I must not be alone because activities with apples can be found in almost every preschool and elementary school classroom at the start of the school year.

Whether you are looking for something to do in a classroom or just a fun fall activity for the kids at home, this collection of the best apple activities for kids is sure to inspire you this fall. 

These activities with apples would be perfect to go with an apple unit in the classroom or homeschool.  They’d also be a fun addition if you are looking for farm unit ideas. 

You could also use them to celebrate Johnny Appleseed’s birthday on September 26.  

Affiiate links have been provided below.  For more details see my full disclosure. 

Apple Activities for Kids

There are so many awesome apple-themed activities to experience this fall.  

I’ve grouped all the activities below to help you find the perfect activity for your kids.

Apple Math Activities

Apple-Themed Skip Counting  —  Recycle plastic lids into the perfect math manipulatives for an apple unit.  Then use them to work on skip counting skills. 

Apple Sorting  —  Sorting is an important skill for little ones to master.  This apple activity for toddlers and preschoolers is a fun way to work on sorting this fall.  

Pom-Pom Apple Math Activities  —  Pom-poms are perfect for working on sorting, counting, working on patterns, and so much more.  

Fine Motor One-to-One Correspondence — This free printable is perfect for working on counting with toddlers and preschoolers. 

Apple Bowling and Counting Game—  Get your child up and moving with this fun counting activity. 

Addition Apple Math File Folder Game—  This file folder game is perfect for a math center in the classroom or to use in your homeschool.  

Roll & Color Apple Worksheet — Kids love to roll dice.  This fun activity will have kids recognizing shapes and following directions. 

Measure an Apple’s Circumference — Kids will have fun estimating the circumference of different apples and then work on measuring skills to see how close their estimate was.  Which delicious apple will be the biggest?  

Apple Graphing — There are so many fun things you could graph about apples.  This free printable pairs perfectly with a fun fall-themed book.  

Telling Time with Apples—  Make working on telling time more fun with this apple printable! 

Greater Than/Less Than Apple Tree Math— This could be called part craft and part math activity.  It would be fun in a math center. 

Fractions with Apples — Elementary kids will have fun working on fraction skills using these printable apple worksheets. 

STEM Activities with Apples

Apple Wrecking Ball — Kids of all ages will have fun designing and engineering their own wrecking ball using an apple.  

Browning Apple Experiment —  What liquids can keep a cut apple from browning?  Kids will have fun making a hypothesis and testing their ideas in this experiment. 

Apple Volcanoes — Kids love to make things explode and bubble!  This is a fun take on a classic kids science activity. 

Bubbling Apples — This one would be fun to do as a preschool apple unit activity.  

Make Apple Seeds Jump— Can you make apples seeds jump and dance?  Find out how in this simple preschool science activity. 

Growing Germs —  Here’s a fun experiment to show just how germy our hands really can be.  What germs will your apple grow? 

Crystal Apples—  This one is part science and part art  — making it a fun apple STEAM project for kids. 

Apple Reading Activities 

Apple-Themed Sight Word/CVC Word Game— Your child will love this scavenger hunt and reading the words on the apples they collect.  

Bottle Cap Word Sort––  Bottle caps make fun (and inexpensive) manipulatives for this hands-on learning activity.  Kids will take turns sorting the “apples” into the correct basket according to the letter combinations each word starts with.  

Apple Themed Word Bump— If you aren’t familiar with how to play word bump, then you are missing out!  Check out this free printable and fun way to work on spelling and sight words. 

Apple Sight Word Game— Read the word on the apple, then flip it over to see how many points you earn.  How many points can your child get in 1 minute?  Challenge them to beat their score the next time.  So much fun! 

Apple Picking Word Game— Read the word on the paper apple and then you get to “pick it” from the tree.  Perfect for preschool and kindergarten. 

Activities for Ten Apples up on Top —  Ten Apples up on Top is a popular Dr. Seuss book for fall.  Check out these fun  Dr. Seuss book activities to go with the book.

Apple Emergent Reader— Preschoolers and kindergartners will love coloring their very own reader. 

Apple Books 

Apples by Gail Gibbons  — Learn all about this fantastic fruit and how people use it in this brightly-illustrated picture book.

Bad Apple: A Tale of Friendship by Edward Hemingway — What happens when an apple becomes friends with a worm?  Poor Mac the apple gets called names, but learns to stand up to the bullies when he decides he’d rather be a “rotten apple” with his friend than a lonely apple.

