Apple Number Hunt

For math, I decided to have my students go on a fun apple hunt!  I added number sense, counting one-to-one, and number matching to the activity.  Wow - look at all those skills we covered with one afternoon of fun!

Students were paired with their math partner and were given a number card.  They had to read the number, and then go find the red card that matched that number.  For example, if their number was 6, they had to find the red card with 6 apples on it.  Students were then encouraged to point and count each apple to double check. 

I hid the cards in the library, cafeteria, gym, and our classroom. That is why the worksheet has four squares.  You could hide it in more places and copy the paper front and back. 

Students were able to work with their partners to hunt around the rooms, and they loved it!  Once they found the match, they recorded it on their paper.  

This activity was fun and easy. :]  

Students then write the number on the line and draw a picture to match it.  I encouraged them to make their apples look like the ones on the apple card.  

You can find this for FREE in my TpT store by clicking on the image below.  All you have to do is print and cut.  Happy apple hunting! 

How to Writing with Applesauce

When we learn about apples, I have to squeeze in making applesauce!  It is one of my favorite things to do.  The kids also love eating it. :] 

 

First, I gather all of the materials.  I use a crockpot, about 8 apples, 1/4 cup of water, and some cinnamon.  I cut the apples up and place them in the crockpot.  I let my kids pour in the water and sprinkle the cinnamon on top.  This is a great way to introduce measuring cups and what they mean. 

The kids LOVE pouring in the ingredients.  I was also smart this year because I used a crockpot liner so when we were done I just had to throw the bag away. It made clean up SO much easier. :] 

Once we finish, I use this opportunity to do a how to writing activity.  My kids write how to make applesauce in their little booklet.  

Since this was our first time writing like this, I made the steps very simple and easy to follow.  I didn't want to overwhelm them with a lot of writing. 

You can see how they wrote and matched the words to the pictures. 

One of my kiddos messed up the order of his booklet, so we did a little problem solving by crossing out the numbers and rearranging the pages. :] No need for stress and tears! 

When we were all done - it took the applesauce about 4 hours on high to cook - we enjoyed our treat! When I poured them into the bowls, I let them sit for a little bit so my kiddos didn't burn their tongues. :] 

If you want to grab this booklet we used - you can click on the image below.  It is FREE. :]

Exploding Apples Experiment

This experiment was SO much fun!!  It was also so easy to prepare for.  All you need are apples, a knife, baking soda, vinegar, and cups.  Well, I used the cups so the students could pour in the baking soda and vinegar themselves. They are not absolutely necessary. :]   I also used trays to place the apples on because it can get kind of messy. 

Once you have all the materials, cut the top of the apple out.  I started at the stem and cut a hole in the middle of the apple.  It doesn't have to be very deep.  I cut it about half way.  This allows you to pour the vinegar and baking soda in the apple. 

First, students poured baking soda in one of the apples, and vinegar in the other apple.  We recorded our observations.  We also made a hypothesis before stating whether we thought it would explode more if the vinegar was poured first, then the baking soda OR the baking soda, then the vinegar.

Students, then poured the baking soda on top of the one with vinegar.  They watched it erupt!  Once they recorded their observations, the students poured the vinegar on top of the one with baking soda.  This was a great way to see which one exploded more.  You should have heard my kids giggling and screaming during this experiment.  (I may have screamed a little too. :] )

Here are the pages my students completed to help us follow the scientific method.  We colored the arrow for our hypothesis, and we drew our observations.

Then, we recorded the results and determined whether our hypothesis was correct or not. 

Finally, we drew (or you can write) what you learned as a scientist during the experiment. 

You can find this product by clicking on the image below.  It is only $1! :] 

If you enjoyed this or would like an idea of what this product is like, visit here to learn about our Apple Exposure experiment and grab that one for FREE here. :] 

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Apple Exposure Experiment

When people think of teachers, they instantly think of apples - or at least I do. :]  When we do fun apple activities, it is one of my favorite times of the year. 
We completed two different apple science experiments during our apple unit.  The first one had to do with oxidation to apples.  This was really interesting, and my kids really enjoyed observing the apples.  They felt like real scientists!
I enjoyed this experiment because it was really easy to prepare for.  The only thing is that you have to allow the apples time to sit (at least 2 hours) in order for the experiment to work. 
First, gather the necessary materials.  You need vinegar, milk, water, lemon juice, apple, cups, and a knife. Cut the apple into slices and place one slice in each cup.  You will have one cup with vinegar, one with water, one with milk, and one with lemon juice.  You need to pour enough just to cover the apple.  Also, be sure to leave one apple laying on the table - this is the control.

