The first teacher who captured my attention was in college when my professor had us sort alien cards according to various attributes. I realized there is a different way to teach and learn, and it is fascinating. With the proper fuel—the right learning experience—we can all have fun learning and will crave more. These apple science activities involve inquiry, discovery, and hands-on learning. Check out each part of All About Apples; your preschoolers will be craving more of that sweetness!
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Apple Lesson plans
Parts of an Apple
Labeling a Diagram
A new discovery for my tots: When you slice an apple in half, the seeds are splayed out in a star. I felt like a magician when I showed them this because of the amazed looks on their faces. Incredible!
As I cut the apple apart, we talked about the various parts. Starting with the skin, I said, “This is the skin. Hmm. We have skin on our bodies, too. What do you suppose the skin does?” It protects the precious fruit and our precious bodies, of course!
Then, I showed them the stem and asked, “What does it look like to you?” Instantly, the answer was, “Stick!” And so I asked, “Why is it a stick?” It was a little more difficult for my little ones to figure out that it was because it grew on a tree, but it was okay.
Asking questions like this is a great way to engage children in inquiry and can lead to them critically thinking about other things, too! That’s our goal – to make them critical thinkers. Boom!
After teaching them the parts of an apple, we sorted the cards on the chart using Velcro dots to hold them in place. Because the labels include pictures, the students could label the apple independently at the science center.
Materials:
Parts of an Apple
Vocabulary Game
My favorite guilty pleasure is solving logic puzzles. When I was in college, I started as a math major. I secretly wished to sit in a cubicle all day solving exciting math problems like logic puzzles. Unfortunately, reality set in (AKA my mother), and I discovered no such job existed. It’s okay. I became a teacher!
This next activity involves logic – at a toddler’s level, of course.
First, set up rows of the same color and columns with matching parts of an apple. Next, have the kiddos close their eyes, which is, oh, so hard for a toddler to do without peeking. Secretly remove one card and have them open their eyes. Finally, see if they can determine which card was missing. For example, the green seed is missing from the picture at the bottom.
Once they get the hang of that, take out several cards and have each student come up one at a time to place a card back in the chart where it belongs.
This is such a neat way to learn vocabulary for this science exploration!
Materials:
Seasons of the Apple Tree
Apple Science Activities
I love it when museums incorporate interactive elements like objects to lift, buttons to push, or levers to pull. Even as an adult, I can’t resist getting hands-on with those activities!
That’s the inspiration behind this flipbook I created to help students explore the seasons of the apple tree.
The front of the flipbook features colorful images representing each season. When you lift a flap, you’ll see a picture of the apple tree as it appears during that specific time of year.
Use the full-color flipbook as a guide in your apple science center, then provide black-and-white copies for your kiddos to color as they explore the center. It’s a fun, interactive way for them to learn while creating their version of the seasons!
Materials:
Apple Investigation
Apple Science Activities
We see apples almost every day, but have we ever truly stopped to explore them? Now is the perfect time to dive deeper and discover more about one of our most familiar fruits: the apple.
To kick things off, I modeled the steps using my apple. First, we examined the colors closely. My apple had beautiful shades of yellow with red stripes, and we carefully colored those details on our recording sheet.
Next, we measured its height using snap cubes and colored the corresponding blocks on the sheet. After that, we searched for a stem and leaf, weighed the apple using larger blocks to keep the numbers manageable (under 10!), and tested whether it would sink or float by placing it in a tub of water.
This simple activity sparks so much curiosity and learning. It’s incredible how many little discoveries can be made with just one apple! Love, love, love this activity!
Materials:
- All About Apples
- apples
- snap cubes
- balance scale
- heavy blocks or rocks
- tub full of water
- knife (for adult to cut open apple)
Life Cycle of an Apple
Sequencing Events
Preschoolers, pre-k, or kindergarteners can discover all about apples with this hands-on apple life cycle spinner to go with an apple preschool theme. These apple science activities are for learning about the life cycle of an apple. Includes an apple worksheet to sequence the events in an apple life cycle. Perfect hands-on apple activities for your science center!