Ten Apples up on Top! by Dr. Seuss  — Just how many apples can you balance on your head? Kids of all ages will find themselves laughing at this classic book.  

Curious George Apple Harvest by H.A. Rey  —  As usual, George’s curiosity gets the best of him in this fun book.  Will George be able to collect all the apple cider and stop the machine,  or will he find himself in a sticky situation?

How Do Apples Grow? by Betsy Maestro  —  Have you ever eaten part of a flower? You have if you have eaten an apple! Find out how an apple grows from bud to flower to fruit–ready for you to pick!

Johnny Appleseed by Steven Kellogg  —  Find out all about one of America’s legends in this colorful and beautifully illustrated book.  

Apple Sensory Activities

Apple-Scented Bubble Dough  —  Find out how 2 simple ingredients can make the most amazing, super soft playdough you’ve ever seen.  Plus, it smells great!

Apple-Scented Cloud Dough—  Here’s another fun, and super simple homemade playdough that smells like apples. 

Apple-Scented Water Beads— Water beads are fun to squish and play with.  Find out how you can make them scented for fall. 

Apple Tasting— When it comes to apple sensory activities, don’t forget the easiest and most delicious one!  

Apple Sensory Bin— This brightly colored sensory bin will inspire you to create your very own. 

Apple Crafts

Apple Stamping Craft— Make art with apples!  This is a classic apple craft for toddlers and preschoolers.  

Apple Suncatcher— Sun catchers are always a fun craft for kids.  This one looks so pretty in the window.

Torn Paper Craft—  Ripping paper is a fun way for kids to strengthen hand muscles.  Use those torn bits to make this fun apple craft for preschoolers. 

Tissue Paper Apple— Here’s another fun way to use torn paper for a kids craft.

Sew a Paper Apple— Work on early sewing skills with this simple paper craft. 

Cereal Apple Tree— Check out how your child can use their favorite cereal to make this apple tree craft.

Pine Cone Apple— This is the most adorable kindergarten apple craft!  It’s one the kids will be proud of. 

Felt Apple Pie— Kids will have so much fun building their own apple pies using this DIY pretend play kit using felt. 

Apple Snacks Kids Can Make

Apple Cars —  These adorable cars made from apple slices are perfect for kids to build and eat. 

Homemade Applesauce—  Making applesauce with the kids is an easy and fun way to enjoy this tasty fruit. 

Homemade Apple Pie—  No apple unit is complete without making apple pie.  

Crunchy Apple Chips—  Make healthy and delicious apple chips with the kids to munch on while reading some of your favorite books. 

These apple activities for kids are perfect for creating your own apple unit this fall.

You may also want to check out:

• 20 Crafts and Activities with Real Leaves
• 30+ Hands-On STEM Activities 
• Halloween Party Ideas 

Originally published August 5, 2016.

The post The BEST Apple Activities for Kids first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

When it comes to apple activities for kids, this skip counting activity with apples is perfect for preschool and kindergarten.  

Practicing skip counting helps kids in math later on when they start working on multiplication and division facts.    We also had fun with this outdoor skip counting activity.

Skip Counting Activity with Apples

You can make your very own apple-themed math manipulatives with plastic bottle caps and a black permanent marker.    (You can also do lots of fun apple-themed math activities with pom-poms.) 

Plastic bottle caps and lids are super handy when it comes to inexpensive learning materials.  I have a small box where I toss them until I want to use them for something.  

For this apple math activity, you will want to use bottle caps that are red, green, and yellow to match the colors of apples.  (If you can’t find caps in those colors, the caps can be spray painted red.)

Don’t have a big lid collection?  You could also cut apples from cardstock.  Draw simple circle apples and your child can even help cut them out for some built-in scissor practice!

To create manipulatives for skip counting, determine what your child needs to work on.  

I decided to make one set of apples to practice counting by 5’s up to 100 because both of my kids were working on this.  I simply wrote the numbers on the lids with a black permanent marker (5, 10, 15…)   

Of course, you could make a set to work on counting by 2’s, 10’s, or any other number as well.  And, you don’t have to go all the way to 100, or you could make your set go further.  

Make this skip counting activity fit the needs of your individual child.

There are several ways you can use your “apples.”  

