SCA Youth Education and Activities
General Guidance
The mission of the Minister of Youth is to provide young members with educational opportunities and engage them in SCA activities suitable for their ages. The MOY should enlist the aid of other group officers, members and others to support their planned activities. The following was prepared to assist the local Ministers of Youth and groups in developing programs for their groups and for events.
1. Education - Classes at events or local meetings; work with the local MOAS and other officers to provide classes.
- All Arts and Sciences suitable for children - those that need heat sources or cutting utensils should be reserved for older children or strictly supervised.
- Dancing
- History - focus on a relevant to young people topic
- Heraldry - classes on blazons, making announcements, what regalia signifies, courtesy, awards
- SCA history and geography
- Youth Boffer and Rapier combat - Youth Marshallate rules, practices and weapons/armor making
Keep classes short. Many teachers use about an hour. Children have shorter attention spans, try for 20 to 30 minute sessions. Some classes can be split into two sections as in class for 20 minutes and hands on for the balance. Another technique is to use centers like they do in school. This is where several activities are being done at the same time and the child moves at their own pace. Older children many times can participate with the adults, it depends on their maturity.
2. Events - There are many activities besides classes for children. Some of these are:
- Youth Tournaments both Boffer and Rapier - Activities can include authorizations, weapon and armor building workshops as well as the tournaments and melees.
- Archery - check with the archery marshals on setting up a time where the kids can use the range, practice or have lessons or a shoot.
- Youth Craftmen fairs and/or A&S tourneys - Style it as an exhibition with the populace invited to leave small tokens for the entrants.
- Youth Feast - Kids do well eating together. Most children cannot sit through a long feast. If you can set up a separate area or room have a feast. Afterward they can do dancing, singing or get a SCA related movie they can watch. To supervise the feast you might offer a free or reduced price meal to those who volunteer to help supervise. The children might have fun setting up their own “feast hall”. A Sample Menu - There are many medieval dishes that are suitable to serve (meaning that the kids will eat the food). This is just a suggestion of foods you may want to try.
3. Service Activities - SCA events and activities need a lot of manpower. Kids have seemingly endless supplies of energy, put it to work for you. Children can do a lot, it just needs to be tailored to their abilities. Some of the things that they can do depending on their age are:
- Runners/pages to run messages about
- Set up/ Take down for site and feast
- Making site tokens
- Assisting heralds
- Serving at feast
- Various clean up duties
- Kitchen help
- Troll (mostly older children)
- Helping people load and unload gear at events
- Teaching children's classes
If you give them short assignments they won't get bored or burned out. If they want more they will ask. Let them know that there are things they can volunteer to do. Ask the event staff what tasks they need done, make a list of those young people can do and have a sign up list available.
4. Children's Court - Ask the Royalty or local Baron/Baroness if they would consider holding a children's court either separately or at the beginning of their court. During the Children's court they can:
- Tell their Majesties/Highnesses/ Excellencies what they did or learned that day
- Announce results of the Youth Tournaments
- Make presentations of things they made
- Have their Majesties/Highnesses/ Excellencies give out small tokens or candy
- Give out Youth Awards - Recognize them for the work they did. Don't forget the Dragon's Treasure, Award of the Acorn (for A&S), Award of the Baton (youth fighting), Award of the Sapphire (for courtesy) or an Award of Arms.
5. The Children's Area - At events it is nice, but not mandatory, to set up an area for children to play in. Primarily it is used by younger children (6 and under). If you do have one the MOY is not there to baby sit. But you can help organize a parent’s co-op for baby sitting, or this can be a service activity for older children, or if the group agrees hire a non SCA person to baby sit. This may also be the area where you hold your classes.
Getting the Message Out
I have heard may times "I wish I knew about the children's activities." Your best plans will not get to the children unless they and their parents know about them.
ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE!!
Suggestions
- Do Posters and or hand outs at Troll
- Have a children's check in at troll (Have sign up sheets for activities and services)
- Have heralds announce (loudly and frequently) when and where activities are to begin
- Work with the event staff to put your activities in a visible location
- Get information into event flyers and on Web pages
For assistance with your program contact your local or regional MOY or:
Kingdom Minister of Youth
Bantiarna Ceara
(Stephanie Bates)
1926 Washtenaw Ave, Apt. 130
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
(734)740-8934
For changes or corrections, please contact the
