It was 16th March 2020. We were half an hour into our weekly Beaver meeting, when Kay our District Commissioner phoned. She asked whether I had seen Boris on television. The country was going into lockdown, although at this stage we didn't know how this would affect Scouting.
We agreed to carry on Beavers until the parents came to collect the young people at the end. Not knowing whether this would be our last meeting for some time we quickly invested 6 Beavers who had recently joined.
By the time I got home, we had all received an email from Scout headquarters telling us we had to close. We set about informing all the parents, cancelling the Cubs sleepover which was due that Friday, and the Scouts 10-pin bowling trip the same evening. Later that night, whilst browsing the Internet, I came across something called Zoom. I didn’t realise at that stage what an integral part of life that would become. And I so wish that, like a friend of mine, I’d bought shares in the company the next day.
The following day I went to close down the Scout Centre, turning off the heating, emptying the fridge, turning off the water boiler and making the place safe. Not knowing how long we’d be closed for, I must admit I had a tear in my eye as I locked the building up.
Lockdown
So, the country went into lockdown. Shops were closed, we could only leave the house for certain things, toilet rolls were unavailable, as were supermarket delivery slots. We stood outside our houses at 8:00 pm every Thursday clapping the NHS and other essential workers who were helping us through the pandemic.
Four weeks later it was Easter, and it became apparent that there was no end in sight to the lockdown. What could we do to keep contact with all our children and young people, and give them Scouting ? It was a no-brainer - Our weekly Zoom meetings for Beavers, Cubs and Scouts were born.
Would it work ?
Now although our weekly meetings are usually very carefully planned, if it came to it, most leaders could walk into the headquarters and run an evening meeting off the top of their head. But meeting online was a completely new experience. That first meeting was planned to the minute with as much variety as possible. We really didn't know how it would go and what would work keeping young people interested online for an hour and a half.
We sent out the email with the link for the first meeting – it was Beavers - and when the night came we sat there wondering how many children we would see. Some were able to get on straight away and some struggled, but with the help of our ‘techie’, young leader Taylor, most of the Beavers were able to get on.
One thing that hadn't dawned on us was that with the schools closed to all but children of essential workers, some of the Beavers hadn't seen their friends for a month. It was delightful to see some of them, when their faces lit up as they saw their friends and were able to chat to them.
Active
We decided that the meetings would have to be active, and not just sitting at a screen. The very first activity of that first meeting was a scavenger hunt when youngsters were sent to find certain objects from around the house and bring them to the screen. This became a regular game and often led to the unexpected. For example, when we said bring something fluffy to the screen we were ready for cushions, teddy bears and the such like. But of course we got cats, dogs, hamsters, giant millipedes, not forgetting Samuel’s Guinea pigs Bubble and Bear who we became familiar with every week at Cubs.
There were the games on the screen, that we'd devised or borrowed from other online Scout Groups.
We always tried to include a short video or song and some action songs. Everyone who was celebrating a birthday was wished a Happy Birthday by the Minions.
I can't remember exactly how it started, but no meeting would be complete without the Stick Song from Hey Dougie. If we forgot it any week, the youngsters would soon remind us.
And of course, we always took a break in the middle of the meeting for a drink and biscuits, where we would compare with each other what biscuit we’d had that week.
Social time
At the end of that first meeting some of the young people didn't want to leave. It was then then we realised the value of staying on for a short time after the end of every meeting, just to have a chat for those that wanted to. They could have some social time with their friends.
After the end of the first Beaver and first Cub meeting, several parents contacted us to apologise for missing the meeting. They’d simply forgotten. For those of us at home during the lockdown it was so easy to forget what time of day it was … or even what day it was. We then came up with the idea of sending out a text an hour before every meeting to remind everyone. The problem was remembering what time it was ourselves, in order the send the text.
Easier
As the weeks went on it became easier running the online meetings and coming up with ideas to make them more exciting. We tried doing some badges online, held a beach party, celebrated Hallowe’en, Easter party, and enjoyed a pirate party which parents helped by hiding treasure in certain places around the house, which we gave the children clues to find.
The help we had from parents was fantastic and it was lovely to see so many of them joining in every week, or saying hello at the beginning before going off to have a well-earned break. And who can forget seeing our youngest Zoomer, Bryn’s younger brother who hadn’t long been born and just come home from hospital.
In those early weeks we took part in the national Scout’s ‘Hike to the Moon’ with Beavers, Cubs and Scouts being sponsored to walk one mile, with all money raised going to NHS charities. We were thrilled to raise over £626 for this wonderful cause. And then one Cub, Sol, organised his own challenge and raised £250 himself.
It was good to meet up with other Scout Groups in the District occasionally. It was after one of these that Coombswood Beavers and Romsley Beavers decided to join together every week for our meetings and we all got to know each other well.
