I have 8 The Water Princess STEM activity ideas and my African clay pot craft. Also, look at my page Free Africa Unit Study for Kids Who Love Hands-on Learning | Free Continent & Country Reports for more ideas.
National Princess Day is November 18th.
But I’m highlighting a different kind of princess entirely – The Water Princess.
The Water Princess is a lovely book based on the childhood experience of Georgie Badiel.
It takes place in Africa.
And is the story of the long trek that many women and children in villages must make daily for water.
The water is needed for drinking, cooking, and washing.
It is a wonderful opportunity to talk about life without water from the kitchen tap we take for granted.
There are nearly one billion people around the world who don’t have access to clean water.
The reality of this is what inspired African Model Georgie Badiel to try and make a difference in the lives of those in need.
She works with Ryan’s Well to help provide access to water for hydration, food preparation, sanitation services, and proper hygiene.
Your child may become inspired to help by raising money for the foundation, or even to become one of the scientists or engineers who come up with ideas to give clean water to people everywhere.
5 Facts About Water in Africa
Next, look at some of these facts about water in Africa.
- A shocking 40 Percent of Sub-Saharan Africa is Without Access to Clean Water, and 1 in 10 people on the planet do not have access to clean water.
- Women and girls spend an estimated 200 million hours carrying water back and forth every day.
- The average woman and child in rural Africa walk about 3.7 miles every day and haul around 40 pounds or more of water back to their homes.
- There are 677 Lakes throughout Africa, which makes Africa the continent with the largest volume of non-frozen water. The problem is not due to the lack of water, but rather the lack of CLEAN drinking water.
- Sadly 115 people in Africa die every hour from diseases that are due to poor sanitation, poor hygiene, and contaminated water.
Next, look at some of these books about Africa if you’re looking to create a unit study.
13 Resources for Children Studying About Africa
Add one or two of these books to your study about the art of Africa.
Africa For Kids: People, Places, Culture gives children not only a peek into the land and its people but the artwork of even simple everyday items like weaving and serving plates.
Here is a coloring book filled with African souvenirs to color that is soothing and a great springboard for discussion.
I found this beautiful book of African Patterned Scrapbook paper that can be used for many craft projects.
Atinuke’s first non-fiction title is a major publishing event: a celebration of all 55 countries on the African continent! Her beautifully-written text captures Africa’s unique mix of the modern and the traditional, as she explores its geography, its peoples, its animals, its history, its resources and its cultural diversity. The book divides Africa into five sections: South, East, West, Central and North, each with its own introduction. This is followed by a page per country, containing a delightful mix of friendly, informative text and colourful illustrations.
Enter into the daily life of children in the many countries of modern Africa. Countering stereotypes, Africa Is Not a Country celebrates the extraordinary diversity of this vibrant continent as experienced by children at home, at school, at work, and at play.
With its wide sky and warm earth, Princess Gie Gie’s kingdom is a beautiful land. But clean drinking water is scarce in her small African village. And try as she might, Gie Gie cannot bring the water closer; she cannot make it run clearer. Every morning, she rises before the sun to make the long journey to the well. Instead of a crown, she wears a heavy pot on her head to collect the water. After the voyage home, after boiling the water to drink and clean with, Gie Gie thinks of the trip that tomorrow will bring. And she dreams. She dreams of a day when her village will have cool, crystal-clear water of its own.
Artists Leo and Diane Dillon won their second consecutive Caldecott Medal for this stunning ABC of African culture. "Another virtuoso performance. . . . Such an astute blend of aesthetics and information is admirable, the child's eye will be rewarded many times over."
Omar and his brother Hassan, two Somali boys, have spent a long time in the Dadaab refugee camp. Separated from their mother, they are looked after by a friendly stranger. Life in the camp isn't always easy. The hunger is constant . . . but there's football to look forward to, and now there's a chance Omar will get to go to school . . .With a heart-wrenching fairytale ending, this incredible true story is brought to life by Victoria's stunning illustrations. This book perfectly depicts life in a refugee camp for 8-12 year olds.
When a terrible drought struck William Kamkwamba's tiny village in Malawi, his family lost all of the season's crops, leaving them with nothing to eat and nothing to sell. William began to explore science books in his village library, looking for a solution. There, he came up with the idea that would change his family's life forever: he could build a windmill. Made out of scrap metal and old bicycle parts, William's windmill brought electricity to his home and helped his family pump the water they needed to farm the land. Retold for a younger audience, this exciting memoir shows how, even in a desperate situation, one boy's brilliant idea can light up the world. Complete with photographs, illustrations, and an epilogue that will bring readers up to date on William's story, this is the perfect edition to read and share with the whole family.
