A is for Apples

There are so many fun apple books and activities. We read several apple books and had fun picking apples and cooking in the kitchen.

    

  

• Read Apple Books … I would recommend all of these books to read. They’re wonderful:
  1. “Apples A to Z” by Margaret McNamara
  2. “The Apple Pie Tree” by Zoe Hall
  3. “Apples, Apples, Apples” by Nancy Elizabeth Wallce
  4. “Apple Farmer Annie” by Monica Wellington
  5. “Apple Cider-Making Days” by Ann Purmell

• Preschool Journal A Page
  1. Practice writing letter A and ‘Apple’
  2. Put apple stickers on page.

• Alphabet Apple Tree … our own spin on a fun idea inspired by No Time for Flashcards.
  1. Draw a simple tree on a large cardboard box (or make a paper tree on your wall).
  2. Paint it! This was the best part of the day for the kids. Paint shirts are a must! Just cut an old shirt up the back and have the kids slip their hands in the front. Secure with a clothespin or safety pin. 
  3. Cut out 26 apples and write A-Z on each one. We used these apple-shaped sticky notes! My 4-year-old wrote upper-case ABCs on the red apples. I wrote lower-case ABCs on the green apples.
  4. Stick the apples to the tree.
  5. Give the kids an apple picking basket and let them pick.
     • Let them choose an apple and have them tell you the letter name.
     • Ask them to pick the A apples.
     • Have them pick the letters in their name.

• Apple Stars & Prints
  1. Cut an apple in half horizontally and see the star inside.
  2. Count the seeds.
  3. Cut another (color) apple and observe the similarities or differences.
  4. Cut one of the halves into thin slices for a quick, yummy snack.
  5. Make apple prints with the other half.
     • Dip the cut side in a shallow dish of paint.
     • Press onto a paper.
     • Try several fall colors!

• Apple Harvest Game
  1. Hide several toy apples around the yard (these attribute apples are perfect … and great for other sorting activities).
  2. Set out a green, yellow and red paper.
  3. Have the kids ‘harvest’ apples and place them on the matching paper.
  4. ‘Plant’ the apples again and have the kids harvest them by size this time!

 

• Pick apples at an orchard.
  1. Find an orchard nearby at www.pickyourown.org.
  2. Notice the shape of the leaves. Mention the word ‘deciduous’ to the kids (means that the trees lose their leaves in the fall)

 

• Make apple treats together! … we use an apple peeler corer slicer because the kids love to help and it makes the process much easier!
1. Easy applesauce directions here. We love it warm.
2. Make apple pie in a ziploc bag with kids here. 
3. Sliced apples with peanut butter dip was our snack this afternoon. Yum.
• Combine: 1 cup whipped cream, 4 oz. cream cheese and 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter.
• I cut the apples horizontally so we could see the star and used a little heart cutter to remove some of the stars
4. Caramel apples were our family treat tonight! Directions here.

What are some of the fun APPLE activities you have done with your preschooler?!

Ten Apples Up On Top

Today was my turn for our combined preschool! Let me just tell you, it is so much fun. I actually stress out a little getting it ready … but just having friends over and other little kids who are excited about what we’re doing. It’s fun!

I focused on apples and counting 1-10

• Apple Pom Pom Necklace … I did this just as a quick activity while all the kids were showing up. (I made the apples ahead of time)
  1. Need red pom poms, brown pony beads and a tiny bit of green felt.
  2. Cut a small leaf from the green felt.
  3. Glue it to the top of the pom pom “apple” with craft glue.
  4. Glue a brown “stem” bead on top of the leaf.
  5. Cut a length of plastic lacing or string.
  6. Let the kids thread the lacing through the bead stem.
  7. Tie a knot and wear your apple necklace!
     • NOTE: you could let them lace more beads on, but I wanted to keep this S.I.M.P.L.E.
• Apple Name Game
  1. Use a bean bag (see the apple bean bag tutorial below!)
  2. Say the rhyme below then toss the bean bag to the person named.
  3. Repeat until everyone has a turn!

I like apples

Yes, I do!

I like apples

(…name…) do you?!

• Apple Touch & Feel
  1. Give each of the kids an apple (I got a variety of colors)
  2. Ask them what they know about apples. We got some cute answers…
     • “we can eat them!”
     • “peel!” (we peel them!)
     • “they have stickers on them”
     • “there are seeds inside … we don’t eat the seeds”
  3. I think it’s fun to let the kids hold the real thing in their hands and let them see, feel, smell and yes, some tried to taste their apple!
• Apple Basket Mix & Match
  1. Have a basket full of different varieties of apples (I had a few each of red, green, yellow and speckled)
  2. Tell the kids you have a problem. You have a basket full of apples, but they’re all mixed up. You need their help to sort them!
  3. Show them the different colors, have them help you name the colors and start a “pile” of each color. You could even have red, green, and yellow bowls to sort them.
  4. Take turns picking an apple from the basket, naming the color and sorting it into the right pile. The kids did great!

