"knights In Shing Armor" Day Camp Theme

[SeattlePioneer]

Looks like I'll be assisting planning the day camp program for this July for the district.

 

I've put together a length list of possible activities which we can add to and choose among. 

 

I built a shield  that boys could build.  Not only build as a woodworking activity,  but decorate and use to display their name,  den and stickers for activities they and their den have been winners at doing.

 

I'm think of practicing "shield walls" and also the Roman "tortoise formation"  for protection against incoming missiles,  arrows ----and Cub Scout beanbag assaults.

 

I'm thinking of dens having a face paint decoration for their face and shield  --- not only fun to do,  but would help den leaders keep track of their charges!

 

I built a "quintain"  for jousting practice.  I'm going to try that out at the Tiger Cub Den Meeting tonight and see how it works.

 

 

Other ideas invited for those who may have done this kind of activity.

 

 

 

 

 

[SSScout]

Go to Monty Python " And the Holy Grail"  and enlist your adult helpers there by. " We're knights of the round table, we dance when ere we're able, and imitate  Clark Gable..." etc.

Name your Staff appropriately:  Sir Cumference, Sir Pentine,  Lady LadeeLa,  Sir Leeyoujest,  Prince Hereprince, Name the CSDCDirector the Queen or King,  do some research to find the local chapter of the Markland Mercenaries:   http://www.markland.org/pages/about_us.php  who do medieval re-enacting. 

"My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my Den Leader, prepare to get wet!"

 

Shields, are okay, but go easy on the wooden swords.  Cubs can really get into the joisting stuff and can hurt each other! We made the play swords out of reinforced pipe insulation. 

[SSScout]

Go for the chivalry aspect.  Tie things in to the Cub Promise. Knights and princes are polite!

  Quintain?   How will they get "bopped" by the turner?  

Older Scouts might build a Trebuchet and have competition for accuracy, knock down a cardboard block wall? 

Scout Skills pavilion is the Knight's Squire School.

 

Avoid water balloons, they just get messy and you have to fill them and clean up the little shards of rubber afterward.  Use tennis balls or wads of newspaper wrapped in masking tape.  reuse the ammunition to each side.....

 

Build a cathedral with haybales? 

[Eagle94-A1]

PM me as I may still have my files.

[Faith]

Definitely bookmarking this to add to. This is also our theme this summer (well, more specifically Scouts of the Roundtable.)

[SeattlePioneer]

I figure using paint stirring sticks as swords should be safe.  They are very easily broken.  But I'd welcome other opinions ---and I'm sure I'll get opinions from district volunteers.

 

 

I was going to look for beanbags to connonade the shield wall and tortoise formation,  but now I'm thinking a collection of balls of various sizes from tennis balls to basketballs might be good.

 

My first try at a quintain wasn't especially good when I tested it at a den meeting last night.  A simpler design would be easier and stronger.   I'm digging a hole for a 4x4 post for the upright,  and am now thinking about a long 1/4" lag screw through a 2x4 on top of the post.  Targets would be screwed into each end of the 2x4.

 

So when a tafget is hit with a lance,  the 2x4 would rotate around the lag screw.

 

Padding the back of the targets helps prevent getting clouted when the arms rotates around!

[mattman578]

My son made a sward for his Knights of the Round table camp it was a wodden dowl rod with a pool noodle all taped togther with duct tape he has had it for two years and has only caused one bloddy nose with it (me)

[Eagle94-A1]

I modified some of BP's artwork to make it American instead of British.  We used triangular pennants instead of flags in the areasw with each area director responsible for their flags. It started with Archery in Robin Hood Field, and went all over camp. When the Cubs met what ever designation, i.e. archery and BB guns were bulls eyes, Fishing was catching a fish, etc, the Cubs signed their name to the pennant. SWMBO came out in period garb and did storytelling One day camp in the council had  the CD and her husband come out in their SCA regalia, full armour, and they did a demo of melee combat. Another day camp had a licensed falconer do a demo.

