AUTUMN IS FOR APPLE PICKING

Ahh, Autumn is here, and while I know that means I am that much closer to winter---the dreadful season in my opinion--, I still love fall for its beautiful foliage, baking pies, and apple picking. Don’t get me wrong, winter has its perks for building a snowman and singing Anna and Elsa’s “Let It Go”, but I don’t like being cold, so there’s that. Every autumn, my husband and I research orchards for fall festivities for the children, and while it may be for the children, I am secretly excited for the festivities. There is so much learning and fun that can happen just from picking apples! This year, we went to Demarest Farm, located in New Jersey. 

So, here is a list of things  you can do with your little learners after apple picking: 

Counting Apples
Children need many opportunities to count just like they need many opportunities to count objects. Ask the kiddies to help you count those apples as they put them one by one into the sink for a washing. As they count, pay attention to see if your child is using one-to-one correspondence (touching each apple once and pairing it with the correct verbal count). If your child is holding the second apple from the bag, then he or she should verbally say two.

Sorting Apples
Once  you’re back home and have given the apples a wash, ask the kiddos to sort them by color. Sorting is an important math skill for preschoolers and what better way than to sort apples they have just picked?! You can take it a step further after sorting and ask them to compare the groups. Which group has more or less, and don’t forget to always follow up with, how do you know. Getting children to explain their mathematical thinking early on is a step in the right direction. Even if their answers are as simple as, “This one has a lot, that’s how I know”. It tells you that they are able to visually discriminate between the groups and will eventually be able to say, “because I know ____ is a bigger number than____”. 

Science With Apples
Now we’re moving on to the fun and tasty part, not that counting and sorting aren't fun, but who doesn’t like to eat apples in a variety of ways?! I mean, come on, that’s the best part of fall.  You can eat your apple whole, sliced, or sauce. If you make apple sauce, get the kids involved. Children love helping out in the kitchen and it's a way to sneak in all those important learning concepts for literacy, math, and science. Here is the recipe I used to make my delicious apple sauce:

Apple Sauce Recipe

Materials:

• 8 apples
• vegetable peeler
• apple slicer
• cinnamon
• medium saucepan
• blender 

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1. Pick your choice of apples, preferably sweet apples otherwise your applesauce won’t have that natural sweet flavor. Stay away from Granny Smith (sour!) 
2. Boil 4 cups of water in a medium size pot with cinnamon. Add cinnamon to your preference but I would recommend going easy on the cinnamon. You can always go back to add more once everything is done.
3. Add apples to boiling water, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until apples are soft. Let cool. (save the water when you take the apples out. If you find your sauce to be too thick when you blend it, you can always add some of the water left over in the pot)
4. Depending on how you like your apple sauce, chunky or smooth, follow these steps:

Chunky: Let cool then mash with a fork.
Smooth: Let cool then use a blender to pulse until you reach your desired texture. 
Serve apple sauce warm or chill.

Apple Taste Test
Get the kiddies to do compare flavors. Talk about sweet and tart/sour. Use this FREEBIE Apple Taste Test worksheet for your taste test fun. 

Want more apple worksheets? Visit my store here.

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