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Zero gravity
Select one Beaver to be the earthbound mortal who cannot fly into
space. Other Beavers, with their magic zero gravity shoes, are
safe as long as they can balance on a stone, hang from a tree,
hug a lighthouse - anything to stay off the ground. The
earthbound 'It' may guard closely any Beaver who is losing his
grip and is soon to fall back to earth. Anyone tagged while on
the ground loses his magic shoes and becomes 'It'.
Racket Squad
Mark start and finish lines about 10 yards apart. Each Beaver
takes a balloon, blows it up, and ties a knot in it. Beavers
line up at the start line with balloons balanced on their wire
rackets. When the leader says 'Go', Beavers begin to walk
quickly toward the finish line, balancing their balloons without
letting them blow off. Beavers may not use hands to touch
balloons; however, if a balloon falls off, the Beaver stops,
picks up the balloon, counts to three, and continues.
Overall Understanding
Beavers are divided into two teams. Teams line up in parallel
rows with Beavers standing behind one another. The first Beaver
on each team is given a basketball, beach ball or balloon. When
the leader says 'Go', the first Beaver on each line passes the
ball backward over his head to the second Beaver. The second
Beaver passes the ball under his legs to the next Beaver behind,
and so forth. The ball continues to be passed backward down the
line, alternately over and under, until it reaches the last
Beaver. The last Beaver, receiving the ball, runs to the front
of his line and begins to pass the ball backward again. This
continues until every Beaver on the line has a chance to be at
the beginning. The team whose first Beaver gets to the front of
the line again first is the winner.
Overall Understanding variation
At one end of the Meeting Place, form a single line with the
entire Colony. Four or five balls or balloons will be needed to
play. One by one, the first Beaver takes each ball or balloon
and passes it backward overhead to the next Beaver. The next
Beaver passes it under his legs to the next Beaver, and this
continues alternately down the line. When the last Beaver
receives a ball, he runs to the front of the line and starts
again. With four or five balls moving down the line, and Beavers
running to the front of the line, the line will move slowly
across the Meeting Place.
Line switch (Outside game)
Divide the Colony into two teams. On a sidewalk or paved area,
draw a line of squares with a piece of chalk. Allow one space
for each Beaver. Leave an empty square in the center between the
two teams. The object of the game is for all the Beavers on one
side of the blank space to switch places with the Beavers on the
other side. Have Beavers stand in the squares. One team will be
on one side of the empty square, one team on the other. To
begin, the leader yells 'Line Switch'. One at a time, Beavers
may move forward into the free spot or jump over an occupied
space to a free one. Only one Beaver is allowed per space. When
both teams have successfully maneuvered to the opposite side of
the empty center square, everyone wins.
Lean in, Lean Out
All Beavers join hands and form a circle. The circle must be
large enough so that everyone can hold their arms at shoulder
height. It is also important that everyone is around the same
height and weight for best results. Before starting, each Beaver
is given either the number one or two. As the leader, either
include or exclude yourself so that there is an even number of
Beavers in the circle. You are now ready to begin. On the count
of three all the number ones will lean in and all the number twos
will lean out. It is important to encourage the Beavers to move
slowly, so that their weight is evenly distributed at a constant
rate. Ask the Beavers to speak up if they need the participants
on either side of them to either increase, or decrease their
weight by moving their bodies accordingly. It will most likely
take a few practice trials before Beavers will feel comfortable
trusting the others. With encouragement and co-operation they
will soon be able to master the techniques. Once the Beavers
feel comfortable with this exercise, see how many times the ones
and twos can switch positions without letting go of each other.
Help the Beavers change positions by orally guiding them through
the switch.
Smiling Faces
This game is most successful when played with small groups of 15
Beavers or less. Have everyone form a close circle, sitting on
the ground. On the count of three, Beavers put on their most
serious faces and stare into the eyes of the others, trying not
to be the first Beaver to laugh or smile. The first Beaver to
break the spell goes into the middle of the circle and lies on
his back. The others gather round, and on the word 'go', tickle
the Beaver until he yells 'Stop !'. After being tickled the
Beaver joins the circle once again, but now tries to make the
other laugh, doing anything except touching them. Continue until
everyone has been tickled.
