These activities will help you extract every ounce of juicy learning from your apples.
What can you learn from a bowl of apples?
1. Name the colors. Count the apples. Sort them and count them again. Compare the amounts, “We have more gala apples than granny smith”. And “We have the same number of granny smith and gala apples.”
2. Make a pattern
3. Cut them in half by length and width. Talk about the concept of half and whole. Compare the cuts; how they are a like and how they different.
4. Find the star. This is our favorite part of the apple! Observe how the seeds are carefully and safely stored inside.
5. Fully cut open a couple of apples, then count the seeds and compare. Does one apple have more than the other?
6. Have a taste test of the different kinds of apples. We have granny smith, red delicious, and gala. Are they sweet, tart, or sour? Which one do you like the best? My favorite is the lovely gala!
7. Pour some paint into a plate and make the all time favorite…apple prints!
8. Cook with your kids!
Ants on the log ~ Spread peanut butter on the apple slices or celery and top with raisins.
Applesauce ~ You can make a traditional applesauce or here is a sugar free applesauce recipe.
Apple Gallete ~You can expand your cooking horizons and your child’s vocabulary by cooking something out of the ordinary. I chose to make an apple gallete. I found this recipe at my friends Jackie’s blog, My Kitchen Addictions. She describes that ” a gallete is french word meaning various types of flat, round or free form crusty cakes. The term galette is usually applied to pastries best described as large cookies.” Her recipe is from Williams and Sonoma Kids Baking, please check out My Kitchen Addictions for the recipe.
As soon as this post is finished we are having a cup of coffee and this…apple gallete!
I encourage you to be willing to learn and try new things. This is an excellent example for your children! If you are willing to try something new, they will be too!
A great book connection is Apples for Everyone by Jill Esbaum.
It provides photos of apples, orchards, and the harvest process.
Here are some websites that have other apple activities:
I Can Teach My Child – Apple Garland – Fruit of the Spirit
Teach Preschool – Ten Red Apples
My Montessori Journey – A Little Apple Art Project
Mrs. Kilburns Kiddos – Awesome resource with books, links, crafts…
If you have any apple resource let us know in the comments. 
Have a delicious and wonderful time exploring apples!
This post is linked to these awesome blogs and websites. Go check them out!
No Time for Flash Cards – Link and Learn
Crystal and Co. – Mommy Solutions
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One amazing recipe! The Apple Gallete is definitely a “do over”. (Yep – I’m the CCK proof reader, recipe tester, and activity “guinea pig”-if I can do it, anybody can.)
So glad you liked it.
I love this, Kristi! Over the years, I’ve seen so many preschool/early ed teachers plan what I call “shallow” activities around apples in the fall. You know what I mean – the cutesy crafts and the games that incorporate apples in a superficial way (i.e.it could have been any object). Your ideas, on the other hand, tap into young children’s natural curiosity about REAL things in the real world and give them an opportunity to look at them more closely and explore them in meaningful ways. I would add that you can extend the learning even further by incorporating early writing, reading, graphing, and representational drawing. For example, the taste test could be expanded by having the kids offer the taste test to several other people and mark down their preferences on a very simple tally sheet (they LOVE using clipboards if you have them!). Then you can help them to create a graph that shows a representation of the numbers of people who liked each variety (and the children can add the labels for a little writing practice). Embedding literacy and math into meaningful activities like those you shared, in meaningful ways like these, is far more valuable for children’s learning than shallow crafts and games (and WAY more interesting to the kids!). Thanks again for sharing your brilliance, Kristi!
Thank you Kathy for your kind and generous comments. I love the literacy and math extensions that you suggest; all can easily be used in preschool, a childcare setting, or one-on-one at home. I wish I could take credit that I had given this post extensive thought in early learning theory, but the reality is…I wanted to do a post with apples, that was super simple and literally no work or prep. It had to be something grown-ups can do with children (their own, grandchildren, neighbor kids, nieces/nephews)in their home. As a parent educator, one of my goals is to find activities that parents can do easily and with confidence in their home with their child. I try to help parents see every day learning in their daily routine (like cutting up an apple). Thanks again for your comment and encouragement.
Kristi
We have an apple day that’s a “round robin” of 3 classes. Johnny Appleseed visits because we do apple day on his birthday, Sept. 26th. Besides all the activities that have been shown above, we listen to Johnny’s story, and act out the “House with no Doors.” We compare apple sizes and have several apple books of information. It’s a real busy day!
I am so happy to read your great apple ideas! I am planning my apple lessons for our new month of September and I forgot how cool it is to see the different cuts of the apple with the star.
THANK YOU!
we begin our apple theme this week – this recipe sounds just fabulous!
I love all the ways you explored the apples – we have many of the same activities on tap this week.
Would love for you to come link up some of your kid friendly activities to my child centered linky party The Sunday Showcase – http://momto2poshlildivas.blogspot.com/search/label/Sunday%20Showcase
Bernadette
We just bought apples today! I remember doing apple prints when I was a kid, but we cut it horizontally and did star prints. I am going to have to do that with my daughter.
Thank you for gathering all of this apple info all in one place!
Hi Kate, You’re welcome! Thanks for stopping by. I’m passing your Joanns coupon tip on to my crafty daughter
I was wondered if this activity can be considered a science activity also?
Sure, I would think so!
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