The Water Cycle For Children: Keys To Explain It

Water is mysterious to children, but we can explain where it comes from thanks to the water cycle.

Water is one of the elements that cause the most curiosity in children. Where does it come from? Why is the sea so big? Because it rains? These are frequently asked questions that we can use to explain the water cycle to children in simple words.

The keys to understanding this concept, which is quite abstract, is to relate it to things in daily life  that are known to them. Let’s start by defining the different “forms of water.”

The water cycle for kids: states of water

Water is a changing element, but constant. The water cycle is the continuous change of state by which the amount of water on the planet remains the same through millions of years. In this constant cycle, water can go through the following states:

• Liquid – This form is the most common. Here you can start to explain the water cycle for children. The examples are easy and everyday, since we see and touch water in a liquid state when we bathe, when the rain gets us wet or when we drink it. It can also be seen in rivers and seas.
• Solid : when liquid water has a temperature lower than 0 ° C, it freezes. The ways that children can see water in a solid state are ice and snow.
• Gaseous : in this state, water can be seen in clouds, fog, and water vapor. When you take a very hot bath or boil a pot of water, it is possible to see the water vapor that forms and is deposited on different surfaces.

Changes in the state of the water

Once the little ones understand the difference and characteristics of the three states of water, it is time to teach them how the element passes from one state to another. To do this, it is necessary to define some specific concepts:

1. When water goes from a solid to a liquid, the process is called melting. For example, if you leave an ice cube at room temperature, it slowly dissolves into liquid water.
2. If you freeze it again, the change from liquid to solid is called solidification.
3. The change from a liquid to a gaseous state is called evaporation. Water evaporates when heated to high temperatures and forms water vapor. In nature, the evaporation of water from rivers and seas forms clouds, which is the accumulation of millions of water particles.
4. In the opposite sense, when water in the gaseous state becomes a liquid, we say that it condenses. This happens when steam touches a cold surface, for example, when the bathroom mirrors “fog up” when you shower or when the gaseous water in the clouds suffers a large drop in temperature and condenses to fall as rain .

Explain the water cycle for children

Having defined the basic concepts of the state of water and what its different transformations are called, we can address the issue of the water cycle in nature. We are going to start with evaporation, but we could explain it from any point in the circuit, because it is a constant cycle.

The energy of the Sun is the great driver of the water cycle. Solar heat reaches our planet and raises the surface temperature, both of the land and of the water in rivers, seas, oceans and lakes. Then the water turns into steam. Even ice is affected by heat and turns into a liquid state and also evaporates. Living things also contribute sweat and perspiration.

When water turns to vapor, it becomes light, rises in the air, and forms clouds. Millions of particles accumulate there and agglomerate. When the clouds become dense and the air temperature drops, the water condenses and discharges in the form of rain, hail or snow.

Thus, rainfall returns the water to the land, whether in the sea, in a river or a mountain, depending on the differences in temperature, winds, relief, etc. And the cycle begins again …

Is water a renewable resource?

It is clear that water changes state and is placed back in the circuit each time, therefore, it is said that water is a renewable resource. In any case, it is necessary to take care of it and use it responsibly, since its quantity is finite and not so abundant, especially drinking water, which is water suitable for human consumption.

In this sense, both at home and at school we can collaborate to take care of water with the following actions:

• Do not leave the tap running when we brush our teeth.
• Fix leaky faucets.
• Choose a quick shower over a soaking bath.
• Do not play with water.

Explaining the water cycle to children is simple, since you can relate it to many daily activities, and if, in addition, you do it by adding the theme of caring for the planet, surely you will have them all very attentive.