How does the water cycle work? (For kids)

Today we’re going to learn about the water cycle, which is an amazing process that happens every day! The water cycle keeps us all alive by giving us water to drink. It helps plants and animals to stay healthy too!

The water cycle starts with the sun. The sun’s heat causes water from the ocean, lakes, and rivers to evaporate and turn into water vapour. That vapour rises up into the atmosphere and forms clouds.

Next, the clouds move around due to the wind. As they move around, the clouds eventually start to get full. When they can’t hold any more water vapour, the clouds release the water in the form of rain or snow. The rain and snow fall back to Earth and fill up our lakes, rivers, and oceans. But the water cycle doesn’t end there. Now that the water is on the ground, some of it will soak into the ground, where it’s taken up by the roots of plants. The plants use this water to help them grow and stay healthy.

The water that doesn’t make it into the ground will either evaporate back into the atmosphere or run off into rivers, lakes, or even the ocean. If the water runs off into a river or lake, it will eventually make its way back to the ocean.

We use the water from rivers as our drinking water. It needs to be cleaned really well in factories first though!

And then the cycle starts all over again! The sun heats the water in the ocean, which turns into vapour and rises back into the atmosphere. The vapour forms clouds again, and then the wind moves those clouds around until they’re full and they release the water in the form of rain or snow.

The water cycle is an amazing process that helps to keep our planet healthy. Without it, we wouldn’t have clean water to drink or the plants and animals we need to live. So it’s important to remember to take care of our planet and protect our water sources!