A is for Apples

• Read “Apples and Pumpkins” by Anne Rockwell … this was the perfect book to read before our visit to the local family farm to see the apples and pumpkins. Definitely a good book to get you in the mood for fall!

• Read “Apple Farmer Annie” by Monica Wellington … I just added this book to our home library because it’s one of my favorite apple/fall books. Annie is an apple farmer. She sells her apples at the farmer’s market. Simple and perfect for fall.

• Picking Apple Tree ABCs
  1. Draw a large tree with chalk. We drew ours on our fence. Another year, we painted a big tree on a big cardboard box. You could even use window markers and draw a tree on a glass door or window.
  2. Write A-Z on apple-shaped post-it notes. Find them here or at office supply stores like Office Max and Staples.
  3. Stick all of the ABC apples on the chalk tree.
  4. Write A-Z randomly outside of the tree (again, we used chalk on the fence)
  5. Have the kids “pick an apple” from the tree and stick it on it’s matching ABC.
  6. TIP: For younger kids, have them match uppercase to uppercase or lowercase to lowercase letters. Older preschoolers can match uppercase to lowercase.

• Digging for Apples … a little messy, but the kids love it.
  1. Fill a large bin with rice (or beans or sand or noodles)
  2. Bury several plastic apples in the rice. You can get mini plastic apples here (red) and here (green). Or these foam attribute apples are great for many activities!
  3. Give the kids a red bowl and a green bowl. As they find the apples, have them sort them by color.
  4. I love giving the kids an empty paper towel or toilet paper tube. They like to fill it with rice or apples!

• Pick apples at an orchard … or do what we did and buy some at a local family farm
  1. As the kids explored (and climbed all over) the pumpkins, we used lots of descriptive words: big, small, bumpy, smooth, round, long stem, short stem, orange, green, dirty, clean, heavy!
  2. Have the kids help pick out and count 10 apples to buy.

• Apples Prints … I’ve never done this before and it was a lot of fun!
  1. Cut one apple in half vertically.
  2. Cut another apple in half horizontally (to see the star inside)
  3. Let the kids observe the inside of the apple and tell you what they see, smell and feel.
  4. Cut a handle in the apple … this is by far one of the most brilliant things I’ve seen on pinterest See the photo above. 
     • Cut a notch in each side of the apple, creating a handle for the kids to hold while they’re stamping.
     • BONUS: the notches are perfect apple slices to munch on!
  5. Pour red and green paint onto separate plates. We used fancy glitter paint (found here). Washable paint is a must.
  6. Show the kids how to coat the cut side with paint, then stamp their paper to make an apple print!
  7. My girls loved it! They ended up finger painting several pages. Love it.

• Read “Ten Apples Up On Top!” by Theo LeSieg … this one never gets old. We use it every year.
1. Print out a photo on your preschooler at the bottom of a piece of paper.
2. Give them apple stickers and have them stack 10 (or more!) apples up on top of their head!
3. TIP: I found this roll of apple stickers at Michaels. I’ve also used these before.