Carman Scouts and Beavers members joined forces recently to create delicious gingerbread cookies and share in the holiday spirit.
The Carman Beavers, Cubs, and Scouts meet every Monday for their regular meetings. At these meetings, they learn outdoor skills, enhance their love and respect for nature, and get engrained in the community. At their Dec. 9 meeting, the group made Christmas cookies.
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The Carman Scouts (aged 10 to 14) helped the Carman Beavers (aged five to seven) make gingerbread cookies, from mixing the ingredients to rolling and cutting the dough. The activity was the last component for the Beavers to achieve their chef beaver badges, which they get after completing three cooking activities.
Group commissioner Lynn Melvin said badges are an important part of Carman Beavers, Cubs, and Scouts. Each badge is worn on a member’s uniform or displayed on a blanket afterwards.
“Badges are motivating for the kids,” she said. “It’s special. They feel they have achieved something and did something.”
Melvin said when thinking up ideas for the meeting, they knew they wanted the children to be able to make cookies for the holidays, but they wanted to add something special. So, using a contact with a 3D printer, the group got cookie cutters made in the shapes of a beaver, a wolf cub, and the scout emblem. Each was about the size of half a soda can, and Melvin said the cookies looked and tasted amazing.
“It’s a nice leadership role too,” she said. “And it was a really neat experience for those older kids to take charge and show the little guys how to make the cookies.”
While the two groups made their gingerbread cookies, the Carman Cubs spent the meeting sewing up first aid kits and stocking them with supplies. Once they were done, they made and decorated some holiday cookies too.
The groups used the entire hour and a half of meeting time to make the cookies, and they even had some extra dough to take home to bake afterwards.
The Carman Beavers, Cubs, and Scouts currently have 23 registered members, 18 of whom show up to every meeting. This week, the group helped the Carman and Community Christmas Cheer Board pack hampers at the Carman Community Hall. They bagged potatoes and carrots and packed them into boxes, helping to prepare everything for hamper deliveries.
In the new year, Melvin said they’ll work on their skills for the Klondike derby in March, where Beavers, Cubs, and Scouts compete to test their leadership and outdoor skills.
Registration for the Carman Beavers, Cubs, and Scouts starts Jan. 1 and Melvin encourages anyone interested in the group to get involved or to contact her with questions. She can be reached at 204-750-1199.
