A is for Apple

Apple day is a MUST when we start preschool. This is one we did with our preschool group of 9 kids this year.

• Journals
1. Write a big A and a (have them trace it or draw it by themselves).
2. Add Apple stickers to the page, either on the line of the A’s or decorate the page with them.

• Apple ‘A and ‘a’ Tree picking!
1. Always a favorite game. Use butcher paper or newsprint (from your local newspaper) and hang up a big piece with a tree drawn on it.
   **You could also do this outside on a fence with chalk…we dont have a fence!
2. Using apple sticky notes (or these), write A’s and a’s on them and stick them to the tree.
   **We’ve also done this with the alphabet, writing ABC’s on the apples, not just A’s.
3. On another piece of butcher paper or newsprint, draw a basket for the “picked” apples.
   **You can either have 2 baskets, one for capital a’s and one for lowercase a’s, or a big basket with A’s and a’s writen on it.
4. The Game: Pick apples and sort them, by putting them in the matching basket or on the matching A’s.

• BOOK: Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss
1. Play with apple bean bags (read THIS post for detailed instructions to make these).
• Sort them by size (we have two sizes, big and small).
• Put them on their heads. See how many they can stack!
• With apples on their heads, try to walk, run, jump, crawl, etc!
• Roll the die and play pretend baking with apples (think pies, applesauce, etc).
2. Print a picture of your preschoolers head at the bottom of a paper. With apple stickers, stick 10 apples stacked above their head.

• Apple Sensory Bin
1. Fill a small plastic bin with rice, oatmeal, wheat, or the like.
2. Add red, yellow and green pom poms (different sizes is even better) and magnent letters (letters in their name or ABC’s).
3. Give them a pair of kid friendly tweezers and have them pinch out what they find in their bins.
• As they pull the pom poms out, sort according to color and size!
• As they pull the letters out, have them match them on a paper or spell their name.

• PICK APPLES!!

Click here for a lot more APPLE preschoool ideas!

A is for Apples

• Make apple pom-pom necklaces
  1. PREP: (need red pom-poms, green felt, brown pony beads)
     • Cut out several small green leaves from felt.
     • Hot glue the leaf to the pom-pom.
     • Hot glue the brown pony bead on top of the leaf.
  2. Have your preschooler string apple pom-pom beads onto a length of cording.
  3. Alternate with green pony beads to work on patterns.

• Examine apples
  1. Have several different kinds & colors of apples for the kids to observe.
  2. Ask them what they see. We noticed the smooth skin, spots on the skin, the stem, the different colors, the shape…
  3. Cut the apples into slices. I sliced them horizontally so we could see the star inside.
  4. Let the kids taste each different apple.
  5. Let them munch while you read apple books.

• Read “Ned's New Home” by Kevin Tseng … I grabbed this one at the library because of the big apple on the front. It is such a cute book. We may use it again for our Fruit Day. Ned (the worm)’s apple house has started to rot, so he goes through several other fruits trying to find a suitable new home. Available here.

• Read “Apples for Everyone” by Jill Esbaum … I’m loving this series of books by National Geographic Kids. The text is simple, very informative and the photos are wonderful. The book is only 16 pages, so a quick read for kids. Available here.

• Read “The Apple Pie Tree” by Zoe Hall … we have to read this book every fall. It is a cute story with a simple explanation of the life cycle of an apple, ending with a delicious apple pie. Available here.

• Do ‘A’ journal page
  1. Write ‘Aa” on the next page.
  2. Write “APPLES”. I show my 4-year-old the word “APPLE” on the cover of one of our books and she copies the letters into her journal.
  3. Practice writing big A’s and little a’s.
  4. Put apple stickers all over the page. We used scented apple stickers, but any would do

• ABC Apple Post-It Game … this one is always fun. A great way to get up and move around. I find apple post-its at Office Depot or Office Max or on Amazon here. 
  1. PREP:
     • Write A-Z on apple post-it notes. My preschooler loves writing her letters, so she helped me write another set of lower-case a-z on the green apple post-its.
     • Make a large apple tree. Ideas:
       1. Draw one with chalk on a fence.
       2. Paint one on a big cardboard box
       3. Cut out a large tree from brown & green butcher paper and tape to the wall.
       4. Draw a large apple tree on a window, mirror or glass door with dry erase crayons.
     • “Hang” all of the ABC apples in the apple tree (stick them on)
     • Write A-Z outside of the tree.
  2. TO PLAY:
     • Have your preschooler pick an ABC apple from the tree.
     • Have her match it to the ABC outside of the tree.
     • We did this game twice with upper and lower-case apples.
     • Give them plenty of help, so it is fun and not frustrating!

• Read “Ten Apples Up On Top!” by Dr. Seuss … spread out a blanket outside and fun apple book. Book available here.

• 10 Apple Bean Bags Up On Top! … this little game had my kids belly-laughing. It’s worth the prep work
  1. PREP: Make several apple bean bags. Detailed instructions with PHOTOS here.
     • Cut out 2 red felt circles
     • Cut out 1 brown felt stem
     • Cut out 1 green felt leaf
     • Sandwich the stem & leaf between the red circles.
     • Sew around the apple, leaving a 2-inch gap.
     • Fill with rice or beans.
     • Finish sewing around the apple.
     • TIP: This year, I didn’t feel like sewing, so I hot glued the apples together It worked.
  2. TO PLAY:
     • Read “10 Apples Up On Top” again.
     • When the characters put another apple “up on top”, have the kids try balancing an apple on their head.
     • Add 2, then 3, then 4!
     • Have them try to stand up or walk with the apples up on top.

• 10 Apple Stickers Up On Top!
  1. Print a small picture of your preschooler.
  2. Glue it to the bottom of a half sheet of paper.
  3. Have your preschooler stack 10 apple stickers up on top of their head!
  4. Count the apples 1-10 (or 14 in our case)

• Make Apple Cookies for our Snack … would you be surprised that these got rave reviews from all five of my kids and my husband? There weren’t supposed to be quite so many mini M&Ms, but my 4-year-old was helping, so that’s what happens!
  1. Slice apples horizontally.
  2. Immediately soak in a bowl of cold water and lemon juice (a few tablespoons for a medium bowl). This keeps the apples from browning. Let them soak for 10-15 minutes.
  3. Take the apple slices out of the lemon water and dry them with a towel.
  4. Spread peanut butter.
  5. Sprinkle toppings … mini M&Ms, chocolate chips, coconut, raisins, chopped nuts.

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.