Happy September! I love this time of year…there are apples everywhere! There are so many things you can do with apples, so here are 8 of our favorite apple activities for preschoolers.
1. Homemade Applesauce
This recipe is fun to make with your preschooler, and it tastes so good! It reminds me of warm apple pie filling. To get the recipe, see this post.
2. Apple Play Dough
This recipe uses REAL apples to make play dough! Smells so good, too! Find the recipe right here.
3. Graphing Apples
Take a poster board and draw 3 vertical lines to set up the bar graph. At the foot of the poster, draw a picture of the apple. Then instruct your child to place all the apples in a line under the correct color. After all the apples are placed on the graph, have your child count the apples. See which color had the most and which one had the least.
4. Painting with Apples
Yesterday, I posted this apple stamping activity. This activity is similar and you can find the details here.
5. Apple Cider Cloud Dough
This is a super simple sensory activity to set up. Kid love playing with cloud dough! Find the details here.
6. Apple Sensory Bin
Let your child explore a fun sensory bin. Here are 2 that we’ve made: (click on the picture to take you to the post.)
7. Taste Test
Slice several apples into pieces. Have your child taste them and have them describe how they taste. Talk about attributes such as sour and sweet. You can even have your child close their eyes before tasting the apple and then have them guess which apple they tasted.
8. Jumping Apple Seeds
This activity is so neat! All you need to do is fill a cup with water, add apple seeds, and place Alka Seltzer tables in the cup. Watch the seeds jump around! They will move for about ten minutes. If you want to watch them jump again, just place another tablet in the water! Kids LOVE this activity. Check out the video here:
If you are looking for more really awesome apple activities, check out my 10 Apple Science Activities for Little Learners. These are not only fun activities, but they explain the WHY behind each experiment. See more here.
I am so happy I found your site. I was completely overwhelmed with starting a preschool program with my son between so may things to teach/do and all the things/supplies needed. Your blog has been a Godsend. I now feel excited and happy to plan! You have so many easy ways to do the activities that dont require a ton of prep ( I work part time and run the household so time is precious).
YAY! I’m so happy to hear this!
Angela, I love your apple activities. I just have one issue. Sorting the apples by color activity is actually sorting by shape. Confusing for kids. I would suggest putting down sheets of colored paper instead.
Thanks so much for all your hard work.
That’s a good point. Thanks for sharing that with me!
Thanks for the great apple experiments! I’m trying the jumping apple seeds today with my grandson.
Love the jumping apple seeds! I’m going to have to start collecting them so we can try that one. #momslibrary
Clare recently posted…Tot School Ideas: Autumn and Fall crafts and activities for toddlers and preschoolers
Can’t WAIT to try this experiments!! I KNOW my kids are going to love this. We love apples and we love group work/projects.
Thanks.
Will be in touch.
NEW DAY!
What great ideas!! Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!
What a great collection of ideas. I’ve seen dancing raisins, but not jumping apple seeds. It might even be fun to do both experiments side by side and compare the reactions.
Shaunna @ Fantastic Fun and Learning recently posted…Apple Cinnamon Sensory Bin
These are great activities! Love the apple graph and the jumping seeds! I will be trying them! Pinning it! Thanks for sharing at Home School After School!
What fun apple activities! I have used raisins for Dancing Raisins, but have never tried Jumping Apple Seeds. Thanks for sharing these ideas.
I love this round up of apple activities!!!! We have an apple unit coming up in our homeschool plans, I am pinning this to reference!
Alex @ TeachThroughPlay recently posted…Sensory Watermelon Painting
Pinned them all! Can’t wait for apple time at our house.
Sarah recently posted…Ultimate Wednesday Sensory Play Party #4
Just wanted to mention that apple seeds can be toxic if chewed by children. Not sure what quantity would become an issue for a toddler, but parents should know this. Kids are notorious for eating stuff they shouldn’t.
Thank you for sharing this advice!