 

• Apple Tree Fingerplay
  1. Make a simple tree (see one example above). You could even just cut out a large green circle and glue a brown rectangle to the back … instant tree!
  2. Print 5 apple shapes (or use 5 red circles … easy!) Try these:    
  3. I put sticky-back magnet on the back of my tree and the back of each apple, so they would “hang” in the tree, but still be easy to remove. Worked great!
  4. Say the rhyme below and let the kids take turns removing an apple from the tree. Encourage them to say the rhyme with you.
  5. Count the apples each time before you begin a new verse! Have them hold up that many fingers.

(Five) red apples hanging in a tree.

The juiciest apples that you ever did see!

The wind came by and gave an angry frown

And one little apple came tumbling down!

Repeat again with 4, 3, 2 and 1 apples

• Read Ten Apples Up On Top! by Dr. Suess. Available here!

• 10 Apples on Top of Us
  1. Glue a picture of your preschooler’s head to the bottom of a long paper.
  2. Give the kids 10 apple stickers (or red dot stickers or cut out red paper circles). I used these apple stickers.
  3. When finished, count the 10 apples up on top of their head!

  

• Apple Bean Bags … like the book, let the kids put these on their heads and try to walk, run and hop! Or play a simple toss-in-the-basket game!
  1. From felt, cut 2 red circles (trace around a cup), 1 brown stem, 1 green leaf.
  2. Sandwich the stem & leaf between the two apple circles, so they stick out the top.
  3. Sew (I zig-zagged) around the outside of the circles, leaving a small opening.
  4. Fill with rice or beans … not too full.
  5. Finish zig-zagging to close the opening. Done!

Snack Idea: Apple Slices & Dip

Yummiest Fruit Dip

1. Combine 1 8oz package cream cheese + 1 jar marshmallow cream.
2. Mix well! Store in fridge.

Peanut Butter Apple Dip

1. Combine 1 8oz package cream cheese, 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup milk.
2. Mix well! Store in fridge.

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Click here for another Apple post!

Turkey Apples

These turkey apples are fun and easy to make on Thanksgiving Day while you’re waiting for the turkey to finish cooking. You’ll need:

• an apple
• toothpicks
• mini marshmallows (the colorful kind would be fun too)

Poke the toothpicks into the apple to make legs, a neck and turkey feathers. Then use the mini marshmallows to fill in the feathers, head and feet. Use them for table decorations or eat as a pre-dinner treat

Apples

• Go to an orchard & pick apples. We do this every year and love it. I think ours were about $0.60/lb. Visit www.pickyourown.org to find a great u-pick farm nearby.
• Make homemade applesauce.
  1. Core, peel and slice several apples.
  2. Put in a saucepan with a little cinnamon and sugar.
  3. Cook on low until the apples get soft and applesaucy. Sooo good warm.
• Cut up red, green and yellow apples & eat them with dip!
• Count the seeds inside
  1. Cut out a red circle apple.
  2. Cut out and glue a brown stem and green leaf to the top (don’t worry about what it looks like, it’s great cutting practice!)
  3. Glue the real apple seeds to your paper apple.
• Cut the apple horizontally to see the "star" inside

 

• Ten Apples Up on Top
  1. Read "Ten Apples Up On Top" by Dr. Seuss
  2. Glue a picture of your kids on a piece of paper.
  3. Have apple stickers or red dot stickers and let them stack 10 apples on their head! I just ordered some great apple stickers here. There are 72 stickers in the pack for about $2, plus free shipping with Amazon Prime!
• Make stoplight pictures with cut apples
  • Cut a green, red, and yellow apple in half.
  • Dip the cut side in a shallow container of green, red, and yellow paint.
  • Press the prints on a vertical black rectangle … red on top, yellow middle, green on bottom.
• Make an apple sun catcher
  1. Use a clear round lid, brush with glue and press pieces of red tissue paper in the glue.
  2. Attach a green leaf
  3. Punch a hole at the top and attach a yarn stem hanger.
• Bob for apples
  1. Make several apple cutouts from foam paper and place in the tub or large container of water.
  2. Use small sieves or slotted spoons to catch the apples.
• 10 Little Fingerprint Apples
  1. Write the following rhyme on the paper of a blank paper.
  2. Have the kids glue a brown rectangle vertically to make a trunk & a large green circle on top to make the treetop.
  3. Next, dip all 10 fingers in red paint and press them on the tree.
  4. When dry, count the 10 little apples on their tree & write it in the blank on the last line!

I have 10 fingers. Count them with me.
They make ____ apples on my tree.

Snack Ideas:

Apple Smiles

1. Core and slice an apple.
2. Spread with peanut butter.
3. Sandwich mini marshmallows between two apples.

 

 

 

Mini Caramel Apples

1. Use a melon baller to make small “apples” leaving some of the skin on top.
2. Unwrap and melt several caramel squares (according to package).
3. Insert a wooden skewer into the apple and dip in caramel.
4. Dip the bottom in sprinkles or crushed nuts to prevent sticking. Cool on wax paper! So good!