SHOE BOX PROGRAMS

A shoe box program is a great idea to have on hand for one of those ‘just in case’ moments. An example is when the Joey Scout Leader calls in sick and the Group Leader is left holding the bag (or shoe box). He or she can then confidently run a mob program without too much brain strain.

You will need to collect a large shoe box (men’s shoe size) from your local shoe store. It is best if the box is empty or else you could be paying for a pair of shoes you will never wear.

The idea is to fill the shoe box with everything you need to run a program for a mob at short notice. It will contain scissors, a packet of pencils or textas, glue or sticky tape. A copy of the progam is stuck to the inside of the lid, along with the words of any song or poem that is to be used. If a story is used, put the book in the box, or a copy of the story. Make sure that you have 20 photocopies sheets of any craft activity.

FEET  Make sure the socks, feet and face pieces are already cut out that is what you prefer.  Write the words of the promise, law and theme, and any other scouting words onto the feet for the game. If you contact them they can be used over and over again.  The feet for the balloon people are best if made out of light cardboard.

FACES  Photocopy totem pole faces onto heavy paper  Before reading the story, you could ask the Joey Scouts to show you the faces that are mentioned in the story.

HANDS  Photo copies of puppets on light card. Cut these out beforehand if you prefer.  Have the words for your chosen song available for you to use.

BEAVER SCOUTS  Photocopies of Beaver Wheel on light card, split pins.  Photocopies of Beaver Booklet FEET

OPENING CEREMONY AND FLAG BREAK

GAME BOOT SCUFFLE Joey Scouts take off their shoes and place them in a pile in the centre of the hall. When the leader calls ‘GO’, the Joey Scouts must try and find their own shoes, put them back on (with the laces tied properly) and run back to the start.

CRAFT COLOUR IN SOCKS These are to be saved and used in a later game.  Teach the song while making the socks.  Photocopies of socks, textas, pencils, blue tack.

ACTIVITY FOOTSTEPS Joey Scouts must sort out the feet to find out what they must do to be good Joey Scouts. When they are sorted out, arrange them like footsteps leading up to a picture of a Joey Scout.  Footsteps with Law, Promise, Theme printed on them.

CRAFT FOOTY BATS Make footy bats out of cardboard feet. Use cotton balls as balls and see how many times the Joey Scouts can keep it off the ground.  Cardboard feet, paddle pop sticks, cotton balls, sticky tape, pencils.

BALLOON PEOPLE Blow up balloon and place in slot in the feet. Joey Scouts can decorate the balloon person by sticking on eyes, mouths, noses, moustaches, etc. When thrown in the air, these  Balloons, feet, double sided tape, face bits.

GAME ODD SOCKS GAME Socks from previous activity are stuck around the hall with blue tack. See if the Joey Scouts can find them all. Read the poem (twice) before they start the search for their socks.

CLOSING CEREMONY, PRAYER, NOTICES

SONG Socks are hanging on the line I’m hoping that the weather’s fine. Come on sun and shine, shine, shine On those washed wet socks of mine

Sing to the tune of ‘Deck the Halls”

POEM Who knows where the odd socks go Forever leaving foot and toe. Unique, not just one of a pair, They hide, but who can tell me where! FACES

OPENING CEREMONY & FLAG BREAK

GAME FACIAL FEATURES Joey Scouts line up alone one wall. Leader calls out a facial feature, eg, blue eyes, freckles, brown hair, glasses, round face, long hair, etc., and Joey Scouts with that particular feature run to the other side of the hall. Continue calling out features and they will be running from both sides of the hall all the time. At the end, explain that when God made people he gave them all arms, legs, heads and bodies, but He gave each one of us different features to we can tell each other apart – this makes us all very special.

CRAFT PAPER PLATE FACES Glue on wobble eyes, draw mouth around home and put party blow-out through mouth for a tongue. Insert a water balloon through home for a nose and blow it up. Colour hair, glasses, moustache, etc.  Need paper places, glue and textas.

GAME FUNNY FACES Split into small groups. Each Joey Scout receives a face shape. Role the dice and draw the feature indicated by the number rolled.

