Rocks stay. Water moves. Six days to notice both.
Three motions on the porch. Then step into the yard with Logan to find a puddle from Tuesday's rain. Just point. No measuring yet.
In the stroller on the porch. Hand him a smooth stone. Name puddle.
A scout walks before the measure. Logan learns to look before doing.
At the puddle, Logan dips a wooden ruler in to find the depth. Note the number on a sticky note. Wait fifteen minutes. Measure again. Talk about the change. The water went into the ground or into the air.
With Caleb in the stroller or a chair nearby, hand him a dry leaf each time you measure. Name the leaf. Dry. Brown. Edge.
Water goes somewhere when it leaves. The puddle shrinks because some soaks in and some rises as vapor. Logan does not need to know vapor today. He needs to see the change.
If no puddle formed, fill a pie tin with one inch of water and put it on the driveway sun. Measure that. The lesson is the same.
Find a second puddle in a different spot. Measure that one too. Compare. Which one was deeper, which one is shrinking faster. Talk about the spots. Shady puddle holds longer than sunny.
In the chair with a small basin of water and a leaf to float. Name float.
Two puddles is the simplest experiment. One variable, sun versus shade. Logan sees that location matters.
At the table, ask Logan which puddle was deeper. Use your fingers to show the depths he measured. Caleb gets a cup of water and a leaf to drop in.
Walk the front sidewalk. Look for the line between wet and dry pavement. Trace it with chalk. Talk about why the line moves as it dries.
At the table, Logan presses a wet hand on construction paper. Watch the print darken. Wait. Watch it fade. Caleb gets a damp cloth to press the table.
On the glider with the ruler in Logan's hand. Look out at the yard. The puddle is mostly gone now.
The day started with the puddle full. It ends with the puddle gone. Time moved the water.
Thursday is three containers. Cup, jug, basin. The pour comes back, bigger.
The measure twice block is the day. The two-puddle extension is gold if Logan is into it. If he is fading, do the measure once and stop.
If the day runs hot, drop this first: Skip the wet handprint indoors if the morning ran long. The puddle measure is what carries the day.