First, have your child put them in order to practice skip counting.  

Then, try setting up the numbers in order and removing some of the plastic bottle caps.  

Have your child tell you which numbers need to go in the empy spots.  

You can also use the lids to practice skip counting backwards.

Want to make it more challenging?

You can throw in some random numbers that would not be used when counting by 5’s, such as “12.”

More Apple Themed Skip Counting Activities for Kids

Add some movement to the activity by placing the “apples” around the house and have your child “pick them” in the correct order.

Use the apples to work on comparisons.  On a white board draw a greater than/less than sign and have them choose two apples to put on the white board to make the greater than/less than statement true.

Like this idea?

You might want to check out our other apple-themed learning activities!

• Apple-Themed CVC Word Scavenger Hunt
• Apple Tasting
• Apple-Scented Bubble Dough

The post Apple-Themed Skip Counting Activity first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

And when it comes to an apple unit, this apple pie recipe for kids is sure to be a big hit. 

Cooking with kids is a fun way to work on math skills and following directions.

You’ll also want to check out this simple homemade butter recipe to try! 

Apple Pie Recipe for Kids

Ingredients:

• 6 large Granny Smith apples
• pre-made pie crust  (or make your own)
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspooon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons butter
• milk, cinnamon, and sugar (for crust top)

How to Bake a Homemade Apple Pie

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.  Place bottom crust into pie pan.

3.  Peel and cut 6 large Granny Smith apples.  (When working with kids, peel the apples first and cut them into thick slices.  This makes it easier for them to then cut the apple slices into cubes.)

4.  Mix 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice, and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves.   (Lots of great measuring opportunities for the kids here!)

5.  Carefully toss the flour and spice mixture with the apples, making sure each apple is coated.

6.  Pour apple mixture into bottom pie crust.

7.  Top apples with 2 tablespoons of butter, cut into small pieces.

8.  Fit top crust over apple mixture and press crust edges together to seal.  We used mini play dough cutters to cut some cute shapes into our top crust first!  If you don’t do this, then make sure you cut slits in the top crust to create steam vents.

9.  Brush the top crust with milk.  (At this point we opted to shake a  mixture of cinnamon and sugar on the top.  Kids LOVE to shake ingredients!)

10.  Bake 40-45 minutes.  The pie should be golden and the apples fork tender when finished.

The hardest part is waiting for it to bake!  (And to cool off afterwards!)  We used the time to clean up the kitchen, always an important step in baking, and then to run some energy off outside on the swings.

Baking apple pie with the kids was a perfect (and sweet) way to end our apple unit.

You may also like:

• Apple-Themed Skip Counting Activity 
• Easy to Make Apple-Scented Bubble Dough 

The post Baking with Kids: Simple Apple Pie Recipe first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

With the leaves beginning to change, we just couldn’t resist making a batch of this super soft apple scented playdough, perfect for the start of fall.

There are so many fun ways to make shampoo playdough.   Each recipe creates a super soft homemade play dough your child will want to play with again and again.

This apple playdough is perfect for an apple unit in preschool or kindergarten. 

It would also be fun to make as an after school activity with your kids at home.  

Affiliate links have been used below.  See my full disclosure for more details. 

Apple Scented Playdough

Before mixing up your dough, set up your play area with a few apple tree leaves, small sticks, and fall-shaped cookie cutters.

This will help inspire your preschooler when it comes to exploring the dough.  

Materials Needed:

• Apple Scented Shampoo
• Corn Starch
• Green Food Coloring (optional)
• Bowl 
• Measuring Cup
• Spoon 

To make your no cook apple playdough, begin by measuring 1 cup of corn starch and dumping it in your bowl.  This is the perfect time to work on measuring skills with your child! 

Add 1/2 cup of your apple scented shampoo and stir.  You can also add in 3-4 drops of green food coloring if desired.  

Mix thoroughly with your spoon.  Or, your child may decide to just start mixing it by hand.  

For a bit of added fun, you can add some “apple seeds.” 

For our apple seeds we used watermelon seeds that I had I saved for crafting.  It would take a lot of apples to get that many seeds!

Melting Playdough

Shampoo play dough is a very soft play dough, and when mixed together it will hold its shape for a bit before slowly “melting.”   That’s because it’s a non-Newtonian fluid, much like Oobleck.  

Your child will have lots of fun playing with their fall scented playdough and watching their creations slowly melt down.  

