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The Water Cycle for Kids: A Placemat

The water cycle is vitally important for every person in the world—from a great grandmother in Nepal to a newborn crying in his crib in Omaha, Nebraska. The water cycle is a basic scientific concept that is taught even in elementary schools and is one of the first environmental concepts that children learn. Although the great grandmother might understand our main water-cycle diagram, it might be a bit too complex for young children.

So, if you're trying to find a simpler diagram of the water cycle meant for young children, we have just what you are looking for. Your child can learn about the water cycle as you are wiping up spilled orange juice (which is, of course, mostly water) from this place mat. After all, juice running over the place mat can be considered runoff; if it spills on the floor, that would be freshwater storage (lake); and, if you are outside, the juice soaking into the ground is like infiltration. And, if the juice gets all over their clothes? Now, that is just a big mess, but it does provide an excellent example of capillary action!

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