Avast me hearties! It’s the Olde Towne

Pirate Challenge!

This challenge was compiled for all sections of the Girlguiding Old Town District.

We enjoyed it, so we would like to share it!

The activities are suitable for all sections – choose the most appropriate for your age group or adapt as required. Feel free to substitute other activities using the theme.

To complete the challenge & achieve the badge: • Rainbows & Brownies or Beavers & Cubs

Complete at least one activity from three sections

• Guides & Senior Section or Scouts & Explorers and adults Complete at least one activity from four sections

Pirate Challenge! To complete the challenge & achieve the badge:

• Rainbows & Brownies or Beavers & Cubs Complete at least one activity from three sections

• Guides & Senior Section or Scouts & Explorers and adults Complete at least one activity from four sections (The badge will be available until stocks run out, so please email first!)

Please feel free to adapt the ideas or substitute other challenges as appropriate to your programme. There are lots of additional ideas in this pack!

Seven Seas • Go on boat trip or try sailing

• Name the parts of pirate ship

• Try making ballistas (cannons)

• Walk the plank

• Make a mermaid or fish collage

• Try signalling

• Navigation – stars/constellations

• Make a compass

• Complete a water obstacle course

• Build a raft and sail it (miniature or full size)

• Make water-bombs (origami/balloon)

Being a Pirate • Learn & sing some pirate songs or sea

shanties

• Make a parrot – balancing/beaded, etc

• Make a pirate hat or eye patch

• Pirate face-painting

• Speak like a pirate

• Design a pirate outfit out of newspaper

• Fencing/swordfighting (breadsticks)

• Make a pirate flag using batik or beads

• Perform a 3-minute sketch, using a pirate theme (this could be an advert for ‘Pirate TV’)

Captains Cabin • Organise a pirate party

• Make non-alcoholic pirate grog

• Play some pirate games

• Try knotting, knitting or netting

• Wordsearch/quizzes/codes

• Collage/colouring-in

• Play battleships

• Hunt the gold doubloon (compass game)

• Practise throwing a lifeline

• Make a Jolly Roger fridge magnet

• Try compass drawing

Land Ahoy! • Wide game – flag raiding/survival

• Treasure hunts – clues, maps, tiny, gold coins

• Hunt the pirates/pirate names

• Make a newspaper palm tree

• Make a picture using coloured sand

• Treasure boxes

• Make jelly fish biscuits

• Complete a survival challenge

• Visit a zoo to see the monkeys & parrots

• Complete a blindfolded string trail

A Treasure Chest of Ideas… Many ideas – and the instructions for them – can be found in the internet. Here are some to get you started:

Pirate Activities • Go on a boat-ride

• Try sailing or learn how to use a rowing boat

• Talk like a pirate!

• Signalling flags

• Shipwreck survival activities - you arrived at this desert island to bury your treasure and now you're stranded. Build a solar still to collect water, try making a fire with no matches, etc...

• Make origami waterbombs

• Water balloon throwing event - how far can you throw it to your partner before it breaks and soaks one of you?

• Make a shelter and sleep out in it

• Dig for treasure – in a sand pit or a bowl of jelly or baked beans! You can do this blindfold and then the person has to identify what is buried in the goo!

• Try using watermarks on paper as secret message. Challenge teams to make up a code and to break one made up by another team

• Have a sword fight with bread sticks - the object is to break down your opponent's bread stick, without damaging your own. When one player's bread stick becomes so short that he or she can no longer use it, they surrender and “walk the plank”!

• Get teams to make a ballista. Use wet sponges or water balloons as cannonballs if the weather is dry & warm enough, or if it’s not, use table tennis balls or balls of screwed up newspaper.

• Make paper boats and have a race

• Pirate themed wide game or scavenge hunt

• Visit the local swimming pool

• Treasure hunt

• Capture the pirate flag

• Try knotting, knitting or netting (monkeys fist knot, ocean plait)

• Word searches

• Spot-the-difference

• Dance the hornpipe

• Animation – using clay or cut-outs (use ‘Pirates!’ film or ‘Captain Pugwash’ for inspiration)

• Assault course (climb the rigging, walk the plank, etc)

• Have a treasure hunt to find the ingredients for a meal

• Bouncy castle – see if you can find your sea legs!