Apple Play Dough

Here are a few more playdough recipes you may love this fall.  

• Apple Pie Playdough — This homemade play dough smells just like an apple pie.  
• Apple-Cinnamon Dough — Discover how you can use real apples to make your very own scented playdough.  
• No-Cook Apple Dough — Preschoolers will love this apple and cinnamon scented dough. 

Apple is one of my favorite fall-inspired scents.  I think we may need to make this apple scented playdough again before the end of fall.

You may also like:

• Apple Themed Skip Counting Activities 
• Preschool Apple Themed Activities from Teaching 2 & 3 Year Olds
• Apple Themed Sight Word Game 
• Taste-Safe Cloud Dough 

The post Easy to Make Apple-Scented Bubble Dough Recipe first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Along with reading plenty of fun apple picture books, we’ve enjoyed a variety of apple activities for kids, including plenty of fun math and science.  

After a recent trip to the grocer we headed home for a bit of delicious apple tasting activity.

We all agreed, this fun apple sensory activity was the most delicious one yet.  

Apple Tasting Activity 

To do your own apple tasting activity, you will want a variety of fresh apples.   Try Honey Crisp, Gala, Granny Smith, and Red Delicious, to name just a few.  

Start by looking at the different varieties and discussing their different colors and sizes.  

Have your child make a hypothesis about which apple will be the sweetest, the most tart, and which will be the crunchiest.  If you want to get serious, have your child write down their guesses so you can compare them later to your results.  

Next, carefully use a knife to slice into your first apple.  Place your apple pieces into a bowl and use a small notecard to label the bowl so you know which apple variety it is.  

Do this with each of your apples.  

Now for the fun part… Time to sample all the apples!

As you taste each apple, ask your child to describe it.  

• What color is it?  Red?  Light green?  Pink? 
• Is it sweet?  Tart?
• Is it very crunchy?  A little soft?  
• How does it smell?  

While your child describes the apples, write down their answers.  (For older children you can have them record the results all on their own.)

You can stop there, and see how close your child’s earlier hypothesis was about which would be the crunchiest, sweetest, etc.  

Or, take your apple sensory activity a bit further and choose two to compare in a Venn diagram.  

Simply draw two large circles that overlap on paper or a white board.  You can also find pre-made Venn diagrams online you can print out.

Choose two apples to compare, and label each circle with one type of apple.  

Then write down words that describe each apple in the correct circle.  Things the apples have in common go in the middle.

We compared Granny Smith and Red Delicious apples.   My first grader was able to use our descriptions we had written down earlier to fill in her chart.  

We had so much fun with this simple apple tasting activity.  It’s definitely one of our favorite fall sensory activities.  

More apple activities:

• Apple Stamping Craft
• Apple-Themed CVC/Sight Word Game
• Baking with Kids: Apple Pie Recipe

The post Apple Tasting first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Each morning we have read an apple-themed book followed by one of our apple activities for kids that ties in with the book.   

After reading our latest book, I knew we HAD to do apple stamping that day!

Affiliate links have been used in the post below.  

I’d always done apple stamps with the apples cut in half vertically, which makes an apple print that looks like an apple.  Apples, Apples, Apples is a cute book that talks about a variety of apples and includes a yummy apple recipe as well as directions to stamp with the apples in a different way…making star shapes!

Following the book’s directions, I used the cores from the apples we taste-tested in the morning and cut across them horizontally, allowing the star pattern to appear.

I also cut one small, spotted apple in half vertically.

These apples became our stamps.   I poured red, green, and yellow paint into some shallow dishes and called the kids to the kitchen for our apple craft.

We learned quickly that if you got too much paint on your apple it would leave a gloppy print behind.  Using a few paper towels to blot some of the excess off before stamping the paper really helped!

My son was excited to see the star shapes appear on his paper, just like we saw in the book!

My daughter goes with “you can never have too much” when it comes to painting.   She made some lovely yellow stars with the apple stamps.  Then she got a paintbrush and got creative!

You could use the apple stamping to create some lovely homemade wrapping paper and gift cards.  Or just make some pretty pictures to decorate the doors this fall!

Be sure to check out some of our other apple activities!

• Apple-Themed Math Activities
• Apple-Themed CVC Word Game
• Ten Apples up on Top! Activities

The post Apple Stamping Craft first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.