There is always something fun and adventurous going on at the Scouts.
On the weekend of May 12-13, the Clearwater Scouts along with 200 kids from other groups in the area did a nine km Night Trek in Kelowna. In the dark they had to find 13 stations where they had to perform all sorts of tasks, such as use a compass or play disk golf with a flashlight. For each assignment they would receive points and the group with the most points was the winner. “But winning is not the most important thing, it is mainly about participation and attitude,” says Tim Panko, one of the leaders.
After this exciting weekend, the Cubs (age eight - 11) gathered at Clearwater ski hill for their regular meeting on Monday evening. After the opening Grand Howl where the Cubs salute their leader, every kid gets to tell what special things they did for their mother on Mother’s Day.
Then it is on to the first activity. The group is divided into groups of two.
“You will be sent outside one group at a time, where you need to find 13 different animal tracks around the building,” says Akela Daniela Schwaiger. “You need to match the animal foot prints with the names of the animals you are given on the list.”
In the meantime, the other Cubs wait for their turn to go outside set to work to make a phenakistoscope. This ancient animation device can best be described as a circular disc of paper with cut out slits you can peek through which is attached to a small wooden stick. On it, a sequence of the same animal figure is printed but every image is drawn in a slightly different pose.
The Cubs glue the paper circle with the animal image onto a piece of cardboard, cut out the slits, and then attach the small wooden stick in the middle. When that is done it is off to the bathroom to spin it in front of a mirror and peek through the cracks to see the animal move. The kids get to choose from a raccoon, trout, elk, turkey vulture, or a cougar image. They all agree that the trout is the coolest because of the way it moves.
After these activities, the Cubs perform some skids such as “The invisible bench” and “Did you see the bear?” The meeting ends with the Grand Howl and the greeting “Good night and good hunting.”
The spring and summer will be filled with all kinds of fun activities such as hiking and kids of all ages are welcome to join the Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, or Venturers.
– Margot Venema