Food for Thought
The game begins with a statement such as 'I saw a candy bar; I
one it.' In turn, Beavers reply 'I two it,' 'I three it', 'I
four it,' etc., until one Beaver says "I eight it.' Older
Beavers may want to use such objects as rocks, dead horses,
skunks, etc., but perhaps it is best to use more desirable
objects with younger Beavers.
Laughing
All Beavers except one who is 'It' form a circle. 'It' stands
inside the circle and tosses a handkerchief into the air.
Everyone, including 'It' must laugh until the handkerchief
touches the floor. Then there must be perfect silence. Anyone
laughing after the handkerchief touches the floor becomes 'It',
and the previous 'It' joins the circle.
Pass it On
Beavers line up in two equal teams. One filled container is
placed at the front end of each team and an empty container at
the back. At a signal, the first Beaver takes one object at a
time out of the front container and passes them down the line to
be deposited into the empty container at the back of the line. If
an item is dropped, it must be passed back to the head of the
line and started again. The first team to transfer all the items
wins.
Poor Pussy
One Beaver is the pussy. The other Beavers form a circle,
sitting around pussy. Pussy moves on hands and knees to a Beaver
who must pet Pussy's head three times and say "poor Pussy, poor
Pussy, poor Pussy' without smiling. Pussy meows and tries to
make the Beaver smile. If pussy is successful, the Beaver must
take Pussy's place.
Shoe Scramble
Each Beaver removes shoes and places in a pile. The Beavers move
to a starting line 10 to 15 feet away, and at the signal the
Beavers try to retrieve and put on their own shoes (not necessary
to tie or buckle. The first Beaver back to the starting line
wins. What animal Am I ? Wrap as many different animal crackers
as there are Beavers; place in bowl. Beavers for a circle. Each
Beaver selects one wrapped animal cracker and unwraps the animal
cracker but does not let the other Beavers see it. Beavers take
turns standing inside the circle, acting like the animal on the
Beaver's cracker. The other Beavers then try to guess which
animal is being imitated.
Squat tag
One Beaver is designated 'It'; the other Beavers scatter over the
game area. The only way to avoid being tagged is to squat down
and call out 'Squat'. "It" tries to tag one of the Beavers in
order to exchange places.
Coin Drop
Preparation: Large wide-mouth container full of water with a
small jar or glass sunk in the middle; five small coins for each
Beaver; a few additional coins for play-offs. How: The container
is set on the floor, and one at a time the Beavers try to drop
their coins from a standing position into the sunken jar or
glass. Each Beaver's score is kept, and a tie for first is
decided with a sudden death play-off. The winner keeps the coins
outside the small jar or glass; the runner-up gets to keep the
coins in the small jar or glass.
Colours
One Beaver is selected to start the game. The Beaver says "I am
thinking of something that is in this room that is (names the
colour of the object.)" The rest of the Beavers try to guess the
correct object. The first Beaver to guess correctly becomes the
new selector of the object to be guessed.
Fishing for paper clips
Preparation: Empty a box of paper clips into a cardboard box with
high sides; a magnet on a string. How: the cardboard box of
paper clips is placed in the center of a table. The first Beaver
is given the magnet on the string and tries to get as may paper
clips as he can.
Peanut butter and jelly
All of the Beavers stand in a circle. Beavers pass one of the
balls, "Peanut Butter," around the circle. To make things
sticky, the second ball, "Jelly," is tossed from Beaver to Beaver
in any direction. Beavers must keep both balls moving without
stopping. The object of the game is for the Jelly to catch up
with the Peanut Butter. When one Beaver catches both balls,
everyone shouts "Peanut butter and jelly!" Then everyone starts
again.
Airplane race
Preparation: One cone-shaped paper cup with a hole cut in the
bottom and 15 feet of string or twine for each team. Pass the
string through the hole in the cup. How: Beavers are divided
into teams of three. Two Beavers on each team hold either end of
the twine and line up side-by-side with the other teams. The
third member of each team stands at one end of the twine with the
paper cup and, at a given signal, blows into the cup to move it
the length of the twine. The first team to get the cup moved the
length of the twine wins the game.
Bang relay
A pile of paper bags for each team should be on chairs at the end
of the room. Every team member, in turn, races up to this pile;
inflates and bursts a bag; runs back and touches off the next
Beaver.
