Growing at Home - The Water Cycle of our Planet

Do you have a river near your house? Or a lake? It’s time to take an adventure to your closest body of water because today we are going to learn about water all over the earth! About 96.5% of Earth’s water is in the oceans, the rest is in lakes, rivers, streams, polar ice caps, and clouds.

All these types of water move around our planet through the water cycle. The water cycle is the process in which water from oceans, lakes, and streams provides water for plants and for us. When water evaporates from these sources, it turns into water vapor. This water vapor then turns into liquid water, which creates clouds through condensation.  When clouds become full of liquid water, they fall from the sky in the form of rain or snow. To learn more about the water cycle and why it’s important, check out NASA’s Climate Kids.

Let’s talk about some ways your family can learn from your local rivers and lakes this summer:

• Pan for treasure! Take a mesh strainer to your local river or lake and see what you can find. Use this opportunity to talk about the gold rush and how miners used to search for gold in rivers.

• Learn about rivers all over the world. Find which rivers are the longest. Which river would you like to visit?

• Search for creatures! What can you find in the water? Some fish or turtles? Maybe some crawdads? Tadpoles? Did you know that tadpoles turn into frogs? What creatures can you identify? Can you catch any of them?

• Do you know how the water in rivers is different from oceans? Rivers are a fresh water source, while the ocean has salt water. Learn about the differences in salt and fresh water with a science project to test out the densities of different water sources.

71% of our earth is water, it’s important to learn how our water resources impact the planet. How do you use water throughout your day?