Did you know that the water on the earth has been here for a LONG time and it just keeps getting recycled?? It’s true. We have two simple water cycle activities to help you teach about water cycle for kids. These science projects help you teach your littles all about the water cycle on the earth. Start with the water cycle experiment which provides a great way to see how water turns to gas and back into a liquid again. Then try our water cycle craft to help kids to reinforce the water life cycle. These are both fun ways to learn about the water cycle for kindergarten, pre-k, first grade, 2nd grade, and 3rd grade science.
Water Cycle Activities for Kids
If you are teaching kids about the water cycle, you will want to see these fun water cycle activities. These are great additions to add to your water cycle lesson plan with preschoolers, kindergartners, grade 1, grade 2, and grade students. Whether you want an easy water cycle craft for kids or a simple water cycle science experiment – you will love these ideas to make science fun for kids! Parents, teacher, and homeschoolers will love using these ideas at home, in the classroom, or as a supplement to their homeschool science curriclum.
Water cycle project for kids
The first simple activity is a Water Cycle In A Bottle. It’s a super simple way to show children how the water cycle works also while recycling a plastic bottle. Children will be ecstatic to watch water turn to gas, turn back into a liquid, and circle back around to end up in the bottom of the bottle. Then it starts all over again.
Water Cycle Activities
You’ll need:
- Hot Water
- Blue Food Coloring (Optional)
- A Clear Empty Bottle
- Sharpie
- Ice Cubes
- A cup or something to hold the bottle up, because you will turn it upside down.
To make this water cycle in a bottle, start with the outside. First, turn the bottle upside down. You’ll take the sharpie and draw the various parts of the water cycle on the outside of the jar. This is to give kids a visualization of how the water cycle works. We drew the ocean on the “bottom” (which is actually the top of the bottle, but you have turned it upside down). Then on the top, draw a sky. You can even add fish to the ocean and birds in the sky.
Water cycle hands-on activity
Add food coloring to the hot water if you’re going to add the color. Then pour it into the bottle, tighten the lid and tip it upside down again. Place it upside down in the cup. Put ice cubes on the flat bottom (now top) of the bottle.
Water Cycle Activity
Slowly but surely you will start to see condensation forming and maybe even a cloud. You can then talk about how the water cycle works.
Water cycle craft
The second activity is a paper plate version of the water cycle with a water dropplet that spins around the various parts of the cycle.
You’ll need:
- Paper Plate
- Colored Pencils
- Printable Labels & Pictures (if you want to use them)
- Scissors
- Glue
- Cardstock
- 1 Brad
On the top part of the paper plate draw or add the printable pictures to create the sky. The bottom half of the paper plate is the ocean and ground. Again, you can add fish to the ocean and birds in the sky if you would like.
Cut out the labels from the printable and place them in the right places, use the picture below for reference.
Water cycle crafts
Next you’ll want to cut the arm that the water droplet will move with, we cut it out of cardstock. It should be the length of a little shorter than half of the paper plate.
Glue the raindrop image, from the printable, on one end of the arm and connect the other side to the middle of the paper plate with a brad. Now you can move the raindrop through the water cycle, just like the water actually goes through the water cycle.
How fun are those activities? They are both the perfect visualization of how the water cycle works in real life.
We like doing these activities at the beginning of spring when it starts to get rainy often. Realistically though, you can do this activity anytime of the year!
