September is always an easy month to study apples in Preschool and Toddler curriculum. Apples provide a great way to explore colors, letters, and shapes and offer fall-outing ideas – all important developmental steps.
One fun activity we love to do each fall is Apple Math. You’ll need to:
- Gather apples
- Draw your apple grid
- Make predictions
- Taste apples
- Paint with apples
We usually do this activity together at home, but there is no reason this activity could not be completed with siblings, in a homeschool group, as a classroom activity, or just among friends.
Apple Science Experiment
The main point of the activity is to compare and contrast the differences between different kinds of apples. You can make this as simple or complicated as you want. We usually get 1 apple of each color (red, green, yellow), then a couple of different red ones. I try to play into the varieties that I know will offer variety.
One way to gather apples is to go to a local orchard or farmers’ market. Sometimes we walk the aisles of a grocery store, talk about variety, make observations, and talk about money. Or, you can make it easy on yourself and just add the varieties of apples to your grocery order and let someone else do the picking!!
Since taste is one of the main observations you will make during the experiment, make sure to clean and wash your apples.
Once you have your apples, set up your station for the science experiment.
- Set your apples to the side
- Draw out your grid
- Get markers or a pen
- Get a knife and cutting board
- Get a plate and napkins/paper towel
Drawing your grid is easy. The left axis will record the apples, one row for each apple. The top axis will record each area you want to measure, so a column for each variable. Some variables to measure could include color, shape, bottom, stem, and taste. I usually draw my grid on the inside of a pizza box or some other scrap piece of paper. I like it to be stiff, but you could totally print off a grid from the computer and fill it in.
<grid example>
If your child can write or draw, let them help fill out the grid as you make observations. Complete observations for each variable and then move to the next. Meaning determine the color of each apple. Then, determine the shape. And repeat for each variable.
When it comes to taste, maybe make a column to guess and then another for the actual flavor. They might be surprised!!
If you are planning to do apple painting with these apples when you are finished, make a flat cut across the middle of the apple. Cut some across the middle top to bottom and across the fat part of the middle. Some apples have a star shape in the core around the seeds. It’s a fun surprise for kids to see and makes cool shapes when painting.
Save half of the apple to paint, usually, the side that will be easiest for a small hand to hold. And cut the other side to taste. Make sure to keep the knife and cutting board out of the reach of your children.
Once you’ve made all observations, ask your child if they were surprised by anything. Just do fun things to help them see that science is fun. And they did learning and observing today, and you are proud of them!!
Apple Painting
Once you are finished with your apple science experiment, you can use those apples to paint and make fall decor.
- We love the phrase, “Love you a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck.” and this is a perfect place to use that. I wrote out the phrase in permanent marker, and he stamped the apples.
- But, you could write the word LOVE or FALL, and the apple could be the O or the A.
- You could also stamp the apple on a single piece of paper and then go back and write a letter on top to spell out AUTUMN or FALL or just use them to decorate a kid’s space. Or, hang it as a garland across your mantle or playroom.
- During COVID, when the world was shut down, and we couldn’t get out to see other people, I saved all our food boxes and cut them into postcards and wrote: “You are the” at the top and then “of my eye” at the bottom and they had a big apple stamp in the middle. Then, we used white labels on the back and mailed them to friends across the country.
There are so many possibilities. Of course. Make time to taste the apples along the way. Playing with fruits and vegetables in this way gives kids a way to explore something they may not think they like to eat, but with a little ownership, they will usually change their minds.
Cook Apple Dumplings or make this fun Crockpot Apple Butter and spread it on biscuits.
I also love hanging my son’s artwork up as part of our seasonal decorations. It gives him pride in our home and ownership in the process of keeping our house clean and sharing it with others.
If you are looking for other preschooler activities, don’t miss these fun ideas.
