With #1 son being over 7-1/2 years old, I’ve started teaching my kids some skills this summer.

For firecraft, I put down the tinder and laid the first few twigs to show them how its done, and they took turns adding the rest of the kindling to build the “teepee”. This is easy and fun for kids to do and it teaches the basis of a good fire. The oldest lit the tinder but after that I did all the adding of wood. Everyone roasted marshmallows which is always a hit.

By the time the fire had died down to coals, the sun has set and it was getting chilly. When they started to complain I handed out warm rocks from around the fire. We tried boiling some water with stones and I had one pop rather spectacularly even though it came from a dry area.

Now here’s my question – AM I NUTS for getting them their own pocket knives? They are 2” decent quality lock blades . I keep them put away and only let them have them when they are outside in the yard under my direct supervision. They can keep them in their pockets while the run around and play but the rule is that they must sit down away from the others if they want to take them out and open them to whittle. And no monkey business.

What scares me is that they are razor sharp out of the box and can probably slice right to the bone of my fingers, never mind their little ones. I’m tempted to take my stone and knock the edge down a little bit. Minor injuries are expected and unavoidable with boys, but we like to avoid stitches or surgical re-attachments as they involve a lot of paperwork.