Leaves and Apples

Fall is in full swing here.  We've been busy baking (apple crisp and apple sauce- yum!), raking leaves and even getting out some of the Halloween decor.  Here are a few crafts we've done but I hadn't gotten around to posting yet.
Yarn Apples (tutorial found here)

Crayon Leaves (tutorial found here)

We also made a paper plate apple.  Eva started by painting the center of a red paper plate white.

Then when that dried, she added a stem and leaf and used a Q-tip to paint on the seeds.

She also has been having a blast playing in the leaves.

Eva's Apple Farm

We had so much fun at the apple orchard yesterday that we decided to make our own apple farm!  I cut out four trees and glued them to a piece of paper.  Then I asked Eva to tell me some numbers.  She chose 4, 2, 5 and 3 and I wrote them on the trunk of each tree.  Eva then used her red paint dabber to make the corresponding number of apples on each tree.

A quick, fun craft and great practice for counting!  When the apples were dry I hung it with some of her other fall masterpieces.  This simple gallery is just a piece of twine hanging from a nail that was already in the door and clothespins to hold the artwork in place.

Apple Picking

We went to the apple orchard yesterday to pick some apples.  It was so much fun!

When we got home we counted the apples (21!) and sorted them into three categories- red, green and both red and green.

We recited a favorite apple poem as we worked:

Apple, apple green

Apple, apple red

An apple fell on Eva's head!

We also made some apple prints.  I cut the apples in half and pushed plastic forks in to use as handles.  It worked really well and made it so much easier for Eva to lift the apples out of the paint and off the paper.

I cored one of the halves so that the "star" was visible like Stacie at the Amazing Mess did and Eva used white paint to stamp some apple blossoms along with her apples.

Apple Sequencing

We've been talking a lot about how trees change through the seasons so I made a simple apple tree sequence for Eva to work with.  On 4x6 index cards I drew an apple tree in each season and then let Eva put them in order.

The winter tree is bare, the spring one has blossoms, the summer ones has smal green apples and the fall on has big red ones.  They were such a big hit, I made another apples sequence for her too.

Apple Pie Playdough

I made a fresh batch of playdough especially for apple week.  Rather than putting in food coloring or Kool-Aid, I just added a few shakes of cinnamon and nutmeg.  It has a nice crust color to it and it smells heavenly!  Eva set out with her rolling pin, a few small pie tins and some pom pom "apples" and got to baking.

Apples Aplenty

One of the yummiest things about fall is all the apples!  We live in the heart of apple country so there is no shortage of apple related fun.

Crafts
Apple Prints- no apple week is complete without these

Apple Tree Counting Craft- we'll make a few trees and then dab on apples to practice counting

10 Apples up on Top- like the story book, we'll be stacking paper apples

Sliced Apple- we'll use a Q-tip to paint the seeds on our own cross section of an apple

Yarn Apples- we'll be making these cuties using yarn and pipe cleaners

Activities
Apple Picking- we'll take a trip to an apple orchard to pick some of our own apples

Apple Sequencing- Eva will learn about the lifecycle of an apple

Apple Festival- if we get a chance, we'll head to a local town's apple festival

Apple Pie Playdough- I made a batch of playdough scented with cinnamon for Eva to pretend to make pies with

Cooking
There are so many things to make with apples.  We'll try our hand at applesauce, apple crisp and even do some apple tasting.

Songs and Finger Plays
Two Little Apples
Ten Little Apples
Apple, Apple Red

Books