Aqua Charades & Wildlife Water Safari

WILD CHILD on a Wildlife Water Safari

QUICK FACTS
Without water, there would be no life. Water is essential to the processes that keep plants and animals alive.

People use water for many purposes other than drinking. At home, we use it to cook, to clean, to garden and much more. We use it for swimming, boating, fishing, skiing, and other sports and recreation.

Like people, all animals need water to support basic body function. Some drink water like people do. Others can get water from the foods they eat, or can absorb it through their skin (like freshwater fish). Some animals use water for swimming and cleaning themselves. Most fish and many other aquatic animals breathe with gills and can live only when they are completely immersed in water.

Plants also need water to live. In addition to life processes, plants use water for physical support: water pressure within the cells helps to "hold up" the plant. Some plants also use water to help disperse their seeds to new locations.

We found a vernal pool

We started our morning by discussing the importance of water to all living things. Children thought of ways that they and other people use water. They took turns sharing their ideas and then acted it out and had everyone else guess their action. Water uses included washing dishes, taking a bath, flushing the toilet, and brushing teeth.

Next we went on a water safari to look for wild animals and places they might get water. We found water on grass, in puddles, on leaves, in a vernal pool and in a stream.

When we returned to camp we used water to hydrate our bodies, wash our hands and paint about our safari with WATERcolors!

Snack-Just Add Water

Snack
We usually get some of the water we need to stay healthy from the food we eat. Other times we dry out our food so that we can keep it for a long time. For snack we tried some dehydrated foods and compared how we like them naturally (with water). Then we discussed our preferences. Foods included apples & dried apple rings, bananas & dried banana chips, cranberries and raisins.

Today we played a variety of games we've learned at WILD CHILD!

Setting up the WILD CHILD veggie stop