1-2-3 Come Make Some Apple Art With Me!

I've had several requests for some quick and easy art activties, that teachers can do in a short amount of time, or set up as centers.  Here are some of my all-time favorites.

A melted crayon apple looks awesome and takes only a few minutes to make.  Students cut out their apple and glue a leaf and stem to it. Teacher reads the poem and reviews rhyming. "Apples can be yellow, red or green.  These are the prettiest apples you've ever seen!"

As a terrific fine motor skill, children peel a red, yellow and green broken crayon. 

When it is their turn, children bring their apple and crayons to the adult-run center, where they "shave" their crayons in a crayon sharpener, to make piles of shavings.  Students pinch some and sprinkle in a few places on their apple, being careful not to cover the poem. 

The teacher or room helper, lays a piece of wax paper on top, and carefully presses down with an iron on its lowest setting.  After a few seconds (s)he gently peels back the paper to reveal a multi-colored apple tree.  My Y5's often squealed with delight at how cool their apple looked.  Click on the link to view/download the Crayon Melt Apple activity.

Another easy apple "craftivity" that helps strengthen finger muscles, is a rip and tear apple.  Even a young child can work independently at this center, as they tear red, yellow, green, and brown strips of paper into color piles, and then glue them to their apple cut out. 

Any of these projects make an outstanding apple bulletin board, or if you do several, arrange them all on a wall, with the caption: Apple-icious Work! Click on the link to view/download the Rip & Tear Apple pattern.

As you can see in the photographs, I have my kiddo's use yellow, green and red, to reinforce the fact that apples can be all of those colors. Another way to bring this idea home, is to have children color the apple squares template.  I designed the "graph" paper with large squares for little ones, as well as smaller squares for older children. 

Use this "craftivity" to reinforce an ABC pattern as well. Click on the link to view/download The Color-Me Apple activity.

Every now and then, I liked to throw in a few crafts that I knew parents would absolutely love.  

I call these "Keepsake Crafts."  Tracing a child's arm, on brown construction paper, with their fingers spread to make "branches" results in the perfect apple tree trunk.

Children dip their index finger in red paint, or red glitter glue and dab on 10 fingerprint apples.  Include a child's oval photo in the "hollow" of the tree, for that finishing touch. 

This apple craft has a poem, so you can review that genre, along with rhyming words.  "Cute little apples hanging from my tree.  I made them with my fingerprints; they're a special part of me. The 10th one will be the last; listen now and I'll count them fast: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10."

Having children count the 10 apples, reinforces that math standard as well. Click on the link to view/down load The Keepsake Apple Tree Pattern.

Finally, allowing children to paint, is a bit messy, but also provides wonderful fine motor skill practice, and my Y5's absolutely loved it. Have children add seeds to the back of their apple, by pressing their index finger onto a brown stamp pad and then making a star design in the center. 

To make this a noisemaker-shaker, add rice or birdseed before you staple their creation. These also look sweet dangling from the ceiling.  Click on the link to view/download the Painted Apple Bowl activity.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.  For more apple "craftivities" scroll down for the next blog article, featuring 6 more FREEBIES.  It's time for me to clean up my crafty messes and seek some sunshine before the summer's gone.  I'm wishing you an apple-icious afternoon.   

"The art of teaching, is the art of assisting discovery." -Mark Van Doren

1-2-3 Come Study Antonyms and Synonyms With Me!

Since vocabulary building is such a huge part of learning to read and write, I try to think of interesting ways to do that.  Puzzles and games always grab students' attention, so I thought I'd design some with an apple theme for September, and because of the many requests for antonym and synonym activities, I decided to incorporate those. 

Run off on red, yellow and green construction paper; laminate and trim the 66 antonym apples to make puzzles.  Use them for games too, such as Memory Match or toss them in a basket and have students choose several to play "I Have; Who Has?"   The apples provide 132 words to help build student vocabularies.  A blank apple template is also included.

Be sure and check out my list of 290 antonyms + a cover so students can make their own antonym word booklets.

I've also included 80 synonym leaves with 2 blank leaf templates.  Run off on green construction paper, laminate and trim.  Encourage students to write in synonyms of their own.

