Kindergarten – We learn how to share our planet

Everyone knows that water is important and is a scarce resource that we need to protect. However, how can we communicate this idea to young children so that they know the urgency of the issue and therefore elicit further actions? This year, after introducing the basic knowledge of water (e.g. different properties of water, water cycle, fresh water vs. sea water…etc.), we let students solve real world problems.

Can we grow beans with sea water? (Ongoing project)

Children always ask this question, “There is so much water in the ocean, why do teachers say we don’t have enough water?” To help them understand, we conduct a small experiment. In this experiment, children water mung beans with fresh water and salt water every day and observe what would happen.

How can we make dirty water clean again? (Ongoing project)

Water pollution is a serious issue, but how can we raise the awareness among young children? We let them purify the water they pollute themselves! In the beginning of the lesson, we gave children a pail of dirty water that they had “polluted” during recess, and then we asked them to design their own water filter to make the dirty water clean again. Children worked in pairs and discussed which materials could work. Next, they collected the materials and made their own water filter. Children experimented their water filter and wrote down their observation and conclusion. Although the experiment has not ended in some classes, at this point children all felt that it had taken so much effort to make dirty water clean.

What can we do if there’s no more water?

On a Wednesday morning, children came into school realizing there was no water! It is interesting to see their reaction and how they approached to problems such as cleaning hands and using the bathroom. After this activity, every student learned the importance of water.