Lakes, Rivers, Streams, Preschool Learning Activities

Featured Articles

Learning at the Grocery Store

Fun & easy Ways to make this everyday chore a learning experience for both preschoolers and elementary school kids.

Both of these shows make parents cringe, but how do they change the behavior of children who watch them? A simple experiment in child psychology provides an answer, a cautionary warning about how children absorb what they watch on TV.

More Evidence That TV’s
Don’t Teach Tots

Many parents own baby Einstein tapes, but evidence continues to mount that they don’t actually teach toddlers much of anything, despite their name. This article explores recent research into the topic, and outlines differences in the ways that toddlers and preschoolers learn.

Getting Your Baby to Wear Hats, Sunglasses, or
Other Props
You hit the malls and come home with all the latest gear, determined to have more fun accessorizing than you've had in years. You pick out the perfect look, and try it on your baby. Then the first thing they do is yank whatever it is off their head. What do you do? Read and find out.

Child Safety is everyone’s
responsibility!
Child Safety Resources:
Child Safety Books & Information
Child Abduction Prevention
Fire Safety
Water Safety
Child Safety in the Home
Child Proofing Your Home
Gun Safety for Kids
Child Car Safety

Activity Listings (page 1 of 1)
Click on the activity link to view instructions for that activity and
print any worksheets that go with it:

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Dramatic Play
TOTALLY WILD RAFTING TRIP ________________ View This Activity
Ages: All ages

Sensory
SNAKES IN THE WATER _______________________ View This Activity
Ages: Preschool to Kindergarten

Learning about the parts of a river
All rivers are part of a system that is composed of many parts:

- A river watershed is all of the area that has water draining into a river. Any streams or creeks that flow into a river, and the areas of rain runoff that feed these streams, are part of the watershed. It's easy to remember if you think of a watershed "shedding water" into the river.
- Headwaters are the beginnings of rivers. They might be streams so small and narrow that you could jump across, or places where water bubbles out of the ground from underground springs. River headwaters usually originate in high places.
- An estuary (ES-chuh-wer-e) is the outlet where a river meets the sea. It's the end of the river, and it's lowest point. Estuaries are also called bays, lagoons, sounds or inlets. Water in estuaries is often a little salty because sea water is mixing with the fresh water from the river.
- A tributary is a stream or river that joins with a larger stream or river.
- A delta is land that builds up when eroded clay and sand settles at the mouth of a river.
- A channel is the bottom and either side of a river or stream.

And now you know about the different parts of a river!

Language / Fine Motor
LAKES & RIVERS THEME SPELLING WORKSHEET

Good writing practice for younger kids and spelling practice for emergent readers.

Ages: Pre-K to Second Grade

Language
LAKES & RIVERS MISSING LETTER WORKSHEET
A phonics activity for beginning sounds.
Ages: Preschool to Kindergarten

The many uses for a river
Aside from providing drinking water, and being fun to fish or play in, rivers help humans do many things, such as:

A) Power machinery that grinds wheat into flour or spins fibers into cloth.
B) Helps us make products such as paper.
C) They irrigate our crops. In the Western United states, about 70% of the river water humans use is for irrigating crops.
D) They create electricity, when the water flows through pipes to power turbines. Around 10% of the electricity we use in America comes from power plants on dams or rivers.
E) They provide the water to make steam to run coal and nuclear power plants, as well as water to cool these plants.

Printable Coloring Sheets / Coloring Book Pages:
F is for Fish
Frying Fish
Blue Gill Coloring Sheet
Piranha Coloring Sheet
Bass Coloring Sheet
Angelfish Coloring Sheet
Duck & Ducklings in Water Coloring Sheet
F is for Flamingo Coloring Sheet
Mother Duck & Ducklings
D is for Duck Coloring Sheet

We’re adding new activities to our list every month, so if you didn’t find what you needed, be sure to check back!