These activities are wonderful for Daily 5 Word Work.  Click on the link to view/download The Antonym Apples packet

I also whipped together a little activity to help build apple-themed vocabulary specifically.  Students cut off the apple word list bookmark on the left of the page, and then write the apple words in alphabetical order on the right. Click on the link to view/download the Apple Word activities.

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"America's future, walks through the doors of our schools each day." -Mary Jean Le Tendre

1-2-3 Have A Buschel Of Fun Doing Apple Activities With Me!

This 32-page packet covers quite a few Common Core State Standards, that involve math and language arts.

The packet includes:

• A bushel basket sorting activity for odd & even numbers, as well as vowels & consonants.
• Numbered apples from 1-120
• Apple math symbols so students can make addition or subtraction equations + show greater and less than.
• Red, green & yellow apple tiles to use as counting & sorting manipulatives or to make patterns.
• An upper and lowercase apple alphabet anchor chart.
• 6 "What's Missing?" upper and lowercase letter worksheets with matching letter tiles.
• 2 assessments for upper and lowercase letters, with a "note home" to inform parents of the results.
• Pre-writing trace the lines activity.
• Trace and write the letters and numbers worksheets.
• Trace and write apple word vocabulary worksheet.
• "I Spy" upper and lowercase letters.  Students become ABCDe-tectives, find and then circle the letters and then add up how many they found.
• "Connect the Letters" to make an apple worksheet, as well as "Connect the Numbers" (by 1's, 5's and 10's.)

Click on the link to view/download the Apple Activities Packet.

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"The world is but the canvas to our imagination." -Henry David Thoreau

1-2-3 Come Make An Apple Puzzle With Me!

A quick, easy and fun way to get your kiddo’s sequencing numbers is via a number puzzle, which is also great for fine motor and higher level-thinking practice.  One of my Y5 report card standards was to be able to put a puzzle together, so this was especially beneficial.

Here's How You Make A Puzzle: Choose either apple puzzles with number strips from 1-10, for younger students, or skip counting apple puzzles, with number strips that count by 10's to 100.  Print off the apple puzzles on white construction paper or card stock, laminate and cut out the individual numbered strips. 

Keep each puzzle in its own Ziplock Baggie.  Pass the Baggies out to your students and set a timer.   Challenge them to complete their puzzle before the timer rings.   You can also partner students up, who have the same puzzle, so they can play "Speed" against each other, to see who can put their puzzle together the quickest.

When students are done with one, they may exchange theirs with another child who has a different puzzle.  You can use these each year, or skip the lamination and give each child a puzzle to take home.   They can cut their own strips, mess them up and put them together.

Another thing you can do with the puzzles, is make a puzzle flip book. I used 4 apple puzzles for my booklet.  Print the puzzles and cut out the strips. Each puzzle should have a pile of strips 1-10.  Lay the number strips for each puzzle on top of each other, so that the number one strip is at the top.  Now make piles of all of the number ONE pieces, then a pile of the number TWO pieces etc. 

Arrange the pieces so that when you make your flip book, the pages will show a mixed up puzzle. (See photo.)  Glue just the number portion of each strip, to the top of the 1-10 puzzle template.  Children flip the pages, to find the matching pieces, to complete each puzzle.

Click on the link to view/download the Apple Number Puzzle Packet.

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"There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds." -G.K. Chesterton

1-2-3 Come Count Apples With Me!

You will love how many activities you can do with the Counting Apples packet, which helps cover numerous Common Core State Standards. The photo only shows a sampling of what's in the packet which includes:

• Numbered apples from 1-120.  Use these as anchor charts or a reminder poster for your students' math folders. The 1-120 individual apple strips, can also be cut to form a number line, to aid in counting up to 100 Day.
• There are 16 "What's Missing?" activity sheets.  Run them off for students to fill in, or laminate and have children place number tiles on empty spaces.
• There are apples with numbers as well as number words. Use them for pocket charts or your word wall.  You can also use them to play Memory Match games, Speed, "I Have; Who Has?" or "Go Apple" (Played like Go Fish).
• I've included a template to make a buschel basket, + a set of large and small blank apple tiles, so students can play "Buschel of Fun".
  
• Skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's and 10's is also included + 4 games, like "Apple Elimination" (played like "Shut The Box" as well as "Apples on a Roll".  Both games are played with dice.  The variety of templates, gives you the ability to create many more games and activities.
  