• Learn to use a compass

• Learn about grid references

• Find north by the stars or sun

Pirate Crafts • Jolly Roger fridge magnet

• Fimo pencil toppers

• Seashell crafts

• Balancing parrots

• Pony bead parrots or bead & wire parrots

• Make parrot or jolly Roger earrings, bracelets or necklaces

• Jolly Roger coasters made from Hama beads

• Wanted poster for pirates

• Paper pirate hats

• Make a wave jar

• Fish pin badges

• Painting stones

• Colouring-in

• Junk modelling (pirate ship)

• Collage (parrot, mermaid, etc)

• Tie-dye bandanas

• Pop-up pirate toy

• Door-hangers

• Make treasure-map place mats

Pirate Games • Port & starboard

• Fruit salad (pirates)

• Sleeping pirate (adapt keeper of the keys or sleeping lion)

• Musical islands

• Flapping the fish

• Tick tock find the croc (ticking timer)

• Walking the plank

• Cat o’ nine-tails tag (tail tag)

• Pin the parrot on the pirates shoulder (adapt pin the tail on the donkey)

• Treasure toss (throwing ‘doubloons’ or beanbags into a treasure chest)

• Pirate ghost whispers (Chinese whispers, using pirate sayings)

• Treasure chest piñata

• Buccaneer bingo

• Compass drawing

• Cannonball race (use black balloons for relay races and popping competitions)

• Splat the rat

• Match the pirate phrases to their real meanings

Pirate Songs • Shanties

• When I was one

• Princess Pat

• Captain Bluebeard had a fish farm

Pirate Themes (for parties & residential events) • Pirates of the Caribbean (Captain Jack Sparrow)

• Peter Pan (Captain Hook/crocodile/lost boys)

• Under the sea

• Treasure Island (R L Stephenson)

• Swallows and Amazons (Arthur Ransome)

• Mermaids

Pirate Food & Drink • Gingerbread pirates

• Fruit kebabs (to prevent scurvy)

• BBQ

• Decorate biscuits or cupcakes with the Jolly Roger

• Make chocolate cannonballs (truffles)

• Lobscouse/Salmagundi – sea-farers stew

• Hardtack/ship’s biscuit (use cream crackers)

• Make ‘ships’ from bridge rolls

• Grog (re-label bottles of lemonade or juice)

• Sharks blood punch (use cranberry or red grape juice)

• Mutineers hand punch – freeze red juice in a plastic glove and float in a bowl of lemonade!

• Pirates banquet – golden nuggets (fish), skeleton bones (chips), pirates teeth (sweetcorn), strawberries (rubies), cannonballs (black grapes), etc.

• Non-alcoholic cocktails

Pirate Music • Ships Ahoy! - Songs of Wind, Water & Tide - Quadriga Consort

• Pirates of Penzance (Gilbert & Sullivan)

Famous Pirates • Black-beard

• Yellow-beard

• Blue-beard

• Captain Blood

• Jack Sparrow

• Captain Hook

• Long John Silver

Interest Badges • Water Safety

• Survival

• Navigation

• Explore

Ready-made Pirate Activities Are Given After The Order Form!…

Badge Order Form Thank you for participating in the Old Town Guides Pirate Challenge! To order your badges, complete the form below and send it to us with your payment (please use block capitals). Please email us first to check on stock levels – badges may be reserved by email, but will only be held for one week. Please email: Guides8thSwindon@btinternet.com. Paypal details available on request. The badge will be available until stocks run out. Contact Name: Unit Name: Address: Postcode: Email address: Number of badges

@ £1 each Total Cost

Embroidered Pirate Challenge badge (7cm/3”)

Postage & Packaging: Up to 25 badges = £1.50 Over 25 badges = £2.00

Total Enclosed

Please make any cheques payable to: 8th Swindon Guides - Camp a/c Email Guides8thSwindon@btinternet.com to reserve your badges and tell us how you wish to pay (cheque or Paypal) & we will let you know where to send the payment. Orders will be sent on receipt of payment/as soon as your cheque has cleared. Please allow at least two weeks for delivery for cheque payments. Any profit from badge sales will be used to help fund camps & international trips for the Guides & Senior Section members in our unit. Thank you for your support.