In July 2020, we took part in the National Camp – The Great Weekender. Beavers, Cubs and Scouts were invited to camp at home – indoors and out – and take part in a number of activities which had been arranged online by headquarters.
Visitors
Then there were the visitors. We had drumming workshops. We were joined at different meetings by Richard the Roman soldier, his twin brother the mediaeval knight, and his other twin brother the World War Two soldier,
We were joined by goats, Zooming in from a farm in Lancashire, when an enterprising farmer found a simple way to make money during the pandemic.
One of the things we enjoyed was devising handicrafts that could be delivered to young people’s homes, which we could then make during meetings, Blue Peter style. It was quite challenging. We had to work out how to break the handicraft down into pieces small enough to fit into an envelope, but easy enough to explain how to make it online. At the same time leaving enough for the youngsters to do, to make the activity challenging.
It was a steep learning curve. The first one I did, I had to ask the Cubs to cut out the large star that we’d printed onto A4 card and delivered with all the other bits and pieces. But to demonstrate it, I had to hold the card with the star facing my laptop screen, cutting round it, so that the Cubs could see what I was doing. The problem was I could only see the back of the card, trying to guess where the star was printed and where my kitchen scissors were going. All the time wondering what the Cubs reaction would be from seeing all the blood if I’d missed the star but found my fingers instead !
Deliveries
A team of us used to enjoy delivering the envelopes or bags, sometimes up to 70 addresses, and it was always wonderful when we saw the children and young people in person. I must thank two moms, Louise and Lucie, who helped us with every delivery. With Emma, Z and the moms, we made over 400 deliveries in total, stretching from Bromsgrove to Old Hill, from Hagley to Rubery.
I think the highlight for me was Christmas 2020. We wanted to give all the youngsters a unique experience - a Christmas party on Zoom. We carefully planned the party bags that we would be delivering with everything that was needed for the evening. Games, treats, a present from Santa, and a specially printed Christmas card. Eight of us spent a Saturday afternoon at the Scout Centre making up the candy-striped bags, labelling them, and sorting them into the delivery routes.
Come the parties, we had music, games, food and drink (thanks to parents again). We even had the world’s first game of Pass the Parcel on Zoom. And of course, no Christmas Party would be complete without a visit from Santa live from Lapland.
Cooking
A regular feature on our online meetings was cooking in a mug in the microwave. We learnt how to make a chocolate cake from Oreos, how to make a pizza in a mug and a doughnut in a mug.
A big hand to Leo and the Young Leaders who often ran online games for the Scouts on a Friday. It did become challenging finding exciting activities for this older age group but they often enjoyed going into a Breakout Room to play Among Us. The adult leaders would then stay in the main room and enjoy a quiet coffee and catch-up.
Mute
One of the unique features of meeting online was the mute button. It would be nice if some youngsters had a mute button at our face-to-face meetings ! But seriously, we rarely used the mute button. We wanted to hear the young people. We wanted them to talk to us and each other. We wanted them to make a bit of noise just like our real meetings. Also it was the only way we could measure whether we had got it right, and they were enjoying our online meetings.
I remember when we started back after Christmas in January 2021, most of the youngsters came on already muted, which was unusual. Even when we encouraged them to unmute, several still stayed muted. This really changed the atmosphere of the meeting – there was too much silence and we couldn’t judge whether they were enjoying it or not. It puzzled me right until the end when the penny dropped. The schools had closed down again, lessons were now online and the youngsters had to mute for them ! It was two or three weeks before we could get them out of the habit and back to our usual noisy meetings.
The end in sight
After 15 months on Zoom and 150 meetings, both us and the youngsters were starting to get Zoomed out. The UK was slowly opening up, and we decided to resume face to face meetings in June 2021. We had to be cautious at first, meeting outside, trying to socially distance (will someone tell me how enthusiastic 6 year-olds can socially distance) and keeping numbers small. We decided to split Beavers and Cubs into half, with each group meeting on alternate weeks. But after a month we had learnt a lot and were confident enough to have full meetings.
It had been nice to be able to sit down in front of the laptop 10 minutes before a meeting started, then seeing and hearing the young people enjoying themselves at home during such a difficult time. But nothing beats working with them in person. Although I do miss seeing everyone's homes and picking up ideas for when I re-decorate.
There was a fear that we would lose members of the Scout Group during that time. And sadly there were one or two who didn't want to return to Scouting. But we also gained some new members and the Group has come out of it stronger than ever, numbers wise. This is credit to the work of our awesome team of leaders, helpers, parents and the young people themselves. The support and the wonderful comments we received, were fantastic.
Normality
Hopefully we brought a bit of normality into the young people’s lives during a difficult time.
