The simple way to teach your child how to light a fire.

Part 1 - Creating a spark

Children love to learn about fire so it’s nailed on that you will capture their full attention if you show interest in this subject too. 

Maybe you are a complete beginner and don’t know how to teach your child?

Maybe your child has got a flint and steel for Christmas and is dead keen to get started but you’re not sure how to help them?

You may be worried about how to keep them safe during fire lighting?

You might be interested in teaching your child more traditional methods of fire lighting but don’t know where to start?

If you fit into any of the above categories; this 4 part series of blogs is for you. In this part (part 1) I am going to give you 5 tips for how to create a spark with a more traditional method called a flint and steel.

Learning about fire lighting offers children so many physical and emotional benefits to playing with fire blog so it is great if you can learn about fire lighting together. 

Science bit

To create a fire you need the presence of three things:

HEAT

FUEL

OXYGEN

If you are ever confused about why your fire isn’t going as well as you had hoped then ask yourself which one of these three things may be missing.

It is called the fire triangle.

Getting a spark using a flint and steel creates the heat bit of the fire triangle. 

1. Safe space

Create a fire area with your child by collecting 4 sticks about half a metre long. Place them in a square. The inside of the square represents where the fire should be. Never outside of the square. For the purposes of getting a spark, you can have a fairly small fire area, however, it is important to note that the bigger the fire the bigger the fire square needs to be in order to keep a safe distance.

Tie back anything that dangles.

This mainly refers to hair and toggles for children but anything that could potentially catch fire (although unlikely it is a good routine to get into)

Take off gloves and coats or roll sleeves up

Again, this is to remove all flammable materials which are near to where the spark will be made.

Safe sitting position

At Forest School, we teach one knee up and one knee down as the safest way to sit around a fire. The position means it is quick and easy to push up and step away from danger (flames, embers, smoke etc) and it also helps to stay balanced preventing falling forwards towards the fire. Young children (2-4 year olds) may find this physically difficult so just keep practicing remembering that the main thing is that your child feels comfortable and is in a safe position.

Water for extinguishing the fire

A bucket of water is essential to have nearby in case of any accidents. Cold water is the best first line treatment for burns and also if you need to put the fire out for any reason.

Creating this safe space is full of great learning opportunities for your child so even though it is quicker for you to fill the bucket of water or create the fire area for example, it is more beneficial for your child to do it with your support. It will develop their understanding at a more rapid rate.

2. How to hold a flint and steel

This is really important as it can help or hinder a child. Children struggle to have enough strength and grip to create the scrape action needed to make a spark so to give them a fighting chance of success make sure the flint is in their dominant hand. (The flint is the flat ruler bit) Their dominant hand is the one that they naturally use to pick things up with; like a pencil.

If your child can use both hands equally well or hasn’t decided which hand they prefer then encourage them to experiment and use whichever feels the most natural.

3. Creating a spark

Hold the steel by the handle and steel in the dominant hand

Using the strength in your thumb scrape the flint down the steel, this creates friction.

Keep the flint tilted forward, making an acute angle between the flint and steel.

Scrape hard and fast down the steel creating a spark. (See video below)

Always create a spark over the fire square, not wandering around or in the air. The spark should be regarded and treated as fire.

4. Alternative methods

If children are struggling and want to try a slightly different method. Here are a couple of ideas:

1. Rest the tip of the steel on a hard surface like a log. This gives children something to brace against which gives them more power in the scrape action. 
2. Scrape the flint and steel up and down in short successions.
3. Use the serrated curved end.

5. Recommendations

I have tried a few different flint and steels with children and found that this one Greenman Bushcraft Army Firesteel has the best results. They last a long time but inevitably will break once the steel has been worn away. They are not too big for children to control. Down side is that I wish they were a brighter colour so weren’t as easy to lose in the woods and sometimes the string that holds the two parts together came undone. Both these are easily remedied.

My final thought is to be mindful that this is a hard skill to master for children and adults, it requires practice and patience. Don’t be afraid to tell your child that you are a beginner too and are finding it hard. 

Try to avoid doing it for them… yes you will have to go through that difficult process of your child getting frustrated and cross about not being able to do it but this is an essential part of their learning that some things don’t happen straight away. Believe me, the reward is in the moment that they make a spark.

Next week we will be moving on to the next step of using a spark to light a piece of cotton wool. I hope you have found this useful, let me know how you get on by commenting below. If you haven’t already; subscribe to Grass Roots blog and I will magically find my way to your inbox

Happy New Year.

Have a great weekend.

Sally