Is Water Always Blue? Why is Snow White?

Back in November, a few girls were drawing pictures of the rain and they coloured the rain blue. This lead to a fascinating discussion about the colour of water. K.B, A.B and S.P began moving around the room to the different taps to see what colour each one was.

A.B- our tap one is greyish and white

K.B- greyish and white? Where does that come from?

S.P- why is ours different from blue?

A.B- the water fountain is see through

S.P- why is the school water different from the water when it rains? The rain is blue and these ones is silver and one is white

The next day was raining, we decided to put cups outside to find out the colour of the rain. 

This experiment sparked excitement in the classroom about water. We watched videos about waterfalls and discussed different types of water (salt and fresh).

Naturally, as the weather changed the focus of their wonders switched from water/rain to the snow that was beginning to fall. 

M.W- I wonder why the snow falls down. I wonder why snow is so mushy.

A.Bh- I wonder how the snowflakes fall down. How do people see snow when it’s white?

D.R- Why is snow white?

D.K- I wonder why snow is white and cold. I wonder if the colour is cold.

A.M- why does snow come down from the sky?

E.M- I wonder where does snow come from? Why does rain turn into snow?

S.P- I wonder why snow is very squishy

One recess we were outside and it began snowing. Students began catching snowflakes on their mittens and showing them to each other and the teachers. Ms. Tompkins had to run inside to get her camera because they were so beautiful!

We have been reading books learning about water and snow. We have learned that snowflakes have 6 sides. Students were curious about why snow falls and where it comes from. We learned they form in the clouds after dust and ice crystals stick together. We learned about the water cycle.

The Water Cycle

1. The water evaporates to the clouds
2. Dust and ice stick together
3. More and more ice crystals stick together and get heavy
4. They fall from the clouds as snow

We have been investigating melting, freezing and temperature by bringing snow and water into the classroom. We are excited to see what we will learn next and we know this inquiry will continue to evolve and change as the weather does.