 

Pauls Supplies had a crossbow kit, as well as a Knight slide.  Son still wears his with his Boy Scout uniform.

[SeattlePioneer]

We had a Cub Scout Day Camp planning meeting last night that went very well.

 

I brought my example of a shield for boys to make as a craft project,  and then to use for things like defending their den from being cannonaded with tennis balls or whatever.

 

A jousting event using a "quintain" seems to have received approval,  and I'm looking for designs for a sword that can be safely used in mock combat with the shield boys will be making.

[SeattlePioneer]

Anyone have ideas for a map reading or making project for Cub Scout Day Camp?

 

I'm thinking about a map making project that would give dens a "map"  with two objects on it,  and asking them to locate additional locations on the map based on the map those two original objects define.

 

Boys might then swap maps they have made and identify the newly mapped objects.

 

Other ideas would be welcome.

[Eagle94-A1]

You could give them the "Quest for the Holy Grail."  Give them hints or actual bearings to reach "The Grail."  They have to make their map while doing the course.

 

We did it as a "treasure hunt" for the Pirates theme and had Capri Suns or other beverage in a cooler as the treasure. 

[Bookemdano]

We had a Knight theme for our Day Camps last year in the area.  Here's some ideas of stuff that our kiddos made

Sword - grab some PVC and Pool Noodles, the noodles slip on the pvc easy enough.  Put a joint at the end for a handle

Shield - our guys had already cut and put handles on, but they were made out of the lite wood house siding.  They had 4 cardboard templates and we just spray thems on the wood.  The kids could then color or decorate em however

Helmet - Big KFC bucket painted white (or whatever you'd want)  Cut a hole for the eyes and let em decorate all the want

Tunic - Pillow cases that we cut a head and arm holes in, go to town with a marker

 

They also made small catapults from plastic spoon and wood sticks

 

Hope this helps!

[Bookemdano]

Forgot to add that we had a knight's obstacle challenge course set up also.  Had to ride stick horse, lance thru moving hoop.  Big ball (cannon ball) thrown at "castle walls" to knock em down.  I don't know where they got it, but they had to use their swords to slay a big inflatable dragon.  They had a blast with it.

[SeattlePioneer]

I recently had boys make catapults for our Tiger Den.  We used paint stirring sticks.

 

Boys cut a 3" piece of half inch PVC pipe to put under and perpendicular to the paint stirring stick,  and used a rubber band to hold the pipe in place.

 

A half inch piece of the PVC pipe was cut off and hot melt glued to the end of the paint stirring stick.

 

Boys put miniature marshmallows in the short piece of pipe and then hiot the other end to launch the marshmallow towardes various targets.

 

Simple and cheap.

 

For a subsequent pack meeting,  the Cubmaster provided pieces of 1/2" PVC pipe the boys could use to make blow guns to launch miniatrure marshmallows towards each other in a marshmallow war.

[SeattlePioneer]

<<Forgot to add that we had a knight's obstacle challenge course set up also.  Had to ride stick horse, lance thru moving hoop.>>

 

 

 

I built a "quintain"  for jousting practice at our last Tiger Den meeting. a 4x4 post buried uin the ground provided an upright post.

 

A rod was driven into the center of a post,  a a 2x4 36" long had a hole drilled in it to pass the rod from the post.

 

So you had the 2x4 rotating on top of the post.

 

Attach a couple of plywood "shields" as targets and one or two boys could "ride" towards the quintain with a lance to see if they could hit it and send it spinning.

 

We'll probably do something similar as a day camp activity.

 

 

<<I don't know where they got it, but they had to use their swords to slay a big inflatable dragon>>

 

 

I'd rather avoid having boys beat on each other with model swords.  Slaying the "dragon" sounds better.    But what to use for a dragon?  Maybe an adult in a costume?