I've mentioned my involvement in the Scout Association before, it's a huge part of mine and my families lives. From once in a lifetime trips to South Africa, to performing in front of 45,000 scouts and guides, it has provided me with so many opportunities both as a child and as an adult, and it is literally the reason that Noah exists, because without scouting, I would never have met his daddy.
As an adult, I have been a Beaver scout leader since I was 18, and when Noah came along, one of our other leaders was also pregnant. It was set in stone before either of them were born, that one day they would become part of our Beaver colony, and scouting overall, affording them the same experiences and opportunities that we had both had access to.
This is a mission that our other leaders son is set to embark on within the next year, as the starting age is 6, but as time goes on, I am less and less certain that Noah will do the same.
Whilst we have never turned away a child with any disability or special need, we have also never had a child like Noah. He is non-verbal, with no sense of danger, and needs 1-1 assistance in order to engage in the activities we do, and knowing the badge curriculum we work towards, I don't know how well the activities would even appeal to him. It's a balance between how well the team we have could support him, with how much he would actually enjoy it anyway.
At present, Noah attends Beavers with me on the odd occasion that my husband isn't home from work in time, and whilst he is happy running around the hall, he is not interested in what the Beavers are up to. He'd much rather flip a small school chair over and over in the corner whilst the other leaders son is front and centre, so excited to be one of them that by the time he is, he'll have already done it all!
I have been muddling over whether or not to follow the pre-destined path of his heritage and send him along to Beavers, counting myself out of the ratio of leaders to be his 1-1, or to find someone I can pay privately to be his 1-1 to give him independence from me, or, whether to jack the idea in altogether and accept that this is another part of our lives that will inevitably be different for quite some time now.
As luck would have it, The Scout Association has created a brand new section this year for children even younger than Beavers, called Squirrels. They are age 4-6, and one of our Beaver leaders has decided to create and run this section in our own group. What's even luckier, is that she was also Noah's nursery leader, so she has full knowledge of his capabilities and interests. I had been considering sending him along to Squirrels when they start in September, to see how he copes with the structure, and give myself more time and information to make a decision about Beavers, when I was dutifully informed that if I didn't sign him up, she would be popping by on her way down to Squirrels to steal him from me! So it looks like Noah is going to be a Squirrel regardless!
Sometimes our plans for their future goes out the window, sometimes it only changes slightly, and other times we need to get out of our own way, and our own heads, and just try.
I don't know if Noah will be moving up to Beavers this time next year, but I'm going to at least give him a chance. Who knows what he might achieve
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