•Apple circumference - measure the circumference of different sized apples..line up the apples from biggest to smallest •make caramel apples •try different types of apples (apple tasting party) have dried apples, applesauce, apple juice, fresh apple, apple pie--which do they like the best?? graph the results *********************************************************************** •make sequence cards for the kids - seeds, tree w/ flower, tree w/ apples, basket of apples, apple pie *********************************************************************** •BOOKS Red Is An Apple and The Little Red House (both are teacher made big books from The Color Box) Blocksma, "Apple Tree! Apple Tree!" Bourgeois, "The Amazing Apple Book" Caseley, "An Apple Pie and Onions" Dodd, "The Apple Tree" Eberle, "Apple Orchard" Gibbons, "The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree" Gleitner, "Johnny Appleseed" Greenaway, "A Apple Pie" Greene, "John Chapman: The Man Who Was Johnny Appleseed" Heuck, "Who Stole the Apples?" Johnson, "From Appleseeds to Applesauce" Kellogg, "Johnny Appleseed" Lindbergh, "Johnny Appleseed" McMillan, "Apples: How They Grow" Maestro, "How Do Apples Grow?" Micucci, "The Life and Times of the Apple" Noble, "Apple Tree Christmas" Norman, "Johnny Appleseed" Nottridge, "Apples" Parnall, "Apple Tree" Rockwell, "Apples and Pumpkins" Scheer, "Rain Makes Applesauce" Schneiper, "An Apple Tree Through the Year" Selsam, "The Apple and Other Fruit" Watson, "Tom Fox and the Apple Pie" *********************************************************************** •Read about Johnny Appleseed, then children make appleseed envelops for a friend (with appleseeds inside to plant) *********************************************************************** •Sing Apples and Bananas *********************************************************************** •Each child brings an apple. We count, sort, and graph them on a big floor graph. We weigh some of them using a balance scale and teddy bear counters. *********************************************************************** •We eat red, yellow, and green apples and graph our favorite. *********************************************************************** •The kids tell me words to describe apples and I write them on a big apple shaped chart. *********************************************************************** •Another fun apple activity is to have the children estimate how many bites it will take to get to the core of an apple. They can count as they eat! *********************************************************************** •This is done in pairs with one child behind the other. The one in back does the work, then they can reverse directions, and repeat with the other child doing the "work". Criss-cross applesauce (make an X on the child's back) Spiders crawling up your spine (finger walk up child's spine) Cool breeze (blow on child's neck) Tight squeeze (gently squeeze the child's shoulders) Now you've got the chillies! (You get a funny feeling like goosebumps) *********************************************************************** •Apple Divider Art (taken from the book "Oodles and Doodles of Art'-Siegler & Torgenson, Teaching & Learning Company,1994...this is a GREAT book for hands- on, process-oriented art experiences) - Collect paper apple dividers from grocery store, gather glue and tempera paint. Authors say there are several ways to use items: (1) mix paint with the glue and then let students drizzle on the inside of the dividers or (2) have students paint outside of the apple dividers with lots of different colors. Authors suggest also using dividers for collages with various materials added. *********************************************************************** •Magic Picture - Make a stencil for apples and worms and let the student make a rubbing over the stencil with crayons to make the magic picture appear. *********************************************************************** •Let the students draw a picture of a tree and then allow them to place their thumb on a red stamp pad (washable). Next, have them stamp their thumb print on their tree and then they draw green leaves. Can be done individually or as a group for a mural. Allow your students access to collage materials to see what they can create. You could have students write/dictate a stories, write the various numbers of apples they stamped, or write simple sentences like "I see ___ apples" for a class book. *********************************************************************** •Have the students work in small groups to design their own 'Mini Apple Orchard". Fill a pan with dirt, twigs, toy tractors, green sponges for apple trees with red tissue for apples, or anything the children can come up with as ideas for their orchards. *********************************************************************** •Make Dried Apple Wreaths. (Note: Directions on how to make dried apples follows in cooking). Cut a wreath shape from cardboard. Glue dried apples rings around the wreath overlapping them. Gather some dried flowers & leaves to fill in the wreath. Add a bow at the top if you like. *********************************************************************** •We read Apples on Top (a Dr. Suess book). Apples on top project: (great for beginning of year to get to know names) -Cut out a skin colored oval out of construction paper -Color in face -Glue googly eyes and yarn for hair. Cut several pieces of 12x18 white construction paper in half On the top of each write "4 Apples on top of Jill" or whatever the child's name Make apple prints (apple cut in half) to make the appropriate number of apples for each letter of the child's name. Hand them around the name ....looks great