Water Protectors

Age: 0 to 8+
Time: 1 hour+
Materials: various household items
Skills: Critical Thinking, Focus & Self Control, Naturalist

Playing with water is both stimulating and calming—the ideal combination for turning on our brains and freeing up our capacity to focus! Water play also provides an opportunity to talk with kids about the importance of protecting and conserving our water supply. Here are some of our favorite ways to encourage kids to explore how they think they could be water protectors in their own home.

The Guide

Step 1: Talk about a most special treasure—water!

Wonder together: "What makes water a special treasure?" Talk about who needs water to thrive (e.g. plants, animals, humans). How do humans use water? (e.g. to drink, cook, grow food, travel, wash clothing, play). Introduce the idea that all water is precious, so it is really important not to waste it. One of our favorite books to introduce kids to the topic of water conservation is The Water Protectors by Carol Lindstrom.

Step 2: Introduce 1 jar of water.

Offer kids one jar of water. Or, fill just one bucket or container with water. Let kids know this is all the water we have for play today and wonder: "How can we play adn make discoveries with just one jar of water?"

Step 3: Play, conserve, reuse!

Offer kids a variety of water play tools (e.g. containers, sponge, pipette, spoon) and let the water play roll. Place a bin or cookie sheet in their play space and show kids how they can use it to catch and reuse any water that is spilled during play. If there is any water left over after play, welcome kids to “feed” it to the trees rather than pour it down the drain.

Step 4: Be a Water Protector!

Try out some of these simple ways kids to help kids learn how they can be water protectors and make a positive impact on water supply in their homes and communities:

Be a leak detective: Head out on a leak hunt together to check for drippy faucets inside the house and around the yard.

One cup a day: Teach kids to pick one cup or a reusable water bottle that will be their water cup for the day. Kids can practice filling only halfway or less, then refill as needed. Whatever water they don’t finish at the end of the day, can be used to water the plants, trees or grass instead of going down the drain.

Refill from the fridge: Every time we run the faucet and wait for the water to come out cool, we waste precious drops. Kids can help refill a jug of water each day and place it in the fridge so everyone in the family can have cool water when they need it.

Collect rain: Try our Rain Gauge DIY to help kids learn about the water cycle as they turn a jar into a tool to measure rainfall and collect water for plants to thrive.

Turn off when you brush: Teach kids to turn off the faucet while brushing their teeth- doing so can save up to 4 gallons a minute!
Shower race: Taking showers shorter than 5 minutes can save up to 1,000 gallons of water a month! Turn water conservation into a game to see who can take the shortest shower.
Cut out plastic: Much of the plastic we use and throw away ends up in our oceans. To protect our oceans and help all sea creatures, we can each find ways to use less or even no plastic at home! And, kids can really help! Read more here.

One bag of trash: Litter is often washed away into nearby water sources. Pick up one bag of trash from a local green space to help keep your local water sources clean. Read more about this activity here.

Fall in love with water: Visit a local lake, river or stream and enjoy the gift of clean water together. Giving kids a chance to fall in love with our natural water resources will motivate them to take simple steps to protect them.

Why is this activity great for kids?

Kids today can't help but feel the concern we all share for our planet, so helping them to take action and to feel like they are part of a world in which others care and are taking action too can really help counterbalance their worries. Plus, it teaches kids to exercise compassionate empathy—that ever important ability to put empathy into action!