Learning about the water cycle

Last week's swing in weather extremes gave us a good opportunity to learn about the water cycle. On Tuesday the kindergartners helped me gather snow and ice in a muffin tin. We then took the pan and held it over steaming water in a crock pot. We watched as the water vapor turned into condensation on the pan and then eventually "rained" as the droplets got bigger. The next day the weather was so warm that we were able to go outside and build our classroom terrarium. A terrarium produces a mini water cycle inside it's glass container. The children can watch as the water evaporates from the soil and forms condensation on the top and sides of the jar and then "rains" back into the soil.