But, I have to be honest, it also brought a bit of normality into my life.
Andy Shepherd
16th March 2022
We agreed to carry on Beavers until the parents came to collect the young people at the end. Not knowing whether this would be our last meeting for some time we quickly invested 6 Beavers who had recently joined.
By the time I got home, we had all received an email from Scout headquarters telling us we had to close. We set about informing all the parents, cancelling the Cubs sleepover which was due that Friday, and the Scouts 10-pin bowling trip the same evening. Later that night, whilst browsing the Internet, I came across something called Zoom. I didn’t realise at that stage what an integral part of life that would become. And I so wish that, like a friend of mine, I’d bought shares in the company the next day.
The following day I went to close down the Scout Centre, turning off the heating, emptying the fridge, turning off the water boiler and making the place safe. Not knowing how long we’d be closed for, I must admit I had a tear in my eye as I locked the building up.
Lockdown
So, the country went into lockdown. Shops were closed, we could only leave the house for certain things, toilet rolls were unavailable, as were supermarket delivery slots. We stood outside our houses at 8:00 pm every Thursday clapping the NHS and other essential workers who were helping us through the pandemic.
Four weeks later it was Easter, and it became apparent that there was no end in sight to the lockdown. What could we do to keep contact with all our children and young people, and give them Scouting ? It was a no-brainer - Our weekly Zoom meetings for Beavers, Cubs and Scouts were born.
Would it work ?
Now although our weekly meetings are usually very carefully planned, if it came to it, most leaders could walk into the headquarters and run an evening meeting off the top of their head. But meeting online was a completely new experience. That first meeting was planned to the minute with as much variety as possible. We really didn't know how it would go and what would work keeping young people interested online for an hour and a half.
We sent out the email with the link for the first meeting – it was Beavers - and when the night came we sat there wondering how many children we would see. Some were able to get on straight away and some struggled, but with the help of our ‘techie’, young leader Taylor, most of the Beavers were able to get on.
One thing that hadn't dawned on us was that with the schools closed to all but children of essential workers, some of the Beavers hadn't seen their friends for a month. It was delightful to see some of them, when their faces lit up as they saw their friends and were able to chat to them.
Active
We decided that the meetings would have to be active, and not just sitting at a screen. The very first activity of that first meeting was a scavenger hunt when youngsters were sent to find certain objects from around the house and bring them to the screen. This became a regular game and often led to the unexpected. For example, when we said bring something fluffy to the screen we were ready for cushions, teddy bears and the such like. But of course we got cats, dogs, hamsters, giant millipedes, not forgetting Samuel’s Guinea pigs Bubble and Bear who we became familiar with every week at Cubs.
There were the games on the screen, that we'd devised or borrowed from other online Scout Groups.
We always tried to include a short video or song and some action songs. Everyone who was celebrating a birthday was wished a Happy Birthday by the Minions.
I can't remember exactly how it started, but no meeting would be complete without the Stick Song from Hey Dougie. If we forgot it any week, the youngsters would soon remind us.
And of course, we always took a break in the middle of the meeting for a drink and biscuits, where we would compare with each other what biscuit we’d had that week.
Social time
At the end of that first meeting some of the young people didn't want to leave. It was then then we realised the value of staying on for a short time after the end of every meeting, just to have a chat for those that wanted to. They could have some social time with their friends.
After the end of the first Beaver and first Cub meeting, several parents contacted us to apologise for missing the meeting. They’d simply forgotten. For those of us at home during the lockdown it was so easy to forget what time of day it was … or even what day it was. We then came up with the idea of sending out a text an hour before every meeting to remind everyone. The problem was remembering what time it was ourselves, in order the send the text.
Easier
As the weeks went on it became easier running the online meetings and coming up with ideas to make them more exciting. We tried doing some badges online, held a beach party, celebrated Hallowe’en, Easter party, and enjoyed a pirate party which parents helped by hiding treasure in certain places around the house, which we gave the children clues to find.
The help we had from parents was fantastic and it was lovely to see so many of them joining in every week, or saying hello at the beginning before going off to have a well-earned break. And who can forget seeing our youngest Zoomer, Bryn’s younger brother who hadn’t long been born and just come home from hospital.
In those early weeks we took part in the national Scout’s ‘Hike to the Moon’ with Beavers, Cubs and Scouts being sponsored to walk one mile, with all money raised going to NHS charities. We were thrilled to raise over £626 for this wonderful cause. And then one Cub, Sol, organised his own challenge and raised £250 himself.
It was good to meet up with other Scout Groups in the District occasionally. It was after one of these that Coombswood Beavers and Romsley Beavers decided to join together every week for our meetings and we all got to know each other well.