Thirsty Race
Requires jugs of water, tumblers and straws. Each runner pours
out a tumblerful of water and drinks it through a straw, before
returning to the starting point.
Pea Relay
Each Beaver carries a pea in a teaspoon from one point to
another. Place an equal number of peas in a container for each
lodge, and an empty container in another point in the room.
William Tell race
Each Beaver runs with an apple (or other object) balanced on his
head. The event may be either for individuals or relay teams.
Balloon Overhead
All Beavers stand for this, the teams being in two straight
lines, facing inwards. The end Beaver of each line holds a
balloon, and at the starting signal they pat them over their
heads to their neighbours. The second Beavers pass similarly to
the third, and so the balloons travel down the lines. The first
to reach the end marks the winning team.
Floor balloon
Played with all Beavers sitting on the floor, in two straight
lines. Each Beaver should sit with legs straight forward, so
that his feet are pressed against the feet of the opposite
opponent. Then the balloon is patted by hand, and a goal scored
each time it is made to fall to the floor behind the back of
either team.
Balloon football
Two teams line up facing each other. A string down the middle
marks the line each team may not cross. Each team has a balloon.
It is important that two balloons are in play all the time, as
this makes the game more exciting. At the word 'Go', each team
has to try to get their balloon over the heads of the other team,
and onto the floor behind them. Each time they do this, they
score a goal. The teams must not divide into front and back rows
for attack and defence.
Fly swat
One Beaver is blindfolded, and stands at the middle of the room.
He holds a baton of rolled-up newspaper. Whenever he hears a
buzz at his ear he swipes at the one who is making the sound. He
must never swipe except when there is a buzzing. No Beaver
should buzz except by the ear of the blindfolded one.
Wool Gathering
Scatter about the meeting place 3" lengths of coloured wool, and
allow your Beavers to collect them. You can either assign a
point value to each individual colour and the team with the most
points wins.
Checker golf
A smooth floor is needed for this. Mark chalk rings for 'holes'
at convenient points, numbering them from 1 to 9 in proper golf
fashion. The balls are checkers or wood circles instead of golf
balls, and are driven along by being flicked by finger and thumb.
Musical Bumps
Everyone jumps up and down in time to the music. Each time it
stops, they all sit down. Pick out the last one to sit down, but
don't make them sit out for the rest of the game. The winners
can be the ones who have never been last.
Perpetual Motion
Beavers sit in a circle on the floor and count off so that each
Beaver has a number. Place a frisbee or a metal plate on the
floor in the center of the circle. The first Beaver gets up,
turns the disc on edge and spins it as you would a coin. As the
Beaver sits down, he calls out the number of another Beaver. The
Beaver whose number is called jumps up, gets the disc before it
stops, give it another spin, and calls out another Beaver's
number before sitting down. Beavers continue calling each
other's numbers and keeping the disc spinning. If the disc
completely stops spinning, a Beaver starts it again. The object
of the game is to co-operate in keeping the disc spinning, not to
trick other Beavers.
Kangaroo relay
Divide the group into two teams and have Beavers line up, one
behind the other. Place a chair about ten feet in front of each
team. The first Beavers place a ball between their knees, hop
around the chair, and return to tag the next Beavers in line.
Beavers may touch the ball with their hands to pass it to the
next Beaver or to pick it up when dropped, but they cannot move
while touching the ball with their hands. The first team to send
every member around the chair and back is the winner.
Water Brigade (Outside game)
Divide the Beavers into two teams. Teams stand in two parallel
lines. Place a bucket at either end of each team. Fill the
buckets at one end of each team with water while the buckets on
the opposite end remain empty. Give each Beaver a disposable
cup. The object of the game is for each team to transfer the
water from the filled bucket - cup by cup - to the empty buckets.
When the leader says "go", the first Beavers on each team dip
their cups into their buckets. The water is passed from Beaver
to Beaver on each team by pouring it into the next cup. The last
Beavers pour their cups into the empty bucket.
Stringing along
Cut 75 to 100 pieces of string of varying lengths - from 2 inches
to several feet. Hide each piece of string someplace in the room
before Beavers arrive. Have Beavers stand in the middle of the
room. Divide the groups into two teams and explain that you've
hidden pieces of string, pointing out the more obvious ones. The
object of the game is for each team to find and tie together as
many strings as possible. Since the strings are not the same
length, the winning team will not necessarily be the one with the
largest number of strings, but the one with the longest line.
