should be involved in an adventure. The “doing” for a particular adventure
may be completed in one evening; over the course of two or three evenings; or
through a day event, camp or sleepover.
Review
Beaver Scouts plan. Then they do. And then they review. At the end of the activities
for a particular adventure or at the next Beaver Scout meeting, Beaver Scouts and
Scouters take time (usually in Lodges, sometimes as a Colony) to talk about the
activity. The Colony Leadership Team receives the review reflections to help the White
Tails with future planning. Here are some review questions to get you started:
• What did you see or hear or notice?
• What did you enjoy about this adventure?
• What was a challenge for you in this adventure?
• What did you learn that you didn’t know before?
• What might you do differently if you did this adventure again?
Sometimes a review will happen quickly and sometimes it will take more time. At the
end of the review, each Beaver who participated in the adventure will colour in one
dot on his or her Pond Map for the Program Area visited during the adventure. Those
who reach an outlined circle can mark their maps with a paw-print stamp. Those who
haven’t reached the outlined circle are encouraged to keep participating until they can
add a paw print themselves.
SCOUTERS’ ROLE IN PLAN-DO-REVIEW
Scouters have the overall responsibility of providing appropriate mentoring and
guidance for the youth, being the catalysts of enthusiasm and engagement in the
program, ensuring that adventures are safe and appropriate to the age and abilities
of youth, completing appropriate forms, and seeing the activity through to success.
Scouters will meet regularly as a team to give shape to the Beavers Scouts’ ideas,
to build a balanced program that includes all Program Areas and to monitor the
personal journey of each of the Beaver Scouts. The Beaver Scouts are to be included
in the Plan-Do-Review process in as many ways as appropriate to their age and
abilities. Scouters need to help the youth discover that their ideas and opinions
are valued in this planning process, which continues on from Beaver Scouts through
to Rover Scouts.
112 SCOUTER MANUAL—A SCOUTER’S GUIDE TO THE CANADIAN PATH SCOUTER MANUAL—A SCOUTER’S GUIDE TO THE CANADIAN PATH 113