Aa is for apple

The fall is the best time of year, do you know why? It’s apple season! There are so many fun things to do with apples. Here is a collection of some of my favourite apple activities.

Crafts:

1. 3D Paper apples

2. Apple Prints

3. Apple Seasons Book

4. Bingo Dabber Apple Trees: This craft is great for 1-2 year olds as the dabber is easy to hold and they love to bang their hands. Do hand-over-hand until they get the hang of it. Just be careful the ink IS NOT WASHABLE, use a smock.

5. TP Roll Trees

6. Apple lacing: Have your child paint a paper plate red, green, yellow or brown. Punch holes around the perimeter of the plate. With a piece of yarn have your child “sew” around the edges. Add a construction paper stem and leaf.

Activities:

Cognitive Development:

1. Buy some apples in a variety of colours and sizes at your local grocery store, farmers market or orchard and

– Practice learning colours

– Sort them into colour/size groups

– Sort them from largest to smallest

– Make a pattern and help your child continue it

– Talk about texture, is this apple rough or smooth?

– Talk about taste, is this apple sweet or tart? Make a chart/graph showing your family’s favourite apple variety.

– Count the apples, forwards and backwards

2. Letter Recognition: Find a’s everywhere! Look in books, magazines, around the house.

– Letter walk: Walk around the neighbourhood and find the letter Aa, look on signs, fire hydrants, automobiles, etc. I made letter flip books for the kids to bring along.

– Alphabet soup: Put magnet letters into a pot and shake it up, let your child pick a letter and practice the name and sound

– Word tree: Make a tree to hang on the wall and fill the branches with words starting with a. Apple shaped sticky notes work well!

– Practice printing: Practice making “Aa” shapes in the air, in a tray of rice, with sidewalk chalk, on paper etc. Use hand over hand with toddlers.

3. Number Recognition and Sequencing:

– Create an apple orchard. I made mine on a piece of bristol board and used

construction paper for the tree tops. Each tree top attaches to the board with a small piece of sticky back velcro. The tree trunks have the numeral and the tree tops have the corresponding number of apples. Have the kids match the tree tops to the tree trunks.

– Using paper apple cutouts, write the numbers 1-10/20 and have your child put them in the correct order, then backwards. For older children have them count by 2’s, 5’s or 10’s.

4. Aa apple printouts

5. Games:

1.Using play food apples, real apples or decorative apples, go on an apple hunt. Just like an Easter egg hunt! Hide the apples around the playroom and give your child a basket! For even more fun take it outside.

2. Using a large excerise ball, have you child pretend to be a mouse or ant or other small apple loving critter. Have your child move the ball from one place to another rolling the ball, bouncing the ball, carrying the ball etc.

Songs & Poems:

10 Little Apples (tune: 10 Little Indians)

1 little, 2 little, 3 little apples,

4 little, 5 little, 6 little apples,

7 little, 8 little, 9 little apples,

10 apples on the tree!

Can You Find the Letter? (tune: London Bridge is Falling Down)

Can you find the letter a, the letter a, the letter a?

Can you find the letter a, somewhere in the playroom?

My Apple (poem)

Look at my apple, it’s red and round.

It fell from a tree down to the ground.

Come let me share my apple, please do!

My mother can cut it in two,

One half for me and the other for you!

Make some felt board pieces to go with this poem.

Outings:

1. Visit your local orchard, farmers market or grocery store. See how many different types of apples you can find.

2. Visit the library and look for some apple themed books. Some of my favourites are:

– Ten Apples Up On Top; Theo LeSieg After reading it see if your child can balance an apple on their head.

– A Is For Autumn; Robert Maass

– Mott’s, A is for Apple and All Things That Grow; Bryant and Stephens

– Apples; Ken Robbins

– Little Mouse and the Big Red Apple; Benjamin and Williamson This is a fun story to act out after. (see game # 2 above)

3. If you live in the Markham area, check out the Markham Museum’s Applefest. It runs yearly in September. Can’t make it on Applefest weekend? Visit at another time to see the heritage apple orchard and old fashioned cider mill.

Food:

1. Dried apple slices

2. Apple crisp with vanilla ice cream

3. Applesauce

4. Apple Dip (mix 1 pkg of softened cream cheese with 1/4c brown sugar, spread on a pie plate, drizzle with caramel sauce, sprinkle Skor bits on top and dip apple slices.)

5. Grated apples; awesome for babies who are just starting finger food.