A couple years ago I made the trip with my mom and aunt to see the Hoover Dam. 
It’s always been soemthing I really wanted to do, a Bucket List item as they say. Thankful I was able to take this little girls trip with my family. 
It was beautiful and massive!
Yet I couldn’t stop staring at the noticeable water line. It was well below normal. It was frightening!!!
Living in California we are always reminded that there is a drought.
At home we do our best to be water conscious.
We turn off the faucet while brushing our teeth, we have our shower heads set to low, and use reusable water bottles.
Join the Cal Water H2O Challenge and learn how to teach your kids about water conservation.
It’s crucial that all Californians, young and old, conserve water in order
to secure a reliable water supply for present and future generations. Cal Water H2O Challenge is a free program teaching kids how to care for water. This timely initiative consists of two separate competitions: the Classroom Challenge and the Individual Challenge.
Cal Water H2O Challenge’s Classroom Challenge is a project-based, environmentally-focused competition for classrooms, grades 4-6, designed in conjunction with NAAEE, the WestEd K-12 Alliance, and Cal Water. It is aligned with the Common Core State Standards and complimentary to the Next Generation Science Standards.
Cal Water H2O Challenge’s Individual Challenge is a media competition in which individual students submit original art, photography, or videos focused on caring for water. Open to individual students in grades 4-12 living in a Cal Water service area, students compete in one of three tiers based on grade level.
About Cal Water H2O Challenge’s Classroom Challenge:
The students of participating classrooms initiate, develop, and implement a 4-8 week-long project (or longer at teacher discretion), focusing on caring for water. This class-based project explores water as a global resource and as a local resource, while tackling a local water problem in an individual and community-based endeavor.
A handbook can be found at challenge.calwater.com/resources, including a guide for the ow of the project, and sample lesson plans.
Upon completion of the project, students create a final portfolio documenting their work. This portfolio, along with accompanying cover sheets, student reflections, and a teacher reflection, constitute the final submission. Sample Portfolios can be found in the resource section.
Early Registration closes Dec. 31, 2017. Final Registration closes Jan 31, 2018. Submissions are due February 28, 2018.
Curriculum Alignment: Common Core State Standards and is complementary to the Next Generation Science Standards. In aligning the curriculum, sample lesson plans were developed incorporating these guidelines.
Project-Based Learning: Developed with the help of the WestEd / K-12 Alliance and the North American Association for Environmental Education, their project-based learning model offers an effective and engaging manner to inspire students to community action while achieving curriculum standards.
Objective Rubric: Judging of the competition will be conducted by a panel of experts working in education and/or an environmental field. It will use an objective rubric, developed with the help of the West Ed / K-12 Alliance. This rubric evaluates the water topic choice, project goals, action plan, and outcomes, long term bene ts, integration with student learning and curriculum, student participation, impact on student learning, presentation, and impact on teacher practice.
Winners of the Cal Water H2O Classroom Challenge will receive amazing prizes! See below.
Grand Prize
Class Celebration: Classroom tent-camping trip to the Santa Monica Mountains with NatureBridge
Class Funding: $3,500 grant
Extras: Cal Water prize packs for every student
2nd Place
Class Celebration: A Pizza Party
Class Funding: $2,500 grant
Extras: Cal Water prize packs for every student
3rd Place
Class Funding: $2,000 grant
Extras: Cal Water prize packs for every student
4th Place
Class Funding: $1,000 grant
Extras: Cal Water prize packs for every student
All Participant Prizes
Student Recognition: An official certificate of participation for every student.
Teacher Recognition: A teacher certificate Teacher Gift: An AMEX gift card.
Learn more online
Learn more about the challenge, access the resource center, and read the FAQ section at https://challenge.calwater.com/.
Disclosure: This post was written as part of my participation in the Moms Meet program. While Moms Meet provided me material and necessary resources to complete various activities, the thoughts and statements in this post are my own.
