Life In The Water

A pond is so much more than a body of water, it's a view into the tiny life that will become a frog. 

 An ocean isn't just a place to cool off in, it's a look at a creature you didn't know existed.

  

A river isn't just for floating down, but a chance to catch a glimpse at the fish strong enough to swim in its current.  

Water, no matter what type, attracts all varieties of life, including children!  Water is something we are naturally drawn to play in no matter what our age, it brings us "to life."  The life that water supports makes it even more engaging, and gives us the opportunity to learn about what lives in our own "backyards."

We are fortunate to currently live near fresh and salt water, which expands our world of the creatures and plant life we encounter.  The more we observe and learn about them, the more we care about protecting their environment.

Helping children care for and about the world we live in is as easy as starting with observation.  Water teems with life.  Buckets and empty containers are simple modes of observation, or a quick DIY underwater scope, works for leaving areas undisturbed.

Fill a few containers and look for the life inside, it may move, it may be colorful, it may try to hide, just watch like you would an aquarium.  We once used water straight from the Gulf of Mexico to fill a small aquarium for a hermit crab that we accidentally brought home in what we thought was an empty shell.  A week later the water displayed extra life we didn't know was there and was living on the rocks among the crab.

Visit local watering holes at different times of the day and look and listen for changes; it can be the behavior of the creatures that live there, or the movement of the plants that grow.  Talk about, draw, write, and read with your children about what you encounter, because...

“Water is life's mater and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water.”  Albert Szent-Gyorgyi 

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