Scouting at Home

LOOK FOR HELPERS

Can you find the helpers keeping us safe during the pandemic?

Care for your family and your pets and be a helper in your home, just like doctors, nurses and other important workers are helping care for their communities. Small gestures can make a big difference these days!

Our neighbours are our fellow citizens. Not long ago, our country came together in song and raised over $8 million for Canada’s food banks!

How can you be a helper? Read on to discover some possibilities!

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Missed last week’s newsletter, or looking for more inspiring activities to try? Catch up on all Scouting at Home editions here!

Personal Achievement Badge of the Week

HOME

Personal Achievement badges help you to challenge yourself to take on a new skill, or even try something brand new. What skill have you always wanted to try or master? Set yourself a goal to get you on the right path! This week’s Personal Achievement badge is Home. How can you help care for your home so that it is safe and maintained? Learn more about how to be a helper not only in your community, but in your home as well. Take on skills to help the people (and pets, and even plants) living inside of your home.

Take a look at the full selection of Personal Achievement badges for activities your child can do alone or together as a family. Do you compost at home to help out the planet? What home safety plans would be helpful for your family members?

Ages 5-7: Pet Care Beaver
Ages 7-10: Cub Home
Ages 11-14: Scout Home

We Recommend

There are lots of other great organizations creating resources for doing activities at home, so why not share them? Here are a few of our favourites!

Explaining the Coronavirus to Children

It can be hard to understand the novel coronavirus. You might understand parts of it, like why it is so important to stay inside, but may not understand all of it, like when we’ll be able to see our friends and family again. Luckily, helpers work in different ways to use their unique skills to help us. Axel Scheffler, who illustrated the Gruffalo books, has put together a free book to help kids understand more about what’s happening. Even if you’re a bit old for this book, it might be a great way for you to help younger siblings or cousins to understand what’s happening.

Mr. Rogers – Look for the Helpers

The idea of looking for the helpers in uncertain times isn’t a brand new idea. Mr. Rogers, a children’s television host, first shared this idea, and it has been a popular mantra for many people ever since. In the clip below, hear Mr. Rogers share his take on looking for the helpers and why it is so important for us.

#ScoutsDoStuff

Tag @scoutscanada in your #ScoutsDoStuff pics—let Scouting youth across Canada and around the world know how they can continue Scouting at home!

A Scout in 1^st Lakeshore found a way to help the planet from home, raising awareness of stormwater pollution.

A Scout in Nova Scotia is giving back to his community at an especially difficult time, making ear guards to ease the discomfort of those who need to wear face masks all day.

Scouting youth across Canada continue to find ways to camp together—even while staying apart!

Scouting youth in Central Escarpment Council shared a virtual campout from the safety and comfort of home.

While some Scouts are pitching tents indoors, other Scouts are making their own!

Backyard Scouting

How could you lend a helping hand to others? What skills do you have that could be helpful during times of need? Use the Outdoor Adventure Skills competencies to find ways to remain a helpful, contributing citizen in your home or community.

Sort It Out

Sometimes, younger family members or friends need an extra helping hand as they learn the ropes! Can you be a helper by teaching a younger youth what to pack for a day hike? Try making your own sorting challenge, and test their knowledge through what belongs and what isn’t so necessary. Share your challenge with others.

Trail Skills

Be Prepared

There are so many helpers working day to day around us to keep us safe. Do you know different emergency services are available, how and when to call them, and even what to say? Using walkie-talkies, FaceTime or even the old can-and-string-phone, practise what you’d say to the emergency services if you needed their help. Use your own role-play scenarios to test your abilities, so you can make sure you are prepared.

Emergency Skills

Look for Helpers

Activities

Right now, the world looks different than it normally does, but there is one thing that stays the same: there are always helpers, and you can find them if you look around for them. Even in scary situations, you can find people who are changing the world for the better by helping people in need. Who are the helpers in your community? You might name people like doctors, nurses or firefighters, but our helpers also include people working in grocery stores and collecting garbage. Discover how helpers do their best to make the world better!

Helpers work as a team, whether it’s doctors and nurses in a hospital, firefighters putting out a fire or workers stocking shelves in a grocery store. Cooperation is a huge part of teamwork! Create a drawing and discover how your family cooperates every day.

First responders, like paramedics and police officers are also helpers! Try being a Medic on the Scene and practising some basic first aid.

Sometimes helpers are the people who help us to see light in the dark. Find creative ways to Tell the World about all the amazing things that helpers are doing, from creating protective equipment for those who need it to keeping the world clean. Create a blog and showcase the things that your Section or Group is doing to help, and remind people to look for the helpers in hard times!

Draw "Cooperation"

Exploring STEM

There are some jobs that can be done from home, but many people still need to go to work outside of their houses. These people are essential workers or front-line workers. These jobs might include people who work in hospitals, people who work in grocery stores, and people who work in jobs that keep us safe, like those who work with water or electricity. Learn a bit more about what some of our front-line workers do, and why their jobs are so important!

How is your house powered? Learn more about the role that electricity plays in our lives and why electrical workers have such an important job with Circuitry Madness.

We also rely on water to keep us clean and hydrated. Lots of important workers help to make sure that we have clean water to drink and use in our homes. Explore different methods of cleaning water by building a water filter.

Having an easy way to wash your hands is important, but some may not have easy access to a sink, like those on construction sites or working in the community. Help these people by building a portable handwashing station!

CAMPFIRE MOMENT

On March 14, life in Canada changed for all of us as our government took actions to address the growing pandemic. Since then, our Scouting community across the country has come together to show that Scouting is alive and active during these uncertain times.

Now, more than ever, the world needs Scouting.

Mike Eybel – Council Commissioner, Battlefields Council
Heather Earle-Ferguson – Council Relationship Manager, Greater Toronto Council
Tyler Olson – Scouting Relationship Manager, Cascadia Council

EXPLORE MORE

1st Laityview Scout Provides Thousands of Ear Guards to Frontline Workers

Maple Ridge Scout Quinn Callander has 3-D printed and given away roughly 2,000 ear guards, and his good deed has inspired others to provide thousands more.

Whitby Cub Scout Makes Protective Face Shields

When 10-year-old Cub Scout Aidan McReelis first began to understand the implications of the coronavirus pandemic and the risks posed to frontline workers, he knew he had to find a way to help.

FIND OUT MORE

Bowmanville Cub and Beaver Craft Ear Guards

Nine-year-old Cub Scout Landen Strawn and his sister, five-year-old Beaver Scout Savannah, are crafting ear guards to donate to frontline medical workers in their community.

Staying Safe

We recognize that a change to online and at-home activities creates 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.

Virtual Scouting Tip

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