Let's Explore Water!
Water is everywhere. It surrounds us in the environment – flowing in oceans, lakes, and streams and falling from the sky in rain, snow and hail. Water is essential for life on Earth and makes up approximately 60% of our own bodies.

Children have experiences with water daily: they bathe in it, drink it, play with it, see it as rain and snow, and observe rivers and ponds. Children are naturally drawn to water and love to play in it – pools, sprinklers, water tables, rain puddles, you name it and kids will play in it!

Set up an outdoor water center. Use a water table if you have one available. Other containers that hold water can work as well. While children are playing and experimenting with “what happens when?” they will be developing and using basic science skills.

Water center supplies:

Buckets and other containers of various sizes and shapes (drill holes in the sides of a few so children can observe how the water “shoots” out)
Tubing of various sizes and shapes
Water wall (pieces of plastic coated wire shelving made to stand on side like a wall, tubing can be passed through and supported by wall)
Plastic connectors
Simple hand pumps
Funnels
Turkey basters, eye droppers, and other squirting tools
Paintbrushes
Various objects of different materials (wood, metal, paper, plastic etc…for children to observe what sinks/floats)
Food coloring
Any other containers, objects etc… that will allow children to experiment with the properties of water and how it changes, passes from one object to another, and make other observations

Questions to ask children (these are only a place to start):

How can you move water through the tubes?
What will happen if you put the wood (or other object) in the water?
How will a funnel help water get into the tube?
Why does ___ sink/float?
What happens when you put a drop of water on the pavement? The grass? Sand? A piece of paper? Why is it different for each?
What happens when you add food coloring to water?
What happens if you mix colors?

Encourage children to share their observations and ideas.  Take pictures of children as they play and experiment. Share their pictures and observations with the class. Allow children time to openly explore the water. After they have had time to openly explore the water focus their exploration with eye droppers, tubing, questions, challenges (i.e. Can you get the water into the tube?), and observations for them to explore.

Field trip:

Plan a trip to a local pond, or creek to observe water. Visit a water fountain and watch the water. Take advantage if it rains and take children on a walk to splash and play in rain puddles (after or during a rain shower).

For more information use Exploring Water with Young Children by Ingrid Chalufour & Karen Worth.

Book List

Amos, W.H. 1981. Life in Ponds and Streams. National Geographic Society.
Arnosky, J. 2008. The Brook Book: Exploring the Smallest Streams. Penguin Young Readers Group.
Base, G. 2001. The Water Hole. Harry N Abrams, Inc.
Branley, F.M. 1997. Down Comes the Rain. HarperCollins Children's Books.
Brimner, L.D. 1999. Raindrops. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Dewey, J.O. 1987. At the Edge of the Pond. Little, Brown & Company.
DK Publishing. 2007. Water Everywhere. DK Publishing, Inc.
Edom, H. 2007. Science with Water. EDC Publishing.
Fleming, D. 1993. In the Small, Small Pond. Henry Holt and Co.
Fourment, T. 2004. My Water Comes from the Mountains. Roberts Rinehart Publishers.
George, L.B. 1996. Around the Pond: Who's Been Here? Greenwillow Books.
George, W.T. 1988. Beaver at Long Pond. Greenwillow Books.
Giesecke, E. and A. Royston. 2002. Pond Plants. Heinemann Library.
Greenfield, E. and J.S. Gilchrist. 1999. Water, Water. HarperCollins Publishers.
Hooper, M. The Drop in My Drink: The Story of Water on Our Planet. Viking Press.
Jango-Cohen, J. 2005. Why Does It Rain? Lerner Publishing Group.
Jarnow, J. and E. Hathon. 2000. Splish! Splash! Penguin Group, Inc. (USA).
Kerley, B. 2006. A Cool Drink of Water. National Geographic Society.
Kosek, J.K. 2003. What's inside Lakes? Rosen Publishing Group, Incorporated.
Kurtz, J. 2000. River Friendly, River Wild. Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing.
Kurtz, J., C. Kurtz and L. Christiansen. 2002. Water Hole Waiting. HarperCollins Publishers.
Locker, T. 2002. Water Dance. Harcourt Children's Books.
Luenn, N. 1994. Squish!: A Wetland Walk. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Olien, R. 1999. Splish Splash Science, Grades 1-3: Learning about Water with Easy Fun-Filled Activities. Scholastic, Inc.
Petersen, C. 2004. Water Power. Children's Press (CT).
Pluckrose, H. 2001. Water. Gareth Stevens Audio.
Pratt-Serafini, K.J. 2001. Salamander Rain: A Lake & Pond Journal. Dawn Publications.
Rauzon, M.J. 1995. Water, Water Everywhere. Sierra Club Books for Children.
Rosinsky, N.M. 2002. Water: Up, Down, and All Around. Capstone Press.
Schuh, M.C. 2002. What Are Lakes? Capstone Press.
Seuling, B. 2000. Drip! Drop!: How Water Gets to Your Tap. Holiday House, Inc.
Swanson, D. 2005. Wonder in Water. Annick Press, Limited.
Tresselt, A.R. 1990. Rain Drop Splash. HarperCollins Publishers.
Waldman, N. 2003. Snowflake: A Water Cycle Story. Millbrook Press.
Wells, R.E. 2006. Did a Dinosaur Drink This Water? Albert Whitman & Company.
Weininger, B. and A. Moller. 2003. Precious Water. North-South Books.
Wyler, R. 1990. Puddles and Ponds: An Outdoor Book. Silver Burdett Press.