There are so many learning opportunities at home. All you have to do is look around. Today let’s take a peek in your refrigerator. I bet you have an apple or two. Here’s how to have fun and learn with an apple. [/quote]
Math Skills & Language Arts: Explore the apples
What color are apples? What is their shape? Reveal the secret shape inside.
Ask questions and encourage your child to do the same. Cut an apple in half with a horizontal cut separating the top from the bottom. What shape to you see inside the apple? How many seeds can you find? Count them. Sort them. Cut another apple vertically. Does it have the same shape inside? Do you think it will have the same number of seeds? Find out. How does an apple taste? Sweet, sour, good, bad, dry, wet, warm, cold, crunchy…?
Art: Apple Stamp Art
You will need:
two apples
paints & paper plates
paper
knife & cutting board
Create a great work of art with apples:
Take the first apple and cut the apple in half from the top to the bottom.
Take the second apple and cut it right in the middle between the top and the bottom.
With a different color of paint on each plate, place the cut side down in the paint.
Now with each apple STAMP AWAY!!!! Be sure to notice the different prints the apples make based on how they were cut.
Try cutting them in different ways and see what happens.
Social Studies: Where do apples come from?
Ask your child questions like Where do apples come from?Are all apples the same? And discuss. It’s always fun to hear things from their perspective. Here are some interesting apple facts to help your conversation:
The average U.S. consumer eats an estimated 45 pounds of apples a year.
It takes energy from 50 leaves to produce one apple.
Apple trees don’t bear fruit until they are 5 to 8 years old.
Only flowers on the Apple tree that have been pollinated can grow into apples
Apples come from the rose family. That is why they have a rosy aroma.
The Red Delicious, the Golden Delicious and the Granny Smith are the most popular apples in the U.S.
Apples can help you improve your memory.
The old saying “an apple a day, keeps the doctor away” comes from am old English adage, “To eat an apple before going to bed, will make the doctor beg his bread.”
Cooking Projects:
Easy Caramel Apples
What you need
5 medium apples, washed, well dried (If wet the caramel won’t stick)
5 wooden popsicle sticks
1 bag (11 oz.) caramel squares (Some of them have sticks in them already!)
2 Tbsp. water
Make it
INSERT one wooden pop stick into stem end of each apple. Cover large plate with waxed paper; spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
PLACE caramel bits in medium saucepan. Add water; cook on medium-low heat 3 min. or until caramel bits are completely melted, stirring constantly.
DIP apples into melted caramel until evenly coated, spooning caramel over apples if necessary. Allow excess caramel to drip off. Scrape bottoms of apples; place on prepared plate. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Remove from refrigerator 15 min. before serving. Store any leftover apples in refrigerator.
Apple & Cheese Sandwich
whole wheat english muffin, toasted
natural peanut butter
cheddar cheese slice
thinly sliced apple
I bet you can guess what to do next. Toast the muffin, spread on the nut butter, add a slice of cheese and a slice of apple then make a sandwich. Yummy. Believe it or not it also tastes great with a scrambled egg!
Science Projects: Apple Differences & Similarities
What are the differences between raw, cooked, and baked apples?
Cut some apples into slices. Then bake some in the oven, simmer some in butter or oil, boil some in water, freeze some. Then taste them, hold them, touch them… What difference can you taste, smell, see, feel, hear? Drop a frozen slice. What does it sound like? Drop a boiled slice. Does it sound different? Did they change shape when they hit the ground? Why or why not? You and your child can come up with lots of questions and ideas.
Which apple do you like best?
Get a variety of apples slice them up and taste away. Compare and contrast the tastes. Is one crispier than the rest? Juicier? Arrange from sweet to sour. The options are endless.
Outdoor/PE/Gross Motor Skills: Apple Hunt!
Hide the apples around the back yard then have your child search for them. Hide them in plain sight but make your child have to work to get to them; Run up the hill, climb the stairs, jump over the hose etc. Then have your child hide them and you find them!
I hope you enjoy doing these activities at home. You can do them over and over and over again. Repetition is one of the key aspects to learning. Without it infants, toddlers, preschoolers and even adults wouldn’t reach their full learning potential. Children thrive when they have structure, routines, repetition and love. [/quote]
I hope you like this post. I love helping parents, teachers and children learn, grow and become better people! Everyday I'm delighted to spend my day in the place I love with the people I love. If you don't know me already, please read my Teacher Feature.
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