We’ve all been spending quite a bit of time indoors lately.
Fortunately, the spring weather is here, and it’s a great time to get outdoors and get to know our neighbourhoods! From putting up Easter egg drawings in your home’s windows for your neighbours to enjoy from a distance, to creating an orienteering course in your neighbourhood for your family to explore, there are many ways to connect with your community while staying close to home.
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My wife and I are helping support our neighbourhood, which has many Scouting Groups in it. We have been taking part in local “Window Walk” activities. Every few days a new theme is posted to a Facebook Group, like animals, motivational words or quick jokes. We draw or create some examples and put them up in our front window. Families can walk through their neighbourhood and enjoy the theme (while maintaining physical distance from others). Youth can collect all the animals they see or write down the motivational words and create a story with them. It’s fun and easy to both create and experience!
We recognize that a change to online and at-home activities does create a vulnerability for some children especially those in difficult or at-risk living conditions. In line with our safety culture and values, Scouts Canada continues to prioritize safety and offers support by providing access to various experts and resources. We encourage kids to reach out to Kids Help Phone (1-800-668-6868) for 24/7 counselling. You can also visit Cybertip.ca for best practices on internet safety or review Scouts Canada’s Safety Tips on cyber safety and social media.
As always, be sure to keep the Two-Scouter Rule in mind, whether engaging in online conversations through email, virtual conversations with other Scouts or on social media, and by phone.
Congratulations to our Scouting At Home winner: 6th Dundas. They’ve been sharing awesome photos of their Sections having frequent virtual meetings where youth can catch up, talk about how to do Scouting at home, and one of their Patrol Leaders even presented some Chief Scout’s Award work.
Thank you to everyone who took part in this contest! It was great to see so many adventures continuing from home. Keep sharing the Scouting spirit!
Tag @scoutscanada in your #ScoutsDoStuff pics—let Scouting youth across Canada and around the world know how they can continue Scouting at home!
When Scouter Quinn heard health care workers needed ear guards to relieve the pressure from wearing masks, he got straight to work on his 3D printer, making hundreds to donate to the local hospitals. His mother, Heather Roney (Twitter, @Hroney1), has posted the link to the file they are using and is asking for more volunteers to help produce these guards. Incredible work Quinn! We are so proud of you.
Discover more about Quinn’s story here.
The 1st Beamsville Cub Pack shared an online meeting on April 1, then took part in a special Jamboree on the Internet this past weekend!
Beaver Scout Avril of 1st Haney is working in her garden as part of a Personal Achievement badge. Way to go, Avril! You can follow her example and get seeds for your own garden by supporting Scout Seeds.
There are many unique ways to stay connected within your neighbourhood from the comfort of your own home. It’s all about thinking creatively! Use the Outdoor Adventure Skills competencies to find some activities that can still positively impact your neighbourhood.
Practise using a compass from inside your own home, in your backyard or on your next walk while remaining physically distant from others. Make your own compass challenge by marking significant objects or landmarks by direction, and challenge your family to test their orienteering skills! Share your challenge with your community online.
Another idea is hosting an indoor or virtual campfire! Using materials around your home, craft your own pretend campfire. Try paper towel tubes for logs, red and orange tissue paper for flames, and a flashlight to create your light. Then, share your fire and your favourite songs or skits with your family. You can even share your campfire experience online to spread the joy!
Sharing ideas, like new recipes, is a great way to stay connected with neighbours. Practise making dehydrated foods or your favourite trail snack, and share your tips and tricks online with others from your Scout Group. Can you successfully dehydrate 1,000 calories worth of food? Would your trail snack keep you energized on your next hike?
By now, you’ve probably spent enough time at home that you’re almost too familiar with your house or apartment. Why not take the chance to enjoy some spring weather and get to know your whole neighbourhood? Discover the different businesses, services and spaces around you and create a map – you can even share your map with your friends so that they can find out more about your neighbourhood without visiting it!
Build a Map of your neighbourhood and scan it into a computer. Then, using video calling software, give your friends or family a tour of your neighbourhood. Don’t forget to include your neighbourhood highlights, like the best spot for a snow fort, or your local park! If you want to take this idea even further, create a brochure highlighting all of the different attractions in your area so you can Be a Local Tour Guide and share your neighbourhood with friends or family!
Help your family get to know your neighbourhood by setting up an Orienteering Course. This is a great way to make time spent outdoors more fun and interesting, while still staying close to home. Make sure that you only set up the course with people in your household. You could even create a short video to explain the basics of orienteering for people who might not know how!
Last week, you learned about your non-human neighbours, but now is a great time connect more with your human neighbours from a distance! Try making signs or pictures to hang in your windows so that people walking past your house can see your creations. Local community groups across Canada have created different themes for “window walks” like silly faces or Easter eggs, so try researching your local community to see if they have created themes. You could also create signs with messages to cheer people up and remind people to keep smiling.
Personal Achievement badges allow kids to develop their own interests and skills as part of their growth and progression on The Canadian Path. Using Plan-Do-Review helps you set your goals so that you can successfully reach them. This week’s Personal Achievement badge is Community. Challenge youth to explore what it means to be a helpful, contributing citizen. Spread kindness and good turns from home to keep the positivity alive in your neighbourhood.
Take a look at the full selection of Personal Achievement badges for activities your child can do alone or together as a family, and keep your eye out for further suggestions for person progression in the coming weeks.
Finding ways to do STEM activities doesn’t just mean science experiments — you can take part in STEM while exploring your community! With the Find Your Tree Trail Card, discover what trees are in your neighbourhood. What makes them special?
With spring just around the corner, birds are getting ready for the summer by building their nests. Start a Birding Journal and keep track of the birds you see around you. Learn about the different types in your area and keep your eye out for them as you walk around your neighbourhood — you could be the next great ornithologist!
Media inquiries, please contact Anissa Stambouli: anissa.stambouli@scouts.ca
Scouts Canada Charity Number: 107761694RR0028
