Water
One of nature’s most important gifts
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Summer often brings hot and muggy days; so it was wonderful when our teachers taught us about water this week by allowing us to play in it at the Opkhan National Park! Needless to say, we did not need any persuasion to jump into the lake to look for small creatures like fish, crabs and shells using ‘nets’ that we made out of twigs, string and large dried leaves we found near the lake. What fun! We learnt a lot about the need for water to flow properly and not remain static; and although some of us shrieked at the mention of this, the nymphs and larvae of insects such as the mayfly and dragonfly do need good quality water that do not contain midge larvae or red worms in order to live and grow.
Water covers more than 70% of the earth. It is one of nature’s most important gifts to us. All living things from humans to small creatures like insects, fish and crabs require good quality water to survive. But we learnt this week that this quantity of water is limited and keeps going around and around in what is called ‘the water cycle’.
"Water Cycle" - illustration from www.kidzone.ws
Our teachers showed us this cycle and other qualities and aspects of water through charts and games. We really enjoyed the games especially the human boat we created by sitting down in a circle, putting our hands on the shoulders of the person in front of us and swaying like we were moving on water. We even stood outside our classrooms to stare at and observe the clouds to learn about how they are formed when water from plants and trees ‘sweat’ or transpire, then evaporate and condense in the air. We learnt that when the clouds cannot hold the water anymore, they release it and it falls to the earth as rain. Then it soaks into the earth and becomes ground water for animals and plants to live on and drink from. Or it collects into lakes, oceans and ponds where it will eventually evaporate when it is heated by the sun and the cycle starts again.
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