The water cycle isn't introduced as a learning standard until the sixth grade, according to the Next Generation Science Standards developed in partnership with 26 states. Children as young as kindergarten, however, are expected to learn about the different forms that water can take, such as rain or snow. You can give your Pre-K kids a jump start on learning with simple, fun activities about the water cycle.
Use a story book to introduce children to the idea of water in its different forms. "Down Comes the Rain" by Dr. Franklyn M. Branley provides a simple explanation of the water cycle, and Joanna Cole's "The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks" has kids transforming into raindrops and experiencing the cycle for themselves. If you have access to the Internet, there is a free online story called "The Many Adventures of Drippy the Raindrop: To the Mountains and Back" that kids will enjoy clicking through, and there's an option to have the text spoken aloud by a narrator if you don't want to read it yourself.
Tell your Pre-K kids they will be learning three really big words, all of which end in the sound "ation." Ask them if they can think of any other words with this sound, such as "nation", "station" or "vacation." Name the water cycle words: evaporation, condensation and precipitation. Reinforce these words and their meanings by using visual aids -- the U.S. Geological Survey has a beginner-level online graphic that uses cute cartoon raindrops to show the different phases of the cycle. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also offers a coloring sheet about the water cycle featuring a cartoon glass of water called Thirstin.
Songs and Fingerplays
Ask your kids if they know the song "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and sing it together as you perform the accompanying fingerplay. Explain that this song tells a little bit about the water cycle in the line "out came the sun and dried up all the rain." Then teach them a new song sung to the same tune, called "The Little Water Vapor Song." The lyrics, with accompanying motions, are as follows: The little water vapor evaporated high (raise your hands) Into a cloud, it condensed by and by. (form a circle with your hands) When the cloud was full, it precipitated rain, (wiggle your fingers down) Down fell the water, to start the cycle again! (make a circular motion with your hand)
Perform a simple experiment using a crock pot to show how water evaporates as it heats up, then condenses and drips back down as precipitation. Set up the crock pot on a sturdy table and keep the students at a safe distance. Fill the pot with water and set it on high. As the water heats up, ask the students to tell you what they see -- as steam begins to rise, tell them this is the water evaporating, just like water evaporates from a pond or a puddle when the sun heats it up. Put a lid on the crock pot, then take the lid off after a few minutes and show them how the water has gathered on the underside. Explain that this is condensation, which happens when evaporated water droplets rise and form together to make clouds. Hold the lid over the pot and demonstrate how the condensed water will drip back down, just like precipitation falls from the clouds in the form of rain.
- Next Generation Science Standards: Lead State Partners
- Next Generation Science Standards: Appendix E –- Progressions Within the Next Generation Science Standards
- HarperCollins Children's: Down Comes the Rain
- Wisconsin's Water Library for Kids: Water Cycle
- The Many Adventures of Drippy the Raindrop: To the Mountains and Back
- The U.S. Geological Survey: The Water Cycle for Kids: Beginner Ages
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Thirstin's Water Cycle Adventure
- Scholastic Teachers: Follow the Water Cycle
- Lakewhore Learning: Our Wonderful Water Cycle
- Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images