I would like to dedicate this
book to my mom’s preschool,
Seedsowers Montessori.

This school was the inspiration
for my story. I like to spend
time there when I am not
in school because when I
step into the classroom the
kids see me as a teacher.

I have read many books to
the students, and I have seen
many different types of stories
and interesting illustrations.

Thank you so much.
Abby Roth

It was another hot day on the playground at school.
I was thirsty of course and a drink would be cool.
On my last round up and down the teeter totter,
I could not get my mind off my plastic bottled water.

As my classmates lined up they looked equally as hot,
but we all had waters waiting that our mothers had bought.
My teacher saw our faces and said with delight,
“Do not start drinking your bottled waters and do not get uptight.”

I am sure she had to know just how thirsty my classmates and I were;
we were practically seeing double, and the playground was a blur.
My teacher had an idea and allowed us to get a drink.
She stopped at the drinking fountain - what were we to think?

We students all protested, but our thirsty mouths prevailed.
I held my breath, took a drink, and finally exhaled.
I have to admit we were very surprised that the water tasted good,
and I wondered why the drinking fountain had been so misunderstood.

The water did the trick so into the classroom we all swarmed.
Then my teacher talked about water so we could be informed.
“Boys and girls I want you to know that bottled water is not so smart.
You pay a lot of money each time you put it in your cart.”

My teacher continued with her story about water and stuff,
and she started making sense, strangely enough.
“Students, water from the tap is filtered, disinfected, and clean.”
She used words like “ultrafiltration”, “UV disinfection” and “going green.”

Going green means saving resources, the environment, and money.
Water in bottles costs 1000 times more, and this is not even funny!
My teacher went on and told us other important things - we all agreed.
Such as, “Water from the tap is a reliable source, and it is all you need.
We live in a country that has water to use, just by the turn of a knob.
The water is ready and clean because the EMWD does such a great job.”

She told us, “Chili a glass of water taken straight from the tap.
Then taste water from the glass and bottle; it’s really not a trap.”
I took my teacher’s challenge and headed straight for the sink.
I took both the bottle and cup and then had a great big drink.
I could not taste the difference so I had my family try.
They could not tell the difference so mom told the bottle, “Good bye!”

I told mom it costs less than a penny a gallon, from the faucet at the sink.
My mom looked proudly at me, and then she gave me a wink.
She started going nuts about all the ways we could save.
“We can fill our own bottles from the tap and save money even in this heat wave!”
“Mom,” I said, “You are right, and we can pack them in lunch for school.”
She told me, “Yes, and for sports, practices, games, and even the swimming pool.”

I sure did learn a lot that day from getting thirsty, sweaty, and hot.
I was glad my teacher did an amazing job on a subject that she taught.
My class looks at water differently now, and we are smarter than before.
Tomorrow we get to go teach what we learned to the class that is right next door.