Toby’s Rain Catcher

Toby likes watching rain gather in puddles. “Could we catch some for the flowers?” he asks Mum. They find a clean collecting jug and a wide plastic funnel that fits into its opening.

They place the jug on the patio and set the funnel in the top. Mum pours a little clean water onto the funnel to test it. The water runs through into the jug, just as Toby hoped.

Then a gust pushes against the wide funnel. The light jug wobbles, and Mum catches it. “The top catches the wind too,” says Toby. They take the jug back to the sheltered porch.

Toby looks at the narrow bottom of the jug. “It needs help to stand,” he says. Mum brings a broad tub. The container has room for the jug. They set the jug inside it, but there is still plenty of room for it to wobble.

They place large, smooth wooden blocks around the jug inside the tub. The blocks fit snugly against its lower sides. Mum checks the arrangement. The jug stands upright without leaning on the funnel.

They put the collector back in the same patio spot. Mum tests it with a little water again, then gently checks the sides. The jug stays steady. Water still passes through the funnel into it.

Rain begins while Toby and Mum watch from indoors. Drops gather in the funnel and run down into the jug. The tub and blocks keep the collector in place. Toby points to the growing pool of water.

After the shower, Mum lifts out the jug. Together they pour the collected rainwater onto a flower bed. “We helped it stay up,” says Toby. They empty and dry all the pieces before putting them away.