When it seems that most strings have been found and tied, have
teams stretch their lines of string next to each other to
compare. The team with the longest string is the winner.
Icicle Tag
Choose one Beaver to be the 'sun', the rest of the Beavers are
'icicles'. The sun must run around and touch as many icicles as
possible. When an icicle is touched, he must 'melt' and fall
down. This continues until all the icicles are melted.
Pencil Game
A pencil is passed around to each Beaver, who is to mime an
action with it, e.g., eating a cob of corn, hitting a ball, etc.
The other Beavers have to guess what the action the Beaver is
doing.
Feather Puff
The Beavers sit in a ring, which should not be too large. One of
them throws up a small feather, and immediately all begin to blow
it. No one must move any part of his body but the head. Should
the feather fall on any Beaver that one is out of the game - thus
the aim of each is to make the feather touch someone else, and to
protect oneself. As fewer Beavers remain, they should draw into
a smaller ring.
Handkerchief tag
The amount of running about in this game can be determined by the
number of Beavers and the size of the room. It does not even
matter if most of those taking part stand still all through. One
Beaver is 'It', and remains so until he succeeds in tagging, or
touching, some other Beaver. But the others toss a handkerchief
about between them, and 'It' can only touch another Beaver who is
holding the handkerchief.
Bean-bag golf
The holes can be tins or boxes, scattered about the
floor, and numbered so that they can be played in proper order.
No clubs or balls are needed. Instead, each Beaver has a
bean-bag which he tosses into the hole. When a bean-bag falls on
the floor, outside a hole, it must be tossed again from the point
where it is picked up.
Charades
A casual game where Beavers are asked to act out certain actions
for other Beavers to guess. They can think them up on their own,
or the leaders can give ideas, e.g., doing dishes, cutting the
hedge, going to the store, driving a bus, etc.
Lemon golf
This is played as nearly as possible in the manner of ordinary
golf - but with lemons and walking-sticks. For holes you may
have chalked rings on the floor, or circular pieces of paper,
cloth or cardboard, laid about. Until you have tried to knock a
lemon about the floor, and make it go in a straight course, you
have no idea of what an awkward fruit it can be.
Simon Says
One Beaver is Simon. He stands facing the others and shouts out
instructions, such as 'Simon says, "touch your toes". Everyone
has to obey. But if he leaves out the 'Simon says', anyone who
obeys the instruction is 'out'.
Squeak, piggy, squeak
Everyone sits on the floor except for one Beaver, who is
blindfolded. He tries to catch hold of the others. Each time he
does, he says "Squeak, piggy, squeak" and the Beaver has to
squeak. If he guesses who it is, the squeaker is blindfolded.
Sneaky Peter
One Beaver is blindfolded and sits on a chair with a teddy
underneath it. The others try to sneak the teddy away without
him catching hold of them. When someone is caught, he becomes
'It'.
Pipe Line
Give each Beaver a piece of construction paper and two paper
clips. Have Beavers roll their papers into 12-inch cylinders
with a 1-inch overlap. Fasten ends with paper clips. Separate
the group into two teams and have them stand in two parallel
lines. Tell teams to hold their paper cylinders end to end to
create a long pipe. Crush two pieces of paper into balls small
enough to fit through the cylinders. Say 'go' and drop the paper
balls into the ends of the first two cylinders. Team members
must jiggle the paper balls from one cylinder to the next. If a
paper ball drops on the floor, the last Beaver must pick it up
and try again. Passes can only be made from cylinder to
cylinder. When the paper ball gets to the last Beaver's
cylinder, teams must reverse the passing. The first team to get
the paper ball back to the beginning is the winner.
Hot Stuff
Gather everyone in a circle. Leader starts as the Caller,
selecting a number from 1 to 50 (or less). As the Beavers stand
in the circle, passing the ball from Beaver to Beaver, the caller
counts aloud to the preselected number, then yells 'Hot Stuff'.
