Celebrate World Water Day!

Every year, I celebrate World Water Day here on MommyMaestra with a post sharing resources in English and Spanish for teaching your children about the importance of water. And tomorrow, on March 22nd, we'll be celebrating it here at home again. Having fresh water is a basic necessity for not only humans, but nearly all living things.

783 million people, or 11% of the world’s population, do not have safe water to drink and that this, coupled with poor sanitation, results in 2,000 children dying every day. And this is why tomorrow, my kids and I will be discussing how precious this natural resource is, and why it is our responsibility to manage it in a thoughtful manner. 

By now, most of you know that I am a former zookeeper and that I take nature and our role as stewards of the Earth very seriously. You know I have a virtual zoo here on our little farm, and that our lives (and yours) are closely tied to the rhythms of the land. I look around and see how water can make or break our local farmers. 

But I also am aware that people across the globe are fighting to survive and their access to clean water is crucial. 

So that is why tomorrow, I'm going to do more than just teach my children about the importance of water. I'm going to be developing their sense of social responsibility by talking about what we (as a family and a nation) can do to be a solution for the water crisis.

I'll be tweeting and retweeting WaterAid America's #20ways that water is just the beginning of the road out of poverty. You can follow the conversation too, by simply following the hashtags #20ways and #WorldWaterDay on Twitter.

You can also join the World Water Day Google+ Hangout Friday at 1.30pm EST. WaterAid and other water organizations will be discussing the world water crisis and solutions in a session moderated by YouTube star Justine Ezarik.


RESOURCES:

In 2011, I asked you if you know where the water in your sink comes from and if you know what is in it (do you?), then I shared some great sites with lessons plans, printables, and other resources for you to download or use.

In 2012, I focused on books in English and Spanish for you to read with your children. (But I still shared some really awesome websites in English and Spanish for your kids to enjoy, so be sure to check them out because they're still super cool.)

This year, I'm recommending the new WWD website again - but this time, my favorite part is the Logo Builder! I made the logo above and the one at the right here using it. It is really a fabulous idea and allows you to create your own logo in one of 19 different languages and using various color/pattern combinations.

We're also putting together this super cute water cycle craftivity from Sweet Tea Classroom. It comes in both English and Spanish, so you can choose which one you prefer.

You can also find instructions in Spanish here for making your own terrarium so you can create your own water cycle experiment.

And last, we'll top it all off by watching this video together...