Weather Activities
- Simple Air Pressure Experiments for kids
- EPIC Lego Water Cycle Model for Kids
- Rain Cloud for Kids experiment and free worksheet
- How to Make a Weather Vane – easy weather science project for elementary age students
Weather Science
- Type of Cloud Activities for Kids with FREE Printable Worksheets
- Cold Front Weather Science Experiments for Kids
- Water Cycle in a Bag Weather Activity with free printable worksheet
- Amazing Rising Water with burning candle Air Pressure Experiment
- Free Printable Water Cycle for Kids Flip Book
Weather Theme
- Lots of fun ideas for a weather theme this week
- Grow a Rainbow Activity for Kids
- Clever Rain Craft for kids to make
- Hibernation preschool activities learning about weather
- Severe Storms for Kids – includes tornado in a bottle, what to do in an emergency, and storm worksheets for kids
- 2 Hands-on Water Cycle Activities for Kids
Weather Printables
- Large Printable Weather Unit for kids
- Free Printable Seasons Worksheets w/ Free 4 Season Printables
- FREE Printable Water Cycle Worksheets for Kids
- Lots of weather printables to help kids learn about weather terms while epracticing math and literacy skills
- Clouds for Kids Mini Book
Calendar Printables for Kids
Looking for more calendar for kids to make learning about the days, months, and seasons of a year FUN for kids? Check out these free printable calendars resources:
- Hungry Caterpillar Days of the Week Printables
- Free printable Daily Calendar Worksheets for pre-k, kindergarten, and first graders
- Kindergarten Calendar Printable
- Sequencing Sticks Months of the Year Activities
- Season Spin and Free printable seasons worksheets (great for helping kid visualize how the days are in the months in the seasons)
- Free Printable Girl Superhero Calendar
- Superhero Calendar
- Gumball Days of the Week Printables
- Disney Printable Calendar 2021
- Free Printable Traceable Calendars 2021
- Star Wars Calendar 2021 Printable
- Days of the Week Worksheets
- Free Printable Coloring Calendar 2021
Fun Science Experiments
- 30 Simple Machines for Kids Experiments
- Launch this experiment and record your findings with this Coke and mentos experiment worksheet
- Lots of FUN Solar System Project Ideas for kids
- Printable Solar System Worksheets (free) or planet worksheets for kindergarten
- Grab these free printable solar system coloring pages
- Life-size Human Body Project with free printable body parts
- Colorful Capillary action science experiment (also known as walking water)
- 100 Amazing Food science experiments – arranged by type of science
- Free Printable Human Body for Kids Playdough Mats
- Leak proof bag fun science experiments
- Older students can dive deeper with these free skeletal system worksheet pages
- Amazing Why do leaves change color experiment
- Learn about seasons with this cool free 4 seasons printables
- Animals and their Babies matching puzzles
- Take a closer look at animals with this free printable animal report for for kids
Science Exeriments for Kids
Looking for lots more fun, science experiments for kids? You’ve GOT to try some of these outrageously fun science experiments for kids! We have so many fun, creative and easy science experiments for elementary age children:
- How to Make a Lava Lamp – super easy and SO cool!
- Weather Unit for prek-3rd graders filled with experiments, activities and weather worksheets
- Make it rain and write your observations in these cloud in a jar experiment worksheet
- Learn about our moon with these activities and moon worksheets for 1st grade
- Free Water Cycle Worksheets for kids
- Discover a world of geology with these rock worksheets for kids
- Free printable states of matter activity with clip cards
- Discover what lies below the surface with these free Layers of Earth Worksheets
- Make playdough earth layers with this super cool geology experiment for kids
- LOTS of year-round Science Experiments for Kids
- Kids will love this outrageously fun pipe clean constellations activity
- This look inside a volcano experiment for kids takes learning to a whole new level
- Chromatography Butterflies project for kids
- Learn about the kingdom Animalia with over 20 Zoo Scavenger Hunt free printables
- Harness the power of fruit with this simple Lemon Clock for kids
- Easy Bernoulli’s principle experiment at home
- Amaze kids with this simple burning candle experiment with free worksheets
Easy Science Experiments
- Gross and so cool Digestive System Project for kids of all ages
- Amazing Rainbow in a Jar Experiment for Kids
- Epic Baking Soda and Vinegar Rocket Experiment
- Cool Milk and Vinegar Expeirment making plastic!
- Learn about your amazing brain with this activity and brain worksheets
- How do hands work project for kids
- Super cool and easy-to-make, working lego balloon car
- Plants for kids lesson
- Explore magnets with these EPIC magnet experiments for kids
- Popsicle Stick Catapult for kids – simple STEM project
- Simple light bulb experiment (it actually lights up!)
- Easy-to-make balloon hoovercraft
- Bouncy Eggs and eggs in vinegar experiment worksheet
- Learn about density for kids with these simple balloon solid, liquid, gas hands-on activities
- Create your own super simple bot
- Beautiful, color changing capillary action experiment with flowers
- WOW your kids with how to make a Newton’s cradle project
- Heat-sensitive, Color Changing Slime is SO COOL!
Water Life Cycle Printables
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