10/2018

1

PETE

2

JOE

3

JIM

4

BOB

5

ZAK

6

CHRIS

7

HENRY

8

ED

9

MORT

10

FRED

11

WALLY

12

STEVE

13

JACK

14

PERCY

15

BILL

16

PAT

B

D

T

E

R

E

O

A

E

T

S

H

E

K

E

I

Hunt the Parrots! Hiding around this island are 16 pirates! Your challenge is to find out which ones have a parrot on their shoulders. All of the pirates are numbered – if you find a pirate with a parrot, tick the box with their number on below. If they don’t have a parrot, put a cross in the box. When you hear the ships bell ring, the hunt is over and you should return to the Captain at once. Please do not move the pirates from their hiding places. Good Luck! Crew Names: ……………………………………………………….……………………

Example:

Pirate Number

Parrot? (yes=ü no=û)

Pirate Number

Parrot? (yes=ü no=û)

1 9

2 10

3 11

4 12

5 13

6 14

7 15

8 16

20

BLACKBEARD

= ü 20

BLACKBEARD

= û

Rainbows/Beavers

Yo Ho Ho! ‘Tis time for a Treasure Hunt! Hiding around this island are a number of scurvy pirates!!! Your challenge is to find out where they are and what their names are. Be warned that when the ships bell rings, the time for hunting pirates is over. If you do not report back to the Captain immediately, you will be thrown into the brig with the rats and will not be able to share in the goodies. And also make a good note that the pirates must not be moved under any circumstances during the hunt. You do not want to see the Captain angry. Really you don’t. Trust me on this. Good Luck with your quest! Crew Names: ……………………………………………………… Number Name Number Name

1 9 2 10 3 11 4 12 5 13 6 14 7 15 8 16

Brownies/Cubs

Avast, me Hearties! ‘Tis time for hunting Treasure! Hiding around this island are a number of scurvy pirates!!! Your challenge is to find out where they be and what their names are. Every one of the scurvy knaves also holds a clue to the location of the hidden treasure – make sure you keep a record of them! The first crew to solve the riddle will find the treasure! Ah-haarrrr! Be warned that when the ships bell tolls, the time for hunting pirates is over. If you do not report back to the Captain immediately, you will be thrown into the brig with the rats and will not be able to share in the spoils. And also make a good note that the pirates must not be moved under any circumstances during the hunt. You do not want to see the Captain angry. Really you don’t. Trust me on this. Good Luck with your quest! Crew Names: ……………………………………………………… Number Name Clue Number Name Clue

1 9 2 10 3 11 4 12 5 13 6 14 7 15 8 16

Put the clues together - the location of the Treasure is?

Guides/Scouts & Senior Section/Explorers

The letters spell:

BESIDE THE OAK TREE (adapt this message according to your playing area)

Instructions Preparation - Pirates: Print out pages 1 & 2 back-to-back*, so that you have letters on the back of each pirate - you only need to print page one if you are only going to use this game with Rainbows, Beavers, Brownies & Cubs. (* Decide on the treasure location for your hunt and use the appropriate letters for your hunt.)

Laminate the page, if possible (alternatively, print onto card). Cut out the pirates. If you are playing this game outside, hole-punch the cards and attach a piece of wool/string/large elastic band through each hole. Preparation – Answer Sheets: Print sufficient answer sheets for your players – there are Rainbow/Beaver, Brownie/Cub and Guide/Scout/Senior Section/Explorer versions. Preparation – The Game: If you are playing indoors or in a confined outdoor space, hide the cards around the playing area. It’s a good idea if they are visible if you look carefully, at different heights. If you are playing outside in a park, wood or field, hide the cards around the playing area, attached to trees, bushes, etc at different heights. Have sufficient answer sheets and plenty of pencils/pens. The playing area must have clear boundaries, so that the players know how far they might need to search for the pirates. Decide on the prizes that you will be awarding – the Guide/Scout+ game needs to have some treasure hidden at a chosen spot. Playing the game Depending on the ages and numbers, the game can be played individually, in pairs or in teams. Rainbows & Beavers will probably need an older ‘assistant’ to help them. Give out the answer sheets and pencils to the players and explain the rules of the game. Make sure everyone knows the boundaries of the hunt and the signal that will be given to end the game (a nice loud ‘ships’ bell is ideal). The Guide/Scout+ teams will race to collect all the clues and rearrange the letters to find the location of the treasure. You may want to have a treasure box for 1st, 2nd & 3rd places.

Pirate Ship Sail Games (Parachute Games!): SHIPS CAT AND RAT • One person is the ships cat, another is the rat.

• All of the other pirates stand evenly spaced around the edge of the ships sail and grip it firmly.

• The bulk of the ships sail is allowed to rest on the ground, only the edges are raised.

• The "rat" goes under the canopy of the sail and the "cat" (with shoes removed) goes on top.

