APPLES, APPLES, APPLES

Does anyone remember the Apple song/rhyme we sang on the bus going to summer camp???

Apples, apples, apples,

On a stick they make me sick, 

They make my heart go 2 - 4 - 6, 

Not because they're yellow,

Not because they're green, 

Just because I kissed a boy behind a magazine,

Hey girls look over there,

There goes ______ in their underwear.

They can wiggle, they can wobble, they can do the splits,

But I bet you ten dollars they can't do this.

Close your eyes and count to ten,

If you mess up then do it again!

(FYI there are many versions to this song)

Oh my gosh, my niece (who is actually 6 months older than I am) and I had SO much fun learning that song when we were little....ah the memories!

Okay....Sweetness for September being here!!!! Although Autumn doesn't officially begin until Sept. 22nd, I always welcome Fall over Labor Day weekend. You know darn well my first stop on Saturday morning was to Starbucks to pick up my Pumpkin Spice Latte to kick off the season! 

There are SO MANY great things Fall brings......Pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING, College Football (GO HUSKERS!!!), cooler temperatures (hopefully sooner than later--we're still battling the 90's+), cozy clothes, boots (shopping is NEEDED), pumpkin patches, apple picking, hayrack rides, soups and crunchy confetti colored leaves.

Mike, Kensi and I started some of our traditions this weekend and had so much fun. Of course we baked our special Pumpkin Bars (a recipe my mom found in the newspaper years ago and make every year). But not only did we make our pumpkin bars, we also got all of our fall decor out and decorated my parents house (I hope they didn't mind too much) and I pulled a few fall baby activities for Kensi. We started singing 10 Little Apples to her (see La De Dah for the words) since of course it is September and apple season. 

Yesterday morning we made homemade applesauce together from our very own apple trees. And let me tell you, the applesauce was incredibly delish! We ended up making more today and canned it. I did give Kensi a little lick from my finger....she wasn't too sure about it :) Our applesauce recipe is posted under Bon Appetite. 

Back to the baby and toddler activities....some of the ideas we found on Pinterest and other sites and some were my lessons that were modified. Also, if I was doing this full time and didn't have to work for part of my day, I would have one activity from each category for each day. However, there are more than one activity listed per category so feel free to spread them out through the week.

 So this is what we have so far....we most likely won't get to each and every one of these activities, but we will try to do as many as we can. They can also be carried into another week.

Of course a few of these activities are better suited for  older children, but everything can be modified. If you need help just let me know and I'd be more than happy to help you out with a modification :)

Weeks One/Two

Apples

Songs: 

              10 Little Apples

               One little, two little, three little apples,

               Four little, five little, six little apples,

               Seven little, eight little, nine little apples,

               Ten little apples in the tree!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
              Criss Cross Applesauce
              Criss cross applesauce,
              A cool breeze,
              A tight squeeze,
              And a tickle tickle as you please!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

             Apple Tree

             Way up high in the apple tree (stretch arm up high)

             Two red apples smiled at me (hold up 2 fingers)

             I shook that tree as hard as I could (make a shaking motion)

             Down came the apples, (make a downward motion)

             Mmmmm--were they good! (smile and rub tummy)

Books: 

• The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall
• Ten Apples on Top by Dr. Seuss
• Apples by Gail Gibbons

Cooking: 

1. Make Applesauce
2. Apple & Pear Butter
3. Apple Pie/Streusel

Sensory:

1. Baby girl will touch and explore an apple. We will tell her the color of the apple, shape and size. We will also talk about how it feels and that it can roll.
2. Explore with our hands in applesauce.
3. Taste Test
• TODDLERS AND OLDER!!!
• Have your child taste different forms of apples: apples with skin, apples with no skin, applesauce, baked apples, etc. 
4. Visit an apple orchard. Talk about what we smell, feel, hear, see and taste. 

Math/Science: 

1. Make a graph or chart what everyone's favorite apple treat is. Choose 2-3 apple treats such as apple pie, caramel apples & applesauce. Have your child ask each family member which is their favorite. Help your child make a simple bar graph to show the results.
2. Discuss where apples come from, how they grow, what colors, size and shapes they come in.
3. Count apple seeds and practice grouping them in different ways; such as by 2's, 3's, 5's etc.
4. Apple Fractions
• Cut the apple up and work on fractions; 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, etc.
5. Apple Symmetry 
• Cut an apple in half width-wise and length-wise and do a comparison. Are both halves the same (symmetrical)?

Art:

1. Slice an apple in half length-wise, so the seeds are showing, use the apple as a stamp and paint a picture using fall colors. (Red, orange, yellow, brown and/or green)
2. Paint with applesauce
• Baby/Toddlers can use their hands.
• Old children may want to try using a spoon, fork or brush, helping with their fine motor skills that they need for writing.
• Make sure to place newspapers on the floor for easy clean-up!
3. Create a picture by gluing red, green and yellow scrapes to represent apples.
• Older children: have them practice cutting out cirlces in these colors and glue them on paper. This helps build their hand muscles and build on their fine motor skills.

Pretend Play/Dramatic Play

1. Pretend to work at an orchard. 
• Grow and harvest apples, bake and sell them at a market.
2. Act out the story of Johnny Appleseed.

Sign Language:

1. Milk
2. Apple

Motor Skills:

1. Tummy Time
• Practice lifting our head
2. Pretend to give your baby an apple. 
• When he/she reaches out for it, move the apple away. Move it in front of him/her, to their side, above their head, etc. They're practicing their hand-eye coordination.

Other Activities:

1. Go on a Red Treasure Hunt. 
• Look for items around the house with your baby. Anything red can be used. Help your baby find red apples, red books, red toys, red clothes, etc.