Things Fall Apart is the first of three novels in Chinua Achebe's critically acclaimed African Trilogy. It is a classic narrative about Africa's cataclysmic encounter with Europe as it establishes a colonial presence on the continent. Told through the fictional experiences of Okonkwo, a wealthy and fearless Igbo warrior of Umuofia in the late 1800s, Things Fall Apart explores one man's futile resistance to the devaluing of his Igbo traditions by British political andreligious forces and his despair as his community capitulates to the powerful new order. With more than 20 million copies sold and translated into fifty-seven languages, Things Fall Apart provides one of the most illuminating and permanent monuments to African experience. Achebe does not only capture life in a pre-colonial African village, he conveys the tragedy of the loss of that world while broadening our understanding of our contemporary realities.
Those looking for a concise yet informative, visually breathtaking yet affordable East African safari need look no further than this spectacular field guide. Featuring full-color photos of 475 common species of bird, mammal, snake, lizard, insect, tree, and flower, Wildlife of East Africa takes us on an exquisite one-volume tour through the living splendor of the main national parks and game reserves of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Many of the species included--from pelicans to plovers, ostriches to elephants, from the daintiest of antelopes to cattlelike giants, from leopards to lions, baboons to gorillas, chameleons to crocodiles, acacias to aloes--also inhabit neighboring countries. The selection was based on the personal experiences of the authors, wildlife experts who have been leading safaris in the region for more than twenty years.
Heads up: this is a great book but there is a rite of passage and has a part about circumcision.
Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton gives American kids a firsthand look at growing up in Kenya as a member of a tribe of nomads whose livelihood centers on the raising and grazing of cattle. Readers share Lekuton's first encounter with a lion, the epitome of bravery in the warrior tradition. They follow his mischievous antics as a young Maasai cattle herder, coming-of-age initiation, boarding school escapades, soccer success, and journey to America for college. Lekuton's riveting text combines exotic details of nomadic life with the universal experience and emotions of a growing boy.
Fifteen-year-old Amadou counts the things that matter. For two years what has mattered are the number of cacao pods he and his younger brother, Seydou, can chop down in a day. The higher the number the safer they are. The higher the number the closer they are to paying off their debt and returning home. Maybe. The problem is Amadou doesn’t know how much he and Seydou owe, and the bosses won’t tell him. The boys only wanted to make money to help their impoverished family, instead they were tricked into forced labor on a plantation in the Ivory Coast. With no hope of escape, all they can do is try their best to stay alive—until Khadija comes into their lives. She’s the first girl who’s ever come to camp, and she’s a wild thing. She fights bravely every day, attempting escape again and again, reminding Amadou what it means to be free. But finally, the bosses break her, and what happens next to the brother he has always tried to protect almost breaks Amadou. The three band together as family and try just once more to escape.
Then, add some of these water activities.
8 The Water Princess Stem Activity Ideas
- This DIY Water Filter is a great way to explain how much it takes to create good clean drinking water and one way that people can make it usable.
- Besides purifying water, there is a problem with making it more accessible to people over a wide expanse. Try this Water Pipelines An Amazing Real Life Challenge to see how it can be moved from one place to another.
- Have your child collect water from various areas, the tap, hose, a local pond and conduct a Water Lab – A STEM Experiment Exploring Safe Drinking Water.
- Here is one that is great for a summer day and is another demonstration of how water can be moved from one place to another- Water Science: Water Pump Sprinkler.
- How to Make a Waterwheel is a different approach to water, showing how we can harness water and use it as a renewable energy source.
- One of the great problems with water is pollution and the solutions to fix it. This Earth Day Water Pollution Activity is a great challenge to come up with creative and inexpensive fixes.
- This Milk Carton Well is a wonderful demonstration for a child who has never seen water drawn this way.
- Finally, Build an Aqueduct like the ancient Romans did to move water along. This stem experiment uses inexpensive supplies and teaches motion and forces.
Now, we are going to make our own unique little water pot to remember the story.
So, we have included reading, science, and art into one little book study!
Water Pot Craft
You will need:
- Air dry clay
- Craft paint
- Paintbrush
- Jar for a mold.
- Plastic wrap
- string/yarn/twine
First, you want to cover your pot mold with plastic wrap, a standard mason jar bottom is a good size but you can make it any size you like.
Roll out your air-dry clay to 1/8 inch thickness.
Lay the thin clay over the plastic wrap and Mason jar shaping it around it.
Use a clay knife or even just a plastic knife or wooden craft stick to cut off the excess.
To smooth any rough edges, you can simply wet your fingertip and rub it over and it will smooth the clay nicely.
Roll a length of clay into a thin snake as long as the diameter of your pot.
Attach it around the opening of the pot using just a little bit of water to smooth it on to create the lip.
Flip your jar over and carefully remove the clay, poking two holes on each side with a skewer or pencil for the handles.
Place clay back on the pot and leave it jar side up to be sure that your pot has a flat bottom and let it dry for 24 to 48 hours or until dried completely throughout.
Carefully remove from the jar peel off plastic wrap and paint however you like, I tried to get mine to resemble the one that the water princess uses.
After the base layer is dry you can add decorative paint details.
Once your paint is dry you can run twine or yarn through each side to create the handles. new line.
This version will not hold water but can be used in other ways like holding trinkets, crayons or other small objects and serves as a great reminder of the story.
