Exploring at Home: Water

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Water is the most common compound on Earth, covering almost three-quarters of the planet. This fascinating substance is critical to the survival of all living things. Listen to what your child has discovered about water. Then take a little time to have some water fun with your child.

Icy Shapes. Families have better access to year-round freezing temperatures in your kitchen than we have at school. Enjoy discovering with your child that water freezes in the shape of its container. For this experience, freeze water in assorted plastic or metal containers of different sizes and shapes: thimble-size plastic tops for spray cleaner bottles or nesting measuring cups, for example. You could have fun devising a way to fill, fasten tightly with a rubber band, and freeze a plastic glove almost full of water. Find out together what happens to a damp mitten in the freezer. See what happens when you drape a wet paper towel over an inverted plastic bowl and freeze it. Then remove the stiff, bowl-shaped paper towel. Enjoy the beautiful results when you carefully squeeze drops of water from a medicine dropper onto a piece of foil and freeze them. Do the same with a light coat of water droplets from a spray bottle.

Slippery Safety. (A winter lesson for children in northern climates.) Fill a deep, clear container with water. Put it in the freezer, or outdoors in below-freezing weather. See what’s happening to it every few hours. When it has formed a layer of ice across the top, let your child look carefully to see that there is still water beneath the ice. The ice forms from the outside edges before it freezes in the center. The same is true when ponds or streams freeze outdoors. The ice might look safe enough to slide on near the edge, but it might not be thick and strong enough to hold a person near the center. Talk about your family rules about safe sliding and skating places.

Uplifting Discoveries. The next time you swim together, help your child feel the effect of water’s upward push. Have your child stand in shoulder deep water, with both arms a few inches away from his or her sides, not pressing tightly to the body. Ask if those arms will stay just where they are. What happens in a short while? (Water’s natural upward push begins to move the arms upward. It takes some effort to push the arms back down.) Let your child predict what will happen if he or she curls into a tight ball in the water. Compare this with what happens when he or she stretches out on top of the water. Water’s upward push helps us float.