Ceremonies have been a tradition of Scouting programs for many years. For all members, these special activities help create the sense of community, which is such an important component of the Beaver goals.

These moments are especially important to Beaver-aged children because they’re such a new experience. Young children particularly enjoy regular routines, and the familiar cycles like opening and closing ceremonies become anchor points in a sea of new and unfamiliar activities.

The special language and actions of ceremonies also emphasize the magical quality of creative weekly meetings. When you’re visiting another colony, there’s something very inspiring about seeing your Beavers’ faces light up when they hear the call for “River Banks.”

You’ll find detailed descriptions of the opening ceremony, feeding the Beaver, and the closing ceremony in Chapter 8. When preparing any ceremony, remember this basic rule: KISMIF – Keep It Simple, Make It Fun.

New leaders are invested into Scouting after completion of the orientation component of the Adult Screening process. You can wear the group scarf when you begin working with a section; it is the epaulets that signify investiture. At that time you will receive your Beaver epaulets for your uniform. Any invested leader can invest a new leader.

When it is time to invest Beavers and if your leadership team does not have any invested leaders, consider asking a Service Scouter or another Scouter in your group to do the investiture.

At their investiture, leaders use the Scouter’s promise: “On my honour, I promise that I will do my best to do my duty to God and the Queen, to help other people at all times, and to carry out the spirit of the Scout Law.”

When a new member joins Beavers, the child becomes a “Kit” – the term used to describe a young beaver. The Kit is placed in a lodge, and may wear the Beaver hat and vest but not the neckerchief.

To become an Eager Beaver, a Kit must know the Beaver Promise, Law and Salute, and the opening, closing and investiture ceremonies.

Invite parents or guardians to participate in the investiture ceremony by standing behind their child when the Beavers receive their scarf. Ask them to bring along the Beaver scarf and woggle. If, for some reason, no member of the family is able to attend, have a leader act as a substitute. Avoid having a Beaver stand alone.

You can invest one or more Kits at a time because they repeat after the leader the Promise and Law in unison. If only one Beaver is being invested, the leader handling the investiture joins with the child to say the Law and Promise.

The investiture is held at the beginning of the meeting immediately after the opening ceremony. The leader signals all Beavers to take a cross-legged seated position making a “sh-sh-sh” sound. Before starting the ceremony, one of the leaders takes a few minutes to explain to Beavers and parents the importance of the investiture ceremony. Then a leader asks parents to

come forward and assume their positions. Parents bring scarves and woggles with them.

The leader asks the children to make the Beaver salute while saying the Beaver Law and Promise. In some colonies, the Beavers turn to face their parents when they say the Law, then turn back to face the leaders as they say their Promise. Leaders then put the Beaver neckerchiefs on the children.

Using Scouting’s left handshake, the newly-invested Beavers shake hands with their leaders and receive their parents’ congratulations before parents return to their seats, and Beavers return to the colony. They can either join the others to sit in dam formation while the colony gives them a cheer, or they can go around the circle and shake hands with all the other Beavers.