for displaying a piece of work from everyone at Open House! *********************************************************************** •apple name tags and apple name plates *********************************************************************** •apple booklet *********************************************************************** •Apple Poem Apples big, Apples small. Guess what? I like them all. *********************************************************************** •Apple Prints: I have discovered a few things about doing apple prints so they come out looking like apples and not just circles. Cut the apples the day before you will use them for printing. Also, it is helpful to put the paint on a piece of paper towel in a tray. It becomes more like a stamp pad and the apples print better. *********************************************************************** •Anna Has Anna has a big red apple. Anna has a little axe. (Aussie spelling) Anna has an old ship's anchor, Hanging near the kitchen steps. Why does Anna have an apple? Why does Anna have an axe? Why does Anna have an anchor, Hanging near the kitchen steps? *********************************************************************** • We make apple muffins, and apple smiles. If you don't know what apple smiles are, you cut wedges of apple with the skins on. On one wedge, put peanut butter. Then put mimi-marshmallows on the peanut butter and cover with another apple wedge. The kids love making and eating this snack! *********************************************************************** • We make apple finger cubes: Pour 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin into a bowl. Add 2 cups boiling water. Stir until gelatin is dissolved. Ass one 6 oz can apple juice concentrate. Pour mixture into a lightly greased 9"x13" pan and chill. Cut in squares to serve. *********************************************************************** • We play "Pass the Apple" (like hot potato), when the music stops and the child is holding the apple, he goes into the "applepot" (the center of the circle). When all the "apples" are in the pot, we make applesauce, stir, add sugar, add cinnamon, taste, etc. Kids giggle a lot when they have to start jiggling and boiling. *********************************************************************** • A Little Apple Seed (Tune: Eensy, Weensy Spider) Once a little appleseed 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! *********************************************************************** • Apples Are Falling (Tune: Are You Sleeping?) Apples are falling, apples are falling From the tree, from the tree. Pick up all the apples, pick up all the apples, One. two, three; one, two,. three. (Use appropriate motions for actions) *********************************************************************** • Two Little Apples Two little apples hanging on a tree Two little apples smiling at me I shook that tree as hard as I could Down came the apples Mmmm were they good! *********************************************************************** •Apples Give each child an apple. Ask them to describe the apple using all their senses except taste. Then cut the apple in half - explain that they grow from seeds. Point out the various parts - invite them to count the seeds - cut the apple into bite size pieces - let them eat a piece and describe how the apple tastes. *********************************************************************** Read Johnny Appleseed - plant apple seeds - see what happens. *********************************************************************** Make applesauce *********************************************************************** •Apple Tree with Sponge Painting Draw a large tree on craft paper - cut a sponge into round pieces and attaa clothespin to the back of each piece. Give each child a clothespin sponge to dip into red tempera paint and dab on the tree to look like apples. *********************************************************************** •Taste Apples Try different types of apples such as green Granny Smith and Red Delicious apples. Invite the children to sample each kind of apple - take a survey - *********************************************************************** •Printing With Apples Make apple prints - cut apples in half crossways and point out the inside - help the children use a brush and tempra paint to paint the apple read - make a print - or on large butcher paper on the floor - draw a large A - let the children take turns printing apples along the outline of the A. *********************************************************************** •Print Apple Shapes Set out corks and shallow containers filled with red tempera paint. Give each child an apple tree shape cut out of construction paper. Let the children use the round ends of the corks to print "apples" on their tree shapes. After the paint has dried, use the prints for counting. *********************************************************************** •Apple Collage Give each child a small paper plate and a piece of red paper. Let the children tear their papers into small pieces. Then have them glue the pieces all over their paper plates. Add green paper stems and use the "apples" as room decorations. *********************************************************************** •Fingerpaint Apples Cut large apple shapes out of white butcher paper. Give each child an apple shape and a small amount of red fingerpaint. Let the children paint the apple shapes. Attach precut green leaves to the top of each apple when the shapes have dried. *********************************************************************** •Apples & Worm Theme Week Materials Needed For The Week: *********************************************************************** •Discussion