• There's also a set of math symbols, which allow students to create and solve addition and subtraction equations, as well as show examples of greater and less than.
  

Click on the link to view/download the Apple Counting Packet and start enjoying its versatility today!

Thanks for visiting.  As always, feel free to PIN anything from my site.  To ensure that "pinners" return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top; it will turn black, now click on the "Pin it" button, located on the menu.  If you'd like to take a peek at all of the awesome educational items I pin, simply click on the big heart to your right.

"Some students drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle." -E.C. McKenzie

1-2-3 Come Sequence The Life Cycle Of An Apple With Me!

I liked to do several life cycle "craftivities" for our apple unit.  After several hands-on activities, the sequence eventually got into everyones head.  Cutting and glueing are wonderful fine motor skills that need plenty of practice, so I made several ways for you to use the life cycle of an apple printables.

For a quick and easy table top activity, run off the “Sequencing the Life Cycle of an Apple” worksheet.  Make sure you print a color copy for your demonstration model.  Students cut off the bottom and then cut and glue the individual pictures to the matching ordinal number position at the top of the paper. Before hand, point out to students, that the pictures are numbered.

When everyone has completed their project, use the “teacher cards” on your word wall or pocket chart, to reinforce and review the life cycle (science) as well as the new vocabulary. This is a great time to cover ordinal numbers as well.

If you’d like to involve math, have students choose a partner and take turns rolling a die.  Whatever number they roll, is the piece that they cut and glue.  If they roll a six, they lose their turn.  The first child who completes their apple life cycle, or the one who has the most squares glued on when the timer rings, is the winner.  All children should complete their paper.

To involve a bit more cutting, plus listening and following directions skills, pre-cut red, yellow and light green construction paper into 11 by 4 inch strips.  Give students a color choice.  They cut “slits” on their ordinal number template; the “doors” will then flip up.  So that children don’t snip off their “fllip-up’s” remind them to STOP cutting when they run out of a line to follow.

Students rub a line of glue along the top of their ordinal number rectangle (this is the title portion) and glue it to their piece of construction paper.

Children press on the folds to crease them, so that they easily flip up.  Students glue the appropriate picture under each flap.  When everyone is done, to make sure that students have the correct order, review the life cycle.

Click on the link to view/download The Life Cycle of an Apple activities.

Thanks for visiting.  As always, feel free to PIN anything from my site. To ensure that "pinners" are able to return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top; it will turn black; now click on the "Pin it" button located on the top menu.  If you'd enjoy seeing all of the ourstanding educational items I pin, simply click on the big heart to your right.

"All of the things we achieve are things we have first of all imagined." -David Malouf

1-2-3 Come Stack Apples With Me!

I like to combine a variety of skills and standards into one lesson, that way I'm covering quite a bit in a short amount of time.  The "Apples Up on Top" Name Activity involves math, reading, science and writing, plus completed projects make an adorable back-to-school bulletin board!

For example, if you run off the apple printable on yellow, red and green construction paper, students can learn the science fact, that apples can be 3 different colors. You can also teach students an ABCABC pattern. I've included a graphing extension to cover that concept as well.

Click on the link to view/download the Apples Up On Top Name Activity.

To further reinforce lessons, whenever I read a story, some sort of activity followed. Dr. Seuss' (Theo. LeSieg's) book, Apples Up On Top is a wonderful first week of school book, as we are in full swing studying apples. After reading the story, ask your students who the main animal characters are.  Run off the template that is appropriate for you, and have students choose one to color.

Print off the apples of your choice (plain red, numbered red, plain black & white, numbered black & white) for your students to (color), copy and glue "up on top" of their animal.  When everyone is done, count to 10 forwards as well as backwards. There's also a graphing extension to see how many students chose a specific animal.

The printable can also be used as a dice game for older students. They choose a partner and take turns rolling first one die, for numbers 1-6, and then add a second die, enabling them to roll numbers 7-10, when they add the 2 together. 

I've included numbered strips for this game.  The numbered strips are also good for preschoolers who are not able to sequence yet.  This is great 1-to-1 correspondence for them. 

Click on the link to view/download the Apples Up On Top With Animals Activity.

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"You give but little when you give of your possessions.  It is when you give of yourself that you truly give." -Kahlil Gibran