1. Eye 2. Nose 3. Mouth 4. Eyebrow 5. Hair 6. Freckles  Need paper places, textas, dice

CRAFT TOTEM POLE FACES Draw faces onto each section. Roll into a tube and stick together. Stack pieces one on top of the other.  Need textas, sticky tape

STORY HAPPY/SAD

ACTIVITY Ask the Joey Scouts if they know who the most important person in the world is. Call them up one at a time and tell them to look inside the lid, but they must not tell anyone else who it is! Box lid has a mirror attached so the Joey Scout will see his or her own reflection.

SONG NICKY, NACKY, NOO

CLOSING CEREMONY, PRAYER, NOTICES HAPPY/SAD STORY  Joey Scouts to make appropriate faces as you tell the story.

One day as I was walking through the park, I saw a $50.00 note on the ground. I was surprised. I bent down and picked it up. I wondered who is belong to. (Quizzical look) I walked over towards a man sitting on a bench. “Excuse me” I said, “but did you drop any money on the path?” “No!” he said with a grumpy look on his face. “Go away!” He was very rude and it made me feel sad. Very soon I came across a little old lady. She was wringing her hands and looked worried. “Oh dear, oh dear!” she kept muttering. “Is something wrong? Can I help you?” I asked. “On dear, I’ve lost my money and I need it to go shopping. What will I do? I had $50.00 in my purse and it must have dropped out!” She started to cry. “I just happed to find some month on the path. It must be years!” I said as I handed her the money. A big grin spread across her face. “Thank you so very much. It is so nice to find such an honest person.” I went home that day and I felt very happy inside. Mum asked me why I looked so pleased with myself and I told her about the money. She looked very proud. “That’s what happens when you Help Other People.

SONG - NICKY, NACKY, NOO

With my hand on my heart (place hand on heart) What have I here? (open hands wide) This is my brain boxer (point to head) My teacher dear. Brain boxer (point to head) Nicky, nacky noo. (thumbs in ears and waggle fingers) That’s what they taught me (clap hands) When I went to school.

With my hand on my heart What have I here? This is my nose wiper (point to nose) My teacher dear. Nose wiper, brain boxer, Nicky, nacky noo. That’s what they taught me When I went to school.

Verse 3 – eye blinkers (point to eyes) Verse 4 – chin wagger (point to chin) Verse 5 - chatter boxer (point to mouth) Verse 6 – nut crackers (point to teeth) HANDS

OPENING CEREMONY & FLAG BREAK

GAME OCTOPUS One Joey Scout is the octopus. Other Joey Scouts must get to the other side of the hall without being touched. If caught, they become a tentacle of the octopus. (Those caught join hands with the octopus.) Keep playing until all have been caught and you have one big octopus.

CRAFT FINGER PUPPETS Colour/decorate and cut out beetle, chicken, dog, grub, octopus puppets.  Need copies of puppets, pencils, textas, scissors, feathers, glue.

YARN THE SCOUT HANDSHAKE When Scouts meet, they greet each other in a special way, using a left handshake. Joey Scout Mobs use the left handshake for badge presentations and during ceremonies. There is a very good reason for our special handshake.

When Baden-Powell was a soldier in Africa, he saw lots of tribal chiefs who carried spears and shields. He noticed that it was a sign of great trust to offer your left hand when shaking hands. This was because you had to put down your shield and yet leave the other person with a spear in his hand.

That is why the left handshake is used by all Scouts – as a sign of trust.

GAME CARING, CARING, SHARING (as duck, duck, goose) Sit in a circle. One Joey Scout walks around the circle tapping each person gently on the head. As they do, they say “caring, caring….” ; when they choose someone they say “sharing”. Both run around the circle in opposite directions. When they reach each other on the other side of the circle, they shake hands with the left hand, and say “Help other people”. They then race back to the vacant spot. The Joey Scout left standing starts again.

SONG Choose a song with hand actions, eg, Wanni, wanni, wah, wah 10 little indians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, once I caught a fish alive Everybody do this (with different hand actions Head, shoulders, knees and toes A sailor went to sea, sea, sea Rabbit in the woods

ACTIVITY HELP OTHER PEOPLE Tape two large hand prints on the wall. Discuss with the Joey Scouts how we can Help Other People, and care and share. Write up 10 ideas in the fingers.  Need hand prints, tape, texta

CLOSING CEREMONY, PRAYER, NOTICES BEAVER SCOUTS

OPENING CEREMONY & FLAG BREAK

Leader calls out “Gather Logs”. Joey Scouts (Beavers) hold hands and form the largest possible circle around the Leader. This represents travelling out as far as possible to gather logs and sticks to build the lodge. Leader calls out “Build the Lodge". Beavers take five big steps into the middle and slowly raise their joined hands. As each step is taken, a letter is shouted out to spell “Hello”, followed by shouting out the word “Hello”. The Leader replies “Hello Beaver Scouts”. Flag break.

