Campfire Fun

Nolan joined a Catholic boy's organization created by one of the dads in our homeschooling group. Nolan just loves being a part of Guides and was excited to learn about the first badge. Now, no paperwork came home about this badge but Nolan was so excited that we just figured we'd work on it anyway. Nolan said he had to learn to build a fire by himself and learn to tie two knots. We spent last Saturday working on knots and then went to our local park and practiced setting up a small campfire in one of the fire rings. This was a lot of fun. The hardest part for Mike and I was letting Nolan do it himself with minimal guidance from us. We tried to let him learn by doing. The fire almost went out once:

Mom, "Nolan, why are you poking the fire with your stick?"
Nolan, "To give it more oxygen so it will burn better."
Mom, "Take a look at the fire, what is happening?"
Nolan, "It's going out."
Mom, "Why do you think this is happening?"
Nolan, "Because the sticks are all falling on each other and no oxygen is getting in."
Mom, "What should you do?"
Nolan, "Stop poking the fire and add more wood."

The fire was saved and he did it himself. We decided to officially rent the camp site for the evening last night, get some larger pieces of wood and let Nolan build the fire again. We brought hot dogs and s'mores materials for supper. My sister-in-law joined us and even though the night was cold and a little rainy, Nolan built the entire fire himself and we had a very enjoyable evening cooking and chatting together. We made sure the fire was completely out and returned home full and satisfied.