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.

To reinforce what she has been learning, I came up with this simple learning activity with plastic eggs.

We have used plastic eggs for so many learning activities over the years.

My son loved making plastic egg submarines, and this simple contractions activity helped my daughter quickly learn those tricky words.

Plastic Egg Activity to Teach Contractions

Affiliate links have been provided below for your convenience. 

Materials Needed:

• Plastic Eggs
• Black Permanent Marker
• Strips of Paper

To set up the activity, use a black permanent marker to write the two words that form a contraction on each of the plastic eggs.  (You could also use masking tape on the eggs if you don’t want to write on them, but I have found hand sanitizer cleans the marker right off afterwards.)

Then cut strips of paper and write the matching contraction for each egg.

How to Teach Kids Contractions

We did several activities with our plastic eggs.

First, I had her read each plastic egg and then put the corresponding contraction inside the right egg.  This helped reinforce what each contraction stands for.

The next time we played, the contractions were already tucked inside the eggs.

Again I had her read each egg.  This time she guessed what the contraction would be aloud.  Then she opened the egg to see if she was correct.

Then, she wrote the contraction down on her paper.  This reinforced not only what the correct contractions were, but also helped her work on spelling them correctly.

Finally, I put all our eggs in a container.

When I called out a contraction, she had to choose the right egg.  When she opened it up she found the strip of paper to check and see if she had chosen the right egg.

There are so many fun plastic egg activities for kids.

Using the eggs in this activity to teach contractions helped my daughter better understand what each contraction stood for.

You might also like:

• Adorable Sheep and Lamb Crafts 
• 15 Fun Ways to Practice Sight Words at Home
• Using Legos to Teach Sentence Structure

Originally published on March 25, 2015.

The post Plastic Egg Learning Activity: Contractions first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

That’s why I try to come up with lots of new and fun ways to practice spelling words.

This week the snowy weather inspired this spelling word practice for winter.

This simple activity is also a fun sight words practice idea.   Just use your child’s sight word list and let them practice spelling the words and reading them to you.

Affiliate links are provided below.  See my full disclosure for more details. 

Spelling Word Practice for Winter

Materials Needed:

• Letter Tiles
• Snow
• Large, Shallow Container
• Your Child’s Spelling or Sight Word List

Start by putting several inches of snow at the bottom of a large, shallow storage container.

Don’t have snow where you’re at?  You could do this activity using Magic Snow too!  (Put it in the refrigerator first, and it will even be cold like real snow!)

Then get out some letter tiles.  We used our tiles from our Bananagrams game.  (We love using Bananagrams for learning!)

Have your child use their word list to write each word with the letter tiles in the snow.   To add an extra layer of learning, have them say each letter as they add it to the snow.

Once they feel comfortable with the words, you can take the list and give them the words orally to spell.

Sight Word Practice

You can also use this idea to practice sight words.

Have your child use the letter tiles to write their words in the snow.   Then have them read the words aloud to you.

Be sure to give plenty of time to play with the letters in the snow on their own, too!

We had lots of fun writing spelling words in snow.

I hope your child enjoys this spelling word practice for winter as much as mine did.

You may also enjoy these posts:

• Practice Spelling with Kinetic Sand Castles 
• Spelling Practice with Water Beads
• Winter Crafts & Activities 

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Originally published February 18, 2015.

The post Spelling in the Snow first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

These flower activities for kids are the perfect way to welcome the season of spring.   You may also enjoy these flower crafts. 

Flower petals have inspired creative play, science experiments, adorable reading activities, and some creative flower math activities that are sure to make your little one’s imagination bloom.   These activities are perfect for spring.

Your child will also have fun puddle painting. 

Flower Activities for Kids 

Fairy Soup Sensory Play — Your child will love using those colorful blooms in this pretend play activity from There’s Just One Mommy.

ABC Letter Matching —  Preschoolers can create a garden while matching capital and lowercase letters in this simple activity from A Little Pinch of Perfect.

Daffodil Pinwheels — Spring is perfect for this pinwheel from Nurture Store.

Beginning Sounds Sort — Sort objects by their beginning sounds with this flower activity from Pre-K Pages.

Floral Sight Words — Work on sight words with this reading activity from Coffee Cups and Crayons.

Sticky Flower Wall — Fantastic Fun and Learning has a fun way to work on number recognition using flower petals.

Shape Sort — This activity from School Time Snippets is perfect for the youngest learners.

Flower Math Activity — Work on number recognition with this simple activity from No Time for Flash Cards.

Petal Addition — I love this creative hands-on math idea from Fantastic Fun and Learning.

Geo Flowers — Create your own geo-board-inspired flowers in this simple STEAM activity from Little Bins for Little Hands.

Mini Garden — Kids love having their very own garden to take care of like this one from There’s Just One Mommy.

