Little Earth Friends (Ages 2-4)
📖 STORY (Read to child – 2 minutes)
“Water is everywhere!
Drip, drop, splash!
We drink water – yum!
We wash our hands with water – clean!
Plants drink water – gulp!
Animals drink water too!
But water is special. We don’t waste it!
Turn off the tap when done – click!
Water is wonderful. We save water!”
🎨 ACTIVITY 1: Water Play
Time: 10 minutes
Type: Sensory play
You Need:
- Two bowls
- Water
- Cup
- Small toys
What to Do:
- Fill one bowl with water
- Let child pour, splash (yes, they’ll get wet!)
- “Where does water go when we pour?”
- “Can we fill this cup? Pour it out? Again?”
- After play: “Let’s turn off the water tap! Click!”
What They Learn:
- Properties of water (pours, splashes)
- Pouring practice (coordination)
- Water conservation concept (turn off!)
- Cause and effect
👂 ACTIVITY 2: Water Sounds
Time: 5 minutes
Type: Auditory exploration
You Need:
- Bathroom or kitchen sink
- Your ears!
What to Do:
- Turn on tap just a little: “Listen! Drip, drip!”
- Turn on more: “Whoosh! Fast water!”
- Turn off: “Now it’s quiet!”
- Practice turning on and OFF
- “We turn off water when we’re done!”
What They Learn:
- Auditory awareness (different water sounds)
- Cause-effect (tap controls water)
- Conservation habit (turn it off!)
- Following directions
🌱 ACTIVITY 3: Plants Need Water
Time: 5 minutes
Type: Care routine
You Need:
- House plant or outdoor plant
- Small cup of water
What to Do:
- “Plants are thirsty!”
- Let child pour water on plant (help as needed)
- “The plant drinks water, just like you!”
- Touch leaves: “Happy plant! We gave it water!”
- Make it routine: Water plants together weekly
What They Learn:
- Living things need water
- Responsibility and care
- Connection to nature
- Gentle touch with living things
📝 VOCABULARY WORDS
- Water – Clear liquid, we drink it
- Splash – Water jumping up!
- Pour – Moving water from one place to another
- Drink – Taking water into our bodies
- Wash – Using water to clean
- Save – Not wasting, using carefully
👨👩👧 TIPS FOR PARENTS & TEACHERS
Age Adjustments:
- Age 2: Supervised water play (safety!), show them how to turn tap on/off
- Age 3: Can pour more independently, starting to understand “save”
- Age 4: Can water plants alone (supervised), explains why we save water
Safety Notes:
- Supervise all water activities closely!
- Use small amounts of water
- Have towels ready (it gets messy – that’s okay!)
- Bathroom floor can be slippery when wet
Make it Daily:
- Every handwashing = teaching moment: “Turn off while we soap!”
- Bath time = water exploration time
- Drinking water = “Just what we need, not too much!”
Extension Ideas:
- Fill/dump containers in bath
- Ice cube melting (solid → liquid!)
- Rain puddle jumping (wearing boots!)
- Washing toy dishes (role play + water play)
What Success Looks Like:
- Child tries to turn off taps
- Says “save water!”
- Gently waters plants
- Plays happily with water (supervised)
🌟 CONNECTION TO OTHER TOPICS
- Topic 1 (Earth): Water is the BLUE part of Earth!
- Topic 3 (Sun): Sun + water = plants can grow!
- Topic 6 (Growing): Seeds need water to grow!
Water connects everything on Earth! 💧
Part of Little Earth Friends – Ages 2-4
Building love for Earth from the very beginning
