Although fall isn't my favorite season, I've always loved some of the fun things we can do in the fall. From the time the kids were little, we've especially enjoyed all kinds of apple themed activites when the weather begins to get a little cooler and fall is in the air. Here are some ideas to use when putting together your own apple themed unit study.
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Books to Read
How Do Apples Grow by Betsy Maestro- Following the life cycle of an apple, this book would be one to use when practicing putting events in a book in order.
Johnny Appleseed by Jodie Shepherd- This is a sweet version of the story of the man who spread apple trees across the United States.
Apples by Gail Gibbons- This is an easy to understand, sstraightforward book with all kinds of apple information from how they grow to their history in America. I love Gail Gibbons' illustrations!
How to Make An Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman- Want to work some geography into your apple unit? This is a fun book that takes readers all over the world to gather ingredients for an apple pie. Of course you can make the apple pie at the end.
The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons- This is another Gail Gibbons book with great illustrations. This one focuses on the different seasons and the life cycle of an apple.
Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington- In this book with sweet illustrations, children will read about the life of a busy apple farmer and how she harvests and uses her apples. There are some yummy recipes for apple goodies to try.
Apples, Apples Everywhere by Robin Koontz- This book all about apple harvesting time would be a good one to read as preparation for a trip to the apple orchard.
Seed graphing- Buy apples at the store and have the whole family eat an apple. Use the apple seeds to make a three dimensional pictograph that shows the number of seeds in each apple. (For more apples and a better graph, invite some friends over and have apples as your snack.)
Apple sorting- Let little ones sort apples by color. Use real apples or draw and color in apples and then let little ones sort them into a container based on color.
Use thumbprints to make apples with this cute counting idea. If you have older kids, you could adapt this by having them illustrate simple addition, subtraction, multiplication or division problems with their apple prints.
How various liqids affect apples- Try this experiment to learn how different liquids affect cut up pieces of apple.
Use this How An Apple Grows free printable mini book to talk about the life cycle of an apple.
Erupting apples- Try this experiment to see the traditional baking soda and vinegar eruption in a fall themed way.
Draw an apple life cycle- Draw a large apple on construction paper. Divide your apple into four sections and illustrate the parts of an apple's life cycle on each section- seed, tree, flower, apple.
Grow your own apple tree. After eating an apple take the seeds from the apple and place them in a plastic bag long with a moist paper towel. Place the bag in the sun. Keep the paper towel moist. After some time, you'll see the seeds begin to sprout. When your sprout gets bigger, you can plant your tree outside- or in a pot if it's not the weather for planting yet- and start a little apple tree.
Mini applesauce muffins- These muffins are easy enough to make with the kids and look delicious!
Make apples pizza by coring an apple, slicing it into rings, and garnishing each ring with peanut butter and your favorite toppings- raisins, chocolate chips, coconut, and more.
Crockpot applesauce- Try this simple recipe for crockpot applesauce with the kids.
Kids can help make and decorate these cute mini candy apples.
Have your child practice fine motor skills. Print a large picture of an apple tree. Put small pom poms of red, green, yellow- apple colors- in a bowl. Let your child use tongs to put the pom pom apples on the tree and take them off. This was also be a good activity for color sorting.
Create an apple themed sensory bin with apple scented cloud dough and apple items. You can find instructions and ideas here.
Practice capital "A" and lowercase "a" with this fun apple tree activity.
Use this idea to let little ones watch apple seeds "jump."
One of our favorite fall field trips is a visit to the apple orchard. Pick apples or watch them being harvested and enjoy yummy apple goodies.
If you can't make it to the apple orchard, watch this video for a virtual trip.
Johnny Appleseed by Jodie Shepherd- This is a sweet version of the story of the man who spread apple trees across the United States.
Apples by Gail Gibbons- This is an easy to understand, sstraightforward book with all kinds of apple information from how they grow to their history in America. I love Gail Gibbons' illustrations!
How to Make An Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman- Want to work some geography into your apple unit? This is a fun book that takes readers all over the world to gather ingredients for an apple pie. Of course you can make the apple pie at the end.
The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons- This is another Gail Gibbons book with great illustrations. This one focuses on the different seasons and the life cycle of an apple.
Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington- In this book with sweet illustrations, children will read about the life of a busy apple farmer and how she harvests and uses her apples. There are some yummy recipes for apple goodies to try.
Apples, Apples Everywhere by Robin Koontz- This book all about apple harvesting time would be a good one to read as preparation for a trip to the apple orchard.
Math Ideas
Seed graphing- Buy apples at the store and have the whole family eat an apple. Use the apple seeds to make a three dimensional pictograph that shows the number of seeds in each apple. (For more apples and a better graph, invite some friends over and have apples as your snack.)
Apple sorting- Let little ones sort apples by color. Use real apples or draw and color in apples and then let little ones sort them into a container based on color.
Use thumbprints to make apples with this cute counting idea. If you have older kids, you could adapt this by having them illustrate simple addition, subtraction, multiplication or division problems with their apple prints.
Science Ideas
How various liqids affect apples- Try this experiment to learn how different liquids affect cut up pieces of apple.
Use this How An Apple Grows free printable mini book to talk about the life cycle of an apple.
Erupting apples- Try this experiment to see the traditional baking soda and vinegar eruption in a fall themed way.
Draw an apple life cycle- Draw a large apple on construction paper. Divide your apple into four sections and illustrate the parts of an apple's life cycle on each section- seed, tree, flower, apple.
Grow your own apple tree. After eating an apple take the seeds from the apple and place them in a plastic bag long with a moist paper towel. Place the bag in the sun. Keep the paper towel moist. After some time, you'll see the seeds begin to sprout. When your sprout gets bigger, you can plant your tree outside- or in a pot if it's not the weather for planting yet- and start a little apple tree.
Cooking Ideas
Mini applesauce muffins- These muffins are easy enough to make with the kids and look delicious!
Make apples pizza by coring an apple, slicing it into rings, and garnishing each ring with peanut butter and your favorite toppings- raisins, chocolate chips, coconut, and more.
Crockpot applesauce- Try this simple recipe for crockpot applesauce with the kids.
Kids can help make and decorate these cute mini candy apples.
Preschool Fun
Have your child practice fine motor skills. Print a large picture of an apple tree. Put small pom poms of red, green, yellow- apple colors- in a bowl. Let your child use tongs to put the pom pom apples on the tree and take them off. This was also be a good activity for color sorting.
Create an apple themed sensory bin with apple scented cloud dough and apple items. You can find instructions and ideas here.
Practice capital "A" and lowercase "a" with this fun apple tree activity.
Use this idea to let little ones watch apple seeds "jump."
Field Trips
One of our favorite fall field trips is a visit to the apple orchard. Pick apples or watch them being harvested and enjoy yummy apple goodies.
If you can't make it to the apple orchard, watch this video for a virtual trip.
With some apple themed learning, I can enjoy the change of the season and the fun we can have in fall. Do you have any other great apple themed activities?
Leah Courtney is a homeschooling mom of four. Her days are filled with being a mom, homemaker, and teacher. In her (very rare) free time, she enjoys blogging, reading, and reviewing books and curricula. These days she’s learning the joys of being a mom of teens. You can read about her family and homeschooling life at As We Walk Along the Road.