GAME DAM, LODGE, POND Joey Scouts lind up in the middle of the hall. When you call DAM, they run to the left side of the hall; LODGE – right side of the hall; POND – back to the middle of the hall.

CRAFT BEAVER SCOUT WHEEL Colour in and join together with a split pin. As the Joey Scouts make this explain how the circle works. The outside circle is what Beavers are all about; the middle circle is what they do; and the inner circle is their Beaver Scout Challenge that they must complete before going up to Cub Scouts (like our Link Badge).

STORY BEN THE UNHAPPY BEAVER

SONG TEN BROWN BEAVERS (Tune: Ten Green Bottles) Ten brown beavers, building up a dam, Ten brown beavers, building up a dam, And if one brown beaver left the dam and swam There’d be nine brown beavers left to build a dam. (Select a Beaver each time to swim around the circle and then sit in the middle.)

GAME DANGER, DANGER Explain that when beavers sense danger, they slap their tails on the land or water to warn the other beavers. Have one child blindfolded, sitting in the middle of the hall. Pick another child to be the wolf who must try to sneak up and touch the beaver. If the beaver hears the wolf, he points with one hand and slaps the ground with the other. If the wolf is caught, he becomes a beaver and joins the lodge (the number in the lodge increases). If the beaver is caught he joins the wolves.

CRAFT BEAVER BOOKLETS Joey Scouts work through their booklets.

CLOSING CEREMONY Leader calls out “Build a Dam”. Beavers form a circle around the leader. Leader places a finger to his/her lips for silence. Give any reminders. Leader says prayer. Flag is lowered then Leader steps back in circle. Leader says “Goodbye Beaver Scouts”. Beavers hold hands and take seven steps back, on each step spelling out the letters to GOODBYE. BEN THE UNHAPPY BEAVER

Introduction

This short story helps to make the point that no one can do everything well. We are all different, but there is always something that each of us can do well, and also enjoy doing. As Leaders, we sometimes have to be that wise owl and to reassure a child that he/she is special in some way.

BEN THE UNHAPPY BEAVER

Ben was a very unhappy beaver. The other animals in the forest would not let him play with them or even want them in their team. Ben felt it was his fault. He was very clumsy on land and moved quite slowly. If he was in a team, that team always came last and everyone blamed him. When all the animals decided to have a picnic, it was Ben’s tail that got in the way when he waddles too close to the food laid out on the ground and sent it flying in all directions.

Each day things got worse. So Ben decided to go and talk to wise Owl. He told Owl how the other animals laughed at him and called him names, and how they didn’t want to include him in their games. “I am no good”, he said. “There is nothing I can do; I’m a hopeless cause.”

“Of course you’re not”, replied wise Owl. “We are all different and everyone has something they can do well. Look at Squirrel. He can’t swim to save his life, but he can climb trees with great speed. Racoon can only manage a doggy paddle but manages to survive wherever he is because he can eat anything.”

“Now let’s look at your”, said wise Owl. “On land you are slow and clumsy, but you have talents far exceeding any of the animals around you.”

“I have?” asked the curious beaver.

“Yes, indeed”, replied the wise Owl. “You are able to turn a stream into a large deep pond. This gives a great many animals, birds and fish a place to live and to feed. You are a woodcutter and use your strong teeth to cut down trees in a very short time. You are also a builder and can make a warm and safe home to live in. All this you achieve by sheer hard work.”

“Gosh”, said Ben. “You are right Owl. I’m not a hopeless case after all. I might not be very good at games, but there are other things I can do and one day, who knows, I might just surprise everybody.”

The End.

After you have told the story of Ben the unhappy beaver, try this activity which is fun and helps to reinforce the story that all living things are different and unique, and that this applies to human beings too.

 Working in small groups, give the Joey Scouts a stone each and ask them to explore it with their hands – feels its shape, texture, ridges and bumps. What colour is it? When they feel they know their particular stone well, ask them to put the stones in a pile. Mix them up and challenge each child to pick out his or her own stone. Leave, potatoes or rocks could be used instead of stones.