Meanwhile, the Beavers in the circle must keep the ball moving
from Beaver to Beaver. When the Caller yells 'Hot stuff', the
Beaver with the ball, (or if the ball is between Beavers, the
Beaver just about to catch the ball) leaves the circle and joins
the Caller. As more and more Beavers leave the circle, the
Caller group becomes larger and larger, and the counting becomes
louder and louder. The original Caller tells the new Callers the
number to which the group will count. As the game dwindles to
two Beavers passing the ball back and forth, the last Beaver left
without the ball when the callers yell 'Hot Stuff' will the the
winner.
Partner Pull-up
Partners sit down facing each other with the soles of their feet
on the floor, toes touching. Partners reach forward, bending
their knees if they must, and grasp hands. By pulling together,
both come up to a stand and then try to return to a sitting
position.
Partner Back-up
Two Beavers sit back to back, knees bent. From this position
they try to stand up by pushing against each other's backs
without moving their feet. Sitting down again can also be
attempted. If the Beavers are successful, propose that from a
halfway position they try to move like a spider. . .
Mile of Yarn
This is an interesting way to knit Beavers together. One Beaver
starts with a bright ball of thick yarn, or a strip of material,
wraps the end of the yarn around his waist, and passes the ball
to another Beaver. He wraps it around his waist, and passes it
to another child, and so on. Once the whole group has been
intertwined in yarn, the whole process is reversed. The last
Beaver begins to rewind the ball, passes it to the next Beaver,
and so on until the fully wound ball reaches the first Beaver.
Shoe twister
Each Beaver removes one shoe and places it in a pile. Everyone
then picks up someone else's shoe, and while holding the shoe
(method left up to Beaver's ingenuity) everyone joins hands,
forming a large circle. Each Beaver then locates the owner of
the shoe that he is holding, and all Beavers exchange shoes
without breaking their joined hands. Once all shoes have been
returned to their owners, the circle is reformed and Beavers make
another pile of shoes to start the game again.
Sticky Popcorn
The Beavers begin this game by 'popping' - jumping or hopping
-about the Meeting Place as individual pieces of sticky popcorn,
searching for other pieces of popcorn. When one piece of popcorn
comes into contact with another piece, they stick together. Once
stuck, they continue to pop around together, sticking to other
pieces, until they all end up in a big popcorn ball.
Fish Gobbler
Select a caller, known as the Fish Gobbler. The caller shouts
'ship', and all of the Beavers run toward the wall to which he
points. On the shout 'shore' they quickly change directions and
run toward the opposite wall. On the signal 'Fish Gobbler', the
Beavers quickly drop to the floor on their stomachs and link
arms, legs, or bodies together with one or more friends.
The Fish
Gobbler moves around the room with arms outstretched like a big
bird swimming toward the other Beavers but not touching any of
them. The Beavers are all 'safe' as long as they are all
physically linked together. Once the Fish Gobbler sees that
everyone is linked to someone else, the signal 'Rescue' is
called. At his moment all the Beavers jump to their feet, join
hands, and yell 'Yah', raising their joined hands over their
heads. Various other calls could be added, such as 'Sardines'
-everyone runs to a central point to make the tightest group
possible by either lying on the floor or forming a massive
standing hug; 'Fishermen All' - everyone sits on someone else's
knee or knees; 'Crabs' - everyone backs up to a partner, bends
over, and reaches under their own legs to hold hands.
Toesies
Partners simply lie stretched out on the floor, feet to feet, and
attempt to roll across the floor keeping their toes touching
throughout. Toesies can also be attempted with only the toes of
the right feet connected, with legs crisscrossed, or in a sitting
position, rolling toe to toe.
Group pull-ups
Group pull-ups add fun to exercise and introduce an element of
creative challenge. Players begin in a seated circle of four.
Grasping hands or arms, they try pulling up to stand as a unit.
If successful, they can try a circle of six or eight Beavers. The
more Beavers added, the more difficult the challenge becomes.
Group members can experiment and discover workable ways to get
up.
Jiggle and Swiggle
A stick about 24 inches long and 1 inch thick is held parallel to
the ground, supported between the waist of two partners. A
string about 24 inches long hangs down from the center of the
stick, with a small rubber ball at the loose end. Adjust the
length of the string so that the ball hangs free a few inches
above the ground. The two Beavers work in unison to wind the
string and ball around the stick and then to unwind it.