About Apples Where do apples come from? What different colors are apples? Do you like red, yellow, or green apples the best? Which apples are sweet? Which apples are tart? *********************************************************************** •Art: Classroom Apple Tree Use a large piece of bulletin board paper. Draw a tree with branches. Children can use an apple shaped sponge or use paint and a brush to put apples on the tree. When paint is dry write the children's names on their apples. Hang apple tree art in the classroom or on a bulletin board. *********************************************************************** •Read Apples by N. Hogrogian *********************************************************************** Circle Time: Leaf Walk Take a leaf walk outside and collect apple leaves. If this is not possilbe, cut leaves from construction or tissue paper and place them around your room before taking the walk. Have children find the leaves. *********************************************************************** •Tasting Different Kinds of Apples Provide three types of apples - red, yellow, and green. Wash the apples and cut them into pieces, and place on three separate paper plates. Tell children the name of each apple. Have them compare the color, texture and taste of each type of apple. *********************************************************************** • Planting Apple Seeds Provide small paper drinking cups, apple seeds, potting soil or dirt, and water. Save seeds from the apples used for the food experience. Give each child a cup and have the children fill their cups with soil. Place finger in soil to make a small hole and drop in the seed. Dampen the soil with a small amount of water. Place cups in a well lighted place and water occasionally; then read the children the book The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle. *********************************************************************** •The Apple Tree Away up high in an apple tree, (raise arms high) Two red apples smiled at me (Smile and hold up two fingers) I shook that tree as hard as I could; (Shake hands) Down came those apples, (Bring hands down) And mmmmm, were they good. (Rub tummy) *********************************************************************** •Apple Pictures Have children cut out apples from red, yellow, or green construction paper. Glue onto another sheet of paper. Glue on tissue paper leaves or real leaves collected on Monday's leaf walk. While children are doing this activity, reinforce the colors of different apples. *********************************************************************** •Read Rain Makes Applesauce by J. Schew. *********************************************************************** •Fishing for Apples Make fishing poles with magnets connected to the ends. Cut apple shapes from red, yellow, and green construction paper. Attach a metal paper clip to each apple shape. Place apples on a large piece of blue butcher paper which has been cut into the shape of a pond. Lay the items on the floor and ask children to fish for different colored apples or to pick up a certain number of apples. Suggestions: Apple shapes can be laminated or covered with clear contact paper first so they will last longer. Shapes or dots can be written on the apples and used for shape recognition or counting activities. *********************************************************************** •Apples with Other Foods Slice apples. Spread with peanut butter or cheese spread and let children taste them. *********************************************************************** •Read and share Apples and Pumkins by Anne Rockwell. *********************************************************************** •Finger Play or Flannel Activity "Five Red Apples" Five red apples hanging in a tree (Hold up five fingers) The juiciest apples you ever did see. The wind came by and gave an angry frown (Fingers flutter downward) And one little apple came tumbling down (One finger falls) Four red apples, hanging in a tree, etc. This poem can be adapted for children to count from ten red apples down. Redapples can be cut from flannel or construction paper and used as a flannel activity. Then cut a large green cloud shape for the top of the tree and a brown rectangular shape for the tree trunk. *********************************************************************** •Fingerpaint with Red Paint. *********************************************************************** •Read: I can read about Johnny Appleseed by J.J. Anderson. *********************************************************************** •Musical Apples Make an apple necklace for each child playing. Cut a small apple shape from red, yellow, and green construction paper. Punch a small hole in the top of the apple and attach a piece of yarn large enough to loosely go over the child's head. Let the children wear their necklaces while playing Musical Apples. This is played like musical chairs. Place a picture of an apple on each chair. Put out one less chair than children who will be playing. Play some marching music and have children sit on the chairs as the music stops. Each time you play the music eliminate a chair. The child who doesn't get a seat needs to wait until the game starts over. The winner is left when there is only one child on one chair. *********************************************************************** •Making Applesauce Wash and peel five apples. Cut into quarters and remove the cores. Put the pieces into a saucepan and add 3/4 cup of water. Cover and simmer until tender. Let the apples cool. Let children take turns mashing the apples with a potato masher or mixer. Add sugar and cinnamon to