“When you know who you are; when your mission is clear and you burn with the inner fire of unbreakable will; no cold can touch your heart; no deluge can dampen your purpose. You know that you are alive.”- Chief Seattle

At Aishing Forest School, when we speak of fire with our learners, we speak in a practical sense as well as a metaphysical sense that creates tangible connections for our young learners. We pay gratitude to fire for cooking our food, keeping us warm, cleaning our water, as well as acting as a symbol of our own inner fire, our purpose, our determination, our truest essence that makes each one of us uniquely who we are, yet simultaneously uniting us by recognizing the greatness of our peers as well. The element of fire has great power for forging will and determination.

What is your inner fire? It is our inner light as well as a living symbol of the divine fire that burns in every soul.

Our next question for our learners to consider is, “what lights your inner fire?” As we gather in our morning circle we always enjoy a brief Socratic discussion based on provocations and this week we dove deep into the idea of what fuels our own fire. What sparks the inner light of our learners was described as being in nature, playing with friends (this was mentioned numerous times), being with family, eating yummy snacks, and getting sleep. The immediate understanding and connection of feeding your inner fire as a symbolic act of self-care made by such young minds were so impressive. These amazing learners of nature surely understood the mission!

After planting the seed of understanding in regards to the power of fire and the beauty of our inner fire, we worked as a team to tend to our hearth and create a roaring fire to cook over. When we sit as a group and take the time to go through discussions such as these with our young learners, there is a clear sense of creating community by joining around a fire, talking, and bonding over food like our ancestors did. Additionally, when tending to a fire or cooking over a fire, there are endless opportunities for growth in gross motor and fine motor development, as well as environmental awareness. Some learners used our kindling cracker with a heavy mallet to help chop the wood for our fire, meanwhile, others scouted the land for the perfect roasting sticks, some whittled the sticks for roasting, and others helped prepare the ingredients by chopping or stirring. Cooking together is the ultimate form of teamwork and practicing self-care and responsibility.

For anyone interested in exploring the vast realm of cooking over the fire with children there are a few obvious snacks such as marshmallows and hotdogs, but at Aishling Forest School we are big fans of whole foods such as roasted apples, banana boats, and Australian damper bread.

Here are some instructions for our three favorite campfire recipes:

Roasted Apples:

1. Slice the apple into wide slices.
2. Sprinkle apples with honey and cinnamon in a bag or bowl, and then mix thoroughly.
3. Find the perfect stick for roasting and then whittle the stick, to sanitize it (peelers work great for whittling)
4. Push a pointed stick through the apple slice and roast over the fire until desired heat/consistency. Tastes just like freshly baked apple pie!

Banana Boat:

1. Keep the banana peel on and slice lengthwise.
2. Fill the open slice with chocolate chips.
3. Wrap the entire banana and peel with foil and place on fire for 5 minutes. Enjoy it in all its ooey-gooey glory!

Damper Bread:

1. In a bowl, mix 3 cups of self-rising flour (we love King Arthur’s GF kind) with ½ cup of water until it forms a dough consistency (great for sensory play with your littles).
2. Take out golf ball size pieces of dough and wrap them around the end of a whittled stick. This is the fun, messy part that children love! (And adults)
3. Roast over the fire until golden brown, then season with sea salt or a drizzle of honey, or both!

• For anyone looking to explore even more in-depth over-the-fire meal options, try checking out the book “Cooking with Fire” by Paula Marcoux
• To find your own child-friendly kindling cracker, there are many available online and you can even find some to purchase on Amazon as well.

These are some great ways to safely start exploring cooking with fire with your children, family, and friends. At Aishling Forest School, we emphasize fire safety and respecting the elements, therefore we encourage families who wish to explore this concept more to also continue emphasizing fire safety and respect so we can keep all our learners as safe as necessary (all while having fun and learning lots!)