• The object of the game is for the "cat" to catch the "rat" (who can change direction and do anything else they like to avoid capture, apart from coming out from under the sail!)

• The rest of the pirates wiggle the ships sail up and down to try to hide where the rat is.

• Once the cat has caught the rat, change over or select new players, the old cat and rat taking the new players' places around the sail.

PIRATES CHANGE! • If the pirates are young, check that they know what month their birthday is in before you

start.

• All the pirates are spaced evenly round the edge of the ships sail grasping it firmly.

• Start them flapping it in unison - it will need to move slowly, hoist it firmly until it billows upwards and allow it to settle by itself; when it has descended, hoist it firmly upward again.

• Once they have the rhythm established, the game can begin - call out any month, and pirates born in that month have to let go of the sail and run under it as it is tossed upwards and out of the other side before it falls again (there is actually plenty of time).

• Occasionally shout "Christmas!" or "holiday!" to see if anyone runs anyway!

• No winners or losers, just a bit of energetic fun. CANNONBALL ROLLING • All the pirates are spaced evenly round the edge of the ships sail grasping it firmly. Put a

large sponge cannonball at the edge.

• Set up a wave in the fabric to make the ball do circuits around the edge of the fabric.

• To do this, someone starts the ball rolling. As it comes towards you, you lower the edge you are holding, and as it goes past you raise your edge.

• When all the pirates do this in synchronisation, it creates a kind of wave going round the edge of the sail which pushes the ball in a smooth steady circle. This needs a fair amount of co-operation and concentration!

• Once you have mastered the correct motion try changing the direction or speeding up.

CANNONBALL CHALLENGE • Mark a line across the diameter of the ships sail. Have equal teams hold the edge of the

sail on either side. Throw a ball into the middle.

• The aim is to get the ball off the sail on the other team's side of the line, and stop it coming off your own side of the line (i.e. to throw it over the other team's heads). You mustn't let go of the sail or touch the ball with any part of the body. Keeping score is optional.

• After several minutes of wild flapping and little progress the crew should realise that coordination and strategy are needed to flick the ball off the sail!

BOUNCING CANNONBALLS • Start with everybody holding the sail stretched out. Throw as many soft balls as you can

find on to the sail.

• Then see how quickly you can bounce them off without letting go of the sail.

• Once they have mastered this, you can have half of the pirates trying to bounce the balls off and half trying to keep them on.

• Next, start as above and this time have two or three pirates under the sail. The pirates under the sail have to try and push off the balls whilst everyone else tries to keep them bouncing!

SAIL WAFTING • This game is good for recuperation after an energetic game!

• Hold the sail stretched out and have about a third of the pirates lie on the ground under it (with heads near the middle).

• The rest mushroom the ships sail up and quickly pull it down again repeatedly. Air rushing in and out cools those underneath like a giant fan, and the sensation of watching the sail rise up and then come down on top of you is very odd!

…………………………………………………

PIRATE CHALLENGE PASSPORT

Your Challenge is to visit each of the four Pirate Coves and take part in at least one activity at each Cove. When all of your crew have completed a challenge at a Cove, hunt out the Captain in charge of the Cove to gain your passport stamp from ye olde Treasure Chest! A stamp in each of the four squares opposite will mean that your crew have passed the Pirate Challenge and your Crew Captain can award each of you a badge as a reward for your efforts! Good Luck with the Challenge, Pirates!

PIRATE COVE STAMPS

Seven Seas (blue)

Being a Pirate (red)

Captains Cabin (yellow)

Land Ahoy! (green)

Crew Captain Notes:

•Please make sure your crew stays together and that you supervise your crew members whilst they undertake the activities.

•Crew Captains are responsible for making sure that their crew members have the necessary permission to undertake the activities and that you are aware of any allergies the girls in your charge might have (this should be listed on their consent forms that you should carry at all times).

•There is a basic first aid box in the hut that you can use for minor incidents, if necessary. Please inform the event 1

st Aider – XXX – of any

incidents. Her mobile number is given below. •Some activities will be ‘unmanned’ – they are

there for you to run the activity with your crew – if you are not sure what to do, talk to the Pirate Cove Captain.

•At the end of the event, please ensure that your girls collect all of their belongings and are assembled into collection groups, as per their consent forms. At the appropriate time, carefully walk them to the top of the lane and ensure that they are safely picked-up by the correct people.

XXX – mobile number XXX – mobile number