taste. *********************************************************************** •Counting Apples on a Flannel Apple Tree Make a large flannel apple tree. Follow directions given at Sharing Time and make several different colored apples. Let children count the number of apples on the tree or let them name the colors. *********************************************************************** •Read Wilbur Worm by Richard and Nicky Hale, and Andre Amstutz *********************************************************************** •Easel Paint with Yellow Paint Different shades of yellow can be obtained by adding small amounts of white paint or lighter shades or orange paint for darker shades. Let the children help make these different shades and discuss which is lighter and which is darker. *********************************************************************** • Flannel Story: Make flannel pieces of grass, a boy, and a worm. The Boy and the Worm One time a little boy was playing in his backyard. In the grass he saw a worm.. He watched the worm for a long time. Then he said, "What an ugly thing you are! You have no hair, no legs, and I don't think you have any eyes." "That doesn't matter," said the worm. "All worms are like that. We get along fine." "But do you know how to do anything?" said the boy. "The animals run about, and the birds fly and sing. You cannot do any of those things." "True," said the worm. "I cannot do those things." "I know how to do everything," said the boy. "I even know how to read and write." "I do not need to know how to read and write," said the worm. "But, tell me, do you know how to live in the world all by yourself? Can you feed yourself and take care of yourself without the help of your parents?" "No, but I am still very young," said the boy. "But I am much younger than you, and yet I can feed myself and take care of myself without any help. And besides, did you ever see a worm that could talk?" *********************************************************************** •Song Play "Walter the Waltzing Worm" from the record Walter the Waltzing Worm. Let the children sing along. *********************************************************************** •Apple Smiles Core and slice an apple. Spread peanut butter on one side of each apple slice. Place for tiny marshmallows on top of the peanut butter of one slice. Top with another apple slice, peanut butter side down. Gently squeeze together. *********************************************************************** •Finding Objects in an Apple Tree Draw a large apple tree on construction paper (or use the flannel apple tree made on Wednesday). Add leaves, apples, apple halves, apple cores, apple seeds, and worms. Children can find the objects at your request. Children can also be asked to place the apple on the tree, the worm under the tree, the leaves above the tree, etc. *********************************************************************** •Finger Play Four little apples dancing in a tree, (Let four fingers dance) They danced so long that they set themselves free. (Fingers fall) They continued to dance as they fell to the ground And there by some children these apples were found. "Oh! Look at the rosy one! (Hold up one finger) "It almost bounced!" "I'll take the red one!" (Hold up second finger) Another announced. The third child laughed as he chose the yellow one. (Hold up third finger) "I'll take it to Mother, ‘cause she lets me have fun." The fourth child put the last one on a tray (Put fourth finger in palm of left hand) And carefully carried the green apple away. *********************************************************************** •Green Play Dough *********************************************************************** •Read: The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons. *********************************************************************** •Pretend to Be Worms Children can wriggle on the floor and be worms. Make a large apple cutout from poster board or cardboard. Cut the hole large enough for children to crawl through. *********************************************************************** •Apple Juice Tasting Compare sweetened to unsweetened apple juice, and if possible, compare fresh apple juice to canned or frozen. Discuss with the children how apple juice may be bought in different forms. *********************************************************************** •Fishing for Apples and Worms See Circle Time above. Use construction paper cutouts of worms and apples of different sizes. *********************************************************************** •Apple and Worm Puzzles, Apple Lacing Boards *********************************************************************** •Find earthworms and put them in a jar. Study how they move. Return them to the ground. *********************************************************************** •Cut an apple in half crosswise to show design of the seeds. How are they formed? What do they look like? Ask children questions about the apple such as: What design does the apple make? Were you surprised? Do you think any other fruit has a special shape inside it? *********************************************************************** •Write for more information on apples Internationational Apple Institute P.O.BOX 1137 McLean, Va 22101 1-703-442-8850 Washington State Apple Commission P.O.Box 18 Wenatchee, Wa. 98807 The processed Apples Institute 5775 Peachtree-Dunwoody Road Suite 500-G Atlanta, Ga 30342 *********************************************************************** •Read the book by Theo LeSeig (aka Dr. Seuss). Get some bean bags and practice balancing them on your head! Great Fun!! *********************************************************************** •After