It is September and one of my favourite themes for this month is apples!!
BOOKS
Ten apples up on Top by Theo LeSieg
Apples and Pumpkins by Anne F Rockwell
The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall
The Apple Pie that Papa Baked by Lauren Thompson
Curious George Apple Harvest by Lynne Polvino
Amelia Bedilia’s First Apple Pie by Herman Parish
How to Make an Apple Pie and see the World by Marjorie Priceman
SONGS
Down at the corner
For this song you would have different colours of apples and choose how many based on how long you want the song to go for. Each verse has one less apple until all the apples have been taken.
Down at the corner at the grocery shop
There were 10 apples with a leaf on the top
Along came (child’s name) all alone
He/She snatched up an apple and took it home.
Down at the corner at the grocery shop
There were 9 apples with a leaf on the top
Along came (child’s name) all alone
He/She snatched up an apple and took it home.
(Continue down to 1 apple.)
Five Little Apples Hanging in a Tree
I cut these apples out of upholstery samples.
They even have a felt backing so they can be put on a felt board.
You could create a worm out of some panty hose or a sock.
Five Little Apples Hanging in a Tree
Teasing Mr. Slinky Worm, “You can’t catch me, you can’t catch me!”
Along came Mr. Slinky Worm as quiet as can be and
CRUNCHED!!! that apple right out of the tree.
Four…
Three..
Two…
One…
Five Apples in a Pie
Ten Little Apples
You could use the ten different coloured apples and give out the ten animals.
Have the children come up with the animal when it shows up in the chant and take an apple.
Ten Little Apples hanging in a tree.
The Farmer let them be.
Oh, what a treat
Guess who came to eat?
A Horse……MUNCH MUNCH!!
Nine little apples hanging in a tree.
The farmer let them be.
Oh, what a treat.
Guess who came to eat?
A cow…..MUNCH MUNCH!!
Each verse the number goes down and a different farm animal comes to eat…
Goat, Sheep, dog, cat, donkey, Pig, Turkey, Rooster.
There’s an apple on the Floor
Give each child a red poker chip, felt circle or something that could be an “apple”.
They get a chance to try to balance it on the correct body part.
There’s an apple on the floor, on the floor.
There’s an apple on the floor, on the floor.
There’s an apple on the floor, I don’t want there anymore.
There’s an apple on the floor, on the floor.
There’s an apple on my shoe, on my shoe.
There’s an apple on my shoe, on my shoe.
There’s an apple on my shoe, I don’t know what to do.
There’s an apple on my shoe, on my shoe.
…on my knee; I think I have to pee
…on my palm; how can I be calm
…on my neck; what the heck
…on my nose; it’s not what I would have chose
…on my head;this is what I dread
OH NO it fell off…there’s an apple on the floor, on the floor.
CRAFTS
Stained glass using coffee filter
Apple Stamping
Parts of the Apple
Apple Bubble Wrap Painting
Tissue Paper Apple Tree Craft
ACTIVITIES
Visit an apple tree
Find a tree that is walking distance from your home or center and go on a field trip to check it out. If you can visit a farm or orchard with apple trees, even better!!
Apple volcano
You need apples, vinegar, food colouring, baking soda, a spoon and an apple corer or knife.
Core out the middle of the apple but don’t go all the way through.
Spoon in some baking soda almost to the top.
Drop in some food colouring.
Try red, yellow and blue by themselves first then add two of the colours to show what colour they make when combined.
Pour in some vinegar and you have yourself a volcano.
Apple seed counting; different types
Did you know that all apples have a star inside?
Every apple has five seed compartments.
There may be one or more seeds in each one; in this apple one compartment had none!
Apple Stacking
Create an Apple mural with plastic lids
You could draw an outline on paper and even add in the circles to allow for easy placement.
You could use all colors and make a rainbow apple.
SENSORY
Caramel Apple Pie Cookies
A simple treat to make and the children could help assemble the cookies.
Buy tart shells or pie crust and cut circles.
Squirt store bought caramel sauce onto each circle.
Spoon some apple pie filling onto the individual cookies.
Cut the remaining pie dough into lattice slices to criss cross on top.
Sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mix (1/4 cup sugar-1/4 tsp cinnamon)
Bake at 350 for 20-25 min till golden.
Apple Playdough Tray
Sensory Bin
These are some items I might use in an apple sensory bin. Items are in groups of 5 and apple colours of red, green and yellow.
If you wanted something to scoop and dump, oats or Apple Jacks cereal would work well.
Apples is one of my favourite themes for early learning.
You get the chance to incorporate science into your lesson, invoke the senses by adding baking into your planning and maybe go on an inexpensive field trip.