Water and Life in First Grade: Rivers and Oceans

Rivers and Oceans

Young Discoverers series

by Barbara Taylor

(also part of The Earth: The Geography of our World)

This is the book recommended for Mater Amabilis™ Level 1B (first grade) Earth Studies. I've now used it four times with four different children along with the excellent schedule of lessons as recommended by Mater Amabilis™, which we follow almost exactly.

In this little book are the very basics of understanding water on earth: the water cycle, underground water, rivers, lakes, oceans, waves, and water pollution. The topics are mainly covered in one or two main paragraphs and lots of full-color illustrations and diagrams. There are many suggestions for little demonstrations you can do at home with materials you probably have on hand, most of which are included in the Mater Amabilis™schedule for you.

In addition, Mater Amabilis™ recommends regular visits (six or seven) to a local water environment. We've been lucky for the last few years to have access to a friend's bit of river which we visited regularly during our nature study time; it's easily the favorite place of the children. Over time, we've seen the river running high, overflowing its banks, and running drastically low. We've seen prints of deer, raccoons, and dogs in the sand near the river, frogs leaping from the edge, and surprises like an armadillo and a bald eagle. The children tried building bridges of sand and crossing rivulets with logs...which I tell myself must be educational somehow. Visiting some other local water environments encouraged comparisons and allowed us to see other phenomena, like the ice forming on top of the water of a little pond and only at the edges (when ice never formed on the river). It can be difficult to find an appropriate place or to make the effort to go where children are likely to get sandy and wet, but the fruits are worth it.

Years ago, I collected a few picture book titles from the library that match up with the topics in the Rivers and Oceans study. In the beginning, I put these in a picture book basket. We don't have a picture book basket anymore (pause for no-more-preschoolers-sigh). For Second Son, I sometimes read them aloud, sometimes gave them to him to read, and sometimes just let them sit on the library book shelf.

On the water cycle:

Water Is Water by Miranda Paul (on the blog here, library copy)

Rivers of Sunlight by Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm - This book is a little busy in its illustrations for my taste, but it shows how water moves, changes, and flows throughout the world. It's much more than the water cycle. (library copy)

On freshwater life:

A Drop of Water by Gordon Morrison - on the blog here. (library copy)

Pond by Gordon Morrison - This book follows the life of a pond through the seasons of a year. It's a lovely picture book of the natural world. (library copy)

On great rivers of the world:

Sacred River: The Ganges of India by Ted Lewin - Lewin is a masterful illustrator and world traveler who treats subjects around the world with respect and grace. (purchased at a library book sale)

Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest by Steven Jenkins - This book covers more than just water around the world, but Jenkins provides illustrations that place geographical features in perspective in his excellent style. (library copy)

On municipal water:

The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen - a typical Magic School Bus book with good descriptions and illustrations of how cities clean and manage water. (library copy)


Just for fun:

Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems by Kate Coombs, illustrated by Meilo So - The poems are enjoyable, but the illustrations are perfect. (library copy)

Wave by Suzy Lee - a wordless picture book of a girl and a wave, surprisingly wonderful. (used copy from PaperBackSwap.com)

The Big Big Sea by Martin Waddell (on the blog here, used copy from PaperBackSwap.com)


I purchased Rivers and Oceans long long ago, used, from somewhere. This review is my own opinion and I did not receive anything for it. Links to Amazon and PaperBackSwap are affiliate links.)

Delightful Water Cycles: Water Is Water

Second Son and I read about the water cycle in Rivers and Oceans last week. I picked out Water Is Water at the library to read just for fun and it is delightful!

With limited text it follows water through the water cycle, into plants and fruits, and even into people. As the seasons change, a sister and brother play through a year, surrounded by an inviting natural world.

Though it's not integral to the story, a discerning eye will notice they have a black father and a white mother. They are noticeably of color and that only increases the appeal of the story. It's true there are fewer stories of children of color; and I think there are even fewer where the color of the such children is not the focus of the story. They are simply children, swimming, stomping in puddles, throwing snowballs, flying a kite, and picking apples.

A few pages at the end expand on the text to explain evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and other characteristics of water. Second Son and I enjoyed the little pictures showing a snake is 75% water and children are 65% water (by weight).

This is a lovely addition to any study of the water cycle with young children.

Book Review: Two Books Called A Drop of Water

The kids and I have been studying water recently in our science course (full review coming eventually). We read one book called A Drop of Water as part of the course. I checked out a handful (okay, maybe more like an armful) of books from the library on water as well, just for fun, and found a second book with the same title.

They are both wonderful.

A Drop Of Water by Walter Wick says right on the cover it's a "book of science and wonder." Page after page of stunning photographs fill this book, each showcasing a fantastic property of water and complimented by text that challenges a young reader (or listener) to learn more about the scientific properties of water than the typical children's book (surface tension, capillary attraction, surface area, molecules, evaporation, condensation, cloud formation, refraction, and wavelengths, among other topics). First Son, thanks in no small part to the reading we've done earlier this year, understood quite a bit of it. Even if a teacher or parent just summarizes the text a little while children gaze at the pictures, it would be a valuable book. At the end of the book, the author suggests experiments that could be conducted at home, many of which we did in the course of our study (or similar ones). The pages on snowflakes would be well combined with a reading of Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin (a book always worth reading).

A Drop of Water by Gordon Morrison is a different kind of book, but just as delightful. The Author's Note describes the book very well:

This is a story about a moment, the time it takes for a drop of water to fall from a child's fingertip. Water is the thread that takes you through the story; from the child, to the clouds, to the mountaintop, then down through forest, woodlands, streams, ponds, and back to the child by the meadow brook. By following the thread we travel through a wondrous landscape and pass plants and animals, including the child, doing what they do: soaring, drinking, eating, blooming, nesting, playing--living, all within the same moment.

The illustrations are wonderful - life-like but only partly colored to emphasize the plants, animals and water of each habitat. The text is not overwhelming, describing each spread engagingly but keeping the focus on the illustrations. At the end of the book, short descriptions of many of the plants and animals appear (perhaps all; I didn't count them). My children adored this book. None of them could keep away as I was reading it aloud.

Book Review: The Big Big Sea

The Big Big Sea

by Martin Waddell

illustrated by Jennifer Eachus

I'm so very sorry this book is out of print. I was lucky enough to receive a copy from PaperBackSwap.com. Martin Waddell is the author of the Little Bear books we already love. This book is just as wonderful. In it, a young girl and her mother walk to the beach and play in the ocean on a summer night, illuminated by the moon.

Originally, I was most attracted to the illustrations. When I first read it, First Daughter was about 18 months old and I was convinced she looked just like the little girl in the pictures. Now, reading it anew, I think Second Daughter looks the part even more. There are a few particularly lovely two page spreads. My favorite shows the little girl gazing up at the moon with the ocean in the background.

And Mama said to me,
"Remember this time.
It's the way life should be."

Oh yes, it is!

Links to Amazon and PaperBackSwap are affiliate links. I received nothing in exchange for this post and all opinions are my own.