Disclosure

Last fall we were able to participate in an experiment to learn about clean water. It wasn’t part of a science project nor some homeschool assignment, but it certainly had all the qualifications to be part of an educational program. After learning how so many people around the world lack clean water and the steps they need to take to get it, we had more of an appreciation for what we have.

I felt so strongly about P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program that I regularly shared it on my social channels and was very vocal about how I felt this should be something more readily available for teaching purposes. At the completion of our blog post, we had a packet left over (they sent us a few in case we messed up) that we decided to gift to the elementary school science teacher along with the contents of our kit. I truly believe this teaches more lessons than just science. It’s also opens up discussions about wants vs needs, environmental issues as well as chemistry. The water situation in Flint, Michigan further solidified the importance of clean water.

While we don’t homeschool, we still feel strongly about teaching our kids important lessons even when they aren’t getting them at school. In addition to the clean water experiment, we’ve used hands-on-learning to teach them about panning for gold, used games to teach them about difficult science concepts including The Manhattan Project, encouraged their musical ambitions and expanded their interest in engineering and robotics.

Well, just in time for Spring Break, we’ve received news that P&G is making these clean water kits available for purchase for less than $10 (which includes shipping) so families, students and teachers can use them for hands on learning! All it takes is a bucket, a spoon, a cloth and a small P&G Purifier of Water packet to purify water in 30 minutes. Let me show you just how easy it is to get clean drinking water…

First we needed to create some dirty water to represent what individuals in developing countries actually deal with. One P&G Purifier of Water packet is added to the dirty water to start the cleaning process. Then you stir. And stir. And stir. Vigorously for 5 minutes, making sure to create a vortex. The water will be colored. That’s the indication that the product is working. At this point, you’ll likely have the same response that we did. “There’s no way I’m drinking that.” Did you know that kids in developing countries do this because they have to?

We had the luxury of opting to take turns stirring, trading off when our arms were too tired to continue this exhausting exercise! After the whirlpool effect, let the dirty water set for 5 minutes until it settles and becomes clear, the cleansing process is clear. If it’s still colored, stir again and let it rest a few more minutes.

Next comes the filtering part of the process. Line the clean container with a cloth, secured with a bungee cord. You’ll notice the sludge (known as floc) at the bottom of the container. It’s clumped up and will catch on the cloth as it is drained. Are you starting to recognize that my definition of this being “easy” was a bit sarcastic?

The final stage is to let the treated and filtered water sit for 20 minutes before drinking. We share the entire water purification process from beginning to end in our prior post. Here, I want to stress that the process isn’t easy, but it will definitely drive home the point about how lucky we are to have access to clean water for drinking, cleaning, bathing and just playing in.

This educational experience is great for starting very valuable conversations! As I mentioned last fall, the primary reason for these isn’t science or education, but necessity. While P&G is making them readily available, they aren’t turning away from their true purpose. By purchasing one P&G Purifier of Water packet, you’ll be donating 3 months’ worth of clean drinking water to a child in a developing country. For each purchase of P&G packets, $1.80 will be donated to the Children’s Safe Drinking Water Fund which is a charitable fund managed by the Greater Cincinnati Foundation. For more information visit www.csdw.org.

Know how excited i am about this experiment? Very! I’m giving away codes so five readers can experience this as well! Even if you don’t win one, they are very inexpensive and well worth the price to learn how precious our clean water is.

What would you do if your water wasn’t clean and drinkable?

P&G Power of Clean Water Giveaway No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Open to legal residents of US & DC who are 18 years of age or older. Giveaway starts 03/11/2016 and ends 03/24/2016. Sponsored by The Motherhood with a P&G Purifier of Water packet. For the full list of rules, click here.