way to go canoedogs! i suspect yours was the coolest part of their day and something they'll remember for a lifetime! they're never too young to start learning self-reliance.

we've got some parents that are totally against teaching our 5-7 year olds to forage for combustibles for firemaking, and some even think that our 8-10 year olds are too young for that. no wonder our scouts are sometimes so clueless. during our recent winter camping trip, a few of them came to me asking for paper for their fires, i suggested we take the entire group out for a foraging lesson and was greeted with horrified looks and comments from the parents of the youger kids. i wasn't even suggesting anything involving flame. geesh!