beautiful night for a campfire

Last night I had the pleasure of leading a campfire program for all of the preschool families at our school. The temperature finally broke - it was a mild fifty-ish degree day and it sure felt like a Spring reprieve.

I wish I could say I had planned the warm weather and the full moon. As the families arrived, the sun was going down. The sunsets are SO BEAUTIFUL at the nature center. I know I'm partial, but wow. The backdrop for the campfire was perfect.

What was even better was the smell of the campfire after months of being cooped up inside. Yes, there was smoke in my eyes, but the scent of it on my clothes was like summertime.

The children were mesmerized by the crackles and pops of the flames. One child said "it looks like fireflies!". I felt like a child, too, stoking the fire and breathing life into it from beneath. You'd be proud of my hybrid log cabin tee-pee fire. It started easily with minimal "cheating" using newspaper to get going. One dad said "looks like somebody earned a Girl Scout badge along the way". Yeah, it took a little more practice than that...but he's right. There was a Girl Scout badge.

For many of our students, this was their very first time ever gathering around a campfire. What an amazing impression to leave them. Can you remember your first campfire?

I love the community of families at our preschool and I feel grateful to share these kinds of wholesome experiences with the kids. I look forward to the days of building fires with my own son.