Have students make a hypothesis first as to which item will keep the apple from turning brown.  Then, I let my kids place the apples in the cups.  I try to let them do as much as possible so they feel as if they are completing the experiment on their own.  I also set it up so that there were enough items for the three tables in my classroom.  This way the students weren't fighting over seeing the apples. 

My kids LOVED observing the apples, touching them, and drawing their observations. 

You can see where we recorded our information below. 

This was perfect because it allowed my students to follow the scientific method. 

You can see on the form that we placed the apples in the liquids, and then checked back an hour later. I ended up having to adjust it to 2 hours because the 1 hour wasn't long enough.  Scientists are always adjusting to make their experiment work! :] (At least that's what I told my kids.)

We recorded our final results and wrote what we learned as scientists. 

The kids did a great job being careful with the cups and apples.  We had a lot of fun using our 5 senses to record our observations as well. 
You can find this product in my store for FREE!  Enjoy! :]

Apple Day in Kindergarten

Fall is upon us!  This is my favorite time of year!  I also love it because it starts to cool down outside.  My room has no A/C, so I dream of a day of no sweating while teaching!  :]

This year, I am having themed Fridays to celebrate our hard work all week.  Although our Fridays are full of fun activities, we will also be spending the day doing some serious learning. The fun thing is that the kids don't even realize how much they are learning!

So, our first fun Friday was APPLE DAY!  The kids were talking about it all day and even when I dropped them off to their parents.  That is what I call a successful day.

First on our apple agenda was reading the book Apple Trouble.  Then, we went on an apple trail walk where we had to practice retelling the story.  We followed the apples on the floor, and then each time we came to a white sheet of paper, we had to complete that retelling portion of our book.  My kids LOVED going on the trail and finding where the next stop was.

The white sheet of paper said characters, setting, beginning, middle, end, problem, solution, and moral.  Then, we had a page dedicated to each white sheet in our retelling book.

After reading, we did some apple tasting.  I love focusing on the 5 senses to help my kids come up with adjectives.  This helps them learn descriptive words, which then helps them be better writers.  We tried red, green, and yellow apples.  One of my students said, "This is my first time ever having a yellow apple. This is the best day ever!"  

They sure loved eating those apples!  Don't worry, I did make them work for it.  First, they had to look at the apples and give me descriptive words.  Then, they had to listen to the apple, smell the apple, and touch the apple.  Finally, I let them eat the apple!  I also asked them to remember which apple was their favorite for our graphing activity we did later.

Check out all of our adjectives/descriptive words!

After we came up with descriptive words, my kiddos were asked to draw a picture about apples and write about them. Here is a range of pictures and writing I have within my classroom.

Each week we have 3 vocabulary words.  One of my students used our vocabulary word in a sentence.  I was SO excited when he did this.  The vocabulary word was artist.  He wrote, "I am an artist of apples."  This was definitely a proud teacher moment. (Also, a stupid one because I forgot to take a picture of it!)

During math, we graphed which apple was our favorite.  The kids loved seeing which apple won!  It was also a great graphing activity because there was a variety of opinions.  We discussed the most, least, and how many more liked green than red.  

We practiced two of our sight words by using apple jacks.  This was a fun hands-on activity.  Also, they got to eat some apple jacks when they were done. :]

We ended our apple day by making fun apples and writing a sentence using one of the descriptive words we learned during the day!

This is a great fine motor activity.  They rip the paper into small pieces and cover the small paper plate until you can't see the plate anymore.

Some of these activities I have included in a packet here.  Check it out if you are interested in completing any of these. :]

Thanks for stopping by!!  We definitely had a fun apple day.  What is your favorite thing to do with apples?