Color-Changing Flowers — Your child will be amazed by this classic science experiment from Little Bins for Little Hands.

Borax Crystal Flowers — Have fun with science and make these flowers from Go Science Girls.

Coffee Filter Bouquet — Science turns art in this activity from There’s Just One Mommy.

Playdough Flower Garden — Little ones will love Fantastic Fun and Learning’s pretend play activity.

These colorful flower activities for kids are a fun way to celebrate the start of spring. 

You may also enjoy:

• Flower Suncatcher Craft
• How to Make Crystal Egg Geodes
• Adorable Sheep Crafts for Kids

The post 15 of the Best Flower Activities for Kids first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Before you pack those colorful eggs away for next year, use them for some of these plastic egg activities.

Plastic Egg Activities

There are so many fun ways to use those colorful eggs!   Every year we use our plastic eggs to work on math and reading skills.

They are great for hands-on learning.

Below you will find activities for math, reading, and STEM.

Math Activities with Plastic Eggs

Easter Egg Math Hunt — Elementary kids will have fun with this scavenger hunt idea.  

Color Matching Easter Egg Activity:   Toddlers can work on colors with this simple plastic egg game.

Preschooler Plastic Eggs Activities:  Toddlers and preschoolers will love using those plastic eggs for sorting, patterns, and even a memory game.

Number Recognition:   Here is a super easy to set up idea to work on number skills with your toddler or preschooler.

Plastic Egg Counting:  Use those eggs to work on counting and one-to-one correspondence with this simple activity.

Patterning Activity:  There are lots of ways to use those leftover plastic eggs to work on patterning skills.

Plastic Egg Addition Game:  Help children understand how to set up and solve equations with this printable game.

DIY Nesting Math Eggs:  So much more fun than flashcards!  Your child will love solving the math problem and then opening the egg to check their answers with this plastic egg math activity.

Multiplication Eggs:   Older kids can use those eggs to work on math skills, like multiplication facts.

Reading Activities with Plastic Eggs

Easter Egg Alphabet Order Game :   This is a fun way for your preschooler to have fun working on ABC order.

Sight Word Sensory Bin :  Younger siblings will enjoy this easy to set up sensory bin, and early readers will have fun using it to work on sight word skills.

Easter Egg Phonics:  Work on CVC words and more with this phonics activity.

Sight Word Egg Hunt:  Create your very own sight word hunt like this one found.

Egg Scavenger Hunt to Make Words:  Make spelling practice more fun with this idea.

Plastic Egg Contractions :   This plastic egg activity  is such a great way to help early readers understand contractions.

Simple Name Game:  Help your toddler identify the letters of their name with this simple activity.

STEM Activities with Plastic Eggs  

Plastic Egg Submarines:   Work on making predictions and learn about what makes objects sink and float by making your very own submarines with this science activity. 

Egg Tower:  How tall of a tower can your child make?

Egg Maracas: Here’s a fun STEAM activity that is perfect for little ones.

This year, after all the egg hunts are finished, send the kids on one final hunt for those colorful eggs.  Then use them in a few of these plastic egg activities.

The post Fun Learning Activities with Plastic Eggs first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

I am always looking for fun ways to work on early reading skills with the kids.  

We love using sight word games as a way to practice not only sight words, but phonics skills as well.  

This week we had fun with several apple themed word games, including DIY word sort games with plastic bottle caps to review letter blends we’ve been working on.

We used this as one of our apple activities for kids during an apple unit in our homeschooling adventures.  But plastic bottle cap activities like this are simple to make and use any time of year.  

Bottle Cap Word Sort Game

Materials Needed:

• Plastic Bottle Caps
• Black Permanent Marker
• Several Small Containers for Sorting
• Sticky Notes or Masking Tape

This word sort activity can be modified to fit each child’s individual needs.  

We have been working on the following diagraphs:  “sh,” “ch,” and “th.”  So these are the ones we used for this activity.  

You can choose to use words with any variety of letter combinations your child is working on.  

Use masking tape or sticky notes to label your plastic containers with the letter blends you choose.  Using tape or sticky notes allows you to reuse the containers for other diagraphs later.  

Next, use your permanent marker to write several words with each letter blend on your plastic lids.  Write one word per bottle cap.  

Have your child sort all the words into the correct containers.  

As they sort the words, have them practice making the sound that each letter blend makes.  So, for “s-h” words, they would say, “shh.”   

Then have them read the whole word as they put the word into the correct container.  

You could do this to sort words with any letter blends your child is working on.  

I plan on adding to our bottle cap word collection throughout the year as we work on new diagraphs and blends for more word sort games. 

Check out how we also used our bottle caps to play this sight word game.

You may also like: 

• Apple Sight Word Game 
• Drive to the Sight Word Activity 
• Using Beads to Work on Spelling Words

The post Bottle Cap Word Sort first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.