By Tania McLaughlin
After the youth members went to a lot of trouble preparing special gifts for their mums, we held our annual Mother’s Dinner – this year with an Irish theme – and let the mums relax while their kids served food and drink and presented them with gifts.
The youth were obviously still feeling creative, as the Joey Scouts explored activities and craft to commemorate National Sorry Day which was on May 26 while the Cubs challenged themselves with a scout-based trivia night.
Our older youth in Scouts and Venturers wanted to try something a little more challenging, and decided to create some serving trays. They were provided with raw materials, given a safety brief and had to decide on dimensions, measure and cut. Under supervision, they learned how to use a table saw, a drop saw, drills and screwdrivers, they learned how to sand everything smooth and put it all together.
Of course, while creating is fun, getting outside is what Scouts is all about. While the Joeys spent an afternoon learning about the hows and whys of planning and managing risk in preparation for their upcoming camp, the Cubs headed out for a night of BMX and the older units headed to Mt Coot-tha for a relaxing night hike.
The following weekend, the Joeys and Cubs had a swap over camp – where the Joey Scouts set up the campsite and enjoyed an overnight camp with fire lighting, cooking on a bbq, learning knots and building shelters, and then walked away from it and let the Cubs move in for their camp. The Cubs were very creative doing painting, rolling down hills and team building, along with campfires and a disco. They had all the fun packing it away the following day.
Our Scouts and Venturers had their own camp – a much more chilled out version – where they spent time bonding and making memories. There does seem to be some disagreement amongst the older youth about how much equipment is too much, so they are going to resolve it scientifically by holding separate camps for the boys and girls to give them an opportunity to camp according to their own individual styles. This should be interesting…
After the camp, our Joeys had their usual Wiped Out Wednesday night off. Apparently, our Cubs still had way too much energy and headed out for a quiet evening stroll around Pooh Corner.
The Scouts took the opportunity to check and perfect their trays, play some games and generally socialise with each other as they started winding down ready for the upcoming school holidays. Scouting can be whatever you want it to be.
Some of our youth are keen to do badgework and work toward their peak awards, while others simply enjoy the social aspect of Scouting and having fun with friends. There is really something here for everybody. If you are interested in seeing if Scouts is what your family has been looking for, please get in touch and come and visit us.
