S’mores s’mores, fire, hot dogs, manhunt and s’mores.

Friday night was Beaver camp. We took all the Beavers to Cleeve Hill campsite for one night, for what was for many of them their first night staying away from their families.

We had a whole evening of activities planned, but in the end, good weather, open space and a sense of time and freedom prevailed. The Beavers found their own fun – playing top trumps in the tent, carefully chipping bark off a log, playing chaos tag.

No camp is complete without a campfire and some toasted marshmallows, so once it cooled down and began to get dark, we gathered around for s’mores.

At 9 o’clock a few of our youngest Beavers went home, and the rest of them ran off the sugar rush, chasing bubbles around the field – thanks to our brilliant and energetic young leaders.

A game, a song and a story round the campfire later and everyone was tucked up in bed in the tents.

We all managed to completely miss the Aurora Borealis event that was happening in the sky above us, having had enough excitement for one day already.

When we asked the Beavers what they liked about camp, the following morning (reunited with the rest of the Colony for our normal Saturday morning session) we got some great answers: S’mores s’mores, fire, hot dogs, manhunt and s’mores.

It’s a real privilege to be able to offer the Beavers their first nights away, under canvas, away from their families, but in a safe and familiar setting. Friendships blossomed, confidence grown, we are all looking forward to our next camp.