Go apple picking at a local farm. If this is not available, take children to a farmer's market or even to a local grocery store with a wide variety of apples. Let children pick out a few of their favorite apples. Bring them home, along with a few other supplies, and make some of these recipes:
The Worm is Eating my Apple! - Set out cut outs of apples in several colors along with hole punchers. Children can use hole punchers to make holes in the apples where the worms ate. Great for fine motor strength building! Kids can even use a pipe cleaner as a worm.
Read a book on Apples, especially one that talks about the different colors/types of apples.
Sing:
The Apples on the Tree (tune of "Farmer in the Dell") The apples on the tree, The apples on the the tree: Red, yellow, green, or mixed- They're growing just for me.
Finger Play: The Apple Tree
Way up high in the apple tree (raise arms and sway like a tree) Two red* apples smiled at me. (Keeping arms raised close hands into fists) I shook that tree as hard as I could (shake arms) Down came the apples. (shake to the ground) "Mmm..." they were good (take a pretend bite and then rub belly)
*repeat, using yellow and green in place of red.
Apple Observations: Place a variety of apples on the table~different shapes, sizes, colors, and types of apples. Let children make observations. Talk about the shapes and colors. Group them by color. Arrange them by size. Observe apples in different forms: whole, sliced, cooked, peeled, applesauce. Feel the different textures, tastes. Discuss and record findings.
Apple Halves Cut some apples in half, both horizontally and vertically. Cut some into slices. Observe the differences between whole and cut apples.
Take one of the apples, halved, and cover one side with lemon juice and leave one alone. Ask the children what they think will happen to each side. Create hypothesis and form a conclusion.
Apple Prints
Materials:
Apples cut in half perpendicular to the core (so you can see the star) and some cut parallel to the core.
Paint on paper plates
Thick Paper
Directions:
Cut the Apples in half vertically and horizontally. Stamp the apple into the paint and then onto the paper. (Pour the paint onto a sponge and have them stamp onto the sponge in order to avoid getting too much paint)
While the papers are drying, play:
Sink or Float? Fill a tub with water. Ask children about their hypothesis about the apples' ability to sink or float. Test to see what happens.
Apple Colors: Talk about the different colors of apples. Have paint samples of red, green, and yellow to show children. Do this Apple Craft with the different paint colors.
Apple Rolling
Materials:
Red apple
Green apple
Yellow apple
Three bowls: one with yellow paint, one with red paint, and one with green paint
Construction paper
Sturdy box lid
What to Do
Place each apple into the bowl of paint that matches its color.
Place the paper in the box and have the children place the paint dipped apples (one at a time) in the box .
Let the children move the box from side to side or shake the bin to get the paint dipped apple to move around. Use all three colors and the apples will drag the paint, creating a beautiful design on the paper. Sing this fun song while creating your apple roll art, to the tune of "Row Row Row Your Boat." Roll roll roll the apple, Watch the colors blend, Make the colors move around, And then we'll do it again!
While the pictures are drying, make these Apple Color Books with children.
Sing "Ten Little Apples" (tune of 10 little Indians) One little, two little, three little apples. Four little, five little, six little apples. Seven little, eight little, nine little apples. Ten apples fall from the tree.
Set out 10 apples and help children count them. Let children observe them, hold them, rearrange them, and count the apples again. It would be a good idea to have many varieties of apples to count.
Apple Hide-and-go-Seek
Print out 10 apple pictures. I used these apple calendar numbers so the digits 1-10 would be visible, too. Hide the apples around the room. (You could use real apples, too, but pictures were easier for me.)
Give each child a basket and help them find the apples, pick them, and collect them in their baskets.
After all the apples have been found, lay them out and count them again.
10 Apples Up on Top Poster
Take the ten apples each child has collected and turn them into art. Make a head out of a paper plate or coffee filter and glue it on the bottom of a large piece of paper. You could also print out a template of a boy or girl. Help child glue all 10 apples on top of their head.
Read a book about apples growing such as "How Do Apples Grow" by Betsy Maestro. Apples start as a seed which grows into a tree that grows the apples.
A Little Apple Seed
(to the tune of: The Itsy Bitsy Spider) Once a little apple seed was planted in the ground Down came the raindrops, falling all around. Out came the big sun, bright as bright could be And that little apple seed grew to be an apple tree!
Apple Seeds Activity
Give each child an apple. Have them guess how many seeds are inside. Record guesses.
Cut each apple in half, horizontally, so you can see all 5 seed compartments.
Help children dissect the apple and pull out the seeds.
Glue the seeds onto an apple picture.
Discuss the seed hypothesis with the actual number of seeds found. Did everyone have the same number of seeds? Who had the most? The fewest? What was the difference between your actual number and your guess?
Pass out this Apple Seeds Coloring Page. Help children count and draw the correct number of seeds in each apple picture.
Talk about the apple tree's life cycle, through the seasons. Make this apple life cycle paper plate project to display the cycle.