Rump Bump
Partners stand back to back, bend down, and place their hands on
the floor in front of them, with or without bending their knees.
They then place a balloon (or ball) between their behinds and try
to move around without dropping it. To end the game with a bang,
the partners can press their behinds together until the balloon
pops.
Touch Blue
The game begins with six to eight Beavers standing in a circle. A
leader calls out instructions: First, all Beavers must use their
right hand to touch something that is blue on another Beaver, and
hold on. It could be a bit of blue trim on a shoe or blue jeans
or a blue shirt. Next, the left hand has to touch something
yellow and hold on. Have the left foot touch something black and
the right foot something brown, the head can touch something red,
and if the group hasn't fallen into a crumpled mass, the shoulder
can touch something green.
Rubber Band Toss
Each Beaver begins with a wristful of rubber bands. One Beaver
tosses or shoots a rubber band onto the ground, and the Beavers
then take turns throwing one rubber band at a time, trying to
make it hit any other rubber band on the ground. If a Beaver is
successful, he immediately picks up all the rubber bands on the
ground and redistributes them among all the players. They then
begin tossing again, with the winner each time being given the
privilege of redistributing the rubber bands for the next game.
Crab Race
The Beavers crawl on all fours backward to a goal.
Tightrope walking
Use existing lines on the floor of the Meeting Place, or use a
clothesline stretched along the ground. To walk the 'tightrope',
place the heel of one foot on the start line and begin to walk -
placing the heel of one foot directly to the toe of the other
foot - all the way to the finish line. Divide the Colony into
two teams. When the leader says "Go", members of each team begin
on their tightropes. Each Beaver waits until the Beaver ahead is
finished 'walking the rope' before beginning.
Rope Ring
You will need approximately 50 feet of clothesline rope with the
ends tied together to make a circle. Beavers stand outside the
rope in a circle, holding it with both hands. One Beaver is
selected to be the Ringmaster and to stand in the middle. The
Ringmaster tries to tap the hand of a ringside Beaver holding the
rope. Beavers can drop the rope to avoid being tapped. The
Ringmaster may try to trick Beavers by pretending to tap one
Beaver and then tap another. When a Beaver is tapped while
holding the rope, he becomes the next Ringmaster, and the thrills
and chills continue.
Dangling Doughnut Eating contest
Ensure that you have enough doughnuts for each Beaver. Powdered
sugar doughnuts are fun because the Beavers get white noses. Tie
a rope, one for each Beaver, to the branches of a tree or jungle
gym. Keep ropes long enough so that they are only 2 or 3 feet
off the ground. Slip the other end of the rope through the
doughnut hole and knot it so that the doughnut doesn't slip off.
The object of the game is to be the first Beaver to eat an entire
doughnut without using any hands. Beavers stand next to their
doughnuts with their hands behind their backs. When the leader
says "Go", Beavers begin to gobble.
Laughing matter
A single Beaver is selected to the the Laugh Igniter. He lies
down on the grass. The rest of the Colony is divided into two
groups. A Beaver from each lodge lies down on either side of the
Laugh Igniter with his head on the Laugh Igniter's stomach. One
by one Beavers lie down, placing their heads on the stomach of
the last Beaver. This makes two branches of Beavers with the
Laugh Igniter at the center connecting them both. This is useful
when shy boys prefer separate groups. After everyone is
arranged, the Laugh Igniter takes a deep breath and yells "Ha!"
The two Beavers resting on his stomach yell "Ha Ha!" The Beavers
resting on their stomachs yell "Ha ha ha" and so forth. The
idea, of course, is that each Beaver adds to the number of "ha's"
at each turn.
Yellow Jello
Gather Beavers into a close group. Tell them that they have been
changed into a bowl of banana Jello (or any flavour you like).
Pretend you are shaking the bowl. Begin slowly waving your hands
as if you were conducting an orchestra. Jiggle quickly and
vibrate the Jello more. Beavers are encouraged to act exactly
the way Jello would. Stop shaking the Jello. Usually Jello will
shake for awhile until it slows down to a stop. Naturally, if
you leave your Jello out in the sun, it will begin to melt away
all over the ground.
Go To Beaver Games Vol.1 Part 3
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