Fire & Knives

Programs

Outdoor skills for kids, grades K–5.

Fire & Knives is a progressive outdoor-skills program. Kids learn fire making, knife skills, shelter building, tool safety, plant ID, outdoor cooking, bushcraft, water and compass work, and along the way a deeper connection to plants, animals and the natural world.

F&K flame mark

What your kid will learn

  • Fire making
  • Knife skills
  • Shelter building
  • Tool safety
  • Plant ID
  • Outdoor cooking
  • Bushcraft
  • Water
  • Compass work
A kid kneels in fall leaves, working a ferro rod over a pile of tinder.
Kids practice tying a rope around a fallen branch.
Kids lean long branches against a frame to build a shelter in the woods.

The levels

Earned, not given
  1. 5Torch1,000 points
  2. 4Steel750 points
  3. 3Blade500 points
  4. 2Flame250 points
  5. 1SparkWhere everyone starts

Classes are grouped by grade: K–1, 2–3, and 4–5. Kids learn alongside their peers, but levels are earned, not aged into. Points add up over the years and never reset. A returning student is not "in Fire & Knives." She is a Blade climbing toward Steel, and she will tell you so.

Our ladder system is both a motivator and a safety tool. Skills unlock, and tools come into use, as kids learn and demonstrate them.

A session

A typical session

Sessions run 60–90 minutes.

  1. 1Arrival and a warm-up game.
  2. 2Opening circle and safety.
  3. 3A short intro to the day's skill. Sometimes a story, sometimes a question: What is fire? Where did it come from?
  4. 4Hands-on activity and a team challenge, with leadership opportunities.
  5. 5Adventure time, the heart of the day.
  6. 6Reflection: field journal, skill cards, closing circle and chant.

What they earn

Skill cards and a field journal

Kids earn a skill card for every skill they demonstrate, and keep a field journal that always comes home. They get really excited about both.

Kids at a picnic table add the skill cards they earned to their field journals.

Pick your adventure.

After-school enrichment

A 6–8 week course, once a week, at your child's school.

Tell us your school

Town recreation programs

Fire & Knives classes through your local rec department.

Tell us your town

Classes in the public woods

Open enrollment, no school required. Sign up when a class opens near you.

Find a class

Birthday parties

Help make your kid's special day unforgettable with 90 minutes of fire, carving, a treasure hunt, and custom options.

Inquire about a party

The Games

Our annual field day of skills, teams, and one unforgettable finale. Held every June.

Hear about the Games first

Fall 2026

Schools we work with this fall.

Every fall program runs through a school this term. Open classes are listed the moment they exist.

  • Fayerweather Street School

    Cambridge · After-school enrichment

    Fall term, underway

    Enroll through the school

  • The Park School

    Brookline · After-school enrichment, three days a week

    Tuesdays K–2 · Wednesdays grade 5 · Fridays grades 3 and 4

    Enroll through the school

  • Meadowbrook School

    Weston · After-school enrichment

    Fall term, underway

    Enroll through the school

  • Dedham Country Day School

    Dedham · After-school enrichment

    Fall term, from October 13

    Enroll through the school

Don't see your class?

Two ways to get one.

Bring it to your school

Opens a short note you can send to your enrichment director.

Bring it to your town

Tell us where you are and we write when a class opens near you.

Run a school or recreation department? Start here.