Since it has been such a hot dry summer this year and there has been a drought in much of the U.S. the following activities can help save water. Marydele Donnelly said in 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do To Save The Earth “Each year there are more and more people living on the Earth, yet the amount of water we have to use remains the same. When we turn on the faucet, fresh water flows out from the same reserves in the ground, from the same rivers and streams.” She goes on the say that whatever we do affects our streams, lakes, rivers and oceans. “No matter where you live, your actions influence what happens to them-and what happens to the animals (fish) that depend on them.”

The following activities improve language development, memory, problem solving, creativity and scientific reasoning skills. Research indicates that there is a direct relationship between cognitive (intellectual) development and critical thinking skills.

Infants: Playing with Water – Infants usually find playing with water very soothing and relaxing. Waterplay gives them the opportunity to learn how it behaves and gives them experience with concepts such as quantity and capacity. Physically, it helps to develop their arm and hand muscles and improves their skill at pouring. It is also very important to avoid any idea that getting wet or messy is naughty. When the infants are finished playing in the water take it outside to water the garden so you won’t be wasting water.

Toddlers: Melting – Do an experiment with the toddlers to see which lasts longer ice chips or whole cubes. Ask them to make predictions. Put some cubes in a plastic bag. Have the toddlers smash them with a hammer. Put the ice chips in a dish to melt, and put an ice cube in another. See which melts first. Now put them in a water table. Ask the children to predict which will melt first. Waterplay activities help to calm disruptive children and gives them an opportunity to learn how natural materials behave.

Preschoolers: Measuring Water – Have children use measuring cups and spoons in a pan of water. Have them count how many cups it takes to fill a pint, quart, and gallon. Fill a cup with water, and leave it on the window sill and mark the water level. Check it each day and see if any of the water is missing. Make a chart and talk about evaporation. Take another cup of water and put a piece of tape at the water line. Put in three marbles and talk about displacement, the fact that when the marbles were added they took up the space where some of the water was so the water had to find a new place. You can do something to save water by putting a brick in the toilet tank to take up space (it displaces the water), so there will be less room and the toilet will use less water. Now every time the toilet is flushed it will save between one and two gallons of water.

Ernst von Glasersfeld (1985) said that “successful thinking is more important then the correct answers…” Another way of saying this in early childhood education is that “the process is more important than the product.” He also went on to state that adults “will have to create situations where students (children) have an opportunity to experience the pleasure inherent in solving a problem.”

WATER IS THE DRIVING FORCE OF ALL NATURE - Leonardo da Vinci