Apple Prints

Apple prints are an easy art activity to do with any age.  The outcome may be different depending on the age and the child. 

Take an apple (any apple will do) and cut it in half.....be careful to cut it evenly or the apple won't make a print on the paper.  If you want a different print.....cut the apple horizontal and you will have a star in the center and will give a totally different print.

Then take whatever paint color you want to dip your apples in.....we did red and yellow.  The kids said we were using ketchup and mustard!

Hint: stab a fork into the apple to make it easier for the children to stamp.....just don't push it in too far or it will come out the other end.

Let them start stamping.....some of them decided to just smear the paint with the apple and that is fine too.....it is their creation.

All of their apple prints.

Tracy

A is for Apple Jacks

Each time we do a new letter we will be talking about words that start with that letter, the sounds it makes, and how to write the letter.  I don't like to use a lot of worksheets......depending on the center I have worked at depends on the curriculum I have had to use in the past.  Now that I am home and get to choose what I do with the children I am choosing the "play" method......more hands on learning......our letters below will be the extent of our "worksheets" that we will be doing.  I feel like children do a lot of worksheets in school, why not let them be kids as long as possible.  Let them learn their letters by writing them with their finger in shaving cream, sand, playdough, flour, etc.  WAY MORE FUN!!!  Don't you agree??  Not saying children can't learn from worksheets, they totally can, this is just my preference for learning.  So, off my little soap box.....I could go on and on about this subject and reasons for it all, but I will spare you for today!!!

With the letter A, we used Apple Jacks to cover our big A.

 

Tracy

Apple Tasting

We did some apple tasting today.....I got 4 different kinds of apples.....gala, golden delicious, red delicious and granny smith.  They each got a slice to taste. 

When I asked them what they tasted like, I got some typical responses and then some interesting responses......tastes sour, sweet, crunchy, tastes like a banana, and the inside smells like popcorn!

I think they liked them all, but here is the graph we made of their favorite! 

Granny Smith was the winner!

 

Once we were done taste testing.....we made some caramel to eat with the rest of our apples.

Now, I could have just bought some caramel for them.....but unwrapping caramels is a great fine motor skill, so here we go......didn't take them long at all to get them all unwrapped and ready to melt.

Concentrating

Those little fingers are working hard to open that wrapper.



YUMMMMY!!!!

Some preferred just the apples, but most of them wanted the caramel and proceeded to lick their bowl clean!

Tracy

Apples

We are discussing apples for the next 2 weeks.  Yesterday, we learned what letter apples start with (A), what colors apples can be....did you know there are more than just red, yellow and green apples and we are learning the different names that apples have.....there are lots of different apples out there. 

So, of course we will be making apple art to go along with everything else we are doing. 

First, you will need some plastic lids.....we used yogurt container lids cause that's what I had alot of.....I really wanted to use clear lids, but didn't have any....maybe next year! 

Then cut up crepe paper or tissue paper in whatever colors you want to make your apples.....we did red and green.  I used crepe paper this time cause it was a lot easier to cut into squares and I had some left from our rainbows. 

Take glue and water it down just a bit and give each child a paint brush to brush the glue on the lid and then on top of the tissue paper. 

I think E thought it was gross!!!

When everyone was done, we went outside to collect leaves for the tops of the apples.

I then poked a hole in the top of their lid and put the leaves through.

Very easy to make.....I had a broad range of kids from a 2 year old to a 5 year old that made these and they all turned out very cute!!!

Tracy

Journals

Do your kids like to "write" or draw pictures?? 

Are you constantly getting them a piece of paper??

What do you do with those papers??  Keep them, throw them away, what??

Well, we have "journals."  They are fun, inexpensive and they each have their own.  They can use their journals whenever they want to draw or "write".  Sometimes we use them for something specific, sometimes I let them choose what they want to do in them.....just depends on the day.  This week we are talking about apples, so we will write an A and draw an Apple......last week I let them draw whatever they wanted.....they drew castles, cactuses, whales, happy faces, dolphins and some just colored.....anything goes, it is their journal and they can do whatever they want in it.

We used stickers and glitter pens to decorate the fronts of the journals.

Decorating with glitter pens.

Putting stickers on journals.

Stickers are a good to use when working on those fine motor skills.

Here are their journals.....I let them pick the color and which star they wanted on the front and they decorated the rest.

You can attach a pencil with string or yarn so they can take them with them in the vehicle, outside, on a field trip, around the house, etc.  We sometimes take them in the van when picking up the kids from school.....we have to wait a little bit, so it gives them something to do while they wait.

Tracy

Water Puddles!

I was going to write a post about our journals that we write in, but as I was downloading pictures I saw the ones I took yesterday....sooo.....change of plans.
Do you ever tell your children "no" because the end result will be messy or more work for you or they will need baths in the middle of the afternoon after they already had one before church that morning.....well....I almost said no, and then I thought, why not?! 


So, here's how it started......Reese and Cooper were outside riding their bikes (it was so nice out).  Whenever it rains, there is always water in the gutter in front of our house.....so where do you think they were riding their bikes?? 

You guessed it....in the water!  First, I told them "NO" cause they were going to get dirty, then I said.....change your clothes.  Reese asked if they could run through the water and jump in it.....um, well....ask your dad.....dad told her....whatever your mom says!   So, I said YES!  Reese put on her snow boots at that point cause she doesn't have any rainboots (whatever works, right?) and Cooper put on his rainboots and changed to shorts. They had a blast.....just look at their faces!!! And on top of that, Cooper told me I was the BEST MOM EVER!!!!! Thanks, Coop!

Now, doesn't that look like fun!?!!

Maddox watched his big brother and sister.....and said wawer (water) and pointed!  Maybe next time, Maddox, I will let you play too!

 

Tomorrow, I will tell you all about our journals.

Tracy