reading the book the children make self portraits on sandwich size paper plates. They often use colored paper for the features and yarn for the hair. Next we make apple prints on long narrow strips of paper (from a roll). The children decide how many apples they want to balance on their heads and then print that many with apples dipped in paint. They also get to choose if they want to print yellow apples or red apples or both. After they are dry we attach the long strips of apple print paper to the top of the paper plate self portrait. As if to seem the apples are being balanced on a head. The children can count the apples and write the number on the paper if they are old enough. Each child seems to enjoy pointing out their head and prints to their parent and most count the apples for the parent. *********************************************************************** APPLE CRISP I did this recipe after making apple sauce. I reminded the children that we used a simple machine last time...What was it? .....an apple corer. To make this recipe even more "hands on" for children I purchased an old fashioned "apple peeler". They are now reproducing them (at least here in the East.). Today we talked about a new machine that will help us get the apples ready in a different way for making this recipe. STEP 1 1. Child chooses and washes an apple. 2. Teacher places the apple onto the apple peeler machine. 3. Child turns the crank and watches as the machine peels and slices the apple. (This was a fascinating step for all involved.) 4. Child places the apple slices and counts them into a dish/pan with a little water on the bottom. STEP 2 - The Topping Mix the following ingredients: 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup of flour 1/2 cup of oats 1/2 cup of cinnamon 1/2 cup of nutmeg 1/3 cup of margarine melted in a microwave Mix and stir. Pat topping onto the top of the apples. Bake in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes (or until apples are bubbling and top is hardening). Spoon into individual bowls and leave plenty of time to cool before snack. YUM! For a class of 15 we mixed and used two batches of topping on a large pan. *********************************************************************** • STORY: While the apple crisp was cooking I read "Oats and Wild Apples" by Frank Asch This was a story about a deer who eats wild apples and a calf that eats oats. They become friends and visit each others living area and share some of their food. I draw the similarity that we just used apples and oats in our apple crisp. Deer and Calves like them....let's see if we do too?!? *********************************************************************** •Apple match Cut out apples out of green, yellow and red paper. glue them on a file folder. then have the kids match them by color. Or you can draw shapes on the apples and they can match them. Numbers, Size,or Letters work also. *********************************************************************** •Apple book Cut a red construction paper cover and newsprint pages into an apple shape. As a group, make a book about apples by having the children each dictate a story for you to record on one of the apple-shaped pages. Let each child illustrate his or her story. Then staple the cover and pages together to make an Apple book. Variation: Make a separate book for each child's story. Another variation: Instead of a story, have each child dictate one thing they learned about apples. *********************************************************************** •Apple counting game Glue a felt tree shape to each of five cardboard squares. Write a number from 1 to 5 under each tree. Cut fifteen apple shapes out of felt. To play the game, have the children take turns identifying the numbers below the trees and placing the corresponding numbers of apples on them. *********************************************************************** •Applesauce Sung to: "Yankee Doodle" Peel an apple, cut it up, cook it in a pot. When you taste it you will find it's applesauce you've got! *********************************************************************** •The Star in the Apple Once upon a time there was a little boy who couldn't find anything to play with. He was tired of all his toys and asked his mother if she could please help him find something to do. She thought and thought and finally said, "Why, I know what you can do. You can go outside and look for a little red house that is red and shiny, has no doors, and windows, and has a star inside." He thought it sounded like fun, and easy to find, so outside he went. He looked and looked, but there was no such house to be found. The little boy met a dog and said, "Mr. Dog, would you help me find a little house that is red and shiny, has no doors, and windows, and has a star inside?" The dog said, "Surely," and they went together to find the house. (They meet a cat, horse, cow, and a chicken and go through the same routine.) Then they met a little old woman who had a knife in her hand. The little boy asked her if she had seen a little red house that is red and shiny, has no doors, and windows, and has a star inside. She answered, "Why yes, come along with me and I will find it for you." The little old woman said, "This is where the house is, little boy." The little boy and his friends looked and looked, but could not see the little red house. The old woman picked an apples and asked, "Isn't this round and shiny? It has no doors and no windows. I wonder if there is a star inside." With her knife, she cut the apple horizontally. There was a star! So the little boy found the little red house that is red and shiny, has no doors, and windows, and has a star inside. It's an apple!!