Storing Rainwater

This week's activity was focused on the importance of storing rainwater for the maintenance of the Saint Nicholas Miracle Garden. To start off the activity, the children learned about the water cycle and how water from natural sources is then created into rain clouds that water our Earth. The children were each shown pictures of the elements needed for the water cycle: the sun, a natural water source such as a river, clouds, rain, soil, and finally, a garden. Our gardener explained how the sun heats up the water, which evaporates into clouds, eventually creating rain which then waters soil into becoming a garden. The gardener also showed the children a picture of the garden up close and asked them to point out the different types of plants and produce that grew in that garden. To mimic the action of the rain watering plants, we had a table of seedlings that had just begun to sprout, and had each child come up and create their own rain showers by spraying water on them with a spray bottle.

Once each child was able to spray the plants, our gardener spoke to them about the purpose of rain barrels, which store rainwater over time to become a natural source of water for watering the garden.  We showed them a small replica of the rain barrel, explaining that this was a sustainable method of gardening instead of wasting other sources of water, such as the water that is primarily used in homes. The children then received a tour of the rain barrels that were used at our garden, showing them that the drainage system used at our greenhouse would fill up each of the three barrels to be used for watering the plants. Our gardening assistant then showed the children how she filled up the watering can with the water from the barrel, thus showing the full cycle of how rain is used at our garden.

Materials Needed:

• Empty clear plastic water bottles (1 per child, cut in half)
• Cotton balls or small rocks (for drainage)
• Soil
• Small plant cuttings or fast-growing seeds (like grass or beans)
• Watering cans or small cups
• Blue food coloring (optional, for “rainwater”)
• Spray bottles (optional)
• Small toy watering can
• Picture cards showing rain, clouds, gardens, and the water cycle