While life cycles may seem obvious to us as adults, it’s always fascinating to see how our little ones are beginning to understand how things grow and change. To help my kiddos grasp the concept, I used the Apple Life Cycle Spinner to walk them through each stage of an apple’s development.
We also watched a time-lapse video of an apple growing from flower to fruit, which brought the life cycle to life! You can check it out here:
After the video, each child received an apple life cycle poster (like the one at the top). They practiced their scissor skills by cutting the life cycle cards from the bottom of the poster (yay, fine motor development!) and then glued the pictures in order—from seed to fully grown apple. It’s a fantastic, hands-on way to apply what they’ve learned!
Materials:
- All About Apples
- lamination
- brad
- scissors
- crayons
Favorite Apple
Class Graph
Who doesn’t love when the teacher brings in food? Instantly, I’d be hooked on whatever lesson was being taught—just because there was something to eat!
For this activity, we explored three apples of different colors. Each child got a slice in their bowl, and we all tasted them together. First, we bit into the red apple, describing its texture and flavor. Is it sweet? Tangy? Sour? Soft? Crisp? We did the same for the other apples, noting any differences.
Then came the fun part—voting!
Each child used a dot marker to add a dot to our favorite apple graph, learning to start at the bottom and add one dot per box. We then counted the totals for each color, and I modeled how to write tally marks for each. Finally, we wrote the numeral for each apple’s votes and discussed which had the most, the least, and whether any were equal.
This is a simple yet engaging way to incorporate graphing, tally marks, and data collection into your apple science investigation. It’s effective and hands-on, and the kids love it!
Materials:
- All About Apples
- red, green, and yellow apples
- knife
- cutting board
- plates
- dot markers
Apple Observations
Using Our Five Senses
Let’s be real—teachers and parents don’t exactly have time for mindful eating! After my first baby, I vividly remember pumping in a phone closet, trying to scarf down lunch in under 20 minutes. My mind was anywhere but on my food—I was thinking about the copies I hadn’t made or wondering what everyone else was chatting about in the teacher’s lounge. Oh, the things we do for our babies!
Lately, though, I’ve been trying to practice more mindful eating, using all five senses to be more aware of how I fuel my body and savor nutritious food. And that’s why I love this next activity so much. Engaging the senses while eating is such an important life skill! Seriously.
For this activity, I used just one apple for the entire group since we had already gone through quite a few during our apple taste test (see above).
First, we observed the apple’s exterior, noticing its color and shape. Then, we gently passed it around, feeling the skin’s texture. After slicing it into bite-sized pieces, each child touched the apple’s flesh, adding to our sensory descriptions. We smelled the fruity aroma before finally taking a bite, savoring the sweet taste and enjoying the sounds of crunching and slurping as we ate slowly and mindfully.
This simple exercise helps kids engage all their senses while eating—a practice that brings joy and awareness to our daily activities!
Materials:
- All About Apples
- 1 apple
- knife
- cutting board
Apple Vocabulary
Writing Center
As a former third-grade teacher, I know the importance of encouraging writing and drawing early on, especially developing ideas in writing.
So, for our little ones, I sometimes ask a question to get them thinking of journal ideas. Other times, I encourage them to look at our vocabulary binder to get their creative juices flowing! I have to say, excitement is key! If you can get excited about their ideas, they will love to draw and write about them.
Another way to encourage writing is to allow students to share their work. Don’t just close up the journal, never to be seen again. Create an author chair for your little writers, and the things they create will amaze you. They are, after all, trying to impress their peers and you!
What do I expect at this age? At first, we work on just our pictures and adding details to our drawings. Then, we work on adding initial sounds. If your little ones are ready to roll, they may be able to start copying some words from the vocabulary binder into their journals. Finally, after much modeling, they can write their ideas in a sentence (sort of).
Take baby steps and find any way to encourage your little authors to draw and write!
Materials:
- All About Apples
- binder
- page protectors
- journals
- writing tools