Evaporation and condensation are tough to explain to a 6 year
old. To help him “see” evaporation, we filled a transparent glass half full of
water and I cut a strip from the sticky part of a post-it note to mark where
the water line was. We’ll be observing it all week to see how much water evaporates.
To illustrate condensation, I filled a glass mason jar two-thirds
full with warm water and screwed the lid on. It didn’t take long before the jar’s
sides above the water line steamed over and beads of condensation formed.
Afterwards, I gave my son the puzzle and asked him to put
the pieces and arrows in the right order. When my son wasn’t sure, I told him
to turn the pictures over and read the back.
Before long, he had all the pieces in place. We turned the oval pictures over to double check. He was SO excited to get it right!
Before long, he had all the pieces in place. We turned the oval pictures over to double check. He was SO excited to get it right!
To make your own
Water Cycle Puzzle, you need:
1 large, empty cereal box
2 pieces of sticker paper
Water Cycle Puzzle template (download a 2-page PDF here)
An exacto knife
Glue
Directions:
Cut the cereal box and save the two largest rectangles;
recycle the rest. Print both pages of the Water Cycle Puzzle PDF onto sticker paper. Peel off the
backing from the first page (the one with the large pictures). Adhere this (centering it) to the plain brown side of one of the cereal box rectangles. Cut
off any excess. Carefully use an exacto knife to cut out the ovals and circles
(put a cutting board or cardboard underneath to protect your work surface).
Use scissors to cut out the ovals and circles on the second
Water Cycle Puzzle page. Peel off the backing and adhere these stickers to the
back of the shapes you just cut out. Glue the cardboard Water Cycle page with
holes to the other cereal box rectangle (brown side up). Let dry.
Then, get ready for some puzzle fun.
Then, get ready for some puzzle fun.
Oh wow -- love the free printable! Thanks so much for sharing this beautiful and fun way to learn the water cycle!
ReplyDeleteI just discovered your amazing blog this weekend!! I'm so excited to try some of these experiments and activities in my kindergarten classroom. It is so amazing to see a parent as dedicated to making learning fun for her little one as you are. He is lucky to have a mom like you. Thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely printable - thanks for sharing! Have you seen this kid's explanation of the water cycle?
ReplyDeletehttp://matthewkai.posterous.com/the-water-cycle
Thanks for the compliments, ShoreGirl! And thanks, MaryAnne for the link; my son and I watched it twice! I'm glad you found my blog, Amanda. If you ever need the printables modified for classroom use (perhaps this could be a cut-and-paste worksheet?), let me know!
ReplyDeleteFabulous project! All 3 of my kids (ages 4-7) would enjoy this. We have a Winnie the Pooh book that introduces the same topic. This puzzle would be a perfect complement.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome!!! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful printables!!!
ReplyDeleteI had a song we sang when I was teaching that taught hte water cycle to the tune of My Darlin' Clementine.
ReplyDeleteyou have had some fabulous weather fun! I am pinning like crazy so I don't forget any of these! :)
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing on the Sunday Showcase!
Bern
We are doing water this week and this is perfect. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this printable. I am working on lessons for teaching the Water cycle at this very moment. When I feel like my students "get it", we are all going to create a Science Making Connections Tee with the water cycle. There are a couple of examples in Science Making Connections album on my facebook page. Here is the link. https://www.facebook.com/pg/ScienceWear/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10152602238731774
ReplyDelete