In July 2020, we took part in the National Camp – The Great Weekender. Beavers, Cubs and Scouts were invited to camp at home – indoors and out – and take part in a number of activities which had been arranged online by headquarters.
Visitors
Then there were the visitors. We had drumming workshops. We were joined at different meetings by Richard the Roman soldier, his twin brother the mediaeval knight, and his other twin brother the World War Two soldier,
We were joined by goats, Zooming in from a farm in Lancashire, when an enterprising farmer found a simple way to make money during the pandemic.
One of the things we enjoyed was devising handicrafts that could be delivered to young people’s homes, which we could then make during meetings, Blue Peter style. It was quite challenging. We had to work out how to break the handicraft down into pieces small enough to fit into an envelope, but easy enough to explain how to make it online. At the same time leaving enough for the youngsters to do, to make the activity challenging.
It was a steep learning curve. The first one I did, I had to ask the Cubs to cut out the large star that we’d printed onto A4 card and delivered with all the other bits and pieces. But to demonstrate it, I had to hold the card with the star facing my laptop screen, cutting round it, so that the Cubs could see what I was doing. The problem was I could only see the back of the card, trying to guess where the star was printed and where my kitchen scissors were going. All the time wondering what the Cubs reaction would be from seeing all the blood if I’d missed the star but found my fingers instead !
Deliveries
A team of us used to enjoy delivering the envelopes or bags, sometimes up to 70 addresses, and it was always wonderful when we saw the children and young people in person. I must thank two moms, Louise and Lucie, who helped us with every delivery. With Emma, Z and the moms, we made over 400 deliveries in total, stretching from Bromsgrove to Old Hill, from Hagley to Rubery.
I think the highlight for me was Christmas 2020. We wanted to give all the youngsters a unique experience - a Christmas party on Zoom. We carefully planned the party bags that we would be delivering with everything that was needed for the evening. Games, treats, a present from Santa, and a specially printed Christmas card. Eight of us spent a Saturday afternoon at the Scout Centre making up the candy-striped bags, labelling them, and sorting them into the delivery routes.
Come the parties, we had music, games, food and drink (thanks to parents again). We even had the world’s first game of Pass the Parcel on Zoom. And of course, no Christmas Party would be complete without a visit from Santa live from Lapland.
Cooking
A regular feature on our online meetings was cooking in a mug in the microwave. We learnt how to make a chocolate cake from Oreos, how to make a pizza in a mug and a doughnut in a mug.
A big hand to Leo and the Young Leaders who often ran online games for the Scouts on a Friday. It did become challenging finding exciting activities for this older age group but they often enjoyed going into a Breakout Room to play Among Us. The adult leaders would then stay in the main room and enjoy a quiet coffee and catch-up.
Mute
One of the unique features of meeting online was the mute button. It would be nice if some youngsters had a mute button at our face-to-face meetings ! But seriously, we rarely used the mute button. We wanted to hear the young people. We wanted them to talk to us and each other. We wanted them to make a bit of noise just like our real meetings. Also it was the only way we could measure whether we had got it right, and they were enjoying our online meetings.
I remember when we started back after Christmas in January 2021, most of the youngsters came on already muted, which was unusual. Even when we encouraged them to unmute, several still stayed muted. This really changed the atmosphere of the meeting – there was too much silence and we couldn’t judge whether they were enjoying it or not. It puzzled me right until the end when the penny dropped. The schools had closed down again, lessons were now online and the youngsters had to mute for them ! It was two or three weeks before we could get them out of the habit and back to our usual noisy meetings.
The end in sight
After 15 months on Zoom and 150 meetings, both us and the youngsters were starting to get Zoomed out. The UK was slowly opening up, and we decided to resume face to face meetings in June 2021. We had to be cautious at first, meeting outside, trying to socially distance (will someone tell me how enthusiastic 6 year-olds can socially distance) and keeping numbers small. We decided to split Beavers and Cubs into half, with each group meeting on alternate weeks. But after a month we had learnt a lot and were confident enough to have full meetings.
It had been nice to be able to sit down in front of the laptop 10 minutes before a meeting started, then seeing and hearing the young people enjoying themselves at home during such a difficult time. But nothing beats working with them in person. Although I do miss seeing everyone's homes and picking up ideas for when I re-decorate.
There was a fear that we would lose members of the Scout Group during that time. And sadly there were one or two who didn't want to return to Scouting. But we also gained some new members and the Group has come out of it stronger than ever, numbers wise. This is credit to the work of our awesome team of leaders, helpers, parents and the young people themselves. The support and the wonderful comments we received, were fantastic.
Normality
Hopefully we brought a bit of normality into the young people’s lives during a difficult time.
But, I have to be honest, it also brought a bit of normality into my life.
Andy Shepherd
16th March 2022