Family and Homeschool Activities: Freshwater Habitats

These family and homeschool activities are designed to complement the Freshwater Habitats topic on BrainPOP Jr.

Clean Up

Together with your child or with the entire family, participate in a clean-up day. You may want to check your local parks and recreation department for special opportunities, which often occur seasonally in the autumn or the spring. If possible, help clean up a pond, lake, river, or stream so your child can understand how people can both negatively and positively affect the environment, and impact other living things. How can garbage or pollution affect plants and animals in an area? How can the removal of pollution affect these same plants and animals, and how long does it take for improvement to be seen?

Seasons

If possible visit a freshwater habitat such as a pond, river, stream, or lake during different seasons. Try to go to the same spot and have your child make observations. What does a pond look like in the winter? What does it look like in the spring? When is the water level highest in a stream? When is it the lowest? You may want to bring different tools with you, such as a waterproof ruler to measure water level. Your child can take photographs or draw pictures of the area during different seasons and make inferences. Why are there so many insects in the summer? Where do the animals go during winter? How do they survive? Encourage your child to ask questions and make connections. You can look up more information at the library, on the Internet, or by asking a park expert.